
Layne P.
asked 10/25/22How does Judaism in the modern world differ from the Judaism of Tanakh? What traditions do they share?
1 Expert Answer

Jordan P. answered 01/05/23
Teacher of Western Religions
While based in the Torah, Judaism as it is practiced today is filtered through Rabbinic-era texts, primarily the Talmud and medieval legal codes, such as the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides and the Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Joseph Caro. Also, it is important to know that there is not one type of Judaism practiced today; there are many. Without going into great detail, the different streams of Judaism differ on the importance of these later texts and how they apply today. So while Jews celebrate Biblical holidays, for example, they way they are celebrated differs greatly from how the Torah commands, in great part because there is no Temple in which to offer sacrifices; prayer has replaced sacrifice - and that makes a great difference.
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Jordan P.
Modern Judaism is based upon the rabbinic interpretation of the Tanakh, as found in the Mishneh, Talmud and various law codes. In addition, Responsa literature, where a person writes a rabbinic expert with a question, often forms the basis of modern Jewish practice. This allows us to live in the modern world yet base our lives on ancient practices. Examples of this might be organ donations, the kashrut status of foods unknown in the ancient world (e.g., quinoa), and the use of computers. It is important to realize that any decision much have a biblical, preferably Torah, proof-text for it to be valid. That is the tradition we share with the ancients.11/10/22