There is a wide divergence in beliefs in Judaism despite the fact that most from inside and outside still consider the varying beliefs as part of the Jewish spectrum. The divergence arose due to the various Judaism movements that sprang from the Rabbinic Judaism. According to the Rabbinic Judaism, God introduced His commands and laws through the Mountain Sinai, and they were in two forms namely written and the oral Torah. However, the assertions about the laws were challenged by the Hellenistic Judaism and the Sadducees in the 2nd Temple era (Weber 43). Further, the Sabbateans and the Karaites challenge the assertion sin the medieval period. There are other non-orthodox denominations that challenged the claims as well and liberal movements that include monotheistic and Humanistic Judaism have contributed to the divergence by challenging the assertions concerning the laws. Currently, the dominant religious groups include Orthodox Judaism, Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism. There is divergence in the Judaism groups due to their distinct views on the Jewish law, the importance of Israel and the Rabbinic tradition authority (Weber 88). Most people from inside and still consider the varying beliefs as part of the Jewish spectrum because all the Judaism groups are based on the Torah law. There are many Judaism beliefs that surprise me are those that deal with the Judaist view of God. The variations that I did not know before concern the Jewish and the Torah law. According to the Orthodox Judaism, the laws are unalterable, divine and eternal and as such they should be adhered to strictly. However, Reform and Conservative Judaism are liberal because the Conservative Judaism follows the traditional interpretation of the laws whereas the Reform Judaism views the laws as general guidelines. The Judaism beliefs do not correspond to my beliefs (Weber 112).
Work Cited
Weber, Max. Ancient Judaism. Simon and Schuster, 2010.Print
