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1. What is the difference between Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism?

Conservative Judaism came into being to create a new synthesis in Jewish life. Rather than advocate assimilation or yearn for the isolation of a new ghetto, Conservative Judaism has attempted to become a creative force through which modernity and tradition inform and reshape each other. Its goal is to conserve Jewish tradition while at the same time realizing that some modifications may be necessary in light of changes in society in each generation.

Reconstructionist Judaism is the youngest of the religious movements in America. It is particularly an American movement, unlike the other religious groups that began in Europe and were transplanted in America. Born in 1922, its leaders and thinkers are all American and most of its ideas are rooted in American philosophy and thought.

The Reconstructionist movement is based on the work of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, who in 1922 formed his own synagogue in New York -- the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, which became Kaplan's laboratory for developing his ideas about reconstructing Judaism and Jewish values. The most important of this movement's teachings is that Judaism is a changing, evolving, developing religious civilization. The Jewish people over time have created their own art, music, language, folkways, and customs. Thus, Judaism is not only a religion, but a total civilization.

One of Mordecai Kaplan's last proposals was his idea that people, not the rabbis, must have the final say in accepting or dropping mitzvot. In his congregation, the entire membership got to vote for or against ritual changes. This is surely the reason why the Reconstructionist movement is deemed the most democratic of all Jewish groups.

2. Jews seem to enjoy Chinese food. Are there Chinese Jews?

Yes there are. More than 4,500 miles from Israel, a Jewish community of 10,000 people lived in Central China during the Sung Dynasty (96 C.E.) A synagogue was said to have been constructed there in 1163. Under the declining Sung Dynasty, a cohesive group of some 1,000 people settled in the 9th or 10th century at the invitation of the emperor in Kaifeng. The Kaifeng synagogue was destroyed in a monstrous flood and restored in the late 1200s. Thereafter, the community fell into rapid decay.

By the end of World War II, just 200-250 traceable descendants of the original Kaifeng Jewish community still survived. No new Jewish communities were formed in China until the middle of the 19th century. Jews settled in China in the 1840s with the cession of Hong Kong to Great Britain and establishment of foreign concessions in Shanghai, Tientsin, and other cities. By 1937, about 10,000 Jews were living in China. Today, sources say that China's Jewish community numbers around 200, nearly all in Shanghai.

Rabbi Ron Isaacs is the spiritual leader of Temple Sholom, a Conservative congregation in Bridgewater. His forthcoming new book is "Siddur Or Shalom," a Shabbat morning prayerbook. Contact him at www.rabbiron.com or "Ask the Rabbi," c/o Rabbi Ron Isaacs, Temple Sholom, P.O. Box 6007, Bridgewater, N.J. 08807.