Torah Judaism is an English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 term applied to a number of Orthodox Jewish

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 groups to describe their Judaism as being based on an adherence to the laws of the Torah

Torah

Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

's mitzvot as expounded in Orthodox Halakha

Halakha

Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

. These laws include both the Biblical and rabbinic mitzvot.

Followers of Torah Judaism also follow the Daat Torah

Daat Torah

Da'as Torah , is a concept in Torah Judaism according to which Jews should seek the input of rabbinic scholars not just on matters of Jewish law but on all important life matters, on the grounds that knowledge of the Torah aids everything in life.- In Contemporary Hareidi Judaism :Avi Shafran, the...

, i.e., the guidelines of rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

s or hakhamim based on the Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

. In recent time, these hakhamim may include the followers' rebbe

Rebbe

Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...

s ("Hasidic

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

 rabbis), rosh yeshivas

Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...

 ("deans of yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

s -- Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

ical schools"), or a posek

Posek

Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....

, often identified as an expert in the Shulkhan Arukh, the "Code of Jewish Law". (This recognition of a posek is often limited to Haredi communities, as opposed to Modern Orthodox Jews, although the latter are also Torah-observant.)

The phrase Torah Judaism implies a belief and practice of Judaism that is based on the inclusion of the entire Torah

Torah

Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

, Tanakh

Tanakh

The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...

, Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

, and all the rabbinic authorities that followed as sources of conducting oneself in life, and on the premise that the Torah emanates directly from God as revealed at Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...

. The concept of a Sinaitic covenant is further expressed through such Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 phrases as:

• Torah min ha-Shamayim ("Torah from Heaven/sky")
• Torat Hashem ("Torah of God")
• Torah mi-Sinai ("Torah from Sinai")
• Kedushat HaTorah ("Holiness of Torah")
• Torat Hashem temimah ("Torah of God is pure/complete")
• Matan Torah ("giving the Torah")
• Kabbalat HaTorah ("receiving/acceptance of Torah")
• Na'aseh ve-nishmah ("we shall do and we shall hear")

The term "Torah Judaism" is a reaction to the perceived inappropriateness in the meaning of "Orthodox" (from Greek, 'correct opinion'), as well as a conscious intent to label non-Orthodox Jewish movements as being divorced from the Torah.

A separate article exists on Relationships between Jewish religious movements

Relationships between Jewish religious movements

The relationships between the various denominations of American Judaism can be conciliatory, welcoming, or even antagonistic.-Orthodox Judaism:Orthodox Judaism holds that both Conservative and Reform Judaism have made major and unjustifiable breaks with historic Judaism, both by their skepticism of...

.