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( Torah)
The term "Torah" (Hebrew ???????, "teaching" or "instruction," sometimes translated as "Law,"[1]), or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts.[2][3] When used with an indefinite article, "a Torah" usually refers to a "Sefer Torah" (????? ???????, "book of Torah") or Torah scroll, written on parchment in a formal, traditional manner by a specially trained scribe under very strict requirements. The Torah is the most holy of the sacred writings in Judaism.[4] It is the first of three sections in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the founding religious document of Judaism,[5] and is divided into five books, whose names in English are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, in reference to their themes (Their Hebrew names, Bereshit, ??????, Shemot ????, Vayikra ?????, Bamidbar ?????, and Devarim ?????, are derived from the wording of their initial verses). The Torah contains a variety of literary genres, including allegories, 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 negative restrictions and 248 positive commands.[6] In rabbinic literature, the word "Torah" denotes both the written text, "Torah Shebichtav" (???? ?????, "Torah that is written"), as well as an oral tradition, "Torah Shebe'al Peh" (???? ???? ??, "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.[7] Jewish religious tradition ascribes authorship of the Torah to Moses through a process of divine inspiration. This view of Mosaic authorship is first found explicitly expressed in the Talmud, dating from the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, and is based on textual analysis of passages in the Torah and the subsequent books of the Hebrew Bible. The Zohar, Vol. 11 Trumah Section 61 states that the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, and that it was used as the blueprint for Creation.[citation needed] According to dating of the text by Orthodox rabbis the revelation of the Torah to Moses occurred in 1280 BCE at Mount Sinai.[citation needed] Contemporary secular biblical scholars date the completion of the Torah, as well as the prophets and the historical books, no earlier than the Persian period (539 to 334 BCE).[8] Scholarly discussion for much of the 20th century was principally couched in terms of the documentary hypothesis, according to which the Torah is a synthesis of documents from a small number of originally independent sources.[9] Outside of its central significance in Judaism, the Torah is accepted by Christianity as part of the Bible, comprising the first five books of the Old Testament.[10] 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 and others as the authentic revealed message of God to the Israelites and as a factual history of the early Israelites, in both cases as conveyed by Moses. In Islam, the Torah (along with the Christian Gospels) or Tawrat is seen as an authentic revelation from God corrupted with the additions and alterations of men.[11] The faiths revering the Pentateuch consider many of their central tenets to be illustrated in the narratives of the Torah.
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