The largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism ( Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism ), Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism.

:* Orthodoxy is often divided into Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredi Judaism.

Haredi Judaism is less accommodating to modernity and has less interest in non-Jewish disciplines, and it may be distinguished from Modern Orthodox Judaism in practice by its styles of dress and more stringent practices.

Sandi Simcha Dubowski's movie Trembling Before G-d ( 2001 ) documented the experiences of several homosexual Modern Orthodox and Haredi Jews.

Rabbi Weiss is also notable for his ordination of Sara Hurwitz, which was strongly condemned by the Haredi Agudath Yisrael ( which called it non-Orthodox ), and also firmly rejected by the Modern Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America.

Orthodox Judaism generally refers to Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredi Judaism but can actually include a wide range of beliefs.

These groups, broadly, comprise Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredi Judaism, with most Hasidic Jewish groups falling into the latter category.

Haredi Orthodoxy's differences with Modern Orthodoxy usually lie in interpretation of the nature of traditional halakhic concepts and in acceptable application of these concepts.

However, there is significant disagreement within Orthodox Judaism, particularly between Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism, about the extent and circumstances under which the proper application of Halakha should be re-examined as a result of changing realities.

While the lay membership of synagogues affiliated with the NCYI are almost exclusively Modern Orthodox in orientation, the rabbinical leadership of the synagogues ranges from Modern Orthodox to Haredi.

* The most common view, held by some Modern Orthodox authorities, and most Haredi Rabbis, rules that all women's prayer groups are absolutely forbidden by halakha ( Jewish law ).

Rahel Berkovits, an Orthodox Talmud teacher at Jerusalem's Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, states that as a result of such changes in Haredi and Modern Orthodox Judaism, " Orthodox women found and oversee prayer communities, argue cases in rabbinic courts, advise on halachic issues, and dominate in social work activities that are all very associated with the role a rabbi performs, even though these women do not have the official title of rabbi.

The use of Toanot is not restricted to any one segment of Orthodoxy ; In Israel they have worked with Haredi and Modern Orthodox Jews.

" The use of Toanot is not restricted to any one segment of Orthodoxy ; in Israel they have worked with Haredi and Modern Orthodox Jews.

* In Israel and America a growing number of Orthodox women are being trained as yoatzot halacha (" halachic advisors "), who serve many in communities ranging from Haredi to Modern Orthodox.

* Rahel Berkovits, an Orthodox Talmud teacher at Jerusalem's Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, states that as a result of such changes in Haredi and Modern Orthodox Judaism, " Orthodox women have founded and overseen prayer communities, argue cases in rabbinic courts, advise on halachic issues, and dominate in social work activities that are all very associated with the role a rabbi performs, even though these women do not have the official title of rabbi.

Haredi Jews consider their belief system and religious practices to extend in an unbroken chain back to Moses and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, and they regard non-Orthodox, and to an extent Modern Orthodox, streams of Judaism to be deviations from authentic Judaism.

Before then, the distinctions that are now commonly made between Haredi and Modern Orthodox Jews were moot at best ; dividing lines between the two camps can now be drawn, though it is important to recognize that there is a substantial overlap between the two communities.

There is a mutual dependency between the two communities: the Modern Orthodox generally respect and adhere to the religious rulings of the Haredi leadership, while the Haredi often depend on university trained Modern Orthodox professionals to provide for needs that members of their own community cannot.

For example, since there are so few Haredi physicians, the community will prefer to go to a Modern Orthodox physician, since he or she will have a better understanding of the implications of the treatment in Jewish law ( halakha ).

Ashkenazi Hebrew, originating in Central and Eastern Europe, is still widely used in Ashkenazi Jewish religious services and studies in Israel and abroad, particularly in the Haredi and other Orthodox communities.

The principal non-Zionist Orthodox Jewish ( or Haredi ) party, Agudat Israel, recommended to UNSCOP that a Jewish state be set up after reaching a religious status quo agreement with Ben-Gurion regarding the future Jewish state.

He cited a responsum by prominent Haredi Orthodox Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef as an example of how the traditional approach works.

Orthodox Jews who opposed the Haskalah formed Haredi Orthodox Judaism.

A number of other influential Orthodox seminaries, mostly Haredi, were established throughout the country, most notably in New York, Baltimore, Maryland ; and Chicago, Illinois.

For example, Orthodox, Haredi, and Hasidic rabbis discourage women from wearing a yarmulke, tallit or tefillin.

A number of leaders from all segments of Orthodox Judaism have commented on this issue, but it has had little impact on Haredi and Sephardi Judaism.

In a ruling of importance for Orthodox women's capacity for legal self-protection under Jewish law, Haredi Rabbi Benzion Wosner, writing on behalf of the Shevet Levi Beit Din ( Rabbinical court ) of Monsey, New York, identified sexual harassment cases as coming under a class of exceptions to the traditional exclusion, under which " even children or women " have not only a right but an obligation to testify, and can be relied upon by a rabbinical court as valid witnesses:

My parents were not Orthodox but I was Haredi.

* Haredi Judaism

Subsets of Haredi Judaism include: Hasidic Judaism, which is rooted in the Kabbalah and distinguished by reliance on a Rebbe or religious teacher ; and Sephardic Haredi Judaism, which emerged among Sephardic ( Asian and North African ) Jews in Israel.

Since then differences between the Hasidim and their opponents have slowly diminished and both groups are now considered part of Haredi Judaism.

This is indicative of the general population trends among the Jewish community in the Diaspora, but a focus on total population obscures growth trends in some denominations and communities, such as Haredi Judaism.

These four new days are not accepted as religious holidays by all forms of Haredi Judaism, including Hasidic Judaism.

Some observers and scholars refer to this form of Judaism as " Haredi Judaism ", or " Ultra-Orthodox Judaism ".

Since the 1960s the Chief rabbinate of Israel has moved somewhat closer to the positions of Haredi Judaism.

This is almost universally observed within the Haredi community and somewhat observed within the Modern Orthodox community where the term originated in recent decades.

Many Haredi or ultra-orthodox Jews are extremely scrupulous about the supervision of their matzah, as eating leavened products during Passover is liable to the extremely grave divine punishment of Kareth ( or a sin-offering if unintentional ); consequently many have the custom of baking their own matzo, or at least participating in some stage of the baking process.

As a general rule, Haredi Jews believe that when at all possible the law should be maintained as it was understood by their authorities at the haskalah, believing that it had never changed.

Leaders of the Haredi community have been steadfast in their opposition to a change in the role of women, arguing that the religious and social constraints on women, as dictated by traditional Jewish texts, are timeless and are not affected by contemporary social change.

Consequently, within the world of Haredi Judaism, the English word and title of " Rabbi " for anyone is often scorned and derided, because in their view the once-lofty title of " Rabbi " has been debased in modern times.

While not compromising on religious issues and their strict code of life, Haredi Jews have become more open to the secular Israeli culture.

The numbers provided are inconclusive, given the tremendous birthrate of Haredi Jews in Wiliamsburg and Boro Park ; some estimate their population has doubled or tripled in the last 20 years.

On the other hand, despite all their efforts at cultural separation, the Haredi leadership could not ignore the appeal of American life to their own youth.

Some Haredi leaders realized that the communities could not be kept completely insular and established ways to connect to society without compromising on their intrinsic beliefs.

When dealing with others of their own faith who have different philosophies, Haredi Jews attempt to differentiate between the individual practitioners and the movement / philosophy.

The relationship between Haredi and Modern Orthodox Judaism is more complex ; most Haredi Jews see Modern Orthodox Jews as allies, but they disagree with their accommodations of modernity, and view them as lax in their observance.

Haredi Judaism has seen a great resurgence in its popularity, and many formerly Modern Orthodox rabbis have been swayed to some degree by their views.

The Haredi world today is a product of different Eastern European Jewish traditions, as they accommodated, or reacted against, their encounter with modern thought and society.

For those within Haredi Judaism, who favour ascribing causes, some blame the Holocaust on the abandonment of many European Jews of traditional Judaism, and their embrace of other ideologies such as Socialism, Zionism, or various non-Orthodox Jewish movements.

Haredi traditionalists who emerged in reaction to the Haskalah considered the fusion of religion and philosophy as difficult because classical philosophers start with no preconditions for which conclusions they must reach in their investigation, while classical religious believers have a set of religious principles of faith that they hold one must believe.

However, they are still representing, by principle and not practice, their Sephardi and Mizrahi Haredi Jewish Sectors in the Knesset.