Who are these people, what do they all have in common?

Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews

To describe the 3 Jewish denominations in Judaism today

To contrast the differenceTo evaluate the lifestyle of Orthodox Jews

Types of JewsReligious- Orthodox- Conservative - Reform/

liberal

Secular (non-religious jews)

- don’t think of themselves as Jewish (only have Jewish surname)

- do think of themselves as Jewish, but don’t follow the religion

Draw the diagram of the different kinds of Jews. Where would you put: 1. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)2. Adam Sandler (Bedtime stories, Anger

Management)3. Mayim Bialik (Big Bang theory, Curb your

Enthusiasm, Blossom)4. Sigmund Freud5. No famous jews from this category

What’s the difference?• Orthodox believe both the Written Law (the Torah)

and an Oral Law are given and written by God. They do not believe these laws can be changed.

• Conservative Jews believe the laws should be observed but that Conservative rabbis can change laws. Also, they do not believe that God actually wrote the Torah.

• Reform/ Liberal Jews do not believe in the divine authorship of the Torah, and do not believe that any of the laws are binding (except the 10 Commandments) . They think every Jew should only take from Judaism what is meaningful to him/her. Reform Jews can seem very similar to Secular Jews, who follow no religion.

Explain the difference between Orthodox Jews and the other 2 groups.

Explain the difference between liberal and conservative Jews.

**Which of the groups of Jews do you think really deserve the label “Jewish”?

Orthodox JewsWhat is the lifestyle of an Orthodox Jew like?

- Strict following of 613 laws- Separation from secular culture: eg ?no movies,

magazines, mixing - Men and women segregation eg? - Education: 7 hrs of Torah study, but only 1hr of

secular education – no skills!- Strong community feeling: friendships, support, life

together- Crime: physical, sexual, emotional abuse goes

unreported as this would betray the community.

1. Describe how the lifestyle of a Hasidic Jew is unique.

2. What are the benefits of their lifestyle for them?

3. What are the costs/ problems?

**Should Hasidic Jews be supported by state benefits so that they can continue living their lifestyle?

“The only true Jews are the Orthodox”. Do you agree?

• Orthodox Jews believe God has promises a Messiah, and promised the Jews a homeland. You should not try and create a homeland by force.