BIBLE STUDY
The Torah- ! $ he Hebrew Bible consists of three parts: the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nevi’im) and the Writings (Ketuvim), which together form the Tanakh or Old Testament. The Torah is the Five Books of Moses, known in Latin as the Pentateuch. The Torah, regarded as the holiest book in Judaism, does not literally mean “law,” but rather “instruction” or “teaching.” It is a navigating tool that guides us towards God. It is not only a narrative of creation, but also the story of the origins of the Jewish people. Though there is debate whether Moses authored the Torah in its entirety, it is not important. In fact, there must have been other authors since Deuteronomy 34 describes Moses’ death and burial. Nevertheless, Moses was the God-appointed writer of the Torah who not only recorded the 613 commandments, but also the chronological account of man’s first days on the earth, from the Garden of Eden to the flood to the Exodus from Egypt. The 613 commandments, which include the Ten Commandments, are the foundation of Judaism. The Torah is written on vellum parchment scrolls brought out during synagogue services for the reading of God’s word. Everything concerning the Torah must be ritually pure. Its parchment is made from the skin of any ritually clean animal, soaked in lime water for nine days to remove hairs, and then stretched over a wooden frame to dry. It is sanded and pressed until it is soft enough to be written on. The pages of the parchment are then sewn together to form a scroll. The quill of the pen used to inscribe the words of the Torah is made from a ritually cleansed bird. The ink must be black and durable. It is made of a mixture of powdered gall nuts, copper sulfate crystals, gum arabic and water. The scribe (sofer) is required to live piously, be of good character and be knowledgeable about the laws of copying the Torah. There are thousands of laws pertaining to the transcription of scripture onto the scrolls and therefore, it takes the scribe about one year to complete. Should he make a mistake, he scrapes the ink off with a knife or pumice stone. But if he makes a mistake inscribing one of God’s seven holy names he is forbidden to correct it because, according to tradition, God’s name cannot be erased. The sofer trims off the segment of parchment with the error and stores it in a geniza (depository) until it can be properly buried. This is one way of showing reverence for the written word. Jews do not touch the parchment when reading during a synagogue service. Instead, they use a yad (ritual pointer, literally “hand”), which points to each word. This ensures that not one word will be overlooked and prevents God’s word from being polluted by oils or dirt on the hands. The oldest parchments that exist today are the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered between 1947 and 1956. Nearly 900 scrolls
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Israel Today
were unearthed, containing portions of the Hebrew Bible dating back to 150 BC. For daily use, synagogues are filled with printed Torahs and Old Testaments in book form. Jews show utmost respect for these holy books by not placing them on the floor and by handling them with care. If a Bible happens to fall to the floor, one lifts it up and kisses it as an act of reverence. Every Sabbath, the faithful read a designated portion from the Torah and discuss it throughout the week. When Yeshua (Jesus) preached the Sermon on the Mount and Paul wrote that “all Scripture is inspired by God,” (2 Timothy 3:16), they were referring to the Old Testament because the New Testament had not yet been written. The Hebrew names of the Five Books of Moses correspond to their theme: Genesis: Bereshit – In the Beginning Exodus: Shemot – Names Leviticus: Vayikra – He Called Numbers: BaMidbar – In the Desert Deuteronomy: Devarim – Sayings By Ludwig S chneider
Torah Portions March 2008 (From 24th Adar I to the 24th of Adar II 5768)
The Sabbath Readings March 1st – Shabbat Vayakhel – And He Gathered Exodus 35:1–38:20; I Kings 7:40–50 March 8th – Shabbat Pekudei – Counting Exodus 38:21–40:38; I Kings 7:51–8:21 March 15th – Shabbat Vayikra – And He Called Leviticus 1:1–5:26; Isaiah 43:21–44:23 March 22nd – Shabbat Tzav– Command Leviticus 6:1–8:36; Jeremiah 7:21–8:3; 9:22–23 March 29th – Shabbat Shemeini– On the Eighth Day Leviticus 9:1–11:47; 2 Samuel 6:1–7:17
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