A short history of modern Judaism.

Donald Trump recently met with a group of ultraorthodox rabbis. Before we get to that meeting, let’s do some quick bookkeeping. There are many different movements within Judaism, and Pew studies suggest that “unaffiliated” is one of the largest branches of the faith in the U.S. Reform and Conservative Judaism are movements that came about in the early-middle 19th Century in Germany in response to the Enlightenment that allowed Jews to be active participants in wider society. “Orthodox” tends to refer to Jews who continue to follow Jewish law in the observance of kosher food, the Sabbath, prayers, and all other aspects of their lives. The “ultraorthodox” or “charedim” are Jews who tend to have a different approach to Jewish life and observance than Modern Orthodox communities. Confused yet?

Within the ultraorthodox world, there is a wide range of opinions and approaches. Some younger members of the group go to the Israeli army while most do not. You might notice a doctor or lawyer whose external appearance suggests that he is an ultraorthodox Jew. At the other extreme of political persuasion are groups that do not recognize the state of Israel. Non-Jews often assume that all Jews are pro-Israel. And while for the majority of Jews in the U.S. that probably is true, there are two groups that do not like the Jewish state. One would be the lefties whose political identities trump any religious affiliation. Those are the ones marching with the Muslim Brotherhood crowd in favor of Hamas. The other group is made up of various ultraorthodox groups that reject the state of Israel on religious grounds. One may note that Herzl, Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres, and many other well-known Zionists were not particularly religiously observant. And while there has always been and remains a strong religious-Zionist movement, the state of Israel came to be under the leadership of many Jews who were either not religious or in........

© Townhall