Robyn Lebron interpreted by the rabbis to reflect modern sensibilities and suit modern conditions, although great caution should be exercised in doing so econstructionist Judaism It started as a stream of philosophy by Mordechai Kaplan, a conservative rabbi, and later became an independent movement emphasizing reinterpreting Judaism for modern times Like Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism does not hold that Jewish law as such requires observance, but unlike Reform, Reconstructionist thought emphasizes the role of the community in deciding what observances to follow eform Judaism It is called liberal or progressive in many countries and originally formed in Germany in the late eighteenth century ad in response to the Enlightenment Its defining c haracteristic w ith respect to the other movements is its rejection of the Jewish ceremonial law and belief Instead, individual Jews should exercise an informed autonomy about what to observe Reform Judaism initially defined Judaism as a religion rather than as a race or culture, rejected most of the ritual ceremonial laws of the Torah while observing moral laws, and emphasized the ethical call of the prophets asidic Judaism It is a stream of Haredi Judaism based on the teachings of Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer Hasidic philosophy is rooted in the Ǥ Kabbalah is an esoteric system of interpretation of the scriptures and is based on the belief that every word, letter, number, and even accent contained mysteries interpretable by those who knew the secret The two principal sources of the kabbalists are the Ǥ asidic Jews accept the kabbalah as canonical sacred scripture They are distinguished both by a variety of special customs and practices, including reliance on a supreme religious leader and a special dress code particular to each Hasidic group Hasidic Judaism eventually became the way of life for many Jews in Europe Waves of Jewish immigration in the 1880s carried it to the United States.20 Jewish enewal It is a recent North American movement that was begun by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a Hasidic rabbi, in the 1960s ~ ~