Forms of Judaism

Of all the religions that we learned about Judaism is the religion that has several different branches. There are three branches that consist of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reformed Judaism. All three branches believe in one God; monotheism, they follow the Torah, and more.

Orthodox Judaism is the highest and strictest form of Judaism. There are three groups within this form: Haredi, Mitnaggid, and Hasidism. The Mitnaggid and the Hasidism groups don’t get along. Orthodox Judaism follows very strict laws both in the Torah and Oral laws. They eat kosher (no pork), follow the Sabbath, and have extremely strict rules when it comes to men and women. For example the men and women worship separately. At one point in history the marriages used to be arranged, in some parts of the world it is still like that today. Married couples are only supposed to have sex for reproductive purposes only. After the wedding the women are supposed to shave their head, or wear a wig. Women have a tendency to dress extremely modestly. They also need to visit the Mikvah before the wedding and periodically after it.

Reform Judaism is the largest in the United States but the smallest elsewhere. In this from the men and women are not separated, in other words they are allowed to sit together. Also they are allowed to wear what they want, meaning the women are not forced to dress modestly. There are many similarities in the all the forms and a few differences.

In the last form of Judaism called Conservative Judaism, which is also known as traditional. This form is a mix between Orthodox and Reform Judaism. In this form they keep all the traditions like the Sabbath however they modify it. For example they do the work that would normally not be done on the Sabbath before the Sabbath comes. And example of this is turning the light on before the Sabbath comes.

All three forms follow the laws of Judaism. They all worship at a synagogue and do no work on the Sabbath. Judaism has several holidays that all forms celebrate. Some of these holidays consist of Passover, Shevuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Chanukah, Purim, Sukkot and more. This religion has a lot of laws and rules to follow, but like every religion there are people that dedicated their life to it.