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Definition:
The word Torah comes from the Hebrew term for "teaching," and in general refers
to the study of the entire gamut of Jewish tradition and scriptures. This
tradition consists of two parts: the Oral Torah and the Written Torah.
The Written Torah, which is often just called the Torah, refers to the "five books of Moses," or the first five books of the Christian Old Testament. These books are: Genesis (Beresheet), Exodus (Shemot), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (Bamidbar), and Deuteronomy (Devarim). This is in contrast to, for example, the Prophets.
According to Jewish beliefs, the Torah contains 613 commandments (mitzvot), of which the Ten Commandments are considered the most important. According to Christian and Jewish tradition, Moses wrote the entire five books and received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai.
The Written Torah is part of the Tanak, which stands for Torah (T), Nevi'im (N) and Ketuvim (K). Read the entry on the Tanak to learn more.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
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