Mark Weiss wrote:

> Not so esay to answer. There were at last count four versions of Judaism
> with a couple of subdivisions: Orthodox (subgroup Hasids), Conservative,
> Reform, and a recent addition that I think calls itself Liberal.

The one I know because my first synagogue was part of the "movement" was
Reconstructionist. It was founded by Orthodox-ordained Mordecai
Menachem Kaplan first as a school of thought, then later through the
work of his son-in-law Ira Eisenstein, as a formal branch of Judaism
with its own synagogues, a seminary near Philadelphia, etc. Kaplan had
enormous influence, particularly on Reform and Conservative branches,
i.e., he pushed them further to the right in some areas but opened the
door to ordaining women as both rabbis and cantors. Some Orthodox
groups put him into what is called "cherem," basically the equivalent of
excommunication. The phrase that probably got people hot and bothered
was "Tradition should have a voice, not a veto." At the core was
decision-making based on a sense Jewish peoplehood instead of strictly
Jewish law--a sense of custom as well as adherence to Talmudic rulings.

When the Conservatives voted to ordain women, a portion of the faculty
of Jewish Theological Seminary resigned and opened their own seminary in
Westchester County: men only. I don't know if it survived.

Don't ask me to define "peoplehood": I apostasized in 1998 but still
self-identify. On Wednesday someone sent me the link to the Yad Vashem
memorial site. I ran a search on the name "Wolman" and 920 names popped
up. I was sitting at my desk here in tears. I'm sure not all of them
were "mine," but enough most likely. And I get back to the most
violently-handled question I encountered in the 1990s: WHO is a Jew?
You would be surprised (or maybe not) at the vicious infighting between
the hard-right Orthodox and everyone else. Or at the internecine
warfare within denominations. Many Chasidim hate each other depending
on sect: Lubavitch are considered goyim by Satmars, and there has been
infrequent but repellent violence. More than once I was told that I was
not really a Jew because I didn't observe all the mitzvahs
(commandments) of the whole Torah, which includes the Talmud and
commentaries. Then, when I implied my intention to go elsewhere--no,
the word is "convert"--I was onscreen screamed at that I would die as a
Jew and be judged as one. This defines having it both ways.

> There are
> also the vast numbers of unaffiliated but Jewish-identified (myself
> included). Of these, only some of the orthodox (including in theory all
> hasids) are literalists. But that's not the whole of it. I have a friend
> who's both an ordained Orthodox rabbi (without congregation) and a senior
> neurological researcher at a major institution. I asked him once if he
> was
> a literalist. With some hesitation he said he was. Didn't that conflict
> with his scientific beliefs? Long pause, then: "It's like this. There's a
> set of beliefs, but some are less essential to espouse or even believe
> in.
> The creation story is one of those. I choose not to be concerned about
> it."

I believe her name is/was Rosalind Yalow...a physician/researcher on the
faculty at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York who won the
Nobel Prize in Medicine 20+ years ago. She was also a frum (observant)
Jewish woman. I don't know how she did it. Probably the way Mark's
friend managed it. Keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest is a core
value; mikveh for women is a core value; thrice-daily prayer (esp. for
men) is a core value; the laws of a kosher diet are a core value. Much
but probably not all is based on Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith. He
also was a physician. As for the Creation story...he did well to stay
clear. As the late Joseph Soloveitchik pointed out, there are two
Creation stories, one behind the other. I'm sure there is a reason, but
unless you've got a mind like Rabbi Soloveitchik's, the apparent
confusion in what is supposed to be a perfect text can create problems
for someone who is indeed a literalist.

> Which means, at a guess, that in the US, out of maybe 6 million Jews,
> there
> may be as many as half a million literalists, but only a few are
> likely to
> be active propagators of their views.

There are also "cafeteria Jews" just as there are cafeteria Catholics,
Anglicans, probably Muslims.

> Moishe Yizzik

Ken, the artist formerly known as Kalman Tuvya ben Yaakov