What is the 'Torah'?

Answer 1

The term Torah (Hebrew: תּוֹרָה, "Instruction"), also known as the Pentateuch, refers to the Five Books of Moses - which is Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious text. A 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 is also available in printed form, in Hebrew or in translation.

The Torah is the first of the three parts of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and contains five books, whose names in English are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Their Hebrew names, are Beresheet, בראשית, Shmot שמות, Vayikra ויקרא, Bamidbar במדבר, and Dvarim דברים.

The Torah contains a variety of literary content, including allegory, historical narrative, poetry, genealogy, and the exposition of various types of law. According to rabbinic tradition, the Torah contains the 613 mitzvot (commandments), which are divided into 365 restrictions and 248 positive commands.

In rabbinic literature, the word "Torah" may denote both the written text as well as its oral commentary. The oral portion is now embodied in the Talmud and Midrashim.

According to Jewish tradition the Torah was revealed by God 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 God created the Torah prior to the creation of the world, and that He used it as the blueprint for Creation. Modern biblical scholars claim a much later date of writing.

Outside of its central significance in Judaism, the Torah is accepted also by Christianity as part of the Bible, comprising the first five books of the Old Testament. The various denominations of Jews and Christians hold a diverse spectrum of views regarding the exactitude of scripture. The Torah has also been accepted to varying degrees by the Samaritans.

Answer 2:
The Torah (תורה), also called the Pentateuch, is the primary Jewish holy book. It is comprised of the 5 Books of Moses (also called the Books of the Law). The Torah was given by God to Moses (Exodus 24:12), who transmitted it to the people and wrote it (Deuteronomy 31:24).
The Torah, or Five Books of Moses:
• Beresheet (Genesis)
• Shemot (Exodus)
• VaYikra (Leviticus)
• BaMidbar (Numbers)
• Devarim (Deuteronomy)

Answer 2

In its narrow meaning, the Torah is the five books (in Hebrew) of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, together in a single book or scroll.

In its wider sense, the word "Torah" may be used to refer to the main Jewish texts.

• Link: The Writings of Judaism

Tradition states that Moses wrote a scroll containing the narratives of Genesis, at God's command, before the formal Giving of the Torah (Rashi commentary, Exodus ch.24). It was this scroll which he read to the Israelites (Exodus 24:7) as an introduction to what God's covenant would entail. These narratives were not unknown to the Israelites, since they had carefully preserved the traditions of the events of the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (see Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 5:18 and 22).

The words of this scroll were soon incorporated in the complete Torah itself by God, including the ancient traditions of the Creation, the Flood etc. (These traditions had been known by mankind worldwide, except that among the other nations [the idolaters] they had become garbled with idolatrous drivel.)
When God gave the Ten Commandments (Exodus ch.19-20), He gave them in writing, inscribed on stone tablets (Exodus 31:18), while He taught the rest of the Torah to Moses orally, on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:12), without writing it.

At God's command and precise dictation (Deuteronomy 1:3), Moses penned the entire Torah (Deuteronomy 31:24) immediately before his death, so that it included events that had happened in the preceding months (such as Numbers ch.20).

• Link: The purpose of the Torah

No Hebrew copy of the Torah has ever been found to differ with the others, worldwide. The Torah we possess today contains the exact wording written by Moses.

See also the other Related Links.

Link: What is the history of the Hebrew Bible?

Link: Some facts about Torah-scrolls

Link: Answering scholarly criticism

Answer 3

The Hebrew word Torah is frequently translated as Law. When someone says "the Torah", they are typically referring to the 5 books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Jewish tradition holds that this text was given to (or dictated to) Moses on Mount Sinai by God (perhaps not the final verses of Deuteronomy). Jewish tradition also holds that God also told Moses how to interpret the text, and that Moses passed on this "oral Torah" to Joshua who passed it on, down through the generations to the present. So, the word Torah has a wider meaning than just the revealed text. The word is also used to refer to the interpretive traditions -- in effect, the culture -- that surrounds that text. So, Jews say that the Talmud is a written record of this oral Torah, but it does not stop there. In its broadest sense, Torah is everything that humanity has learned that is true and good. Of course, we might disagree about that, but at its best, the argument about what is true and good can itself be a continuation of or contribution to Torah.