Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud ("The Oral Law") and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh ("Code of Jewish Law"). It is governed by these works and all the Rabbinical commentary and further codification of them written throughout the last millennium. The role of Rabbi in Orthodox Judaism is to interpret and apply classical Rabbinical rulings and logic to any given question or situation.

Practices

Practices are largely standardised. For example, all Sephardic Orthodox Jews base most of their practices on the Shulkhan Arukh, the 16th century legal index written by Rabbi Yosef Karo; All Ashkenazic Orthodox Jews base most of their practices on the Mappah, a commentary to the Shulkhan Arukh written by Rabbi Moses Isserles. In the postwar period, the Mishnah Berurah (a commentary on the Orach Chayim section) has become the authoritative halakhic guide for much of Orthodox Ashkenazic Jewry.

Related Topics:
Sephardi - Shulkhan Arukh - Yosef Karo - Ashkenazi - Moses Isserles - Mishnah Berurah - Orach Chayim

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Orthodox Judaism affirms monotheism, the belief in one God. Among the beliefs affirmed are: Maimonidean rationalism; Kabbalistic mysticism; Hasidic panentheism. A few affirm limited theism (the theology elucidated by Gersonides in "The Wars of the Lord".)

Related Topics:
Maimonidean - Kabbalistic mysticism - Gersonides

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Orthodox Judaism maintains the traditional understanding of Jewish identity. A Jew is someone who was born to a Jewish mother, or who converts to Judaism in accordance with Jewish law and tradition. Orthodoxy thus rejects patrilineal descent. Similarly, Orthodoxy does not allow intermarriage. Intermarriage is seen as a deliberate rejection of Judaism, and an intermarried person is effectively cut off from most of the Orthodox community. However, some Chabad Lubavitch and Modern Orthodox Jews do reach out to intermarried Jews.

Related Topics:
Patrilineal descent - Lubavitch

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Since there is no one unifying Orthodox body, there is no one official statement of principles of faith. Rather, each Orthodox group claims to be a non-exclusive heir to the received tradition of Jewish theology, usually affirming a literal acceptance of Maimonides's 13 principles as the only acceptable position. Some within Modern Orthodoxy take the more liberal position that these principles only represent one particular formulation of Jewish principles of faith, and that others are possible.

Related Topics:
Maimonides - Jewish principles of faith

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