The Torah: The Five Books of Moses

The Torah: The Five Books of Moses

The Torah (תּוֹרָה), meaning "instruction" or "law," is the core of Judaism. For Orthodox tradition, the Torah was given by God to Moses at Mount Sinai and contains 613 commandments (mitzvot). For Reform and Conservative Judaism, the Torah is the inspired word of God but mediated through human hands.

The Five Books

1. Bereshit (בראשית, "In the beginning") — Genesis: creation of the world, the patriarchs and matriarchs, and the establishment of the covenant.
2. Shemot (שמות, "Names") — Exodus: slavery in Egypt, Moses, the ten plagues, the Exodus, and the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
3. Vayikra (ויקרא, "And He called") — Leviticus: laws of sacrifices, priestly purity, holiness, and morality.
4. Bamidbar (במדבר, "In the wilderness") — Numbers: the census of Israel, the desert journey, and the people's trials.
5. Devarim (דברים, "Words") — Deuteronomy: Moses' speeches before entering the Promised Land.

The Reading Cycle

The Torah is divided into 54 portions (parashot) read weekly in the synagogue, completing the cycle in one year. Conservative and Reform communities also use a triennial cycle. Each Shabbat, the corresponding parashah is read, followed by the haftarah (reading from the Prophets). The joy of concluding and restarting the cycle is celebrated on Simchat Torah.

The Sefer Torah

A Torah scroll (Sefer Torah) is handwritten by a trained scribe (sofer) on kosher parchment, using special ink and a reed quill. The text must be copied without errors; a single mistake invalidates the entire scroll. The Sefer Torah is kept in the Aron HaKodesh (Holy Ark) of the synagogue.

Authorship: Perspectives

Orthodox tradition holds Mosaic authorship: Moses wrote the entire Torah by divine dictation. Modern academic criticism (Documentary Hypothesis) proposes that the Torah is a compilation of four sources (J, E, D, P) redacted between the 10th and 5th centuries BCE. Conservative Judaism accepts historical-critical methods while maintaining the divinity of the Torah. Reform Judaism views the Torah as an inspired human document subject to evolution.

Recommended reading: Rashi's Commentary on the Torah; The Torah: A Modern Commentary (Gunther Plaut, Reform edition); Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (Conservative edition); Who Wrote the Bible? (Richard Friedman).