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Torah
[Hebrew, "instruction", "law"] - The Five Books
of Moses [Greek, Pentateuch], which constitutes the main
part of the
Hebrew canon of the Holy Scriptures. The Torah contains the
books of
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and is
also commonly
known as the Chamash. In Hebrew, these books are known by
their first
few words, thus: Be-reshit [Hebrew, "In the beginning"],
Shemot [Hebrew,
"Names"], Va-ikra [Hebrew, "The [Lord] called"], Be-midbar
[Hebrew, "In
the desert"], Dvarim [Hebrew, "Words"]. According to
tradition, Moses
was the author of these books.
Research begun in the mid-eighteenth century and
continued by modern
Biblical scholars showed they are actually a compilation of
various
pieces of religious literature stemming from several
sources. The two
oldest are the southern (in which the name of God is written
by means of
the tetragram JHWH - Yahve), and the somewhat more recent,
northern
(describing God with the word Elohim), which dates at least
to the time
of Samuel (approximately 1050-1005 BC), though fragments of
the Torah
could reach as far back as the time of Moses. Some of
Deuteronomy is
believed to go back to the reforms of Josiah (640-609 BC).
The final
version of the Pentateuch was codified around 622 BC. In
later periods,
minor changes were made, and the books of the Prophets and
the
Scriptures were written, which became part of the Hebrew
Bible (Tanach).
The Catholic Bible contains seven additional books.
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For Jews, the Torah is the object of greatest
veneration. The Torah scrolls, written on parchment, are
twisted around
wooden rods and decorated, and kept in the aron ha-kodesh in
the
synagogue and read aloud ceremoniously by men summoned
during the
service. Jewish mystics believed the Torah has a hidden
meaning,
contains all secrets of the Universe and possesses a great
magical
power. The Hebrew letters comprising the text of the Torah
also have a
mystical significance.
Religious Jews are obligated to study the Torah and
Talmud. Women
were not allowed to read the Torah, and acquired their
knowledge of
these works from translations of extensive excerpts of the
Pentateuch
that were published in Yiddish. For Jews, the word "Torah"
also has a
broader meaning, signifying the religious laws and other
rules that have
their roots in the Bible, as well as Judaic studies and
scholarship
broadly understood.
(A.C./CM)
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