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Naturally, this is a major difference compared to Christianity and Catholicism which regard the New Testament as a more authoritative biblical text. Conservative Jews also observe kashrus, but many of them distinguish between keeping kosher in the home and eating kosher outside the home. Whereas Orthodox Jews are extremely careful never to eat (or even touch) any un-kosher food (including otherwise kosher types of food not prepared in conjunction with certification by an Orthodox Rabbi), most Conservative Jews only "keep kosher" in the home. They adhere to the same requirement of never consuming milk products in the same meal as meat products, but they generally use the same kitchen appliances for both foods and may not necessarily keep two separate sets of dishes for milk and meat.

Reform Jews would be the approximate equivalent of what some more orthodox Catholics call "A&P" Catholics (for "Ashes & Palm"), meaning those worshippers who only appear in church for funeral services and Palm Sunday. Reform Jews do not usually worry about "keeping kosher" at all; on the other hand, I am told that there are Reform Jews who eat un-kosher food but not pig products; others eat all kinds of meat but avoid mixing milk and meat, such as would be in a cheeseburger or cheese-dog. I noticed that the women in the Conservative services did not carry handbags or purses whereas the women entering the Reform services all had their pocket books. It was explained to me that in the traditional practice of Judaism, Jews are prohibited from doing any kind of "work" or touching money, or carrying anything on the Sabbath, out of respect for the fact that God rested on the Seventh Day of Creation. Among orthodox Jews, the definition of "work" and "carrying" are much stricter and often extend to not tearing toilet...

They often pre-tear toilet paper before the Sabbath and employ non-Jews to lock and unlock their homes or hold onto their keys while they are at synagogue.
Like the orthodox, Conservatives also do not ride in cars or elevators on the Sabbath, and they do not use telephones or light candles or turn any electric appliances on or off, because touching anything electrical is considered "work" too. However, Conservatives often use "Shabbat clocks" which are preset timers that turn lights on and off at preset times; they may also employ non-Jews to perform those functions on Saturday that they cannot do themselves, and they may ride in elevators without touching any of the buttons. They carry house keys in their pockets but not handbags and identification in their wallets but no cash.

Reform Jews have no restrictions of those types and generally drive to synagogue and carry their wallets and handbags to synagogue. They do not observe any restrictions in the home and interpret work to mean actually working for money; some Reform Jews may also actually work on Saturday as well. Reform Jews also drive on Saturday (Shabbat), whereas Conservatives do not drive or answer telephones. Reform Jews take their cell phones into synagogue but turn them off for the duration of services. Generally, it seemed that the most significant distinction is between Reform and Conservative Jews. Even though Conservative and Orthodox practices are very different, they both apply religious rules to the home and to life outside of the synagogue. Meanwhile, Reform Jews seem to restrict their religious practice exclusively to what take place within their house of worship. This also is very reminiscent of differences between various types of Christians and Catholics.

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