Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is the more traditional form of Judaism in the modern world. It holds that both the scripture of the Torah and mouth-to-mouth traditions later written down in the Talmud etc., were actually and literally given by God, and that past rabbis handed them over without change and were always faithful in deciding how they applied to reality. Because of this, Orthodox Judaism is very careful in holding to the tradition of past rabbis, and is very conservative on how current rabbis may decide what the law is in new cases. Orthodox Jews consider themselves as the only truly faithful Jews and reject all the new non-Orthodox forms of Jewish thought, religious or secular, that came to be in the last 250 years (since the Jewish community lost its powers to enforce people, and Jews began to be citizens of the modern state). Even so, they are a product of new times just like everyone else: Their community organizations were created so they could separate from other Jews because those stopped being religious. The Orthodox also had to make very new ways of thinking and acting to deal with the big changes.

As of 2001, Orthodox Jews and Jews affiliated with an Orthodox synagogue, accounted for approximately 50% of British Jews (150,000), 25% of Israeli Jews (1,500,000) and 13% of American Jews (529,000). (Among those affiliated to a synagogue body, Orthodox Jews represent 70% of British Jewry and 27% of American Jewry).

Its followers must usually promise the following:

• Not to commit murder, idolatry (worship of idols)
• Observe the shabbat. Jews must not work on a shabbat.
• Eat only certain things. These dietary laws are known as Kashrut.
• Circumcision for males.

Orthodox Judaism Media

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  Jewish cemetery in Budapest, c. 1920; the word "Orthodox" (ארטאדאקסען) is on the wall, 2nd to the left. Hungarian Jews were the first to form an independent Orthodox organization.

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  A 1909 imagined painting of a Jew bound in jougs by the Great Suburb Synagogue, Lvov.

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  Moses Sofer of Pressburg, considered the father of Orthodoxy in general and ultra-Orthodoxy in particular.

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  Isaac Bernays

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  Davidzvihofmann

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  S.R. Hirsch in Oldenburg (between 1830 to 1841)

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  Chaim Sofer

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  TheoldBeisMadrashBuildingofBMG

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  Jewish cemetery in Budapest, c. 1920; the word "Orthodox" (ארטאדאקסען) is on the wall, 2nd to the left. Hungarian Jews were the first to form an independent Orthodox organization

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  beit yaakov

Other websites

• Your Complete Guide to Brochos
• Origins of Orthodox Judaism Archived 2005-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
• The different Orthodox Jewish groups Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine
• The State of Orthodox Judaism Today
• Orthodox Judaism in Israel
• Orthodox Jewish population growth and political changes Archived 2006-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
• Information on Orthodox Jewish culture