Hassidic vs. Reformed Judaism
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Religion is the worship and belief in the supernatural power that controls the earth especially from God or other gods. Religion is a system of worship and faith a particular society or cultural belief in. religion is involved with activities such as building of worshipping places like temples, mosques, or churches, and worshiping and praying to the Supreme Being. Religion is crucial to a person’s life as it gives a person a purpose to live. People can face stressful and challenging situations with the hope that they will win. People believe that God will help them through tough situations, and therefore, they avoid going into depression as they belief that there is a great power that will make their life go smoothly. This paper will contrast and compare between Hassidic and reformed Judaism.
Hassidic Jewish believe in the teachings both written words of the Pentateuch and the oral tradition of the scripture, as they were revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai and were faithfully handed over to the Jewish people. They believe that God had commanded them to act in a certain way, and they never want to change the way things were done by their forefathers. They believe the guidance given by their Rabbis and they follow their teachings to the latter. They are also mystics since they believe that their values have a constant connection with God, and everything they do must demonstrate the deep and deep meaning of a Jewish person. The reformed Jewish have adapted modernity. They do not follow the traditional teachings and practices to the latter as they have mixed it with modern ways of doing things. They take their children to other schools not necessarily the Jewish schools. Their women have adapted modern family planning and their population is less than that of the Hassidic Jewish. They have moved to other parts of the world such as America and that’s why they have adapted new ways of doing things although they maintain their Jewish beliefs.
Although the Hassidic and Reformed Judaism have different ways of doing things, there are similarities between them. Both worship in the synagogue. They believe that the synagogue is a holy place where they play and worship God. They believe that it is where God stays and one must be humble while going to the synagogue and adhere to the rules of doing things. Both belief that they are responsible for one another, which has been a tradition from their forefathers. Each Jewish is expected to take care of their fellow Jewish wherever they are and ensure that they are safe and can access basic needs. Their tradition teaches them the virtue of sharing with their fellow Jewish which they follow up to today regardless of whether a person is a Hassidic or Reformed Jewish. They both know that they share a common past and future, and both fear the future since it may bring tragedy or triumph to them.
Both belief in the Torah, its teachings and versus in it. They believe that God communicate to them Through the Holy Book Torah, and they follow its teachings. The Torah contains the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai and have been passed to other generations faithfully. They believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ and obey them but they do not worship Jesus, as they believe he is the son of God. They both have decorated the walls of their synagogue with versus of the Torah, and adhere to them and apply them in their daily lives. They both observe the same religious festivals such as Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. They all observe these festivals as it has always been the case from their forefathers. They believe that festival has a different message and God reveals to them in various ways, for instance during Pentecost God reveals himself through the tongue of fires and Passover through the death and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ. Both consist of people from a Jewish ethnic group, nation, or tribe. Those who pray in the synagogue are people with a Jewish origin, whether Hassidic or reformed.
The primary differences between reformed and Hassidic Judaism include; in Hassidic Judaism women and men were separated, and they sat in different places in the Synagogue. It was done to ensure that there were no any form of distraction and all attention was given to the service. They believed that when men and women sat together they would not concentrate properly and therefore, they were separated. In Reformed Judaism men and women sit at the same place in the Synagogue and they are not separated. They believe that there is no distraction that can occur when men and women sit together and are equal before God thus no separation should occur. The other difference is that the reformed Jews have adopted both traditional and modern ways of doing things and they want to find a common ground between the two ways. They believe in the traditional teaching and at the same time adopt the new ways of doing things. The Hassidic Jews have immersed themselves to the traditional teachings, and they believe that there is a special connection with God if they strictly observe the Jewish laws. Thus they have separated themselves from the influences of the modern world.
The other difference is their attitudes towards God. The traditional Jewish are spiritualists. They believe that their values should have a constant and intuitive connection with God, and every action should demonstrate the deep truths of Judaism. The Reformed Jewish are practical, they use subjective judgment while applying the Judaism teachings. They decide how to apply their beliefs in a conducive manner to enable them live in the modern world, and they leave alone those beliefs they fell are oppressive and archaic. Hassidic Jewish women are totally different from the Reformed ones. The Reformed women have almost equal rights as men as they have the right to become Rabbis and synagogue presidents; they get modern education, and get a career to improve their lives financially. The Hassidic women do not have equal rights as men, and in fact, men do not allow women to pray at the same place with them as they want them to be housewives. The Hassidic women cannot become Rabbis and have no access to modern education.
The Hassidic Jewish follow their dressing code strictly; men wear long black fedoras and black coats, while women wear black kaftans. The Reformed Jewish do not have a dressing code and are allowed to look like other people. it is not a must they wear like a Jewish, they wear even the modern clothes. The Reformed Jews integrate themselves with other people as much as possible provided they maintain their primary practices and belief; they are even allowed top intermarry with non Jews. The Hassidic Jews are not allowed to integrate with other non Jews and they live in narrow communities. they are not allowed to intermarry with non Jews, and should speak Yiddish to each other. The Hassidic Jews want to reclaim their Jewish beliefs from modernity, while Reformed Jews want to adopt their Jewish beliefs to modernity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxsTbM67sH0 is a link to a youtube video that gives a deep meaning behind an Orthodox Jewish wedding. They derive the meaning of life from the Torah, where they say that it begins with the word BET and ends with LAMED, and together they spell THE HEART. Orthodox are required to adhere to the teachings of the Torah in every aspect of their lives. The bride says that she like her Jewish tradition as it gives her connection with what people did before. The couples do not date for long like this couple only dated for six weeks only, they have never held hand nor kissed. Jewish women are not supposed to talk too much unless they are dating, and they only date when they want to get married. The married men wear tallit during the morning prayers, and the groom look forward to be a better orthodox Jewish after marriage. Orthodox Jewish believes that a couple’s wedding is a holy day that brings them closer to God, and they are freed from transgressions and wrongdoings. The ketubah solidifies the contract signed by the groom in his commitment to take care his wife and protect her.