Torah
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This article is about the Hebrew Torah. For Samaritanism, see Samaritan Pentateuch. For other uses, see Torah (disambiguation).
"Pentateuch" redirects here. For other uses, see Pentateuch (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Tanakh.
See also: Law of Moses
Torah scroll at old Glockengasse Synagogue (reconstruction), Cologne.
Silver Torah case, Ottoman Empire, displayed in the Museum of Jewish Art and History
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Torah (/ˈtɔːrə, ˈtoʊrə/; Hebrew: תּוֹרָה, "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") has a range of meanings. It can most specifically mean the first five books (Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses) of the Hebrew Bible. This is commonly known as the Written Torah. It can also mean the continued narrative from all the 24 books, from the Book of Genesis to the end of the Tanakh (Chronicles). If in bound book form, it is called Chumash, and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries (perushim). If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll (Sefer Torah), which contains strictly the five books of Moses.
It can even mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture, and practice, whether derived from biblical texts or later rabbinic writings. This is often known as the Oral Torah.[1] Common to all these meanings, Torah consists of the origin of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by God, their trials and tribulations, and their covenant with their God, which involves following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations and civil laws (halakha). The “Tawrat” (also Tawrah or Taurat; Arabic: توراة) is the Arabic name for the Torah within its context as an Islamic holy book believed by Muslims to be given by God to Prophets among the Children of Israel, and often refers to the entire Hebrew Bible.[2]
In rabbinic literature the word Torah denotes both the five books (Hebrew: תורה שבכתב, romanized: torah shebichtav "Torah that is written") and the Oral Torah (Hebrew: תורה שבעל פה, romanized: torah shebe'al peh, "Torah that is spoken"). The Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash.[3] Rabbinic tradition's understanding is that all of the teachings found in the Torah (both written and oral) were given by God through the prophet Moses, some at Mount Sinai and others at the Tabernacle, and all the teachings were written down by Moses, which resulted in the Torah that exists today. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, and was used as the blueprint for Creation.[4] The majority of Biblical scholars believe that the written books were a product of the Babylonian captivity (c. 6th century BCE), based on earlier written sources and oral traditions, and that it was completed with final revisions during the post-Exilic period (c. 5th century BCE).[5][6][7]
Traditionally, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe (sofer) in Hebrew. A Torah portion is read publicly at least once every three days in the presence of a congregation.[8] Reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases of Jewish communal life.