Editing Orthodox Judaism (section)

== Diversity ==
{{See|Hashkafa#Broad hashkafot|Relationships between Jewish religious movements}}
Orthodox Judaism lacks a central framework and a common leadership. It is not a "[[Religious denomination|denomination]]" in the structural sense, but a spectrum of groups, united in broadly affirming matters of belief and practice, which share a consciousness and a common discourse. Individual rabbis often gain respect across boundaries, particularly recognized [[Posek|decisors]], but each community largely elevates its own leaders (for example, the [[Haredi]] world shares a sense of common identity, while distinct subgroups include hundreds of independent communities with their own rabbis). The limits and boundaries of Orthodoxy are also controversial. No encompassing definition has found acceptance. Moderately conservative subgroups hotly criticize more liberal groups for deviation, while strict hard-liners dismiss the latter as non-Orthodox. Contentious topics range from the abstract and theoretical, such as the attitude toward the study of scripture, to the mundane and pressing, such as modesty rules.

As in any other broad religious movement, an intrinsic tension connects the ideological and the sociological dimensions of Orthodox Judaism – while elites and intellectuals define adherence in theoretical terms, the masses use societal, familial, and institutional affiliation. The latter may be neither strictly observant nor fully accept the tenets of faith.<ref name=srf />{{rp|25–26, 76, 116–119, 154–156}}<ref>For an online source: {{Cite web |last=Eleff |first=Zev |date=8 June 2017 |title=The Vanishing Non-Observant Orthodox Jew |publisher=The Lehrhaus |url=https://thelehrhaus.com/commentary/the-vanishing-non-observant-orthodox-jew/,%20https://thelehrhaus.com/commentary/the-vanishing-non-observant-orthodox-jew/ |access-date=2024-03-11}}</ref>