Orthodox Judaism is a
formulation of
Judaism that adheres to a relatively
strict interpretation and application
of the laws and ethics first canonized in the
Talmudic texts ("
Oral
Torah") and as subsequently developed and applied by the later
authorities known as the
Gaonim,
Rishonim, and
Acharonim.
Orthodox Judaism is characterized by belief that the
Torah and its
laws are
Divine, were transmitted by
God to
Moses,
are eternal, and are unalterable; belief that there is also an
oral law in Judaism,
which contains the authoritative interpretation of the written
Torah's legal sections, and is also Divine by virtue of having been
transmitted by
God to
Moses along with the Oral Law, as embodied in
the
Talmud,
Midrash,
and
innumerable related texts,
all intrinsically and inherently entwined with the written law of
the Torah; belief that God has made an exclusive, unbreakable
covenant with the
Children of
Israel to be governed by the Torah; adherence to
Halakha, or Jewish law, including acceptance of
codes, mainly the
Shulchan Aruch, as
authoritative practical guidance in application of both the written
and oral laws, as well as acceptance of halakha-following
Rabbis as authoritative interpreters and judges of
Jewish law; belief in
Jewish eschatology. Orthodox beliefs may
be most found in their adherence to the thirteen
Jewish principles of faith as
stated by the
Rambam (
Maimonides).
Although Orthodox Jews are expected to observe all 613 mitzvot,
certain core practices are generally considered essential to being
Orthodox:
History
Orthodoxy are not a single movement or school of thought. There is
no single rabbinic body to which all its rabbis are expected to
belong, or any one organization representing its member
congregations. In the United States at the present moment, there
are a number of Orthodox congregational organizations, such as
Agudath Israel, the
Orthodox Union, and the
National Council of Young
Israel; none of which can claim to represent even a majority of
all Orthodox congregations.
What the exact forms of Judaism were during the times Moses or
during the eras of the
Mishnah and
Talmud cannot be exactly known today in all their
details, but Orthodox Jews maintain that contemporary Orthodox
Judaism maintains the same basic philosophy and legal framework
that existed throughout
Jewish
history, whereas the other denominations depart from it. It may
be said that Orthodox Judaism, as it exists today, is an outgrowth
that stretches from the time of Moses, to the time of the Mishnah
and Talmud, through the
oral law, and
rabbinic literature ongoing until the
present time.
In the early 19th century, elements within German Jewry sought to
reform Jewish belief and practice in response to
The Age of Enlightenment and the
Jewish Emancipation. In light of
contemporary scholarship, they denied divine authorship of the
Torah, declared only those biblical laws concerning ethics to be
binding, and stated that the rest of halakha (Jewish law) need no
longer be viewed as normative (see
Reform
Judaism).
Rabbi S.R.
At the same time, there were those German Jews who actively
maintained their traditions and adherence to Jewish law while
simultaneously engaging with a post-Enlightenment society. This
camp was best represented by the work and thought of Rabbi
Samson Raphael Hirsch. Hirsch held
that Judaism demands an application of Torah thought to the entire
realm of human experience—including the secular disciplines. This
philosophy is termed "
Torah im
Derech Eretz". While insisting on strict adherence to
Jewish beliefs and practices, he held that Jews should attempt to
engage and influence the modern world, and encouraged those secular
studies compatible with Torah thought. This form of Judaism is
sometimes termed "
neo-Orthodoxy".
This
pattern of religious and secular involvement has been very much in
evidence at many times in Jewish history and was clearly the case
in Babylon
during the
Amoraic and Geonic
periods, and likewise in early medieval Spain, both
Muslim and Christian. It seems to have been the traditional
response to cultural and scientific innovation.
The religious and social realities of Western European Jewry are
considered by some to be the precursors to
Modern Orthodoxy. While Modern Orthodoxy is
considered traditional by most Jews today, some within the Orthodox
community groups to its right consider it of questionable validity,
and the neo-Orthodox movement of today holds that Hirsch's views
are unalike in essence to those of Modern Orthodoxy. [See
Torah im Derech Eretz and
Torah Umadda "Relationship with Torah im Derech
Eretz" for a more extensive listing.]
In the 20th century, a segment of the Orthodox population (notably
as represented by the
World Agudath
Israel movement formally established in 1912) disagreed, and
took a stricter approach. For a few of them, the motto "recent is
forbidden by Torah" was appealing, but they too followed various
routes of observance and practice. these rabbis viewed innovations
and modifications within Jewish law and customs with extreme care
and caution. Some today refer to this form of Judaism as
"Haredi Judaism", or "Ultra-Orthodox
Judaism". The latter term is controversial, and some consider
the label "ultra-Orthodox" pejorative.
Several media entities refrain from using the term “ultra Orthodox”
including the Religion Newswriters Association, JTA, the global
Jewish news service, and the Star-Ledger — New Jersey’s largest
daily newspaper, according the New Jersey Press Association. New
Jersey attorney Stephen E. Schwartz, Esq., convinced the
Star-Ledger to become the first mainstream newspaper to drop the
term. Several local Jewish papers including the Jewish Week in New
York and the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia have also dropped the
term. According to Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer, spiritual leader of
Temple Israel Community Center in Cliffside Park and former
executive editor of the Jewish Week, this leaves “Orthodox” as “an
umbrella term that designates a very widely disparate group of
people very loosely tied together by some core beliefs.”
The various approaches have proved resilient. It is estimated that
presently there are more Jews studying in yeshivot (Talmudical
schools) and Kollelim (post-graduate Talmudical colleges for
married students) than at any other time in history.
In 1915 Yeshiva
College (later Yeshiva
University
) and its Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary was established in New
York
, New York for training in an Orthodox
milieu. Eventually a school branch was established in
Los
Angeles
, California. A number of other influential Orthodox
seminaries, mostly Haredi, were also established throughout the
country, most notably in New York, New York, Baltimore
, Maryland, and Chicago
,
Illinois. Beth Medrash Govoha
, the Haredi yeshiva in Lakewood, New
Jersey
is the largest Talmudic academy in the United
States with a student body of over 5,000 students.
Origin of the term "Orthodox"
While many Orthodox Jews accept the label "Orthodox", others reject
and criticise it because it was never traditionally applied to Jews
who strictly interpreted and followed halakha in ancient times or
the Middle Ages. Many Orthodox Jews prefer to call their faith
Torah Judaism. The word "orthodox"
itself is derived from the
Greek
orthos meaning "straight/correct" and
doxa
meaning "opinion" or "belief" in Greek.
Use of the "Orthodox" label seems to have begun towards the
beginning of the 19th century. Rabbi
Samson Raphael Hirsch wrote in 1854
that:
- ...it was not "Orthodox" Jews who introduced the word
"orthodox" into Jewish discussion. It was the modern "progressive"
Jews who first applied the name to "old," "backward" Jews as a
derogatory term. This name was... resented by "old" Jews. And
rightfully so...
Others, however, say that Rabbi
Isaac
Leeser was the first to use the term in the US in his journal
"The Occident," whose target audience was the more "traditional" or
Orthodox Jew. Yet others explain that the term arose out of the
growth of the then-new Reformer Movement, which was "unorthodox",
hence making the traditionalists the "orthodox."
Diversity within Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism's central belief is that Torah, including the
Written Law, was given directly from
God to Moses and applies in all
times and places. Haredi Judaism asserts that this means that it
may no longer be changed in any fashion. As a result, all Jews are
required to live in accordance with the
Commandments and
Jewish
law.
However, since there is no one unifying Orthodox body, there is
no
one canonical statement of
principles of faith. Rather, each
Orthodox group claims to be a non-exclusive heir to the received
tradition of Jewish theology, while still affirming a literal
acceptance of
Maimonides'
thirteen
principles.
Given this (relative) philosophic flexibility, variant viewpoints
are possible, particularly in areas not explicitly demarcated by
the Halakha. The result is a relatively broad range of
hashkafot, or world views, within Orthodoxy. The greatest
differences within strains of Orthodoxy are over:
- the degree to which an Orthodox Jew should integrate and/or
disengage from secular society;
- whether Zionism is part of Judaism or opposed
to it, and the role of the modern State of Israel
in
Judaism;
- their philosophical approach to
Torah/Talmud/Aggadah/Halakha;
- The validity of all secular knowledge;
- Whether or not the talmudic obligation to learn and practice a
trade applies in our times;
- the centrality of yeshivas as the place
for personal Torah study;
- the importance of a central spiritual guide in areas outside of
Halakhic decision (Da'as Torah);
- the importance of maintaining non-Halakhic customs, such as
dress, language and music;
- the role
of women in (religious) society.
- the nature of the relationship with non-Jews.
Streams of Orthodoxy
The above differences are realised in the various subgroups of
Orthodoxy, which maintain significant social differences, and
differences in understanding Halakha. These groups, broadly,
comprise
Modern Orthodox
Judaism and
Haredi Judaism, with
most
Hasidic Jewish groups falling
into the latter category.
Modern Orthodoxy comprises a fairly broad spectrum of movements
each drawing on several distinct, though related, philosophies,
which in some combination provide the basis for all variations of
the movement today. In general, Modern Orthodoxy holds that Jewish
law is
normative and binding, while
simultaneously attaching a positive value to interaction with
contemporary society. In this view, Orthodox Judaism can “be
enriched” by its intersection with modernity; further, “modern
society creates opportunities to be productive citizens engaged in
the Divine work of
transforming the world to
benefit humanity”.At the same time, in order to preserve the
integrity of halakha, any area of “powerful inconsistency and
conflict” between Torah and modern culture must be avoided..
Modern Orthodoxy, additionally, assigns a central role to the
"People of Israel" .
Modern Orthodoxy, in general, places a high
national, as well as religious,
significance on the State of Israel
, and Modern Orthodox institutions and individuals
are, typically, Zionistic in
orientation. An additional manifestation is that involvement
with non-orthodox Jews will extend beyond "
outreach
(
Kiruv)" to continued institutional relations
and cooperation; see
further
under
Torah Umadda.
A Haredi Jew
Haredi Judaism advocates segregation from non-Jewish culture,
although not from non-Jewish society entirely. It is characterised
by its focus on community-wide Torah study.
Haredi Orthodoxy's differences with Modern Orthodoxy usually lie in
interpretation of the nature of traditional halakhic concepts and
in understanding of what constitutes acceptable application of
these concepts. Engaging in the commercial world is often seen as a
legitimate means to achieving a livelihood, but participation in
modern society is to be as little as possible.
The same outlook is applied with regard to obtaining degrees
necessary to enter one's intended profession: where tolerated in
the Haredi society, attending secular institutions of higher
education is viewed as a necessary but inferior activity. Pure
academic interest is instead directed toward the religious
edification found in the yeshiva. Depending on various factors,
both boys and girls attend school and proceed to higher Torah
study, starting anywhere between the ages of 13 and 18. A
significant proportion of students, especially boys, remain in
yeshiva until marriage (which is often arranged through
facilitated dating. See
shiduch), and many
study in a
kollel (Torah study
institute for married men) - for many years after marriage. Most
men, even those not in Kollel, will make certain to study
Torah daily.
Hasidic Judaism originated in Eastern Europe (what is now Belarus
and Ukraine
) in the 18th
century. Founded by
Israel ben
Eliezer known as the Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760), it originated
in an age of persecution of the Jewish people, when a schism
between scholarly and ignorant European Jews existed. In addition
to bridging this class gap, Hasidic teachings sought to reintroduce
joy in the performance of the commandments and in prayer. This joy
had been suppressed in favor of intense intellectual study of the
Talmud. The
Ba'al Shem Tov sought to combine rigorous
scholarship with more emotional mitzvah observance.
In practice
The Babylonian Talmud
For guidance in practical application of Jewish law the majority of
Orthodox Jews appeal, ultimately, to the
Shulchan Aruch ("Code of Jewish Law" composed
in the 16th century by Rabbi
Joseph
Caro) together with its surrounding commentaries. Thus, at a
general level, there is a large degree of uniformity amongst all
Orthodox Jews. Concerning the details, however, there is often
variance:
decisions may be based on various of
the
standardized codes of
Jewish Law that have been made over the centuries, as well as
on the various
responsa. These codes and
responsa may differ from each other as regards detail (and
reflecting the above differences, on the weight assigned to various
issues).
By and large, however, the differences result from the
historic dispersal of the Jews and the consequent
regional differences in practice (see
minhag).
(Note that on an
individual level there is a considerable
range in the level of observance amongst "Orthodox Jews". Thus
there are those who would consider themselves "Orthodox" and yet
may not be observant of, for example,
the laws of
family purity.)
There are several Jewish laws that Orthodox Judaism has
traditionally placed an emphasis on. Amongst them are the rules of
Kashrut,
Shabbat,
Family Purity, and
Tefilah (Prayer).
Externally, Orthodox Jews can often be identified by their manner
of dress and family lifestyle. Orthodox women will traditionally
dress modestly; keeping most of their skin covered. Additionally,
most married women will cover their hair usually in the form of
hat, bandanna, or wig. Orthodox men traditionally wear a skullcap
known as a
Kipa. Haredi men often distinguish
themselves by growing beards, wearing black hats and dressing in
formal attire.
Beliefs
Orthodox Judaism is composed of different groups with intertwining
beliefs, practices and theologies, although in their core beliefs,
all Orthodox movements share the same principles.
Orthodoxy collectively considers itself the only true heir to the
Jewish tradition. The Orthodox Jewish movements generally consider
all non-Orthodox Jewish movements to be unacceptable deviations
from authentic Judaism; both because of other denominations' doubt
concerning the verbal revelation of Written and Oral Torah, and
because of their rejection of Halakhic precedent as binding. As
such, most Orthodox groups characterise non-Orthodox forms of
Judaism as heretical; see the article on
Relationships
between Jewish religious movements.
Orthodox Judaism affirms
monotheism, or
the belief in one God. Among the in-depth explanations of that
belief are
Maimonidean rationalism,
Kabbalistic mysticism, and
Chassidic Philosophy (Chassidut). A few
affirm self-limited omniscience (the theology elucidated by
Gersonides in "The Wars of the
Lord".)
Orthodox Judaism maintains the historical 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 as a means of establishing Jewish national identity.
Similarly, Orthodoxy strongly condemns
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 Orthodox Jewish organizations do reach out to intermarried
Jews.
Orthodox Judaism holds that the words of the Torah, including both
the Written Law (
Pentateuch) and those
parts of the Oral Law which are
halacha leMoshe m'Sinai,
were dictated by God to Moses essentially as they exist today. The
laws contained in the Written Torah were given along with detailed
explanations as how to apply and interpret them, the Oral Law.
Although Orthodox Jews believe that many elements of current
religious law were decreed or added as "fences" around the law by
the rabbis, all Orthodox Jews believe that there is an underlying
core of Sinaitic law and that this core of the religious laws
Orthodox Jews know today is thus directly derived from Sinai and
directly reflects the Divine will. As such, Orthodox Jews believe
that one must be extremely careful in changing or adapting Jewish
law. Orthodox Judaism holds that, given Jewish law's Divine origin,
no underlying principle may be compromised in accounting for
changing political, social or economic conditions; in this sense,
"creativity" and development in Jewish law is limited.
However, there is significant disagreement within Orthodox Judaism,
particularly between Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism,
about the extent and circumstances under which the proper
application of Halakha should be re-examined as a result of
changing realities. As a general rule, Haredi Jews believe that
when at all possible the law should be maintained as it was
understood by their authorities at the the
haskalah, believing that it had never changed.
Modern Orthodox authorities are more willing to assume that under
scrupulous examination, identical principles may lead to different
applications in the context of modern life. To the Orthodox Jew,
halakha is a guide, God's Law, governing the structure of daily
life from the moment he or she wakes up to the moment he goes to
sleep. It includes codes of behaviour applicable to a broad range
of circumstances (and many hypothetical ones). There are though a
number of meta-principles that guide the halakhic process and in an
instance of opposition between a specific halakha and a
meta-principle, the meta-principle often wins out. Examples of
Halachic Meta-Principles are:
Deracheha Darchei Noam-the
ways of Torah are pleasant,
Kavod Habriyot-basic respect
for human beings,
Pikuach Nefesh-the sanctity of human
life.
Orthodox
Judaism holds that on Mount
Sinai
the Written Law was transmitted along with an Oral
Law. The words of the Torah (Pentateuch) were
spoken to Moses by God; the laws contained in
this Written Torah,
the
Mitzvot, were given along with detailed explanations
in the oral tradition as to how to apply and interpret them.
Furthermore, the Oral law includes principles designed to create
new rules. The Oral law is held to be transmitted with an extremely
high degree of accuracy. Jewish theologians, who choose to
emphasize the more evolutionary nature of the Halacha point to a
famous story in the
Talmud[3636], where
Moses is magically
transported to the House of Study of
Rabbi
Akiva and is clearly unable to follow the ensuing
discussion.
According to Orthodox Judaism, Jewish law today is based on the
commandments in the Torah, as viewed through the discussions and
debates contained in classical rabbinic literature, especially the
Mishnah and the Talmud. Orthodox Judaism thus holds that the
halakha represents the "will of God", either directly, or as
closely to directly as possible. The laws are from the word of God
in the Torah, using a set of rules also revealed by God to Moses on
Mount Sinai, and have been derived with the utmost accuracy and
care, and thus the Oral Law is considered to be no less the word of
God. If some of the details of Jewish law may have been lost over
the millennia, they were reconstructed in accordance with
internally consistent rules; see
The 13 rules
by which Jewish law was derived.
In this world view, the Mishnaic and Talmudic rabbis are closer to
the Divine revelation; by corollary, one must be extremely
conservative in changing or adapting Jewish law. Furthermore,
Orthodox Judaism holds that, given Jewish law's Divine origin, no
underlying principle may be compromised in accounting for changing
political, social or economic conditions; in this sense,
"creativity" and development in Jewish law is held to have been
limited. Orthodox Jews will also study the Talmud for its own sake;
this is considered to be the greatest
mitzvah of all; see Torah study.
Haredi and Modern Orthodox Judaism vary somewhat in their view of
the validity of Halakhic reconsideration. It is held virtually as a
principle of belief among many Haredi Jews that halakhah never
changes. Haredi Judaism thus views higher criticism of the Talmud
as inappropriate, and almost certainly heretical. At the same time,
many within Modern Orthodox Judaism do not have a problem with
historical scholarship in this area. See the entry on
historical
analysis of the Talmud.
however, Haredi jews, as a result of their belief that torah never
changes, tend to interpret sources older than about 1815 as
reflecting current halachic practice. Modern orthodox judaism would
allege that this is a gross misinterpretation of our tradition,
while heredim assert that modern orthodox rabbis willfully
misinterpret these sources in a fashion that is contrary to
"accepted halach". An illustrative case would be siman 75 of orech
chayim. Heredim claim that it prohibits reading shema opposite any
sort of exposed skin, modern orthodox rabbis counter that if so,
why did rav karo not simply quote the rambam whos says this
explicity, a heredi rabbi would assert in return that he was
comming to prohibit expising any of one's flesh. Frequently both
sides see the other, at least tacitly, as having a quasi heretical
approach to halacha.
Modern Orthodox Judaism is also somewhat more willing to consider
revisiting questions of Jewish law through Talmudic arguments.
Although in practice such instances are rare, they do exist.
Notable examples include acceptance of rules permitting farming
during the
Shmita year and permitting the
advanced religious education of women.
Orthodox movements, organizations and groups
- Agudath Israel of
America is the largest and most influential Haredi group in
America. Its roots go back to the establishment of
the original founding of the Agudath Israel movement in 1912 in
Katowitz, Prussia
(now Katowice, Poland
). The
American Agudath Israel was founded in 1939. There is an Agudat Israel (Hasidic) in Israel, and also
Degel HaTorah (non-Hasidic "Lithuanian"), as well as an Agudath Israel of Europe. These
groups are loosely affiliated through the World Agudath Israel, which from time
to time holds a major gathering in Israel called a
knessia. Agudah unites many rabbinic leaders from the
Hasidic Judaism wing with those of the non-Hasidic "yeshiva" world.
It is
generally non-nationalistic and ambivalent towards the modern
State of
Israel.
- The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, known as
the Orthodox Union, or "OU", and the
Rabbinical Council of
America, "RCA" are organizations that represent Modern Orthodox
Judaism, a large segment of Orthodoxy in the United States and
Canada. These groups should not be confused with the similarly
named Union of Orthodox
Rabbis (described below).
- The National
Council of Young Israel, and the Council of Young Israel
Rabbis are smaller groups that were founded as Modern Orthodox
organizations, are Zionistic, and are in the right wing of Modern
Orthodox Judaism. Young Israel strongly supports and allies itself
with the settlement movement in Israel. While the lay membership of
synagogues affiliated with the NCYI are almost exclusively Modern
Orthodox in orientation, the rabbinical leadership of the
synagogues ranges from Modern Orthodox to Haredi.
- The Chief Rabbinate of
Israel [3637] was founded with the intention of
representing all of Judaism within the State of Israel, and has two
chief rabbis: One is Ashkenazic (of the East European and Russian
Jewish tradition) and one is Sephardic (of the Mediterranean, North
African, Central Asian, Middle-Eastern and of Caucasus Jewish tradition.) The rabbinate has never
been accepted by most Israeli Haredi groups. Since the 1960s the
Chief rabbinate of Israel has moved somewhat closer to the
positions of Haredi Judaism.
- Chabad Lubavitch is a branch of
Hasidic Judaism widely known for its emphasis on outreach and education. The
organization has been in existence for 200 years, and especially
after the Second World War, it began sending out emissaries
(shluchim) who have as a
mission the bringing back of disaffected Jews to a level of
observance consistent with authentic and proper norms (ie, Orthodox
Judaism). They are major players in what is known as the
Baal Teshuva movement. Their
mandate is to make nonobservant Jews more Jewishly aware. Certain
beliefs regarding the status of their past leader, and several of
their outreach tactics and theology make them controversial in
other orthodox groups.
- In Israel it shares a similar agenda with the Sephardic
Shas political party, although Shas is more
bipartisan when it comes to its own issues and
non-nationalistic-based with a huge emphasis on Sephardi Judaism and Mizrahi Judaism. Shas has its own positions and
plays a more prominent role in the government of the State, usually
having something to say about almost every Jewish issue. It is
usually in fierce contention with Agudat Yisrael in Israel.
- The Agudath HaRabbonim, also known as the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the
United States and Canada, is a small Haredi-leaning organization
founded in 1902. It should not be confused with "The Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America" (see above) which is a
separate organization. While at one time influential within
Orthodox Judaism, the Agudath HaRabbonim in the last several
decades has progressively moved further to the right; its
membership has been dropping and it has been relatively inactive.
Some of its members are rabbis from Chabad Lubavitch; some are also
members of the RCA (see above). It is currently most famous for its
1997 declaration (citing Israeli Chief Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog and Modern
Orthodox Rabbi Joseph
Soloveitchik) that the Conservative and Reform movements are "not Judaism at
all."
- During the past years, the left-wing Modern Orthodox advocacy
group, Edah, consisting of American Modern
Orthodox rabbis. Most of its membership came from synagogues
affiliated with the Union of Orthodox Congregations and RCA
(above). Their motto was, "The courage to be Modern and Orthodox".
Edah ceased functioning in 2007 and merged some of its programs
into the left-wing Yeshivat
Chovevei Torah.
- The Bais Yaakov movement, begun in
1917, introduced the concept of formal Judaic schooling for
Orthodox women.
See also
References
-
http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/content/item/paper_loses_divisive_term/6507
Josh Lipowsky, Paper loses 'divisive' term, New Jersey Jewish
Standard, February 5, 2009, pp 10.
- Ibid
- Ibid
- http://shma.com/feb01/berman.htm
- Rabbi Norman Lamm: Some Comments on Centrist
Orthodoxy
- Agudath Yisrael More on Agudath Yisrael
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