Orthodox Judaism is characterized by belief that: * the Torah and its laws are Divine, were transmitted by God to Moses, are eternal, and are unalterable. * there is an oral law in Judaism, which contains the authoritative interpretation of the written Torah's legal sections, and is also Divine by virtue of having been transmitted by God to Moses along with the Oral Law, as embodied in the Talmud, Midrash, and innumerable related texts, all intrinsically and inherently entwined with the written law of the Torah; * God has made an exclusive, unbreakable covenant with the Children of Israel to be governed by the Torah; * adherence to Halakha, or Jewish law, includes accepting codes, mainly the Shulchan Aruch, as authoritative practical guidance in application of both the writte