ORTHODOX Judaism: customs and characteristics

One of the most important religions in the history of mankind has been the Judaism, being the first of the Abrahamic beliefs and therefore a precursor of both Christianity and Islam. To know in depth this very important religion, in this lesson from a teacher we must talk about the Orthodox Judaism: customs and characteristics.

We can define the orthodox judaism like all those branches of this religion in the current stage, being those that base their beliefs on the Torah as a book received by Moses at the hands of God on Mount Sinai.

Orthodox Judaism is characterized by making a vision and practice of religion in a way very traditional, using the historical precedents and therefore having attitudes that in the present time can be considered especially primitive.

To understand Orthodox Judaism and its great differences from the rest of Jewish beliefs we must talk about its most outstanding elements, to see its main peculiarities. The Pmain characteristics of Orthodox Judaism are as follows:

1. Is a Abrahamic religion, so it follows the beliefs born in Abraham just like Christianity or Islam.
2. Is a monotheistic belief, so there is only one God as the creative figure of the universe.
3. Its symbol is the Star of David, being the one used by the Israelite king during his rule as monarch of the Jewish people and that can be seen in many Jewish temples.
4. The celebrations are governed by a solar and lunar calendar, being especially important the Sabbath that is celebrated on Saturday.
5. Orthodox Jews are governed by written law or Halacha, being a kind of legislation of religion and in which there are hundreds of rules that must be followed.
6. The Jewish's own language is Hebrew, being mandatory that all acts are in this language.
7. Orthodox Jews follow all Judaism practices to the letter, having to perform all customs without exception.

To continue with this lesson, we must talk about the main customs of Orthodox Judaism, since Orthodox Judaism is characterized by being very strict regarding certain issues and therefore carrying out all the usual customs of its people.

The precepts that provoke the customs of the Jews are a long list of 613 precepts that provoke the different attitudes of Judaism. Among the main customs of Orthodox Judaism we have to talk about the following:

• Jews only eat kosher foodTherefore, only foods that have been sanctified are edible, since only God can take or give life. This ritual contains the extraction of blood, so foods such as blood or blood sausage cannot be eaten by Jews. On the other hand, within kosher meals, there is talk of the prohibition of eating certain foods, examples of which are crustaceans, so they do not eat shellfish.
• Another custom related to food is that of the dairy and meat, It is forbidden to consume both products at the same time and it is necessary to use a series of characteristic utensils to handle these foods.
• Bread and other similar products they cannot carry yeast, as a way of honoring the classical traditions of the Jews.
• There are numerous standards regarding the aspects related to death. Among these customs are those of burying the entire body, so if it has been dismembered in some way, all parts of the body must have; They cannot be cremated, they must be buried in an area without height; the duel must last a month at least without leaving the house or shaving or cutting their hair and in less than a year they cannot recover elements such as music.
• Jewish clothing It must be a white shirt and pants for men and women must wear long skirts, it being illegal for women and men to dress the same. On the other hand, clothing must be made with materials that are neither wool nor linen, both of which are prohibited according to the customs of Orthodox Judaism.
• Other Orthodox Jewish customs are related to The hair, being occasional that men wear ringlets, and obligatory that married women cannot show their hair. On the other hand, children cannot cut their hair until they are 3 years old, which is when a Jewish ritual is performed to cut their hair.
• After childbirth or after each menstruation, women should perform a cold water wash to purify the body and thus be able to have sex with her husband again.
• At birth, all Jews must pass a rite, being in the case of women only an event in which they receive a name and in the case of men an act in which they are circumcised.
• As in other religions, the Judaism has a series of holy days in which they cannot work, being every Saturday and the so-called day of forgiveness the occasions in which no work or activity can be carried out.
• The weddings They also have different traditions from other religions, a clear example being the custom of breaking a cup wrapped in a white cloth to symbolize the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem.