The Torah

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	The Torah -

	The first five books of Moses

	The word Torah comes from the root word yarah meaning "to shoot an arrow" or "to hit the mark." Properly used, the word means "teaching" or "instruction." Teaching is associated with the Holy Spirit, and God Himself is described as a Teacher: He taught Moses what to do and say (see Ex. 4:15). And it is clear that the Lord Jesus assumed the title of Rabbi and performed much of his ministry as a Teacher (see John 1:38). The Torah is divided into five main sections, as follows:

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This Week’s Torah
The Shema
Ten Commandments
Oral Torah
Weekly Readings


	The physical Torah is referred to as the Sefer Torah, or sacred Torah scroll.

Bereshit (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."
Shemot (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."
Vaiyikra (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."
Bemidbar (Numbers)		The story of how Moses led the wandering Jewish people through the wastelands of Sinai. Bamidbar means "In the wilderness."
Devarim (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.


	“Oral” and Written Torah

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)		Written Torah; often used synonymously with the 24 holy writings that make up the Tanakh.


	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 Sefer Torah is meticulously handwritten in Hebrew calligraphy with tagin ("crowns") on kosher parchment (this style of writing is known as STA"M).




	You are not supposed to directly touch a Sefer Torah, but use a yad (pointer) instead.

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.

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").




	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.

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