page_title: Orthodox Judaism
hierarchical_section_title: Orthodox Judaism
caption_attribution_description: English: Rabbi Jacob Koppel Reich, chief Orthodox rabbi of Budapest, at the exit from the Csörsz street Jewish Cemetery. Picture taken at some point before his 1929 death.
context_page_description: Orthodox Judaism is the traditionalist branches of contemporary Rabbinic Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully transmitted ever since.
  Orthodox Judaism therefore advocates a strict observance of Jewish Law, or halakha, which is to be interpreted and determined only according to traditional methods and in adherence to the continuum of received precedent through the ages. It regards the entire halakhic system as ultimately grounded in immutable revelation, essentially beyond external and historical influence. More than any theoretical issue, obeying the dietary, purity, ethical, and other laws of halakha is the hallmark of Orthodoxy. Other key doctrines include belief in a future bodily resurrection of the dead, divine reward and punishment for the righteous and the sinners, the Election of Israel as a people bound by a covenant with God, and an eventual Messianic Age ruled by a salvific Messiah-King who will restore the Temple in Jerusalem.
  Orthodox Judaism is not a centralized denomination.
context_section_description: Orthodox Judaism is the traditionalist branches of contemporary Rabbinic Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully transmitted ever since.
  Orthodox Judaism therefore advocates a strict observance of Jewish Law, or halakha, which is to be interpreted and determined only according to traditional methods and in adherence to the continuum of received precedent through the ages. It regards the entire halakhic system as ultimately grounded in immutable revelation, essentially beyond external and historical influence. More than any theoretical issue, obeying the dietary, purity, ethical, and other laws of halakha is the hallmark of Orthodoxy. Other key doctrines include belief in a future bodily resurrection of the dead, divine reward and punishment for the righteous and the sinners, the Election of Israel as a people bound by a covenant with God, and an eventual Messianic Age ruled by a salvific Messiah-King who will restore the Temple in Jerusalem.
  Orthodox Judaism is not a centralized denomination. Relations between its different subgroups are sometimes strained, and the exact limits of Orthodoxy are subject to intense debate. Very roughly, it may be divided between Haredi Judaism (ultra-Orthodox), which is more conservative and reclusive, and Modern Orthodox Judaism, which is relatively open to outer society. Each of those is itself formed of independent streams. They are almost uniformly exclusionist, regarding Orthodoxy not as another stream of Judaism, but the correct form of Judaism itself.
  While adhering to traditional beliefs, the movement is a modern phenomenon. It arose as a result of the breakdown of the autonomous Jewish community since the 18th century, and was much shaped by a conscious struggle against the pressures of Jewish Enlightenment and even more far-reaching secularization and rival alternatives. The strictly observant and theologically aware Orthodox are a definite minority among all Jews, but there are also some semi- and non-practicing individuals who are officially affiliated or personally identify with the movement. In total, Orthodox Judaism is the largest Jewish religious group, estimated to have over 2 million practicing adherents and at least an equal number of nominal members or self-identifying supporters.
caption: Visitors in the Orthodox Jewish cemetery in Budapest, circa 1920 (the word "Orthodox" is painted on the wall, second to the left). Traditionalist Jews in Hungary were the first anywhere to form an independent Orthodox organization in 1871.
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