torahs

The Torah, meaning "instruction" or "law," is the central text in Judaism. In common English, Torah usually denotes the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also called the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses. The plural Torahs is sometimes used to refer to multiple Torah scrolls or to the broader body of related rabbinic teaching.

Contents: The five books—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy—cover creation, the patriarchs, the Exodus, the giving of the Law at Sinai, and the journey to and exhortations for the land of Israel. They form the written Torah, part of the larger tradition that includes the Oral Torah.

Authorship and text: Tradition assigns authorship to Moses, but modern scholarship views the text as the product of multiple authors and redactors over centuries. The text has been preserved in the Masoretic Text and attested by ancient manuscripts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It has been translated into many languages and serves as the basis for Jewish law and ethics.

Transmission and practice: In synagogues, Torah scrolls are read publicly during services, typically on a yearly or multi-year cycle. The scrolls are handwritten on parchment and housed in a decorated cabinet. In rabbinic Judaism, the Written Torah is paired with the Oral Torah, including Mishnah and Talmud, which interpret and apply its commandments.

Impact: The Torah has shaped Jewish worship, law, ethics, and identity, and it has influenced Christian and Islamic traditions as well, through recognition of the same biblical corpus and figures.