Torah

Torah is a Hebrew word (Hebrew: תּוֹרָה) meaning teaching, instruction, or law[1]. The root yarah carries the sense of pointing, directing, or shooting an arrow toward a target, which informs the metaphor of teaching as directing toward what is true and right[1]. The Greek term used in the Septuagint, nomos, is sometimes translated as law, and through Latin and English this rendering has often been retained, though teaching captures the Hebrew sense more fully[2].

In its narrowest meaning Torah refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy[2]. In broader uses Torah includes the entire Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), the rabbinic interpretive tradition (oral Torah), and the wider study and practice that flows from the Sinai revelation[3].

Torah can refer narrowly to the Five Books of Moses or more broadly to divine teaching and interpretive tradition.

Torah is the heart of Jewish religious life[3]. The weekly synagogue service centers on the public reading of the Torah scroll, which contains the Five Books of Moses written by hand on parchment according to detailed scribal rules[3]. The annual cycle of readings is divided into portions (parshiyot), with the cycle completing and restarting on Simchat Torah[3].

Jewish tradition distinguishes between written Torah (Torah she-bikhtav) and oral Torah (Torah she-be'al peh), the latter understood as the interpretive tradition transmitted alongside the text and eventually recorded in the Mishnah, the Talmuds, and later rabbinic literature[4]. The relationship between these two layers shapes Jewish law (halakhah) and practice[4].

Across Jewish denominations, the role of Torah varies in emphasis[3]. Orthodox Judaism holds the Torah as direct divine revelation through Moses and treats halakhah as binding in detail. Conservative Judaism affirms divine revelation while allowing for historical development and contemporary adaptation. Reform Judaism reads Torah as a record of the Jewish people's evolving encounter with God, with greater interpretive latitude. Reconstructionist Judaism emphasizes Torah as the foundational document of Jewish civilization[3]. In all these settings, Torah study (talmud Torah) is itself treated as a religious act[3].

Modern biblical scholarship has produced an enormous literature on the composition, redaction, and historical setting of the Torah[5]. The documentary hypothesis, developed in the 19th century and revised many times since, proposed multiple source strands behind the final form of the text[5]. Comparative ancient Near Eastern studies have illuminated the cultural context of Torah law and narrative[5]. Religious studies distinguishes carefully between Torah as a religious category (sacred teaching for Jewish life) and Torah as an object of historical-critical study; both modes can coexist in serious scholarship[2].

• The Jewish Study Bibleby Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler (editors)
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• The JPS Torah Commentaryby Various
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• Essential Judaismby George Robinson
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