Orthodox Judaism

Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. According to their sacred literature, especially the Tanakh and Talmud, the religion of ancient Israel and their descendants, the Jews, is based on a covenant between God and Abraham (ca. 2000 BCE) and the renewal of the covenant with Moses (ca. 1200 BCE). It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths, and it is one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today.

Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice (although it has always been onotheistic in theology), and differs from many religions in that its central authority is not vested in any person or group but rather in its writings and traditions. Despite this, Judaism in all its variations has remained tightly bound to a number of religious principles, the most important
of which is the belief that there is a single, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and continues to be involved in its governance. According to traditional Jewish belief, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Jewish people, and revealed his laws and commandments to them in the form of the Torah. The practice of Judaism is devoted to the study and observance of these laws and commandments, as written in the Torah, as well as those found in the Talmud. As of 2006,
adherents of Judaism numbered around 14 million followers, making it the world's eleventh-largest organized religion.

Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts ("The Oral Law") 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 (i.e. the Pentateuch) and its pertaining laws are Divine, were transmitted by God to Moses, are eternal, and are unalterable;
• Belief that there is also an oral law in Judaism, the authoritative interpretation of the written Torah, which is also Divine, having been transmitted by God to Moses along with the Pentateuch, passed down to various authorities from Moses to the Talmudic period, and which is 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 (the ancestors of the Jewish patriarch, Jacob, whose other name was Israel) to be governed by the Torah;
• Belief in a Jewish eschatology, including a Jewish Messiah, a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, and a resurrection of the dead.
• Adherence to Halakha (the Code of Jewish law);
• Acceptance of codes, mainly the Shulchan Aruch, as authoritative practical guidance in application of both the written and oral laws. New Halakhic rulings can be made by Orthodox authorities, but such rulings can not contradict or remove previous accepted Halakhic rulings, which are considered
  more authoritative.
• Belief in the thirteen Jewish principles of faith as stated by the Rambam (Maimonides);
• Acceptance of (God-fearing) Rabbis as authoritative interpreters and judges of Jewish law; and,
• Belief that every non-Jew is bound by a universal Noachide Code, as defined by Torah law.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Orthodox Judaism.