BRANCHES OF JUDAISM

God. The Star of David is a symbol commonly associated with Judaism. (See figure 2-13.) ORIGIN OF JUDAISM IN THE UNITED STATES The earliest Jewish settlers arrived in the American Colonies around 1650. The first official Jewish congregation, Shearith Isriel (remnant of Israel), was established in America in 1654, The first synagogue was built in New York in 1730, and others followed soon after. These early synagogues followed the Sephardic rite. The first synagogue to follow the Ashkenazic rite, Rodef Shalom, was organized in Philadelphia in 1801. Today there is an estimated Jewish population of 5,732,000 in the United States. BRANCHES OF JUDAISM While the fundamental precepts of Judaism have not changed through the years, since the Industrial Revolution some Jews have held differing views about ritual and tradition. The four largest branches within Judaism are Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist. Orthodox Judaism o f Orthodox Judaism Torah Law and its subscribes to a belief in the Divine Revelation principles through Moses and insists upon strict Figure 2-13.—The Star of David is symbotic of Judaism. 2-44