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From: don@uofm-cv.UUCP (Donald C. Winsor)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Denominational differences?
Message-ID: <516@uofm-cv.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Mar-84 23:40:21 EST
Article-I.D.: uofm-cv.516
Posted: Thu Mar  8 23:40:21 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Mar-84 10:33:33 EST
Lines: 27

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| GULP! |
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>From Andy Tannenbaum:

     Realize that Ashkenazim,  Sephardim,  and  the  various
     sects  of  Chasidim practice the same Judaism 99 44/100
     percent.  When Ariel talks about "praying in Ashkenaz,"
     it  is  true  that  there are slight differences in the
     order of the prayer (called the  "nusach,"  should  you
     ever  run across the term), but all the important stuff
     is the same for all Jews.  And the Torah is exactly the
     same   for  all  Jews.   There  are  no  denominational
     differences as radical as the ones in Christianity.

This puzzles me  a  little.   While  all  Jews  I  have  met
(Conservative,   Orthodox,   Chasidim,   Reform)   certainly
followed  exactly  the  same   Torah,   the   denominational
differences  stuck  me as fairly radical.  They seemed to be
of the same general magnitude  as  the  differences  between
members I have met of various Christian denominations all of
which followed the  same  Christian  Bible.   Am  I  missing
something,  Andy,  (or  anyone  else  who  can  aid me in my
confusion)?

     don