Judaism 101: Torah Judaism 101  Torah in the narrowest sense refers to the first five books of the Bible  In a broader sense, Torah includes all Jewish law and tradition  Torah was given to Moses in written form with oral commentary  The oral component is now written in the Talmud  There are additional important writings The word "Torah" is a tricky one, because it can mean different things in different contexts. In its most limited sense, "Torah" refers to the Five Books of Moses : Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But the word "torah" can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible (the body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament and to Jews as the Tanakh or Written Torah), or in its broadest sense, to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings. Written Torah To Jews, there is no "Old Testament." The books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The so-called Old Testament is known to us as Written Torah or the Tanakh.

This is a list of the books of Written Torah, in the order in which they appear in Jewish translations, with the Hebrew name of the book, a translation of the Hebrew name (where it is not the same as the English name), and English names of the books (where it is not the same as the Hebrew name). The Hebrew names of the first five books are derived from the first few words of the book. The text of each book is more or less the same in Jewish translations as what you see in Christian bibles, although there are some occasional, slight differences in the numbering of verses and there are some significant differences in the translations. TORAH (The Law): Ezra & Nechemyah (Nehemiah) (treated as one book) Divrei Ha-Yamim (The words of the days) (Chronicles) Written Torah is often referred to as the Tanakh, which is an acrostic of Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim. Torah Scrolls The scriptures that we use in services are written on parchment scrolls. They are always hand-written, in attractive Hebrew calligraphy with "crowns" (crows-foot-like marks coming up from the upper points) on many of the letters .

This style of writing is known as STA"M (an abbreviation for "Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzot ," which is where you will see that style of writing). For more information about the STA"M alphabet, including illustrations and relevant rules, see Hebrew Alphabet used in writing STA"M . You are not supposed to touch the parchment on these scrolls; some say because they are too holy; some say because the parchment, made from animal skins, is a source of ritual defilement; others say because your fingers' sweat has acids that will damage the parchment over time. Instead, you follow the text with a pointer, called a Yad. "Yad" means "hand" in Hebrew, and the pointer usually is in the shape of a hand with a pointing index finger (I always find this incredibly amusing). The scrolls are kept covered with fabric, and often ornamented with silver crowns on the handles of the scrolls and a silver breastplate on the front. The scrolls are kept in a cabinet in the synagogue called an "ark," as in Ark of the Covenant, not as in Noah's Ark. The words are different and unrelated in Hebrew.

Noah's ark (and also the ark that Moses was placed in) are called in Hebrew teyvat (ship). I was taught that the "Ark" of the Covenant and the ark in synagogue are an acrostic of "aron kodesh" (holy cabinet), but others have told me that it is merely an archaic English word derived from the Latin arca (cabinet). The Torah scrolls that we read from in synagogue are unpointed text, with no vowels or musical notes, so the ability to read a passage from a scroll is a valuable skill, and usually requires substantial advance preparation (reviewing the passage in a text with points). See Hebrew Alphabet for more on pointed and unpointed texts. Chumash Jewish scriptures are sometimes bound in a form that corresponds to the division into weekly readings (called parshiyot in Hebrew). Scriptures bound in this way are generally referred to as a chumash. The word "chumash" comes from the Hebrew word meaning five, and refers to the five books of the Torah. Sometimes, a chumash is simply refers to a collection of the five books of the Torah.

But often, a chumash contains the entire first five books, divided up by the weekly parshiyot, with the haftarah portion inserted after each week's parshah. Oral Torah: The Talmud In addition to the written scriptures we have an "Oral Torah," a tradition explaining what the above scriptures mean and how to interpret them and apply the Laws. Orthodox Jews believe G-d taught the Oral Torah to Moses , and he taught it to others, down to the present day. This tradition was maintained only in oral form until about the 2d century C.E. , when the oral law was compiled and written down in a document called the Mishnah. Over the next few centuries, additional commentaries elaborating on the Mishnah were written down in Jerusalem and Babylon. These additional commentaries are known as the Gemara. The Gemara and the Mishnah together are known as the Talmud. This was completed in the 5th century C.E. There are actually two Talmuds: the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud is more comprehensive, and is the one most people mean if they just say "the Talmud" without specifying which one.

There have been additional commentaries on the Talmud by such noted Jewish scholars as Rashi and Rambam . Adin Steinsaltz recently completed a new edition of the Talmud, with his own commentary supplementing the Mishnah, Gemara, and Rashi commentaries. The Talmud is not easy to read. It reminds me of someone else's class notes for a college lecture you never attended. There are often gaps in the reasoning where it is assumed that you already know what they are talking about, and concepts are often expressed in a sort of shorthand. Biblical verses that support a teaching are often referenced by only two or three words. The Talmud preserves a variety of views on every issue, and does not always clearly identify which view is the accepted one. The Mishnah is divided into six sections called sedarim (in English, orders). Each seder contains one or more divisions called masekhtot (in English, tractates). There are 63 masekhtot in the Mishnah. Approximately half of these masekhtot have been addressed in the Talmud.

Although these divisions seem to indicate subject matter, it is important to note that the Mishnah and the Talmud engage in quite a bit of free-association, thus widely diverse subjects may be discussed in a seder or masekhtah. Below is the division of the Mishnah into sedarim and masekhtot: Zera'im (Seeds), dealing with agricultural laws Berakhot Yadayim Uqsin In recent times, many observant Jews have taken up the practice of studying a page of Talmud every day. This practice, referred to as daf yomi (page of the day), was started at the First International Congress of the Agudath Yisrael World Movement in August, 1923. Rav Meir Shapiro, the rav of Lublin, Poland, proposed uniting people worldwide through the daily study of a page of Talmud. Daf Yomi started its 12th cycle on March 2, 2005. The 13th cycle will begin on August 3, 2012. A calendar of the cycle and other resources can be found at Daf Yomi Calendar .

Other Writings In addition to these works, we have midrashim, which are basically stories expanding on incidents in the Bible to derive principles or Jewish law or to teach moral lessons. For example, there is a midrash about why Moses wasn't a good speaker (he put coals in his mouth as a child basically as a way of proving that he wasn't greedy), and another one about Abram discovering monotheism and rejecting his father's idolatry (that's a nifty one: basically, he smashes up all his father's idols except the big one, then blames the mess on the big one, as a way of showing his father that the idols don't really have any power). Some of them fill in gaps in the narrative. For example, in Gen. 22:2, why does G-d say, "thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac ." Wouldn't the name alone be enough? One story says that the narrative is skipping out Abraham 's responses.

"Take thy son." "Which one?" "Thine only son." "But I have two!" "Whom thou lovest." "I love them both!" "Even Isaac." (I'm not sure this is a traditional one -- I got it from a questionable source -- but I like it). There is also a vast body of responsa, answers to specific questions of Jewish law . Beginning in the middle ages, when local rabbis were faced with difficult issues of Jewish law, they often wrote to the most respected rabbis in the world to get answers to these questions. The local rabbi would present the situation, often including detailed references to the Talmudic passages he had reviewed and his own interpretations of these authorities, and the world-renowned rabbi would provide a reasoned argument in favor of his answer. Over time, these responsa were collected into printed volumes. This tradition continues to the present day, and there are several rabbis in this century who have developed responsa on issues relating to modern technologies.

For example, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, who died in the 1980s, wrote responsa on such diverse topics as the permissibility of cosmetic surgery, the kashering of dishwashers, and artificial insemination. There are literally thousands of volumes of responsa. A project at Bar-Ilan University is compiling these responsa into a computer database. See their website at The Responsa Project for more information. As you can see, the body of Jewish tradition is very vast. Is there any place to get quick answers? In the middle ages, there were several attempts to create definitive codes of Jewish law . The best-known of these codes are Rambam 's Mishneh Torah and Joseph Caro's Shulchan Arukh. In their own time, these works were very controversial, because they did not identify the Torah or Talmudic basis for their opinions and generally ignored conflicting opinions. There was concern that such works would discourage Jews from studying the primary sources: Torah and Talmud. Today, however, these sources are well-respected. In fact, the Shulchan Arukh is often treated as a primary source. We also have a mystical tradition, known as Kabbalah .

The primary written work in the Kabbalistic tradition is the Zohar. Traditionally, rabbis discouraged teaching this material to anyone under the age of 40, because it is too likely to be misinterpreted by anyone without sufficient grounding in the basics. © Copyright 5756-5771 (1995-2011), Tracey R Rich If you appreciate the many years of work I have put into this site, show your appreciation by linking to this page, not copying it to your site. I can't correct my mistakes or add new material if it's on your site. Click Here for more details. BBC - Religions - Judaism: The Torah The Torah Last updated 2009-08-13 This article examines The Torah - what it is, how it is used and how it is constructed. On this page Print this page What is the Torah? The Torah is the first part of the Jewish bible. It is the central and most important document of Judaism and has been used by Jews through the ages. Torah refers to the five books of Moses which are known in Hebrew as Chameesha Choomshey Torah.

These are: Bresheit (Genesis), Shemot (Exodus), Vayicra (Leviticus), Bamidbar (Numbers), and Devarim (Deuteronomy). Jews believe that God dictated the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai 50 days after their exodus from Egyptian slavery. They believe that the Torah shows how God wants Jews to live. It contains 613 commandments and Jews refer to the ten best known of these as the ten 10 statements. The Torah is written in Hebrew, the oldest of Jewish languages. It is also known as Torat Moshe, the Law of Moses. The Torah is the first section or first five books of the Jewish bible. However, Tanach is more commonly used to describe the whole of Jewish scriptures. This is an acronym made up from the first letter of the words Torah, Nevi im (prophets), and Ketuvim (writings). Similarly, the term Torah is sometimes used in a more general sense to incorporate Judaism’s written and oral law. This definition encompasses Jewish scripture in its entirety including all authoritative Jewish religious teachings throughout history. The word Torah has various meanings in English. These include: teaching, instruction and law.

For Jews the Torah means all of these. How is the Torah used? The Torah scrolls are taken out from the Ark (Aron ha kodesh) and portions read in the synagogue three times each week. On Mondays and Thursdays small sections are read. The main reading is on the morning of Shabbat (Sabbath). Over the course of the year the whole scroll is read in sequence. This begins from the end of Sukkot which is an autumn festival. The special portions for the readings are called parshioth and are usually three to five chapters in length. The reader has to be very skilled to read from the scroll because the letters are written without corresponding vowels. They have to know the portion very well to avoid making mistakes. The reading is conducted using an ancient tune and is sung rather than spoken. The scrolls are not directly touched when unfurled on the Bimah (raised platform in middle of the synagogue). A pointer or Yad (hand) is used instead. This is in the shape of a hand with an outstretched finger. The reading or chanting is performed by a person who has been trained in this task. However it may be carried out by the rabbi.

It is a very great honour for a congregant to be asked to attend at a reading during a synagogue service. This is called having an Aliyah which is Hebrew for going up. The weekly portion or Sedrah is followed by the recitation of part of another of the Jewish holy writings. How is a Torah scroll constructed? The Torah scrolls are entirely handwritten in Hebrew by a sofer (scribe) on parchment from a kosher animal. This is usually a cow. It can take up to 18 months to complete the whole process from the complex preparation of the animal skins to the writing of the final words. Great accuracy is needed when the sofer writes the scroll. If he makes any mistakes it can make the whole scroll pasul (invalid). The completed scroll is known as a Sefer Torah from sefer which is the Hebrew for book. A Sefer Torah is so sacred to Jews it is said that if one is accidentally dropped in the synagogue the whole congregation must fast for 40 days. When Jewish communities have suffered persecution, great efforts would be made to preserve these scrolls. This demonstrates just how symbolically and physically important the Torah is to Jews. Oral law Alongside the written law Jews believe God also told Moses the spoken or oral law.

This is known as the Torah she b’al pei or literally Torah from the mouth. The letter Pei as well as being the Hebrew word for mouth is the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Pei has a numerical value of 80 which Jews believe is the age that Moses was when he led them out from slavery in Egypt. Although given at the same time this law was to be passed down orally from generation to generation. It is the information Jews need to practise fully the commandments in the written law. It was codified in the 2nd Century C.E. Torah Scroll Facts - Synagogue Synagogue • A Torah Scroll is the holiest book within Judaism, made up of the five books of Moses. • There are 304,805 letters in a Torah Scroll. • Each page has 42 lines. • The Torah Scroll must be written by a specially trained pious scribe called a sofer. • A sofer must know more than 4,000 Judaic laws before he begins writing a Torah Scroll. • It takes about a year to write an entire Torah Scroll. • Even a single missing or misshapen letter invalidates the entire Sefer Torah.

• The Torah we use today in your synagogue is written exactly the same way the Torah was written the very first time by Moses 3,300 years ago. • The Torah is made of many sheets of parchment that are sewn together to make one very long scroll. • The entire Torah is written by hand, each letter is inscribed and individually formed with a quill and specially prepared ink. • The Torah is read at least four times a week in synagogues around the world. Readings and Resources The Five Books of Moses in the Torah By Ariela Pelaia Updated February 23, 2016. Although it has many different names, the Five Books of Moses are the most central origin texts for the whole of Judaism and Jewish life. Meaning and Origins The Five Books of Moses are the biblical books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

There are a few different names for the Five Books of Moses: Pentateuch (πεντάτευχος): This is the Greek name, which means "five scrolls." Torah (תּוֹרָה): Although Judaism has both a Written Torah and an Oral Torah, the term "Torah," meaning "to guide/teach" is used across the board to refer to the first five books of the greater Jewish canon known as Tanakh, which is an acronym for Torah, Nevi'im (prophets), and Ketuvim (writings). The origin for this comes from Joshua 8:31-32, which references the "book of the law of Moses" (סֵפֶר תּוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה, or sefer torah Moshe). It appears in many other places, including Ezra 6:18, which calls the text the "Book of Moshe" (סְפַר מֹשֶׁה, sefer Moshe).

Although there is plenty of controversy over the authorship of the Torah, in Judaism, it is believed that Moses was responsible writing the five books. Each of the Books In Hebrew, these books have very different names, each taken from the first Hebrew word that appears in the book. They are: Genesis, or Bereishit (בְּרֵאשִׁית): Bereishit means "in the beginning, and this is the Hebrew word that kicks off the five book narrative of the Israelite nation. Exodus, or Shemot (שְׁמוֹת): Shemot means "names" in Hebrew. Exodus starts by naming the 11 tribes that went with Jacob into Egypt: "And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Jacob, each man and his household came: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin. Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

Now all those descended from Jacob were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt." Leviticus, or Vayikra (וַיִּקְרָא): Vayikra means "And He called" in Hebrew. This book begins with God calling for Moses. God then relays that Moses should share with the Israelites the bulk of the laws and the services of the Levites and the Priests, or Kohanim. Among the many laws told are those of sacrifices; forbidden relationships; the major holidays of Passover , Shavuot , Rosh Hashanah , Yom Kippur , and Sukkot ; and more. Numbers, or BaMidbar (בְּמִדְבַּר): BaMidbar means "In the wilderness" in Hebrew. This book chronicles the Israelites' journey through the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. Deuteronomy, or Devarim (דְּבָרִים): Devarim means "words" in Hebrew.

Devarim has Moses chronicling and retelling the journey of the Israelites as he prepares to die without entering the Promised Land. At the end of Devarim, Moses dies and the Israelites enter the land of Israel. How To In Judaism, the Five Books of Moses are traditionally recorded in scroll form. This scroll is used weekly in synagogues in order to read the weekly Torah portions. There are countless rules surrounding the creation of, writing of, and use of a Torah scroll, which is why the chumash is popular in Judaism today. The chumash essentially is just a printed version of the Five Books of Moses used in prayer and study. Bonus Fact Residing at the University of Bologna for decades, the oldest copy of the Torah is more than 800 years old. The scroll dates to between 1155 and 1225 and includes complete versions of the Five Books of Moses in Hebrew on sheepskin. The Torah - My Jewish Learning The Torah Bible 101 To receive a free newsletter with Torah commentaries each week, click here . For Jews, the concept of “Torah” is much broader than the books themselves, the delimited concept of the Torah.

“Torah” can refer to all of traditional Jewish learning, but “the Torah” usually refers to the Torah she’bi’ktav, the written Torah, also known as the Chumash (the five volumes or Pentateuch, sometimes referred to as the Five Books of Moses). The Torah, Prophets (Nevi’im) and the Writings (Kethuvim) collectively make up The Hebrew Bible (what Christians refer to as the Old Testament). The Bible is often referred to by the Hebrew acronym TaNaKh (usually spelled Tanakh, or Tanach). Numerous editions and translations of the Bible and the Chumash (the text of the Torah) can be purchased online . However, you can also read (and search) the entire Bible (along with many other major Jewish texts) in English and translation free of charge here . Readings from the Torah, which are divided into 54 weekly Torah portions (parshiyot), are the centerpiece of the Sabbath morning service . During the Torah service , the Torah scroll is taken out and the weekly portion chanted or read aloud.

The Torah scroll, also known as a sefer Torah, is hand-written on parchment according to numerous specifications by a sofer (scribe), a specially trained individual. READ: What You Need to Know About the Torah Portion The Torah’s stories, laws and poetry stand at the center of Jewish culture. They chronicle God’s creation of the world, the selection and growth of the family of Abraham and Sarah in relationship to God in the land of Canaan, the exile and redemption from Egypt of that “family-become-nation” known as Israel, and their travels through the desert until they return to the land of Canaan. Along the way, Israel enters into a covenanted relationship with God, and God reveals many of the rules for governing a just society and for establishing appropriate worship. The Torah Comprises Five Books The English names for each of the Torah’s five book are actually Greek, and like the Rabbinic names for the books, they describe the contents. The common names for the books come from a significant word in the beginning verses of the book.

The following are the names of the five books and a brief summary of each (click on them for longer summaries): Genesis (“Origins”)/Bereishit (“In the Beginning”) tells the story of creation, Noah and the flood, and the selection of Abraham and Sarah and their family as the bearers of God’s covenant. Stories of sibling conflict and the long narratives of Jacob and his favorite son Joseph conclude with the family dwelling in Egypt. Exodus (“The Road Out”)/Shemot (“Names”) tells of how the family of Jacob grew and then was enslaved in Egypt. The baby Moses , born of Israelites but adopted by Pharaoh, becomes God’s prophet who, after bringing 10 plagues down upon Egypt, leads the Israelites through the Red Sea to freedom and to the revelation at Mount Sinai. The story of the Israelites worshipping the golden calf , which follows soon after the revelation at Mount Sinai, is almost obscured by lengthy materials on the building of a sanctuary ( tabernacle ) in the wilderness. Leviticus (“Laws of the Levites”)/Vayikra (“And God Called”) deals mostly with laws of Israelite sacrificial worship.

Related rules include the basis for Jewish dietary laws ( kashrut ) and issues of purity and impurity. The holiness code , which describes a sanctified communal life, is a highlight of the book. Numbers (“The Census”)/Bamidbar (“In the Wilderness”) begins with a census of the Israelites and the tribe of Levi. A group of Israelites spy out the land of Canaan; their discouraging report sends them back into the desert for an additional 38 years, during which the Israelites continue to behave badly, rebelling against the authority of Moses and his brother Aaron, and having illicit relations with Moabite women. Deuteronomy (“Second Law”)/Devarim (“Words”) is Moses’ final message to the people of Israel before they cross over the Jordan River into Israel. Moses reminds the people of how God has redeemed the people from Egypt and of the details of the covenant between Israel and God. In stark language, Moses describes the rewards for observance of the laws of the covenant and the punishment for disobedience. Finally, Moses passes along his authority to Joshua who will lead the people into the land.

Origins of the Torah Traditionally, the Torah has been seen either as a document that was entirely revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai (along with the whole of the Oral Torah , i.e. the Mishnah and other works of Rabbinic literature which build upon the written Torah) or that Moses completed the Torah during the trek through the wilderness (including what was revealed on Mount Sinai). Historians and literary critics, noting historical inaccuracies and duplications that indicate a composite text have suggested that the Torah includes sources from the period of King David and King Solomon (around 1000 BCE), from the seventh century BCE during the reign of King Josiah, and from the sixth century BCE during the Babylonian exile . Connection Between the Torah and the Prophets In the works of the prophets, and in many of the writings, narrative elements from the Torah like the exodus from Egypt are re-used to make new points. Laws from the Torah like the specifics of Sabbath law prohibitions are also commented upon and expand their scope in later works. Another set of connections between the Torah and the Prophets is indicated by the weekly Prophetic portions (haftarot), which are paired with each of the 54 weekly Torah portions .

By MJL Staff | July 15, 2002 To receive a free newsletter with Torah commentaries each week, click here . For Jews, the concept of “Torah” is much broader than the books themselves, the delimited concept of the Torah. “Torah” can refer to all of traditional Jewish learning, but “the Torah” usually refers to the Torah she’bi’ktav, the written Torah, also known as the Chumash (the five volumes or Pentateuch, sometimes referred to as the Five Books of Moses). The Torah, Prophets (Nevi’im) and the Writings (Kethuvim) collectively make up The Hebrew Bible (what Christians refer to as the Old Testament). The Bible is often referred to by the Hebrew acronym TaNaKh (usually spelled Tanakh, or Tanach). Numerous editions and translations of the Bible and the Chumash (the text of the Torah) can be purchased online . However, you can also read (and search) the entire Bible (along with many other major Jewish texts) in English and translation free of charge here .

Readings from the Torah, which are divided into 54 weekly Torah portions (parshiyot), are the centerpiece of the Sabbath morning service . During the Torah service , the Torah scroll is taken out and the weekly portion chanted or read aloud. The Torah scroll, also known as a sefer Torah, is hand-written on parchment according to numerous specifications by a sofer (scribe), a specially trained individual. READ: What You Need to Know About the Torah Portion The Torah’s stories, laws and poetry stand at the center of Jewish culture. They chronicle God’s creation of the world, the selection and growth of the family of Abraham and Sarah in relationship to God in the land of Canaan, the exile and redemption from Egypt of that “family-become-nation” known as Israel, and their travels through the desert until they return to the land of Canaan. Along the way, Israel enters into a covenanted relationship with God, and God reveals many of the rules for governing a just society and for establishing appropriate worship. The Torah Comprises Five Books The English names for each of the Torah’s five book are actually Greek, and like the Rabbinic names for the books, they describe the contents.

The common names for the books come from a significant word in the beginning verses of the book. The following are the names of the five books and a brief summary of each (click on them for longer summaries): Genesis (“Origins”)/Bereishit (“In the Beginning”) tells the story of creation, Noah and the flood, and the selection of Abraham and Sarah and their family as the bearers of God’s covenant. Stories of sibling conflict and the long narratives of Jacob and his favorite son Joseph conclude with the family dwelling in Egypt. Exodus (“The Road Out”)/Shemot (“Names”) tells of how the family of Jacob grew and then was enslaved in Egypt. The baby Moses , born of Israelites but adopted by Pharaoh, becomes God’s prophet who, after bringing 10 plagues down upon Egypt, leads the Israelites through the Red Sea to freedom and to the revelation at Mount Sinai. The story of the Israelites worshipping the golden calf , which follows soon after the revelation at Mount Sinai, is almost obscured by lengthy materials on the building of a sanctuary ( tabernacle ) in the wilderness.

Leviticus (“Laws of the Levites”)/Vayikra (“And God Called”) deals mostly with laws of Israelite sacrificial worship. Related rules include the basis for Jewish dietary laws ( kashrut ) and issues of purity and impurity. The holiness code , which describes a sanctified communal life, is a highlight of the book. Numbers (“The Census”)/Bamidbar (“In the Wilderness”) begins with a census of the Israelites and the tribe of Levi. A group of Israelites spy out the land of Canaan; their discouraging report sends them back into the desert for an additional 38 years, during which the Israelites continue to behave badly, rebelling against the authority of Moses and his brother Aaron, and having illicit relations with Moabite women. Deuteronomy (“Second Law”)/Devarim (“Words”) is Moses’ final message to the people of Israel before they cross over the Jordan River into Israel. Moses reminds the people of how God has redeemed the people from Egypt and of the details of the covenant between Israel and God. In stark language, Moses describes the rewards for observance of the laws of the covenant and the punishment for disobedience.

Finally, Moses passes along his authority to Joshua who will lead the people into the land. Origins of the Torah Traditionally, the Torah has been seen either as a document that was entirely revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai (along with the whole of the Oral Torah , i.e. the Mishnah and other works of Rabbinic literature which build upon the written Torah) or that Moses completed the Torah during the trek through the wilderness (including what was revealed on Mount Sinai). Historians and literary critics, noting historical inaccuracies and duplications that indicate a composite text have suggested that the Torah includes sources from the period of King David and King Solomon (around 1000 BCE), from the seventh century BCE during the reign of King Josiah, and from the sixth century BCE during the Babylonian exile . Connection Between the Torah and the Prophets In the works of the prophets, and in many of the writings, narrative elements from the Torah like the exodus from Egypt are re-used to make new points. Laws from the Torah like the specifics of Sabbath law prohibitions are also commented upon and expand their scope in later works.

Another set of connections between the Torah and the Prophets is indicated by the weekly Prophetic portions (haftarot), which are paired with each of the 54 weekly Torah portions . The Written Law - Torah | Jewish Virtual Library The Written Law - Torah Tweet The Torah , or Jewish Written Law, consists of the five books of the Hebrew Bible - known more commonly to non-Jews as the " Old Testament " - that were given by G-d to Moses on Mount Sinai and include within them all of the biblical laws of Judaism. The Torah is also known as the Chumash, Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses. The word "Torah" has multiple meanings including: A scroll made from kosher animal parchment, with the entire text of the Five Books of Moses written on it; the text of the Five Books of Moses, written in any format; and, the term "Torah" can mean the entire corpus of Jewish law. This includes the Written and the Oral Law . Origin & Preexistence Jewish tradition holds that "Moses received the Torah from Sinai," yet there is also an ancient tradition that the Torah existed in heaven not only before God revealed it to Moses, but even before the world was created.

In rabbinic literature, it was taught that the Torah was one of the six or seven things created prior to the creation of the world. According to Eliezer ben Yose the Galilean, for 974 generations before the creation of the world the Torah lay in God's bosom and joined the ministering angels in song. Simeon ben Lakish taught that the Torah preceded the world by 2,000 years and was written in black fire upon white fire. Akiva called the Torah "the precious instrument by which the world was created". Rav said that God created the world by looking into the Torah as an architect builds a palace by looking into blueprints. It was also taught that God took council with the Torah before He created the world. Other Jewish sages, however, disregard the literal belief that the Torah existed before all else. Saadiah Gaon rejected this belief on the grounds that it contradicts the principle of creation ex nihilo. Judah Barzillai of Barcelona raised the problem of place. Where could God have kept a preexistent Torah?

While allowing that God could conceivably have provided an ante-mundane place for a corporeal Torah, he preferred the interpretation that the Torah preexisted only as a thought in the divine mind. Similarly, the Ibn Ezra raised the problem of time. He wrote that it is impossible for the Torah to have preceded the world by 2,000 years or even by one moment, since time is an accident of motion, and there was no motion before God created the celestial spheres; rather, he concluded, the teaching about the Torah's preexistence must be a metaphoric riddle. Judah Halevi attempts to alleviate the argument by explaining that the Torah precedes the world in terms of teleology; God created the world for the purpose of revealing the Torah; therefore, since, as the philosophers say, "the first of thought is the end of the work," the Torah is said to have existed before the world. Nature, Message & Purpose In the Bible, the Torah is referred to both as the "Torah of the Lord" and as the "Torah of Moses," and is said to be given as an inheritance to the congregation of Jacob- the Jewish people.

Its purpose seems to be to make Israel "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." The Septuagint rendered the Hebrew torah by the Greek nomos ("law"), probably in the sense of a living network of traditions and customs of a people. The designation of the Torah by nomos, and by its Latin successor lex (whence, "the Law"), has historically given rise to the misunderstanding that Torah means legalism. It was one of the very few real dogmas of rabbinic theology that the Torah is from heaven; i.e., the Torah in its entirety was revealed by God. According to biblical stories, Moses ascended into heaven to capture the Torah from the angels. In one of the oldest mishnaic statements it is taught that Torah is one of the three things by which the world is sustained. Eleazar ben Shammua said: "Were it not for the Torah, heaven and earth would not continue to exist". The Torah was often compared to fire, water, wine, oil, milk, honey, drugs, manna, the tree of life, and many other things; it was considered the source of freedom, goodness, and life; it was identified both with wisdom and with love.

Hillel summarized the entire Torah in one sentence: "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow". Akiva said: "The fundamental principle of the Torah is the commandment, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself '". The message of the Torah is for all mankind. Before giving the Torah to Israel, God offered it to the other nations, but they refused it; and when He did give the Torah to Israel, He revealed it in the extraterritorial desert and simultaneously in all the 70 languages, so that men of all nations would have a right to it. Alongside this universalism, the rabbis taught the inseparability of Israel and the Torah. One rabbi held that the concept of Israel existed in God's mind even before He created the Torah. Yet, were it not for its accepting the Torah, Israel would not be "chosen," nor would it be different from all the idolatrous nations. Saadiah Gaon expounded a rationalist theory according to which the ethical and religious-intellectual beliefs imparted by the Torah are all attainable by human reason.

He held that the Torah is divisible into two parts: (1) commandments which, in addition to being revealed, are demanded by reason (e.g., prohibitions of murder, fornication, theft, lying); and (2) commandments whose authority is revelation alone (e.g., Sabbath and dietary laws), but which generally are understandable in terms of some personal or social benefit attained by their performance. In the period between Saadiah and Maimonides , most Jewish writers who speculated on the nature of the Torah continued in this rationalist tradition. Judah Halevi , however, opposed the rationalist interpretation. He allowed that the Torah contains rational and political laws, but considered them preliminary to the specifically divine laws and teachings which cannot be comprehended by reason, e.g., the laws of the Sabbath which teach the omnipotence of God and the creation of the world. The Torah makes it possible to approach God by awe, love, and joy. It is the essence of wisdom, and the outcome of the will of God to reveal His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. While Judah Halevi held that Israel was created to fulfill the Torah, he wrote that there would be no Torah were there no Israel.

Maimonides emphasized that the Torah is the product of the unique prophecy of Moses. He maintained that the Torah has two purposes: (1) The welfare of the body, which is a prerequisite of the ultimate purpose, is political, and "consists in the governance of the city and the well-being of the state of all its people according to their capacity. (2) The welfare of the soul (intellect), which consists in the true perfection of man, his acquisition of immortality through intellection of the highest things. Maimonides held that the Torah is similar to other laws in its concern with the welfare of the body; but its divine nature is reflected in its concern for the welfare of the soul. Maimonides saw the Torah as a rationalizing force, warring against superstition, imagination, appetite, and idolatry. He cited the rabbinic dictum, "Everyone who disbelieves in idolatry professes the Torah in its entirety", and taught that the foundation of the Torah and the pivot around which it turns consists in the effacement of idolatry. He held that the Torah must be interpreted in the light of reason.

While Maimonides generally restricted analysis of the nature of the Torah to questions of its educational, moral, or political value, the Spanish kabbalists engaged in bold metaphysical speculation concerning its essence. The kabbalists taught that the Torah is a living organism. Some said the entire Torah consists of the names of God set in succession or interwoven into a fabric. Ultimately, it was said that the Torah is God. This identification of the Torah and God was understood to refer to the Torah in its true primordial essence, and not to its manifestation in the world of creation. Influenced by Maimonides, Baruch Spinoza took the position that the Torah is an exclusively political law, however he broke radically with all rabbinic tradition by denying its divine nature, by making it an object of historical-critical investigation, and by maintaining that it was not written by Moses alone but by various authors living at different times. Moreover, he considered the Torah primitive, unscientific, and particularistic, and thus subversive to progress, reason, and universal morality. By portraying the Torah as a product of the Jewish people, he reversed the traditional opinion according to which the Jewish people are a product of the Torah.

Moses Mendelssohn considered the Torah a political law, but he affirmed its divine nature. He explained that the Torah does not intend to reveal new ideas about deism and morality, but rather, through its laws and institutions, to arouse men to be mindful of the true ideas attainable by all men through reason. By identifying the beliefs of the Torah with the truths of reason, Mendelssohn affirmed both its scientific respectability and its universalistic nature. By defining the Torah as a political law given to Israel by God, he preserved the traditional view that Israel is a product of the Torah, and not, as Spinoza claimed, vice versa. With the rise of the science of Judaism (Wissenschaft des Judentums) in the 19th century, and the advance of the historical-critical approach to the Torah, many Jewish intellectuals, including ideologists of Reform like Abraham Geiger , followed Spinoza in seeing the Torah, at least in part, as a product of the primitive history of the Jewish nation. The increasing intellectualization of the Torah was opposed by Samuel David Luzzatto .

He contended that the belief that God revealed the Torah is the starting point of Judaism, and that this belief, with its momentous implications concerning the nature of God and His relation to man, cannot be attained by philosophy. Luzzatto held that the foundation of the whole Torah is compassion. In their German translation of the Bible, Martin Buber translated torah as Weisung or Unterweisung ("Instruction") and not as Gesetz ("Law"). In general, he agreed on the purpose of the Torah - to convert the universe and God from It to Thou - yet differed on several points concerning its nature. Buber saw the Torah as the past dialogue between Israel and God, and the present dialogue between the individual reader, the I, and God, the Thou. He concluded that while one must open himself to the entire teaching of the Torah, he need only accept a particular law of the Torah if he feels that it is being spoken now to him. The secular Zionism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries gave religious thinkers new cause to define the relationship between the Torah and the Jewish nation. Some defined the Torah in terms of the nation.

Thus, Mordecai Kaplan translated Ahad Ha-Am's sociological theory of the evolution of Jewish civilization into a religious, though naturalistic, theory of the Torah as the "religious civilization of the Jews." Other thinkers defined the nation in terms of the Torah. Thus, Abraham Isaac Kook taught that the purpose of the Torah is to reveal the living light of the universe, the suprarational spiritual, to Israel and, through Israel, to all mankind. While the Written Torah, which reveals the light in the highest channel of our soul, is the product of God alone, the Oral Torah , which is inseparable from the Written Torah, and which reveals the light in a second channel of our soul, proximate to the life of deeds, derives its personality from the spirit of the nation. The Oral Torah can live in its fullness only when Israel lives in its fullness – in peace and independence in the Land of Israel. Thus, according to Kook, modern Zionism, whatever the intent of its secular ideologists, has universal religious significance, for it is acting in service of the Torah.

In the State of Israel , most writers and educators have maintained the secularist position of the early Zionists, namely, that the Torah was not revealed by God, in the traditional sense, but is the product of the national life of ancient Israel. Those who have discussed the Torah and its relation to the state from a religious point of view have mostly followed Kook or Buber. However, a radically rationalist approach to the nature of the Torah has been taught by Yeshayahu Leibowitz who emphasizes that the Torah is a law for the worship of God and for the consequent obliteration of the worship of men and things; in this connection, he condemns the subordination of the Torah to nationalism or to religious sentimentalism or to any ideology or institution.

Eternality (Non-Abrogability) In the Bible there is no text unanimously understood to affirm explicitly the eternity or nonabrogability of the Torah; however, many laws of the Torah are accompanied by phrases such as, "an everlasting injunction through your generations." Whereas the rabbis understood the preexistence of the Torah in terms of its prerevelation existence in heaven, they understood the eternity or nonabrogability of the Torah in terms of its postrevelation existence, not in heaven; i.e., the whole Torah was given to Moses and no part of it remained in heaven. When Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Joshua ben Hananiah were debating a point of Torah and a voice from heaven dramatically announced that Eliezer's position was correct, Joshua refused to recognize its testimony, for the Torah "is not in heaven", and must be interpreted by men, unaided by the supernatural. It was a principle that "a prophet is henceforth not permitted to innovate a thing." The rabbis taught that the Torah would continue to exist in the world to come, although some of them were of the opinion that innovations would be made in the messianic era.

With the rise to political power of Christianity and Islam, two religions which sought to convert Jews and which argued that particular injunctions of the Torah had been abrogated, the question of the eternity or "nonabrogability" of the Torah became urgent. Saadiah Gaon stated that the children of Israel have a clear tradition from the prophets that the laws of the Torah are not subject to abrogation. Presenting scriptural corroboration for this tradition, he appealed to phrases appended to certain commandments, e.g., "throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." According to one novel argument of his, the Jewish nation is a nation only by virtue of its laws, namely, the Torah; God has stated that the Jewish nation will endure as long as the heaven and earth; therefore, the Torah will last as long as heaven and earth. He interpreted the verses, "Remember ye the Torah of Moses… Behold, I will send you Elijah…" , as teaching that the Torah will hold valid until the prophet Elijah returns to herald the resurrection.

Maimonides listed the belief in the eternity of the Torah as the ninth of his 13 principles of Judaism, and connected it with the belief that no prophet will surpass Moses, the only man to give people laws through prophecy. He contended that the eternity of the Torah is stated clearly in the Bible, particularly in the passages "thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it" and "the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this Torah". He offered the following explanation of the Torah's eternity, based on its perfection and on the theory of the mean: "The Torah of the Lord is perfect" (Ps. 19:8) in that its statutes are just, i.e., that they are equibalanced between the burdensome and the indulgent; and "when a thing is perfect as it is possible to be within its species, it is impossible that within that species there should be found another thing that does not fall short of the perfection either because of excess or deficiency." Joseph Albo criticized Maimonides for listing the belief in the eternity of the Torah as an independent fundamental belief of Judaism.

In a long discussion he contended that nonabrogation is not a fundamental principle of the Torah, and that moreover, no text can be found in the Bible to establish it. Ironically, his ultimate position turned out to be closer to Maimonides' for he concluded that the belief in the nonabrogation of the Torah is a branch of the doctrine that no prophet will surpass the excellence of Moses. After Albo, the question of the eternity of the Torah became routine in Jewish philosophical literature. However, in the Kabbalah it was never routine. In the 13th-century Sefer ha-Temunah a doctrine of cosmic cycles (or shemittot; cf. Deut. 15) was expounded, according to which creation is renewed every 7,000 years, at which times the letters of the Torah reassemble, and the Torah enters the new cycle bearing different words and meanings. Thus, while eternal in its unrevealed state, the Torah, in its manifestation in creation, is destined to be abrogated.

This doctrine became popular in later kabbalistic and ḥasidic literature, and was exploited by the heretic Shabbetai Ẓevi and his followers, who claimed that a new cycle had begun, and in consequence he was able to teach that "the abrogation of the Torah is its fulfillment!" Jewish philosophers of modern times have not concentrated on the question of the eternity or nonabrogability of the Torah. Nevertheless, it is not entirely untenable that the main distinction between Orthodox Judaism and non-Orthodox Judaism is that the latter rejects the literal interpretation of the ninth principle of Maimonides' Creed that there will be no change in the Torah. What Is Torah? - Beyond Wisdom - Essentials What Is Torah? Related words: instruction הוראה, guide מורה What it means If you are confused by usage of this word, you’re probably on the right track. Grammatically, the word torah should mean any instruction, but in actual usage: The title Torah often refers specifically to the Five Books of Moses. A parchment scroll version of the Torah, carefully written by an expert scribe, is kept in the ark of the synagogue and taken out to be read during services.

Torah can also refer to the entire Written Torah, meaning the entire canonized scripture. Torah can also refer to the above plus the Oral Torah, which includes: the compilation of laws and rulings known as Mishnah, along with other accepted compilations, the discussion and debate of that material, known as Talmud or Gemara, the stories and their lessons that are collected in the Talmud and Midrashic works, any other teaching that has been accepted by a long-term consensus of the observant Jewish community, because it is based firmly on some precedent, or because it has been demonstrated to emerge by accepted means from previous texts and opinions. 1 What’s so special about it? “If someone tells you there is wisdom among other peoples, believe him . . . If someone tells you there is Torah among other peoples, do not believe him . . .” —Midrash 2 Torah, it seems, is distinct from what we generally call wisdom. Our sages go so far as to say that Torah precedes all existence, 3 that it contains the blueprint for the cosmos, 4 and that the very existence of the cosmos is contingent upon Torah. 5 Even the term “divine wisdom” is insufficient.

Our universe, after all, is composed of divine wisdom. Our environment, our bodies and the very psyche with which we observe all of these are of unfathomable design. “How wondrous are Your works, O G‑d,” the Psalmist declares. “You made all of them with wisdom!” 6 Yet the laws of nature are not the laws of Torah. Human wisdom can be described as the ability to predict the outcomes of this wondrous design. We take note of its patterns and extrapolate into the future. We strive to know enough about what is to predict what will be—and therefore, what could be if we make informed choices. Nevertheless, what should be is decided by means that are not related to knowledge or wisdom. Wisdom provides information about all that is and all that could be For example, wisdom tells you that how you treat others is bound to come back to you. It’s up to you to decide whether you want that coming back or not. Possessing property that doesn’t belong to you might not be a good idea—for you or for the people around you. It’s up to you to decide whether or not to suffer the consequences for the sake of the immediate benefits.

Torah is the Creator sharing with us His innermost desire from which all things emerge. Torah, on the other hand, doesn’t simply inform, it instructs, “Don’t steal.” It’s nice to know that respect of private property benefits you and the society in which you live, but that’s not the reason you refrain from stealing. You don’t steal because that is your Creator’s will. Torah as Oneness A construction worker looks at a blueprint and sees a building; an architect listens to the builder and understands what he really wants. The Torah is like the architect—which is why studying it tells us not only what is, but what should be. Torah is the Creator sharing His innermost desire with us, the created. The seed of Torah was planted with the experience at Sinai, recorded in the Five Books of Moses. But the voice of Sinai continues to be heard in each generation as students of the Torah unfold the DNA of that seed, discovering new meanings that were always meant, new applications that had always lay dormant. 7 After all, the ultimate instruction is that which lifts the student to a vantage point from which he can discern his own evaluation, using the same tools as the teacher.

What’s in it for us When you immerse yourself in Torah, your goal is not simply to amass information, but to gain a sense of how the Creator of the Universe relates to His creations. To think in a G‑dly way. It is a sharing of spirit, until the same preferences and desires breathe within the two of you. His thoughts are your thoughts and your thoughts are His. There is no comparable union to be found in any other wisdom. Judaism 101 Judaism 101 What's Nu? Welcome to Judaism 101! Judaism 101 is an online encyclopedia of Judaism, covering Jewish beliefs, people, places, things, language, scripture, holidays, practices and customs. My goal is to make freely available a wide variety of basic, general information about Judaism, written from a traditional perspective in plain English. This web site has grown continually for more than 10 years and continues to be updated periodically. The information in this site is written predominantly from the Orthodox viewpoint, because I believe that is a good starting point for any inquiry into Judaism.

As recently as 300 years ago, this was the only Judaism, and it still is the only Judaism in many parts of the world. Be aware, however, that many Jews do not follow all of the traditions described here, or do not follow them in the precise form described here. The Conservative movement believes that these laws and traditions can change to suit the times, and Reform/Liberal/Progressive movements believe that individuals can make choices about what traditions to follow. However, what I present here is the starting point, the traditions that are being changed or chosen. On some pages, I have identified variations in practice or belief in other movements. Everything in this web site is free to use or distribute in any way, with three conditions: 1) if you use text, graphics or sound from this site, please credit this site; 2) do not redistribute this information for profit; 3) do not "mirror" this site or copy pages from this site for use on other web sites. For further details, please see my copyright page. Where to Start There are over eighty web pages on this site, comprising over 300 pages of text, a virtual book of information on Judaism. That's a lot of information!

Where should you start? That depends on what you're looking for: Just browsing? If you're not sure what you're looking for, and you just want to see what's available on this site, look through the Table of Contents . Looking for something specific? If you are looking for something specific, I have a Search Engine for this site. Enter a term and it will search the glossary and index, giving you quick definitions and explanations, and pointing you to appropriate pages in this site. Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced? Judaism 101 was originally created as an introduction to Judaism for people with little or no knowledge. But like the Passover seder, this site now includes information for the wise son, who wants to know the ritual details; the simple son, who asks simple questions; and the son who does not know what to ask (the wicked son can go someplace else <grin>). All pages are now labeled appropriately: Basic: Things that every Jewish person should know, that require no prior knowledge Intermediate: Beyond the basics Advanced: More sophisticated concepts Gentile: The minimal things that Jews expect gentiles to know.

There is only one page in this category so far (about the holidays) but there may be one or two more in the future Want to see what's new? If you've been here before and just want to see what's new on the site, try the What's Nu? page, a chronological list of additions and significant changes to pages in this site. © Copyright 5756-5772 (1995-2012), Tracey R Rich If you appreciate the many years of work I have put into this site, show your appreciation by linking to this page, not copying it to your site. I can't correct my mistakes or add new material if it's on your site. Click Here for more details. The Written Torah - Torah Shebikhtav (Genesis) The story of the creation of the universe by the God of Israel, and how He chose the Jewish people to be His own covenant people. Bereshit means "in the beginning." (Exodus) The story of the liberation of the Jewish people from their bondage in Egypt. The giving of the Mosaic covenant to Israel.

Shemot means "names." (Leviticus) Detailed instructions for the ancient priesthood regarding how Israel might approach God by means of the rituals in the mishkan (tabernacle). Vaiyikra means "And He called." (Numbers) The story of how Moses led the wandering Jewish people through the wastelands of Sinai. Bamidbar means "In the wilderness." (Deuteronomy) Renewal of the Mosaic covenant with blessings for obedience and consequences for disobedience. Devarim means "words" and is referred by Jews as the "repetition" of the Torah. Torah Scroll Facts - How many letters are in the Torah? 187 54 There are 304,805 letters in a Sefer Torah (i.e., Torah Scroll). The most common letter is Yod; the least common is the letter Tet. There are over 4,000 laws a sofer (scribe) must know before he starts writing the Sefer Torah. These laws are collectively called soferut. Kosher Parchment called klaf must be prepared specifically for a Sefer Torah. A Sefer Torah may require approximately 80 or more skins in all.

Kosher quills are used to write the Hebrew calligraphy. A Sofer will have at least three to four columns on each piece of parchment - called amudim (from amud - a column). There are 248 amudim in a Sefer Torah and each has 42 lines. No letter may touch another one. If only one letter is missing the whole Torah is pasul (not Kosher). The average Torah takes 6 months to a year to complete. Large and Small Letters in the Torah Genesis: 1:15; 2:46; 23:27; 27:46 Exodus: 34:7; 34:14 Deuteronomy: 6:4 (2x); 29:27; 32:6; 32:18 Torah Scrolls The written Torah of Moses is called the Sefer Torah, or Torah Scroll, and is the most sacred object of Jewish life. The a long scroll is rolled up around two ornate wooden shafts (etz chayim) attached to either end of the scroll.

The Sefer Torah is meticulously handwritten in Hebrew calligraphy with tagin ("crowns") on kosher parchment (this style of writing is known as STA"M). Crowning letters In some Torah Scrolls, eight Hebrew letters are given special adornment by attaching three "tagin" or crownlets to them. Collectively these letters are sometimes called "sha'atnezgets" letters. Some people have said that these crownlets are the "tittles" referred to by Jesus in Matthew 5:18, although it is unclear that the tagin were in use at the time of the Lord Jesus. It is more likely that the "tittle" refers to the "kots" or "thorn" that projects from a letter. You are not supposed to directly touch a Sefer Torah, but use a yad (pointer) instead. Aron Kodesh Torah scrolls are kept covered with fabric and are often ornamented with silver crowns on the handles of the scrolls and a silver breastplate on the front - adorned, in fact, like the high priest described in Vaiyikra.

Torah scrolls are wound around etz chayim, rollers made of wood and are stored in a special cabinet in the synagogue called an "ark" (an acronym of "Aron Kodesh," meaning "holy cabinet"). Written, Oral, and Mystical Torahs Torah Shebal Peh ( Oral Torah ) Talmud. Tradition reports that the two forms of Torah, Torah shebikhtav and Torah shebal peh, have existed side by side ever since the revelation at Har Sinai. The Oral Torah, which was not committed to writing during the centuries preceding the compilation of the Mishnah, was transmitted orally by a chain of sages and carriers of tradition. Torah shebikhtav Written Torah; The writings of Moses; sometimes used synonymously with the 24 books that make up the Tanakh. Torat Ha-Nistar The "Hidden" Torah said to trace back to the patriarch Abraham (and even to Adam in the Garden of Eden), though most clearly embodied in sefer ha-Zohar. The hidden Torah is also called "Torat Ha-Sod," the secret Torah. A Note about Bible Codes...

While there are some "non-linear" ways of reading the Scriptures that have been developed over the centuries (e.g., gematria, midrash, and so on), a relatively recent approach has been to use computers to attempt to discover "Equidistant Letter Sequences" (sometimes called "Torah codes") to reveal hidden meaning within the pages of the Scriptures and to substantiate its claim to be divinely inspired... For example, Chuck Missler claims that the word Torah (תּוֹרָה) is found in "Equidistant Letter Sequences" (ELS) of 50 (i.e., 49 spaces between letters) in both Genesis and Exodus. He further claims the word is spelled backwards (i.e., הרות) in both Numbers and Deuteronomy using the same 50 letter sequence. In the Book of Leviticus, this pattern does not appear, though the sacred Name YHVH (יהוה) is discovered using ELS 8 (i.e., 7 spaces between letters). In this way he attempts to argue that the Torah always points to the Name of God, or that the Book of Leviticus is the center of the Torah...

Now while this is somewhat interesting, there are problems with this approach. First of all, while it is true that the word תורה can be found at ELS 50 at the beginning of Genesis and Exodus, and while it is also true that the word הרות appears using ELS 50 in Numbers, the sequence does not appear in Deuteronomy until chapter 5. Moreover, these patterns do not recur throughout the books but simply occur one time (i.e., it is not true that the word "Torah" can be discovered by counting every 50 letters over and over again). Furthermore, the letter combinations for תורה and הרות can be found at 50 ELS in other parts of the Bible, not just in the first five books, so the argument that they uniquely "point" to the Book of Leviticus as the center of the Torah is suspect. In other words, the frequencies of these letter combinations at ELS 50 (or in other increments) is simply too high to make a case that this indicates supernatural codes embedded within the texts. Teachers who promote these sorts of ideas as a "proof" of the Bible's authority are therefore using bad arguments to make rather sensationalized claims.

We do not need to look for "Bible Codes" to find the truth, chaverim, we need the Holy Spirit and the desire to live according to the truth... The Chumash The Chumash (from the Hebrew word for a fifth, chamesh; plural Chumashim) is a book form (codex) of the Torah, usually subdivided into 54 smaller literary units called parashiot (the name of each parashah comes from a key word of the section). By following the prescribed weekly parashah, synagogues read through the entire Torah every (Jewish) calendar year. Tanakh Plus. Bilingual Hebrew-English Bible with concordances and amazing Gematria tools. This software program allows you to do research on the Scriptures that more expensive programs cannot do. It includes a complete Hebrew concordance of the Jewish Bible. Only $39.95. Level: Beginner - Expert.

Question: In Judaism how many books make up the Torah?
Answer: Five