In every synagogue in the world, there is an ark. Inside the ark — the most sacred spot in the building — there is a Torah scroll. When it is carried through the congregation, people reach out to touch it with the fringe of their prayer shawl. When it is accidentally dropped, the entire congregation fasts.
The Torah is not merely a book. It is the living center of Jewish religious life — studied, sung, argued over, and revered for over three thousand years.
What the Torah Is
In its narrowest definition, the Torah refers to the Five Books of Moses (the Pentateuch): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These five books form the first and most sacred section of the Hebrew Bible (*Tanakh*).
In a broader sense, "Torah" encompasses the entire body of Jewish teaching — the written Torah plus the Oral Torah (the rabbinic interpretations codified in the Talmud) and all subsequent commentary. In the broadest sense, Torah means "teaching" or "instruction" — and any authentic Jewish wisdom can be called Torah.
What It Contains
The five books cover enormous ground:
Genesis (*Bereishit* — "In the beginning") — the creation of the world, the first humans, Noah and the flood, and the stories of the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. It is one of the world's great narrative collections.
Exodus (*Shemot* — "Names") — the enslavement of Israel in Egypt, the life of Moses, the ten plagues, the Exodus, and — centrally — the revelation at Mount Sinai where God gives the Torah to Israel, including the Ten Commandments.
Leviticus (*Vayikra* — "He called") — the priestly code: laws of sacrifice, ritual purity, the sacred calendar, and the Holiness Code including the famous commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" (19:18).
Numbers (*Bamidbar* — "In the wilderness") — the forty years of wandering in the desert, various censuses, rebellions, and the transition from the generation of the Exodus to the generation that will enter the land.
Deuteronomy (*Devarim* — "Words") — Moses's three farewell speeches to Israel before his death. A recapitulation of the law, ending with Moses's death on Mount Nebo, never entering the Promised Land.
The Torah Scroll
The physical Torah scroll (*Sefer Torah*) is written by a trained scribe (*sofer*) on parchment made from kosher animal skin, using a quill and special ink. Each letter must be perfect — a single error can invalidate the entire scroll. Writing a Torah scroll is a sacred art that can take a year or more.
The scroll contains no vowels and no punctuation. Reading from it requires knowing the text well enough to supply these yourself — a skill that takes years to develop. The traditional melody for reading (*trope* or *cantillation*) turns the reading into something between speech and song.
The Weekly Cycle
The Torah is divided into 54 portions (*parashiyot*), one read each week in synagogue, completing the entire cycle in a year. On Simchat Torah ("rejoicing in the Torah"), the final verses of Deuteronomy are read and immediately followed by the first verses of Genesis — the cycle begins again immediately, because Torah study never ends.
This weekly cycle means that Jewish communities around the world are always reading the same portion — a global synchronization of Jewish time.
Torah Study as Sacred Practice
In Jewish tradition, studying Torah is not merely educational — it is a form of worship. The Talmud teaches that Torah study is equal to all other commandments combined. Rabbinic literature is largely organized around the close reading and argument over every word of the text.
The tradition of *d'var Torah* ("word of Torah") — a teaching offered at Shabbat meals, lifecycle events, and study sessions — keeps the text alive as a living conversation across generations.
Traditions Covered