View source for Jewish schisms

{{Sources needed|date=February 2023}}{{Short description|Splits along cultural as well as religious bases}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar |History}}

'''Schisms among the Jews''' are cultural as well as religious. They have happened as a product of historical accident, geography, and [[theology]].

==Samaritans==
{{Main|Samaritans}}
The Samaritans are an [[ethnoreligious group]] of the [[Levant]] originating from the [[Israelites]] (or [[Hebrews]]) of the [[Ancient Near East]].

Ancestrally, Samaritans claim descent from the [[Tribe of Ephraim]] and [[Tribe of Manasseh]] (two sons of [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]]) as well as from the [[Levite]]s,<ref name=tsu>[http://www.thesamaritanupdate.com/ The Samaritan Update] Retrieved 1 January 2017.</ref> who have links to ancient [[Samaria]] from the period of their entry into [[Canaan]], while some [[Orthodox Jews]] suggest that it was from the beginning of the [[Babylonian captivity]] up to the Samaritan polity under the rule of [[Baba Rabba]]. According to Samaritan tradition, the split between them and the [[Judean]]-led Southern Israelites began during the biblical time of the priest [[Eli (biblical figure)|Eli]] when the Southern Israelites split off from the central Israelite tradition, as they perceive it.<ref name="books.google.co.uk">{{cite book|last=Fried|first=Lisbeth S.|title=Ezra and the Law in History and Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQHQBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT148|year=2014|publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press|isbn=978-1-61117-410-6}}</ref>

They consider themselves to be ''B'nei Yisrael'' ('Children of Israel'), a term used universally by Jewish denominations for the Jewish people as a whole, but do not call themselves ''Yehudim''. The word ''Yehudim'' comes from the [[Hebrew]] word ''Yehudi'' which means from the [[Tribe of Judah]].

==First Temple period==
The biblical narrative describes the split by the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] from the [[Kingdom of Judah]].<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Kin12&version=NASB 1 Kings 12]</ref> It points to [[Solomon]]'s unfaithfulness to the divine covenant as the reason for the schism.<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Kin11&version=NASB 1 Kings 11]</ref> When [[Rehoboam]], Solomon's son, became king, the people requested tax reform. Rehoboam refused. This caused the break. At first, Rehoboam considered a military solution but the prophet [[Shemaiah (prophet)|Shemaiah]] told him not fight because God had caused the schism. [[Jeroboam]], the leader of the tax revolt, became the leader of the Kingdom of Israel.

After the destruction and exile of the Kingdom of Israel by [[Assyria]], non-[[Yahwism|Yahwistic]] practices continued. The narratives of [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]] and others interpreted this as the cause of the failure, destruction, and exile of the Kingdom of Judah by [[Babylonia]]. [[Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon|Nebuchadnezzar]] had additional reasons for taking over Judah and turning its inhabitants into exiles, including challenging its great rival [[Egypt]].

==Second Temple period==
{{See also|Second Temple period|Second Temple Judaism}}
Conflicts between [[Pharisees]] and [[Sadducees]] took place in the context of much broader and longstanding social and religious conflicts among Jews, made worse by the Roman occupation.<ref name="Jewishvirtuallibrary.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/deadsea.html#Essenes|title=History & Overview of the Dead Sea Scrolls|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref> Another conflict was cultural, between those who favored [[Hellenization]] (the Sadducees) and those who resisted it (the Pharisees). A third was juridico-religious, between those who emphasized the importance of the [[Second Temple]] with its [[Cult (religious practice)|rites and services]], and those who emphasized the importance of other [[Mosaic Law]]s. A fourth point of conflict, specifically religious, involved different interpretations of the [[Torah]] and how to apply it to current Jewish life, with Sadducees recognizing only the [[Written Torah]] (with Greek philosophy) and rejecting doctrines such as the [[Oral Torah]], the [[Nevi'im|Prophets]], the [[Ketuvim|Writings]], and the [[resurrection of the dead]].

According to [[Josephus]], the Sadducees differed from the Pharisees on a number of doctrinal grounds, notably rejecting ideas of life after death. They appear to have dominated the aristocracy and the temple, but their influence over the wider Jewish population was limited.

The [[Essenes]] preached a reclusive way of life. The [[Zealots]] advocated armed rebellion against any foreign power such as [[Rome]]. All were at violent loggerheads with each other, leading to the confusion and disunity that ended with the destruction of the Second Temple and the sacking of [[Jerusalem]] by Rome.

==Split of early Christianity and Judaism==
[[File:Konrad Witz - Ecclesia und Synagoge.jpg|thumb|[[Ecclesia and Synagoga]] by [[Konrad Witz]] (1400–1447).]]
{{main|Split of early Christianity and Judaism}}
{{See also|New Covenant|Paul of Tarsus and Judaism|Christianity and Judaism}}
The first Christians (whom historians refer to as [[Jewish Christians]]) were the original Jewish followers of [[Jesus]], a Galilean preacher and, according to early Christian belief, the resurrected messiah. After his [[Responsibility for the death of Jesus|crucifixion by the Romans]], his followers broke over whether they should [[Abrogation of Old Covenant laws|continue to observe Jewish law]], such as at the [[Council of Jerusalem]]. Those who argued that the law was abrogated (either partially or fully, either by Jesus or Paul or by the Roman [[destruction of the Temple]]) broke to form Christianity.<ref>This theory regarding the law and the birth of Christianity is not supported by the New Testament book of Acts. In Acts, the law becomes an issue after Christianity is already born by the events of [[Pentecost]]. See Acts 2.</ref>

The eventual repudiation of [[Biblical law in Christianity|Moses' Law]] by Jesus' [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]] and their [[Divinity of Jesus|belief in his divinity]], along with the [[Development of the New Testament canon|development of the New Testament]], ensured that [[Christianity and Judaism]] would become different and often conflicting religions. The [[New Testament]] depicts the Sadducees and Pharisees as Jesus' opponents (see [[Woes of the Pharisees]]). In contrast, the Jewish perspective has the Pharisees as the justified predecessors of the [[rabbis]] who upheld the [[Torah]], including the [[Oral law]], which Christians refer to as the [[Biblical law in Christianity|Mosaic Law]] or Pentateuch or "[[Old Covenant]]" in contrast to the "[[New Covenant]]".

==Karaite Judaism==
[[File:Караимская кенасса в Киеве 5.jpg|thumb|upright|Karaite [[Kenesa]], [[Kyiv]], Ukraine.]]
{{Main|Karaite Judaism}}
Karaite Judaism is a [[Jewish denominations|Jewish denomination]] characterized by reliance on the [[Tanakh]] as the sole source of binding [[halacha|Jewish Law]]. Karaites rejected the rabbinic tenet that an [[Oral Torah]] (oral law) was transmitted to Moses at Mount Sinai along with the [[Tanakh|written scriptures]]. Accordingly, they rejected the central works of [[Rabbinic Judaism]] which claimed to expound and interpret this written law, including the [[Midrash]] and the [[Talmud]], as authoritative on questions of [[halakha|Jewish law]]. They may consult or discuss various interpretations of the Tanakh, but Karaites do not consider these other sources as binding or authoritative. Karaites prefer to use the ''[[peshat]]'' method of study, seeking a meaning within the text that would have been naturally understood by the ancient Hebrews.

Karaites had a wide following between the 9th and 12th centuries (they claim that at one time they numbered perhaps 10 percent of Jewry), but over the centuries their numbers have dwindled drastically. Today they are a small group, living mostly in [[Israel]]; estimates of the number of Israeli Karaites range from as low as 10,000 to as high as 50,000.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030923000324/http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_402.html#2209 Judaism, continued...]}} from Adherents.com</ref><ref>[http://www.turkiye.net/sota/karaisr.html Karaims of Israel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041209062150/http://www.turkiye.net/sota/karaisr.html |date=2004-12-09 }}</ref><ref>[http://qumran.com/Karaite%20Information/israels_karaites.htm qumran.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041213134433/http://qumran.com/Karaite%20Information/israels_karaites.htm |date=2004-12-13 }}</ref><ref>[http://qumran.com/Karaite%20Information/karaite_true_believers.htm qumran.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041213081126/http://qumran.com/Karaite%20Information/karaite_true_believers.htm |date=2004-12-13 }}</ref>

There is a divergence of views about the historical origins of [[Karaite Judaism]]. Most scholars and some Karaites maintain that it was founded at least in part by [[Anan ben David]], whereas other Karaites believe that they are not the historical disciples of Anan ben David at all, and point out that many of their later sages (such as Ya'acov Al-Kirkisani) argued that most of Anan's teachings were "derived from Rabbanite Lore".

The state of Israel, along with its Chief Rabbinate, ruled that Karaites are Jews, and while critical differences between [[Orthodox Judaism]] and Karaite Judaism exist, American Orthodox rabbis ruled that Karaism is much closer to Orthodoxy than the Conservative and Reform movements, which may ease issues of formal conversion.

==Sabbateans and Frankists==
[[File:Shabbatai2.jpg|thumb|upright|Sabbatai Zevi crowned as the messiah. Amsterdam, 1666.]]
{{Main|Sabbateans|Sabbatai Zevi|Frankists (Judaism)|Jacob Frank}}
In 1648, [[Sabbatai Zevi]] declared himself to be the long-awaited Jewish [[Messiah]] whilst living in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Vast numbers of Jews, known as [[Sabbateans]], believed him. Still, when under pain of a death sentence in front of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman sultan]] [[Mehmed IV]], he became an [[apostasy|apostate]] from Judaism by becoming a [[Muslim]], his movement crumbled. Nevertheless, for centuries, small groups of Jews believed in him, and the [[rabbi]]s were always on guard against any manifestations of this schism, always suspicious of hidden ''Shebselekh'' (Yiddish for "little Sabbatians", a play on the word for "young dumb sheep"). When the movement of [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] began attracting many followers, the rabbis were again suspicious that this was Sabbatianism in different forms. It would take centuries to sort out these complex divisions and schisms.

After his mysterious death somewhere in the area of [[Ottoman Albania]], groups of Jews continued to be clandestine followers of Shabbatai Sevi even though they had outwardly converted to [[Islam]], these Jews being known as the [[Donmeh]]. Jewish converts to Islam were, at times, therefore, regarded with great suspicion by their fellow Muslims.

A few decades after Shabbatai Sevi's death, a man named [[Jacob Frank]], claiming mystical powers, preached that he was Shabbatai Sevi's successor. He attracted a following, preached against the [[Talmud]], advocated a form of licentious worship, and was condemned by the rabbis then. When confronted by the [[Poland|Polish]] authorities, he converted to [[Catholicism]] in 1759 in the presence of [[August III the Saxon|King Augustus III of Poland]], together with groups of his Jewish followers, known as "[[Frankists (Judaism)|Frankists]]". To the alarm of his opponents, he was received by reigning European monarchs who were anxious to see their Jewish subjects abandon Judaism and [[apostasy|apostacise]]. The Frankists eventually joined the Polish nobility and gentry.

==Hasidim and Misnagdim==
<!-- This section is linked from [[Hasidic Judaism]] -->
{{Main|Hasidic Judaism|Misnagdim}}
{{hatnote|Note: While the name "Hasidim" has gained popular and positive approval, the name "Mitnagdim" has fallen out of popular usage and may even be regarded as offensive by some.}}
[[File:Vilna Gaon portrait.gif|thumb|upright|Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman, the [[Vilna Gaon]], leader of the Misnagdim]]
[[File:Schneur Zalman of Liadi.jpg|thumb|upright|Rabbi [[Shneur Zalman of Liadi]], founder of [[Chabad-Lubavitch]]]]

Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760), also known as the ''[[Baal Shem Tov]]'' ('Master [of the] Good Name'), changed much of Jewish history in [[Eastern Europe]] for what is now known as [[Haredi Judaism]]. His teachings were based on the earlier expositions of Rabbi [[Isaac Luria]] (1534–1572) who had based much of his [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] teachings on the [[Zohar]]. Baal Shem Tov came after Jews of Eastern Europe were collectively recovering from [[false messiah]]s [[Shabtai Tzvi]] (1626–1676) and [[Jacob Frank]] (1726–1791) in particular.

Baal Shem Tov witnessed Frank's public [[apostasy]] (''shmad'' in Hebrew) to [[Christianity]],{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} which compounded Tzvi's earlier apostasy to Islam. Baal Shem Tov was thus determined to encourage his influential disciples (talmidim) to launch a spiritual revolution in Jewish life in order to reinvigorate the Jewish masses' connections with [[Torah Judaism]] and to vigorously motivate them to bind themselves to the joyous observance of the [[613 mitzvot|commandments]], [[Jewish services|worship]], [[Torah study]], and sincere belief in [[Names of God in Judaism|God]], so that the lures of Christianity and Islam, and the appeal of the rising [[Secularity|secular]] [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], to the Jewish masses would be weakened and halted. To a large degree he succeeded in Eastern Europe.

Already during his lifetime, and gaining momentum following his death, Baal Shem Tov's disciples spread out to teach his mystical creeds all over Eastern Europe. Thus was born [[Hasidic Judaism]] (Hasidism). Some of the main movements were in: [[Russia]] which saw the rise of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch]] movement; [[Poland]] which had the [[Ger (Hasidic dynasty)|Gerrer Hasidim]]; [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]] had [[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)|Bobov]]; [[Hungary]] had [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)|Satmar Hasidim]]; and [[Ukraine]] had the [[Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)|Breslovers]], and many others that grew rapidly, gaining millions of adherents, until it became the dominant brand of Judaism.

Only when this new religious movement reached [[Lithuania]] did it meet its first stiff resistance at the hands of the [[Lithuanian Jews]] (''Litvaks''). It was Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman (c. 1720 – 1797), known as the [[Vilna Gaon]] ("Genius [of] [[Vilna]]"), and those who followed his classic stringent [[Talmud]]ic and [[Halakha|Halakhic]] scholasticism, who put up the fiercest resistance to the Hasidim ("devoted [ones]"). They were called ''[[Mitnagdim]]'', meaning "[those who are] opposed [to the Hasidim]".

The ''Vilna Gaon'', who was himself steeped in both [[Talmud]]ic and [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] wisdom, analyzed the theological underpinnings of this new "[[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]]" and in his view, concluded that it was deeply flawed since it had elements of what may be roughly termed as [[panentheism]] and perhaps even outright [[pantheism]], dangerous aspirations for bringing the [[Jewish Messiah]] that could easily be twisted in unpredictable directions for Jewry as had previously happened with the Tzvi and Frank religious "revival" fiascos, and an array of complex rejections of their religious ideology. The ''Vilna Gaon''{{'}}s views were later formulated by his chief disciple Rabbi [[Chaim Volozhin]] (1741–1821) in his work ''[[Nefesh HaChaim]]''. The new Hasidic leaders countered with their own religious counter-arguments, some of which can be found in the ''[[Tanya (Judaism)|Tanya]]'' of Chabad-Lubavitch. 

Little of the split between Hasidim and Mitnagdim remains within the modern Haredi world.{{Citation needed|reason=Explanation given in this paragraph only refers to political alignment in Israel and does not address religious aspects, or the Haredi communities outside Israel; It is also fails to explain why even in Israeli politics the communities have had separate parties since 1988 who are only united as a voting bloc|date=March 2020}} In modern-day [[Israel]] Hasidim support the [[Agudat Israel]] party in the [[Knesset]] (Israel's parliament) and the non-Hasidic Mitnagdim support the [[Degel HaTorah]] party, led by [[Chaim Kanievsky|Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky]] and [[Gershon Edelstein|Rabbi Gershon Eidelstein]]. Agudat Israel and Degel Torah have formed a political alliance, the [[United Torah Judaism]] party. There is also another large community that follows the rabbinical teachings of the [[Edah Charedis]]. These include the [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)|Satmar Hasidim]] and the ''[[perushim]]'' communities, which do not support any groups that participate in the Israeli government or state activities, including elections.

==Orthodox versus Reform==
{{Main|Relationships between Jewish religious movements}}
From the time of the [[French Revolution]] of 1789, and the growth of [[Liberalism]], added to the political and personal freedoms granted by [[Napoleon]] to the Jews of Europe, many Jews chose to abandon the foreboding and isolating [[ghetto]]s and enter into general society. This influenced the internal conflicts about religion, culture, and politics of the Jews to this day.

Some Jews in [[West Europe|Western Europe]], and many Jews in [[United States|America]], joined the religiously liberal [[Reform Judaism]] movement, which drew inspiration from the writings of modernist thinkers like [[Moses Mendelson]]. They coined the name "Orthodox" to describe those who opposed the "Reform". They were criticized by the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] rabbis, such as [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]] in Germany, and condemned particularly by those known today as followers of Haredi Judaism, based mainly in Eastern Europe. (Later on, in 1880s America, [[Conservative Judaism]] split from the Reform movement.)

Thus a cultural [[schism (religion)|schism]] was also created between the more Western [[German language|German]]-, [[English language|English]]- and [[French language|French]]-speaking [[Western Europe]]an Jews and their more religiously observant [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]]-speaking Eastern European brethren whom they denigratingly labeled ''Ostjuden'' ("Eastern Jews"). These schisms and the debates surrounding them, continue with much ferocity in all Jewish communities today as the Reform and Orthodox movements continue to confront each other over a wide range of religious, social, political and ethnic issues. (Today, the largest Jewish communities are in Israel and in the [[United States]], and the geographical separation has resulted in cultural differences, such as a tendency to identify as [[hiloni]] and [[haredi]] in Israel, as opposed to, say, Reform and Orthodox in the United States.)

==See also==
{{Portal|Israel|Judaism}}
* [[Apostasy in Judaism]]
* [[Culture of Israel]]
* [[Heresy in Judaism]]
* [[Jewish atheism]]
* [[Jewish religious movements]]
* [[Jewish secularism]]
* [[Jewish Science]]
* [[List of Israelite civil conflicts]]
* [[Reconstructionist Judaism]]
* [[Relationships between Jewish religious movements]]
* [[Religion in Israel]]
* [[Who is a Jew?]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/ReformConservativeOrthodox.htm History of Jewish denominations]
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4476/jewish/Labels-are-for-Suits.htm What's the difference between Orthodox, Conservative and Reform?]
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=42624 Jewish Identity]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120601001320/http://www.jtsa.edu/PreBuilt/ParashahArchives/jpstext/korah.shtml Numbers Chapters 16-18: The Schism of Korah excerpt from the Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Philadelphia, Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society) 1985.]

{{Jewish history}}
{{Jews and Judaism}}

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[[Category:Schisms in Judaism| ]]
[[Category:Jewish religious movements|Schisms]]
[[Category:Jewish theology]]
[[Category:Judaism-related controversies]]