Orthodox Jewish Customs You Should Know About

For Orthodox Jews, regular daily prayer is practiced at dawn, noon, and dusk, and private prayer is often done at bedtime as well.

When our people pray during the week, traditionalist males use what is called the tefillin, or phylacteries, which consists of two small cubes or boxes containing scriptural passages; one is attached to the forehead by a leather strap tied around the wearer's head, and the other cube is attached to the upper left arm by straps wrapped down around the forearm and hand.

The message behind the positioning of the straps is that the Laws of God are quite literally in the mind, hand, and heart of a person during devotional sessions according to Deuteronomy 6:8.

Next is the Talit or prayer shawl. The Talit is usually white and covered in dark stripes and fringes - covering the head and body of a man during prayer services and signifies his humility in the sight of the Lord - like so:

In less traditional forms of Judaism, the prayer shawl is unused, but men will wear the skullcap or Kippah instead. Orthodox Jews may wear the Kippah continually during the waking hours in order to give reverence to the Lord.

Loyalty and commitment to Adonai is also present in the presence of the mezuzah, which is placed on the doorpost of the entrance of a Jewish home and also on the door post of the interior doorways of our homes according to Deuteronomy 6:9. Much like the tefillin, the mezuzah contains scriptural words. But unlike the tefillin, the mezuzah is also used by secular Jews as well.

Lastly, because of the strong emphasis on the origins of life and sexuality in Judaism, there are a number of orthopraxy ("corrective practices") customs attached.

8 days after childbirth, during which a child receives their name, the male child is circumcised - the foreskin removed according to Genesis 17 and Leviticus 12:3. This custom recalls the Lord's covenant with the Jewish people in the Torah.

Two explanations of why circumcision originated are (1) it began as a health precaution and to prevent infections commonly occurring in extremely hot climates, or (2) it was done to recognize and show divine devotion and control over desires of the flesh and material things.

Question:

1) How are the Orthodox customs influential in the daily lives of Jews?
2) Are these customs present beyond Judaism? If so, please explain.
3) Do these customs define what it means to be loyal to God?

Feel free to comment your thoughts regarding orthodox Jewish customs.