ahs also seems to be incorporated into Jewish history. For example, many contemporary Hasidic Jews still adamantly believe that deceased Rabbi Menachem Schneerson was a messiah. Even in ancient times there were different groups of Jews following Judaic practice, like the Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees. Yet, from them until now, there is great disagreement on the meaning of Judaism. When Rabbi Carol Harris-Shapiro, a Recon structionist, was asked what is Judaism, she responded by saying “I don’t think we are tremendously clear on that” (21).
The problem with Judaism becoming fragmented both in ancient times and in modern times stems from the fact that Judaism is something that is more than a religion, for it includes a people and a history also. Because of this, Judaism is something that is a totality greater than the sum of any of its parts. We see this dilemma when we look at the late Rabbi Milton Steinberg’s Basic Judaism. In this work, Steinberg tries like many before him to define Judaism. In his attempted definition we see that Judaism is definitely more than just religion or religious practice, for, as the late Rabbi wrote regarding the topic “Judaism denotes a full civilization; the total actualities, past and present, of the historic group of human beings known as the Jewish people…Just as properly, Judaism may stand for something more limited: the spiritual aspect of that civilization; in sum, for the Jewish religion” (Steinberg 3).
There are Jews who believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Yet, when we look at solidarity among Jews, we see t
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