Torah
Torah questions and answers
Find more information on the Torah @ The Adherents Religion Website.
Q: What are the similarities between the Old Testament and the Torah?
I'm a philosophy student doing some personal religious insight. I'm about to go digging around in other religions for moral truths and ideas rather than finding the "True God," which is of no interest to me. I've heard that the Old Testament and the Torah have many similarities, after all, one sprang from the other, but if the Torah is exactly the same as the OT, then why bother looking at it, right? So I'm just wondering, exactly how similar are the two texts?
A: The Torah - in the general sense of the word - refers to the "5 Books of Moses." The non-Jewish world have come to call these 5 books - "The Old Testament," because they believe someone came to change the rules of what was written in it. In fact, the rules in what some call the "Old Testament" are still as valid today as they were when Moses came down from Mount Sinai bringing the "5 Books of Moses" down with him.
Although this is a general description, the term Torah is far more complex. The Torah refers to both the written law as handed to Moses on Mount Sinai which encompass not just the "5 Books of Moses" i.e. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, but also includes the remainder 19 books known as Tanach - consisting of the books of the Prophets and the Writings (including Psalms etc.) The word Torah also includes the entire Oral Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai as well. It was not written down.
The oral law includes the missing points that the written law makes no sense about at all. For example, the written law tells one to "Write them on the doorposts of your house" but does not tell anybody WHAT to write - or in fact where about on the doorposts to put whatever one is supposed to write there!
Or for example it states, "And you shall slaughter the animal as I have commanded you," but nowhere in the written law does it clearly describe the process of slaughtering an animal in order to be able to eat it - the process known as Shechita. The written law includes such statements as "And you shall wear them as a sign on your hand and as Totafot between your eyes," but makes no mention of what is to be worn, what the word Totafot actually means or exactly where one is supposed to place them "between one's eyes". The oral Torah explains exactly what must be placed - and where it must be placed.
Incidentally there is no philosophy behind the Torah. It is history. These words were given in the presence of 600 000 Jewish souls who witnessed the giving of the Torah. Moses was responsible for "bringing the Torah" to the Jewish people - but every single Jew was present at the time it was given.
The Torah did not "spring" from the "Old Testament", and neither did the "Old Testament" spring from the Torah. The Torah encompasses everything of what the laws for the Jewish people would encompass - right up until this very day. It is by no means old.
The word Torah comes from the word "Hora'ah" meaning teaching, because it encompasses the teachings necessary for daily living. This is not philosophical, nor is it something that relates to an apparent testament that is old.
Incidentally, the Torah is written in Hebrew - not Aramaic as indicated in a previous answer. If one is searching for a true answer about the Torah, there is no greater place to begin learning about it than by approaching those who actually learn it i.e. Jewish people.
The beauty of the Torah is that it also takes into account the rest of the world. While the Jewish people are required to perform 613 commandments as laid out in - what some people call "The Old Testament", the Torah teaches that the entire world - no matter who they are (even those not Jewish) are required to fulfill 7 commandments. See attached sources for more info.
Q: How is the torah used in the synagogue?
I have GCSE coursework to do on the Synagogue, and I have to find out information on the torah. I need to find out how it is used in the Synagogue( I think while reading)? Please help me. Ten points for best answer.
A: They tear a page out and wrap it around some burning bush...
Q: What is an easy way to learn your Torah portion?
My Torah portion is VaYeshev. I really need help learning it in an easy way because it is very complicated! Please give me suggestions of fun or easy ways to learning it. Thank you!
Also, I have a recording of it. But the man's voice is extremely deep and it's hard to sing along with him. Is there any websites with easy to follow along with recordings? Please help me!
A: Get your hazen to make a recording of it you can listen to and repeat after.
Q: What words of comfort does the Torah have for bedwetters?
My 9 year old son wets his bed almost every night, and wears goodnites for this problem. The doctors say he should outgrow it. I'm wondering if anyone knows what the Torah says about bedwetting. Maybe there's some comforting words I can share with him. Perhaps some of the heroes from the Tanach struggled with bedwetting?
A: "Yea, if thou wetteth the bed, then shalt thou be blessed."
Q: Does the Torah have anything to do with the Old Testament?
I am taking a religious studies class next year but want to learn as much as I can about Christianity, Judaism and Islam before the class starts. I know that the Old Testament is mostly about the beginning of Judaism and the New Testament is the introduction to Jesus and Christianity, and the Koran is the Islamic bible, but where does the Torah fit in to this?
A: The Torah, the Five Books of Moses, comprise the first five books of what Christians refer to as the Old Testament. The Old Testament also includes the Books of Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, i and II Chronicles, the Prophets, the Book of Psalms, the Book of Proverbs, and in some versions of the Bible, the Apocrypha- or Inter-testamental writings of the wisdom literature genre, such as the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, Sirach, and I and II Maccabees.
The Torah also provides the primary contextual framework for the life and teachings of Jesus and the first generation of his disciples, who in some respects are doing midrash on the Torah- and in others seem to be making some significant departures from it. Much of what is attributed to Jesus by Christians as original teaching is in fact either a quotation or interpretation of passages from the Torah. In the expansion of the teachings of Jesus and their evolution into a separate religion following the destruction of the Second Temple, other religious, philosophical and cultural influences were formative in recasting Jewish references, yet the Jesus' teaching cannot be understood divorced from the Hebrew precedent.
Q: What are some quotes from the torah about the importance of prayer?
for a history paper, could you include a citation?? or give me a link to a (free!) online torah?
A: "Let (the prayers of) our lips take the place of (sacrifices of) cows" (Hoshea 14:3)
I gave you a lot of links: Prayer is derived from the Talmud, so you will not find quotes in the Torah that are about prayer itself. What you will find however, is that when we pray, there are recitations of the Torah within our prayers.
This is to help fulfill the daily requirements for Torah study, should we not be able to for some reason or another.
Q: The Talmud is a 72 volume book in ancient Aramaic on how to interpret Torah?
Why dont just interpret Torah alone? You made me sick. Can you forget the ancient teaching which is not current as well as not futuristic. You'll left behind time dud! Why dont you read, spell and practice something worthy and lasting teaching rather than follow your bastard teacher?
A: Se-- first actually learn what the Talmud is- then come off your rant.
the Talmud is not 72 volumes- that is the translated version where the necessity for footnotes and explanations takes three to four pages for each page of the original text.
Next is the fact that the bit of the Talmud, the Mishnah, which is the oral law given to Moshe on Sinai at the same time as the written law, is in Hebrew, not Aramaic.
And feel free to try and follow the Torah without the Talmud. you will have hours of frustration trying to work out how you should kill an animal (after all it just says to kill it in the way G-d told us. Pity for you that the way he told us is only in the Mishnah). After you have tired of trying to find that one- try to figure out how we are going to put tefillin against our heart. Cutting open our chests every morning just doesn't sound like too good an idea. After you tire of that one- you can look into what words we need to put on our doorposts- somehow putting the entire Torah on every doorpost in the house just seems to be a bit too problematic!
Now wonder off and try to learn something before your next troll
edit: Hey- its no longer72 volumes! The latest release of the Schottenstein edition (the Artscroll Talmud Translation) is now 73 volumes!
Q: Why does the Torah/Pentateuch begin with stories of Creation?
Why does the Torah, essentially a law book, start with stories of creation?
A: Ita an interesting question and one that the Rabbis ask themselves. After all- if it is a story of G-ds relationship with the Jewish peopel and the law he expects them to follow- starting with Abraham would be the logical place.
The answer given by Rashi and seen as being correct by many of the other Rabbis is to establish G-d as the creator and thus owner of the entire world. Once this is established, it becomes his right to decide who owns what and who lives where. thus the fact that it starts with creation has got to do with the relationship between G-d and Bnei Yisrael since it is what gives G-d the right to give the land of Israel to Avraham and from there to Jewish people when they leave Egypt as an eternal inheritance
Q: How could the Torah have been given to Moses, if it was written ABOUT Moses?
If the Exodus and Moses were/are in the Torah... When Moses received it and read it, did he 'know' automatically what would happen to them later?
A: While the laws were given to him on sinai, the narrrative was dictated later.
Q: What is the Aramaic for "Bible" or the "Torah"?
I need to know the Aramaic translation or transliteration (the native language written in the form of English alphabet) of the "Bible" or Torah. Aramaic is the native Language of the pre-christian Judeans or Jews. In other words, Aramaic is the language that Jesus spoke. Now speak up Aramaic please!
In addition, Mel Gibson or any Hollywood bullshit is never a good for any historical account, this was based on historical research, and I assume that other researchers know this as well. Latin, Hebrew and Greek was NOT Jesus' language, it MAY BE on the Crucifix, but NOT on Jesus' tongue. Jesus spoke Aramaic, I rest my case, and I have a lot of researchers to back me up. (http://www.markdroberts.com/htmfiles/resources/jesuslanguage.htm)
A: The two Aramaic (Assyrian) words for Torah or "The Law" are: ܐܘܪܝܬܐ and ܢܡܘܣܐ. The Aramaic (Assyrian) word for book(s)/writting(s)/scripture(s) is ܟܬܒܐ.
If you want to know more about Aramaic, ask a Rabbi if you want to know about Jewish Aramaic, if you want to know about Christian Aramaic talk to an Assyrian Christian who knows old Aramaic. The easist way is to look for a decon or priest in one of the Assyrian churches.
Q: I need to write a speech about the weekly torah portion; Parshat Sh'mini. Does anyone have any good ideas?
The torah portion is pretty much about Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, and what they did wrong by bringing fire that was unauthorized by G-d for sacrifice. It also talks about keeping kosher laws. Thanks!
A: The FIRST Thing that you Need to do to write a speech is to Simply get a Good (COPY) of the "Torah" !
Q: How long ago was the Torah written and by who?
Why only the first five books of the Bible are from the Torah? is this true? why only these 5?
WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE JEWISH BIBLE?
OR THE TALMUD, ETC. ANYTHING THAT THE JEWS CONSIDER PART OF THEIR "BIBLE"
A: The Hebrew Bible is more than just the Torah. According to the Jewish tradition, the Tanakh consists of 24 books.
The Talmud is a series of commentaries written by Rabbis mostly during the first millenium. the one that is commonly used was written in Babylon where Jew were in exile but allowed to flourish
Tanakh (Hebrew: תנ״ך) (also Tanach, IPA: [taˈnax] or [təˈnax], or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. The acronym is based on the initial Hebrew letters of each of the text's three parts:
Torah תורה meaning "Instruction". Also called the Humash חומש meaning: "The five"; "The five books of Moses". Also called the "Pentateuch". The Torah is often referred to as the law of the Jewish people.
Nevi'im נביאים meaning "Prophets". This term is associated with anything to do with the prophets.
Ketuvim כתובים meaning "Writings" or "Hagiographa".
The Torah ("Law") [also known as the Pentateuch] consists of:
1. Genesis [בראשית / B'reshit]
2. Exodus [שמות / Sh'mot]
3. Leviticus [ויקרא / Vayiqra]
4. Numbers [במדבר / B'midbar]
5. Deuteronomy [דברים / D'varim]
The books of Nevi'im ("Prophets") are:
6. Joshua [יהושע / Y'hoshua]
7. Judges [שופטים / Shophtim]
8. Samuel (I & II) [שמואל / Sh'muel]
9. Kings (I & II) [מלכים / M'lakhim]
10. Isaiah [ישעיה / Y'shayahu]
11. Jeremiah [ירמיה / Yir'mi'yahu]
12. Ezekiel [יחזקאל / Y'khezqel]
13. The Twelve Minor Prophets [תרי עשר]
I. Hosea [הושע / Hoshea]
II. Joel [יואל / Yo'el]
III. Amos [עמוס / Amos]
IV. Obadiah [עובדיה / Ovadyah]
V. Jonah [יונה / Yonah]
VI. Micah [מיכה / Mikhah]
VII. Nahum [נחום / Nakhum]
VIII. Habakkuk [חבקוק /Khavaquq]
IX. Zephaniah [צפניה / Ts'phanyah]
X. Haggai [חגי / Khagai]
XI. Zechariah [זכריה / Z'kharyah]
XII. Malachi [מלאכי / Mal'akhi]
The Kh'tuvim ("Writings") are:
14. Psalms [תהלים / T'hilim]
15. Proverbs [משלי / Mishlei]
16. Job [איוב / Iyov]
17. Song of Songs [שיר השירים / Shir Hashirim]
18. Ruth [רות / Rut]
19. Lamentations [איכה / Eikhah]
20. Ecclesiastes [קהלת / Qohelet]
21. Esther [אסתר / Est(h)er]
22. Daniel [דניאל / Dani'el]
23. Ezra-Nehemiah [עזרא ונחמיה / Ezra wuNekhem'ya]
24. Chronicles (I & II) [דברי הימים / Divrey Hayamim]
Q: What civilization is referenced in both the Torah and the Zoroastrian art piece?
Why do you think that this civilization appears in both?
What similar beliefs did Zoroastrianism and Judaism share?
How might a Fravashi be used as evidence of cultural interaction between peoples?
A: If you think it is Babylon, you are in error.
There were two earlier civilizations - Sumer and Akkad - that Torah (and the bible) know nothing about.
But then 97.5% of what was happening, and where it was happening (e.g. Caral, Peru and MesoAmerica) are completely unknown in the Bible/Torah and the like.
Q: Since christians rejected the Torah, why are they against homosexuality?
This part of the Torah was given only to the Children of Israel.
A: If the bible meant anything to these people, they would never eat shellfish.
It's bigotry plain and simple. The bible is used as an excuse.