Judaism: Ultra Orthodox Vs. Ultra Secular. The Jewish Problem Among Jews

Judaism: Religion or Culture, Race or Both?

Judaism is one of the world's smallest religions but has made a big impact on the world through the knowledge of the Torah and enlightening the world through the belief and the existence of one God and making the awareness of Monotheism and to be in communion with God through tradition and rituals   

Originally theocratic, Judaism has evolved in the last four centuries as a congregational polity centered around the synagogue and the Torah, Jews are taught from birth to read and prayer in Hebrew and to study the Torah and the Talmud for hours at a time to be closer to God. Since the destruction of the second temple have been dispersed to the four corners of the world, thus creating the diaspora or exile. 

Two schisms formed in the exile after the destruction of the temple, Ashkenazim, Jews that settled in the lands of the Rhine in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe where they developed Yiddish which is a dialect of High German and Hebrew and Sephardim, Jews that settled in the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal and they also developed their own dialect called Ladino which is a dialect of Castilian Spanish and Hebrew. 

During the last three centuries there was the Haskalah  the Jewish enlightenment movement that was swiping across Europe, many Jews became emancipated and they were granted the same rights as their Gentile neighbors and many Jews became assimilated and many decided to abandon their Jewish beliefs which led to the rise of Reform Judaism, while those who refused to become assimilated into European society became to be known as Orthodox Jews or Orthodox Judaism where they stressed that Halacha (Jewish Law) is still binding and uncompromising. 

Since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 there is been a uneasy truce between the Religious establishment and the Secular government which has led to making Israel being divided against itself, Religious vs Secular, Sephardic vs Ashkenazi, Orthodox vs Reform (Liberal) and Conservative (Masorti) etc etc. 

The status of who is a Jew? i.e. born to a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism according to Halacha and the refusal of the Haredi (Ultra Orthodox) authorities to recognize conversions and marriages performed by Conservative and Reform auspices has led to even more division and not to mention of constant racial discrimination of Sephardic and Mizrachi (Orienal) Jews by the dominant Ashkenazi establishment doesn't make things better for life for Jews in Israel and the diaspora. 

In order for Jews and Judaism to survive in the next century there needs to be unity, Jewish unity and whatever differences Jews may have with each other must be put aside and they need to unite and more forward as a nation and as a religion and people, Because history has shown us when there is religious, moral and social decay it leads to societies and countries to collapse and disappear.