Victory
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2017
- Messages
- 2,273
- Location
- London
Thinking about it, isn't it kind of a tautology to be 'strictly' or 'ultra' orthodox. Surely, you're either orthodox or you're not - are there any grey areas that allow for nuance? Isn't it s bit like saying nearly infinite, or almost absolute?
Whilst acknowledging your focus on language rather than the specifics of the religion, I think it can only be defined by reference to the religion itself.
A Jew is a Jew, yet as we see from life, each Jew might take a different approach to the daily application of the religious laws, and the theology of the religion.
1.) The "Orthodox" approach is one based on the fundamentals that were practiced by nearly all Jews since the inception of the religion:
Amongst them:
Kosher food.
Shabbat (Sabbath) observance.
Daily prayer.
Modesty of dress.
Marriage between different genders and adherence to rules of family purity especially with regards to menstruation.
Israel as the holy land for Jews to live in and be sovereign over.
The belief in the Messiah who will come at some point and usher in a new phase of human history,
And from a theological point of view, that of the Torah being given at Mount Sinai, by G-d to Moses, then to be kept word for word without adding or subtracting from it.
But to be discussed and applied to new technology with the advice and rulings of qualified Rabbis.
(There are actually 13 core beliefs of Judaism codified by a Rabbi called Maimonides.)
2.) As society changed in the 18th and 19th century, European Jewry especially came into contact with The Enlightenment.
This promoted a surge of discussion about belief and practice.
Some Jews became more lenient in daily laws, and eventually changed the theology for themselves.
In response, in 1865 in Hungary, a group of leading rabbis convened.
They were mostly the students of a stringent Rabbi called The Chatam Sofer.
The signed a set of decrees to keep the practice and theology as the were at that point.
It is considered the "birth" of what is now perceived by some as Ultra Orthodox Judaism.
3.) Within the Ultra Orthodox approach (best known as @Floyd1 wrote as "Hareidi "(G-d fearing), there are different tones and nuances, differing traditions.
These do not clash, but exist alongside each other.
They involve differing approaches to minor parts of the Kosher food laws, to the times of prayer, to the tunes used in synagogues, to names used for children, to dress codes etc.
There is the strict Litvish (Lithuanian) Yeshiva approach, based on rigorous study of texts.
There is the Hasidic world, where is the essence of things. Even in that world are may different dynasties with nuanced differences.
There are then also traditions from the Yeminis, the Iraqis etc.
And amongst the very strictest are some of the Ethiopians.