An Overview Of The First Division Of American Judaism

American Judaism is a diverse religious tradition with three basic divisions (denominations). These divisions of American Jews are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. All of these divisions reflect different approaches to Jewish tradition and outlooks towards modern culture and society as a whole. Orthodox Jews believe to stick to the authentic Jewish tradition, while Conservative Jews are balanced with sticking to tradition but are open to change. Lastly Reform Jews, take a modern approach to religion to keep in line with the rest of the culture. “There is a lot of flexibility about certain aspects of those beliefs, and a lot of disagreement about specifics, but that flexibility is built into the organized system of belief that is Judaism.” (“What Is Judaism? - Judaism 101 (JewFAQ)”). Despite these differences between the three divisions, they all share a commitment to Jewish identity and culture.

The first division of American Judaism is the Orthodox Jews. As mentioned in the text, Orthodox Jews keep their faith and practices in line with authentic Jewish traditions. The author highlights that the Torah in written/oral form comes from God. They believe that ceremonial law and ethical commandments are equally binding. They also follow Kosher

This type of Judaism is almost like a hybrid between Orthodox and Reform Judaism. They prioritize religious traditions more so than Reform Jews. Conservative Jews also supports the evolution and change of interpretation, which I thought was an interesting aspect to this division. Traditional, but also open to new changes. Another difference of conservative Jews is that they use Hebrew in worship. They also are advocates for Jews marrying other Jews and lifelong learning. Also given their dietary laws, they are able to be a bit flexible with it which is neat to see. Lastly their organization is tied to The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.