The Jewish Nation has divided many times in the past. Part of it has always become the mainstream after a few centuries. It is happening today with a vengeance.
One of the first major divisions were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. This occurred shortly after the Maccabees won the war celebrated on Hanukkah, about 160 BCE. It appears that the Pharisees became the mainstream as rabbinic practices were being developed, in the absence of a Temple, and the beginnings of the Talmud were underway. The Sadducees chose a different path, rejecting the Talmud and the other written interpretations of the earlier oral books of the Torah. Other revolting groups at the time included the Essenes and the Zealots. The Essenes practiced celibacy and died out promptly. The Zealots still survive in tiny numbers.
The Sadducee views rejecting the Talmud tradition re-occurred with vigor in the Middle East as ‘Karaites.’ The Karaite movement grew rapidly in the 10th century and was a major movement in Judaism for seven centuries and still exists today.
The next big schism in Judaism occurred in response to Sabbatai Zevi. Zevi saw himself and was acclaimed by others as the Messiah. An historical wave of messianism swept the global Jewish community in 1665 until, Zevi renounced Judaism under pressure from the Turks and converted to Islam. In response the global rabbinate distanced itself from messianic religion and distanced itself from esoteric practices for the next two centuries.
At various times Jews have been pressured by authorities to convert to Christianity and Islam. The ones who pretended to convert often practiced Judaism covertly but were no longer accepted in the mainstream of Jewish life. A group of these so-called ‘conversos’ is still found near Sante Fe, New Mexico.
In the period of Israel’s creation, 1930-58, parts of Judaism, outside of Israel, distanced itself from the supporters of Israel but that disappeared around 1960.
Recently open hostility to Israel was adopted by the mainstream Democrat Party. Again a Jewish schism has arisen. The Reform Jews who are Democrats, along with some in the Conservative movement Democrats, are separating from mainstream Jews and Israel.
Leading Democrats have a long history of Jew hate and anti-Israel views. The State Department was strongly opposed to the creation of Israel. President Carter was strongly anti-Jew and wrote a book explaining his views. The greatest hatred of Jews was found in President Obama as testified to by the Israeli ambassador, Michael Oren, and carried over directly to the administration of Joe Biden and Biden’s Senate speaker, Charles Schumer.
The schism is here, we get to live it.