SadduceesThe Sadducees (ˈsædjəsiːz; Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jews active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The Sadducees are often compared to other contemporaneous sects, including the Pharisees and the Essenes. Josephus, writing at the end of the 1st century CE, associates the sect with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society. As a whole, they fulfilled various political, social, and religious roles, including maintaining the Temple in Jerusalem.
Conversion to JudaismConversion to Judaism (גיור, giyur) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination.
Jewish religious movementsJewish religious movements, sometimes called "denominations", include different groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the most prominent divisions are between traditionalist Orthodox movements (including Haredi ultratraditionalist and Modern Orthodox branches) and modernist movements such as Conservative (Masorti), Reform Judaism, and smaller others. Judaism in Israel, as in the West, is also divided into major Orthodox, Conservative and Reform traditions.