Judaism is a religion that the Jewish people follow. Alternatively, Judaism has been further divided into Orthodox Jews and Unorthodox Jews, also known as Reform Jews. The differences between Jewish sects are not so on their different views of theology, but more on how they inter-operate the scripture, how much they think biblical demands can be altered, and whether those demands are mandatory.
One of the foremost differences between these two movements is their understanding of the sacred scriptures. Orthodox Judaism sternly believes in the existence of a Messiah, life after death, and their final restoration to the Promised Land. They uphold a comprehension of the sacred texts and rabbinical teachings. Whereas, unorthodox Jews have a theoretical approach to the sacred texts and rabbinical teachings. Another significant difference between these two movements is, in the status they give to women. In Unorthodox Judaism, there is no isolation of men and women during worship and services. Men and women alike can interact together even when performing prayer services. Furthermore, the Reform Jews allow their women to perform duties such as rabbis and cantors. Orthodox Jews, on the other hand, do not allow the mixing of men and women during prayer. Orthodox Jews believe that women distract men’s focus, and are unclean when menstruating. Even if a woman is not on her menstrual cycle, she was forbidden to sit with men. They also do not allow women to carry out the roles of rabbis, cantors, or educators.
One of the key things to deliberate when it comes to Jews is that Judaism can be considered an ethnicity in addition to a religion. Therefore, one should keep in mind the three elements, culture, religion, and spirituality. Time should be taken identifying elements of a particular sect that are most pertinent. Orthodox Jews are far more probable of seeking out answers from a Rabbi since they follow the belief that everything that they need to know in order to live a rewarding and healthy life is written in the Torah. They can generally view professional counseling as a threat to their religious values. While Jews will relate to counselors as colleagues who help to minister to their psychological and emotional needs.
Conclusively, the differences between these two movements are rigid and focus on the amount of freedom in the understanding of their scriptures. The Unorthodox Jews are more progressive-oriented and flexible on matters concerning religious laws. Although, the Orthodox Jews are traditionalists whose interpretation of religion corresponds with ancient religious followings.
References
Stern, G. (2015). What is the most fundamental difference between Reform Judaism and Orthodox Judaism? | ReformJudaism.org. Retrieved from http://www.reformjudaism.org/what-most-fundamental-difference-between-reform-judaism-and-orthodox-judaism
