TORAH
The term Torah: “learning” or “instruction”, sometimes translated as “Law”, refers either to the Five
Books of Moses Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy ( or Penateuch) or it 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). It is the first of three sections in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the founding
religious document of Judaism.
The word Torah comes from the root word “yarah” meaning “to shoot an arrow”or ”to hit the mark.”
The word Torah is better understood as “teaching “or “understanding” rather than “law.” In the Tanakh,
Torah refers to the first five books of Moses. Torah in the scriptures signifies the teaching which Adonai
gave Moses but does not mean Moses authored it, only that he received it from the Lord. Sefer Torah,
“Book of Torah” or Torah scroll, is a copy of the Torah written on parchment in a formal, traditional
manner by a specially trained scribe under very strict requirements.
The Hebrew names of the five books of the Torah ate known by their incipit, taken from initial words of
the first verse of each book. For example, the Hebrew name of the first book, Bereisheet, is the first
word of Genesis 1:1
TORAH
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Bereisheet “In the beginning”
Shemot “Names”
Vayikra “He called”
Bamidbar “In the wilderness”
Devarim “Words”
The English names derived from Greek indicate the theme of each book:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Genesis “Creation”
Exodus “Departure”
Leviticus “Refers to Levites and the regulations that apply to sever in Temple”
Numbers “Record of wandering in wilderness”
Deuteronomy “Second Law” – commandments reviewed by Moses before his death
PARASHAH
Parashah (Pa-rah-SHAH) is the weekly Torah reading(s) or the weekly Torah portion is read during
services. Parashah means “portion.” Parashah formally means a section of a biblical book in the
Masoretic text of the Tankh (Hebrew Bible). In common usage today the word often refers to the weekly
Torah portion (a shortened form of Parashat ha-Shavua). Each weekly Torah portion adopts its name
from one of the first unique word or words in the Hebrew text. Dating back to the time of the
Babylonian captivity (6th Century BCE), public Torah reading mostly followed an annual cycle beginning
and ending on the Jewish holiday of simchat Torah, with the Torah divided into 54 weekly portions to
correspond to the lunisolar Hebrew calendar, which contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying
between leap years and regular years. There was also an ancient triennial cycle of readings practiced in
some parts of the world.
Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Jewish
people from the Babylonian captivity (c. 537 BCE), as described in the Book of Nehemiah chapter 8. The
practice Torah reacding according to a set of procedure they believe has remained unchanged in two
thousand years since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE). Prior to Ezra, the command of
Torah reading was based on Biblical commandment of Hakhel (Deuteronomy 31:10-13), by which once
every 7 years the entire people was to be gathered, “men, women and children,” and hear much of
Deuteronomy, the final volume of the Pentateuch, read to them.
Traditionally, the command of gathering the people and reading them the Torah was to be performed
by the King. Under Ezra, Torah reading became more frequent and the congregation themselves
substituted for the King’s role. Ezra is traditionally credited with initiating the modern custom of reading
thrice weekly in the synagogue. This reading is an obligation incumbent on the congregation not
individual and did not replace the reading by the king. The reading of the lot in the synagogue can be
traced to at Lisa about the second century B.C., when the grandson of Sirach refers to it in his preface as
an Egyption practice; it must, therefor, have existed even earlier in Judea.
The weekly parashah is followed by a passage from the prophets, which is referred to as a haftarah.
"Haftarah" does not mean "half-Torah." The word comes from the Hebrew root to mean "Concluding
Portion." Usually, haftarah portion is no longer than one chapter, and has some relation to the Torah
portion of the week.
WRITTEN TORAH
The word "Torah" can mean different things in different contexts. In its most limited sense. But the word
"Torah" can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible (the body of scripture known to non-Jew as
the Old Testament and to Jews as the Tanakh “Torah/Neviim/Kethuvim” or Written Torah), or in its
broadest sense, to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.
Below is a list of the books of Written Torah/Tanakh, 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 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 a
few significant differences in the translations.
TORAH




Bereishith (IN the beginning…) Shemot (The Names…) (Exodus)
Vayikra (And He called…) (Leviticus)
Bamidbar (In The Wilderness…) (Numbers)
Devarim (The words…) (Deuteronomy)
NEVI’IM (The Prophets)








Yehoshua (Joshua)
Shoftim (Judges)
Shmuel (I&II Samuel)
Melakhim (I&II Kings)
Yeshayah (Isaiah)
Yirmyah (Jeremiah)
Yechezqel (Ezekiel)
The Twelve (treated as one book)
o Hoshea (Hosea)
o Yoel (Joel)
o Amos
o Ovadyah (Obadiah)
o Yonah (Jonah)
o Mikhah (Micah)
o Nachum
o Chavaqquq (Habbakkuk)
o Tzefanyah (Zephaniah)
o Chaggai
o Zekharyah (Zephaniah)
o Malakhi
KETHUVIM (The Writings)











Tehillim (Psalms)
Mishlei (Proverbs)
Iyov (Job)
Shir Ha-Shirim (Song of Songs)
Ruth
Eikhah (Lamentations)
Qoheleth (the author’s name) (Ecclesiastes)
Esther
Daniel
Ezra & Nechemyah (Nehemiah) (treated as one book)
Divrei Ha-Yamim (The words of the days) (Chronicles)
For the believer is the B’rit Chadashah/ (be-REET kha-da-SHAH) New Testament/ NT. B’rit Chadashah
means “New Covenant.” Like the Tanakh, it can be divided into three main parts: Gospels/Acts
(corresponding to Torah), Letters (corresponding to Ketuvim), and Revelation (corresponding to
Nevi’im). The “Old Testament” is called b’rit yeshanah. B’rit Yeshanah/OT (be-REET ye-shah-NAH) “The
Old Testament’ is the Christian term for the Jewish Scriptures. The word “testament” comes from the
Latin word for will (as in last will and testament) and derives from the Greek word diatheke, which
means covenant. The translators chose the word “testament” because God’s covenant (like a will) is
unilateral. The term comes from 2 Corinthians 3:14 where Paul refers to the old covenant.