Orthodox Judaism - Diversity Within Orthodox Judaism

Diversity Within Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism's central belief is that Torah, including the Oral Law, was given directly from God to Moses and applies in all times and places. Haredi Judaism asserts 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.

Since there is no one 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 hashqafoth (Sing. hashkafa Hebrew: השקפה‎ – world view, Weltanschauung) 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
• based on varying interpretations of the Three Oaths, whether Zionism is part of Judaism or opposed to it, and defining the role of the modern State of Israel in Judaism
• their spiritual approach to Torah such as the relative roles of mainstream Talmudic study and mysticism or ethics
• the validity of secular knowledge including critical Jewish scholarship of Rabbinic literature and modern philosophical ideas
• whether the Talmudic obligation to learn and practice a trade/profession applies in our times
• the centrality of yeshivas as the place for personal Torah study
• the validity of authoritative spiritual guidance 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