While Conservative Judaism respects both Orthodox and Reform Judaism, it has theological differences from both of the other variants of Rabbinic Judaism. Conservative Jews believe that Orthodox Jews have hampered the natural and necessary evolution of Jewish law by adhering to traditions and laws that developed in a context outside of the modern world. Furthermore, Conservative Jews believe that Reform Jews have made a major break with the historic definition of Judaism, and therefore have abandoned the method of evolution of Jewish law. While Conservative Jews do not condemn Reform Jews for their interpretations of Jewish law, they do not necessarily feel that Reform Jews' beliefs are valid (Conservative Jews). Furthermore, like Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews adhere to the traditional definition of Jewish identity, but feel that Jews who intermarry should not be excommunicated.
Reform Judaism is the least traditional of the three forms of Rabbinic Judaism. In contrast to the other two forms of Rabbinic Judaism, Reform Judaism is characterized by "the belief that an individual's personal autonomy overrides traditional Jewish law and custom" (Reform Judaism). This belief leads to a much greater acceptance of modern culture than is found in Orthodox Judaism. In addition, Reform Jews believe that Jewish law, as found in the Torah and in rabbinic literature, can be studied using both the traditional rabbinic modes of study and textual analysis (Reform Judaism).
In addition, Reforms Jews believes that individuals are capable of exercising personal discretion in determining the principles of their personal faith. To Reform Jews, rejection of some principles of traditional Jewish law cannot be equated with a rejection of the Jewish faith. In fact, Reform theologists believed that it was an error for Judaism and Law to be considered interchangeable and interdependent terms (Reform Judaism). Therefore, Reform Jews began to draw a distinction between moral and ceremonial laws, which was a major departure from traditional Judaism because the Torah neither draws such a distinction nor delineates guidelines by which such distinctions could be drawn (Reform Judaism). In fact, such a belief signals a significant departure from the traditional practice of Judaism, because historically...
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