Orthodox Judaism

‘Orthodox’ is a term originally invented by the ‘non-orthodox’ to put a label on the Judaism they were rejecting.   By now, most halachically observant American Jews have resigned themselves to being so labelled.  Some resent it, while others wear the label with pride.  In any case, there is no actual organized ‘orthodox movement’.

Unlike Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reconstructionist Judaism, ‘orthodoxy’ has no all-encompassing synagogue umbrella organization; no central rabbinic body; no authoritative seminary; no annual budget.  Each orthodox community follows its own authorities and practices Judaism accordingly.   Some have formed umbrella associations for mutual support and to advance common goals, but there are very many such associations.

The orthodox segment of the Jewish community is generally credited with a very high commitment to Jewish education, both for children and adults, and is currently the only segment of the American Jewish community not plagued by disaffection culminating in intermarriage.

The Organization of the Siddur

When you encounter an unfamiliar Siddur and must navigate within it, start by assuming that the most frequently occuring events are treated first.   Next, assume that events having similar frequency appear in the order they occur.   (This organizational principle is found throughout Jewish Tradition; the Siddur is just one example.)

First come the daily morning, afternoon, and evening services.   Then come the weekly Sabbath evening, morning, and afternoon services.   Judaism has three annual Festivals, called Pesach (Passover), Shavuos (Weeks), and Sukkot (Booths).   All three Festivals use the same liturgy, so the next items in the Siddur are the thrice-yearly Festival evening, morning, and afternoon services.   Next come the annual services for the High Holy Days, first Rosh Hashannah then Yom Kippur.   Lastly come services for even less regular occasions.

Many of the services share common components.   To save pages, the less frequent services often consist mostly of references to various components of the more frequent services.   To avoid having to skip around, many Jews use separate special prayerbooks organized for each Festival or High Holy Day. Such a prayerbook is called a Machzor.