Torah (Hebrew: תּוֹרָה,
"Instruction"; English pronunciation: /ˈtɔːrə/), the
entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical
religious texts. A "Sefer Torah" (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, "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 strict
requirements.
The Torah (Hebrew Bible) is the first of three parts
of the Tanakh, the founding religious document of
Judaism, is divided into five books whose names in
reference to their themes in Hebrew are, Bereshit,
בראשית (Ancient Greek Genesis), Shmot שמות (Koine
Greek Exodus), Vayikra ויקרא (Greek Leviticus),
Bamidbar במדבר (English Numbers)[6], and Dvarim דברים
(Latin Deuteronomy), are derived from the wording of
their initial verses. The Torah contains a variety of
literary genres, including allegory, historical
narrative, poetry, genealogy, and the exposition of
various types of law. According to rabbinic tradition,
the Torah contains the 613 mitzvot (מצוות,
"commandments"), which are divided into 365
restrictions and 248 positive commands.[7] In rabbinic
literature, the word "Torah" denotes both the written
text, "Torah Shebichtav" (תורה שבכתב, "Torah that is
written"), as well as an oral tradition, "Torah
Shebe'al Peh" (תורה שבעל פה, "Torah that is oral").
The oral portion consists of the "traditional
interpretations and amplifications handed down by word
of mouth from generation to generation," now embodied
in the Talmud and Midrash.
The Torah was revealed to Moses in 1312 BCE at Mount
Sinai; (another date given for this event is 1280
BCE). The Zohar, the most significant text in Jewish
mysticism, states that the Torah was created prior to
the creation of the world, and that it was used as the
blueprint for Creation.
Paper Torah - Copy of
a real Torah
The
Hebrew names of the five books of the Torah are known
by their incipit, taken from initial words of the
first verse of each book. For example, the Hebrew name
of the first book, Bereshit, is the first word of
Genesis 1:1:
1. Bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית, literally "In the
beginning")
2. Shemot (שִׁמוֹת, literally "Names")
3. Vayikra (ויקרא, literally "He called")
4. Bamidbar (במדבר, literally "In the desert")
5. Devarim (דברים, literally "Things" or "Words")
The Anglicized names are derived from the Greek and
reflect the essential theme of each book:
