The Different Movements of Judaism and How The Dietary Laws Differ

The Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Movements are the three main levels of modern day Judaism around the world. These three Movements are all very similar to one another but at the same time they are also vastly different. The main topic that I am going to cover in this report is how the three Movements differ when it comes to the laws governing the consumption of food. First I am going to give a bit of background information on each of the three major Movements.

The Reform Movement

The Reform Movement of Judaism is the least strict when it comes to following the Mitzvot found in the Torah. The Reform Movement began in Germany in the early 1800’s in response to the perceived rigidity of the Orthodox Movement and due to Germany’s increasingly liberal political climate (ReligionFacts.com). The Reform Movement is designed to allow people to be able to celebrate their Jewish roots and heritages in a much less constricting way than with traditional or Orthodox Judaism. This quote, from the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) is an effective way to describe the approach of the Reform Movement:

“Reform Jews accept the Torah as the foundation of Jewish life containing God’s ongoing revelation to our people and the record of our people’s ongoing relationship with God. We see the Torah as God inspired, a living document that enables us to confront the timeless and timely challenges of our everyday lives.”(URJ.org)

This quote, at least to me, demonstrates that Reform Jews typically will use the teachings of the Torah as more of a supplementary guide to every day life as opposed to a strict set of rules that governs every facet of a Reform Jew’s life. The Reform Movement is on the complete other end of the spectrum of strictness in following the Mitzvot in the Torah as the Orthodox Movement is.