How many Jewish followers are there?

Answer 1

there are the Zionist Jews, Torah-observant Jews, Reform Jews and others. There are as many different Jewish opinions as there are Jewish people.

• Answer 2

Lifestyle: there are Jews who are more stringent (Orthodox) or less stringent (Conservative, Reform) in their observance of the Torah's commands.

Geography: there are Ashkenazi (Western) Jews and Sephardi/Mizrahi (Eastern) Jews.

Outlook: among the religious Jewish communities, there are the Yeshiva (Litvish) community, Hassidim, and Modern Orthodox.

Answer 2

Twelve, even today. However, only those of Judah and Levi are directly identifiable.

The Tribes of Israel today are the Jewish people. The great majority of Jews today, some 80% or so, are descended from the tribe of Judah (plus converts and descendants of converts). The remaining 20% include Levites (from the tribe of Levi), Cohanim (also a part of the Levites), the entire Tribe of Benjamin, and a small percentage from every one of the remaining tribes. (When the Ten Tribes were carried off into Assyria and didn't return, some of them had already mixed into the tribe of Judah before that, through marriage and through large-scale migration [e.g. 2 Chronicles 15:9]. Also, the Talmud relates [Megillah 14b] that, one century after the Ten Tribes were exiled [and their location was still known], Jeremiah journeyed to where they were and brought some of them back to Judea. Thus, today's Jewry includes a small percentage of every one of the Lost Tribes. (See for example the Talmud, Pesachim 4a.)
As to the location of the bulk of the lost Ten Tribes, because of the lack of a continuous tradition in this particular matter, we can only speculate. Some well-known claims, such as the suggestion that the Native Americans or African Americans are the Lost Israelite Tribes, we can confidently dismiss offhand; and DNA analyses have also debunked such ideas. Other claims, such as that which has been suggested concerning the Pathani (Pashtun), are less far-fetched but must for the time being remain nothing more than a guess.

See also the Related Links.

Link: Jewish history timeline

Link: Are Hebrews Israelites and Jews the same people?

Answer 3

First of all, it should be stressed that all Jews have the same Torah.
Jews may be classed according to lifestyle, geography, or outlook.

Lifestyle: there are Jews who are more stringent (Orthodox) or less stringent (Conservative, Reform) in their observance of the Torah's commands.

Orthodox Jews believe that the Torah must be fully observed (Deuteronomy 13:5). They keep the laws of Judaism as codified in the Shulchan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law), which lists the laws of the Torah and Talmud. Torah-study is seen as very important (Deuteronomy 5:1); and the modern world is seen as subservient to the Torah (Talmud, Nedarim 32a), not the other way around.
Other Jewish groups (Conservative, Reform) adapt, curtail or change the Torah-laws in contemporary life, to a greater or lesser degree.See also the Related Link.

• Modern challenges for observant Jews
  

Geography: there are Ashkenazi (Western) Jews and Sephardi/Mizrahi (Eastern) Jews. In Medieval times, the Ashkenazim were in France and Germany, the Sephardim were in pre-expulsion Spain, and the Mizrahi (Edot Hamizrach) were in North Africa, Turkey and Iraq. (There are others too, such as Yemeni and Romaniote (Greek Jews), but the above are the largest groups.)

Outlook: among the religious Jewish communities, there are the Yeshiva (Litvish) community, Hassidim, and Modern Orthodox. (Hassidim are the ones who wear long frock-coats.)

Answer 4

Back in Old Testament times, there were twelve tribes

Answer 5

a common fraise in Hebrew goes "two Jews=three opinions". there are countles fractions of judeism

Answer 6

1-ashkenazi
2-sefardi
3-mixed
-reform
-conservative
-conservadox
-traditional

Answer 7

there are 14,000,000 followers