Orthodox Judaism
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Orthodox Judaism is the approach to religious Judaism which subscribes to a tradition of mass revelation and adheres to the interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Tanaim and Amoraim and subsequently developed and applied by later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. Orthodox Judaism generally includes Modern Orthodox Judaism and ultra-Orthodox or Haredi Judaism, but complete within is a wide range of philosophies. Orthodox Judaism is a modern self-conscious identification that, for some, distinguishes it from traditional premodern Judaism, although it would probably be considered the mainstream expression of Judaism prior to the 19th century.
As of 2001, Orthodox Jews and Jews affiliated with an Orthodox synagogue accounted for approximately 50% of British Jews (150,000), 26.5% 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.
While some claim that the majority of Jews killed during the Holocaust were religiously Orthodox, numbering between 50-70% of those who perished, researchers have shown that Jewish Orthodoxy was nearly extinct at the time, consumed by the Jewish Enlightenment, secular Zionism and Socialist movements of pre-war Europe.
See also
- Orthodox diversity
- Baal teshuva movement
- Haredi Judaism
- Hasidic Judaism
- Jewish denominations
- Lithuanian Judaism
- Modern Orthodox Judaism
- Religious Zionism
- Sephardi Judaism
- Torah Judaism
- Topics
- Divine Providence in Orthodox thought
- Jewish philosophy
- Jewish principles of faith
- Kabbalah
- List of Baalei teshuva
- List of Orthodox rabbis
- Rabbinic Judaism
- Rabbinic literature
