

Through the tradition of ongoing commentary, the laws, narratives, prophecies, and proverbs of the Bible find contemporary and eternal meaning. Something of a miscellany, the Writings include poetry ( Psalms and Lamentations) and wisdom literature ( Proverbs and Ecclesiastes), short stories ( Esther, Ruth and Job), and histories ( Ezra-Nehemiah and 1-2 Chronicles). The latter prophets–including Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, along with 12 minor prophets–report the exhortations of these fiery leaders to return to God and Torah. The former prophets - including the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings - are narratives that explain the history of Israel from the perspective of Israel’s fulfillment of God’s covenant. The second of the three sections is itself divided into two parts. The Torah includes both the narrative of the formation of the people of Israel and the laws which define the covenant that binds the people to God. Sinai for the revelation of what are known as the Ten Commandments. The Torah, or Five Books of Moses, retells the story of how the family of Abraham and Sarah became the people of Israel, and how they came back from exile in Egypt, under the leadership of Moses, to the border of the land of Israel, on the way stopping at Mt. It furthers the Universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and.54. Various contemporary issues, such as feminist readings of biblical narratives or computer-assisted analysis of biblical texts, have drawn many people to the study of biblical texts. Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. While the Bible bears the stamp of history in its language and cultural assumptions, its readers in every generation bring their own assumptions and concerns to their reading of the Bible. Different historians and archaeologists have various approaches to using the biblical text as a source for history. While the rabbis of the Talmudic era assert that the Torah existed before history, the events described in the Bible create a narrative that can be seen against the backdrop of world history. Although scholars have different perspectives on how the Bible came to be, the centrality of the Bible in Jewish culture, in Torah study, and in Jewish worship, is undisputed. It includes narratives, law codes, short stories, etiological tales, prophecies, exhortations, poetry, and wisdom writing. In these cases, the holiday is listed in parentheses after the book name below.The Bible is a complex book comprised of 24 books written by different authors over a period of around 850 years. Many of the books, or chapters, in Ketuvim, are associated with Jewish holidays, when they are read. VIDEO: What’s the Book of Jonah Really About? Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Our Prophets, Ourselves: Jonah, Judgment and the Act of Repentance The Hebrew Bible, also known as Mikra (what is read) or TaNaKh, an acronym referring to the traditional Jewish division of the Bible into Torah (Teaching), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings), is the founding document of the people of Israel, describing its origins, history and visions of a just society. The Latter Prophets Joshua Judges Samuel Kings Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah (read on Yom Kippur) Each Torah portion is paired with a specific Haftarah, which is listed on My Jewish Learning’s page for that portion. Genesis (Bereshit)įresco of prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.Įach week a reading from the Prophets, called a Haftarah, is read after the Torah reading.
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How to write a dvar Torah, or commentary on a Torah portion. Where to find more commentaries on the weekly Torah portion. Why the Torah is read on an annual cycle.

Learn more about what a Torah portion is.
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The full list of portions can be found here.

We also have a special index page for each portion, which includes a detailed summary of both the portion its related Haftarah reading a quiz, links to the full text and commentaries from a variety of perspectives. To find out this week’s portion, visit My Jewish Learning’s homepage. There are 54 portions in total, and the Jewish community reads one a week over an annual cycle that begins each fall on the holiday of Simchat Torah. The Jewish Bible, otherwise known as the Tanakh makes up what we as Christians know as the Old Testament. The Torah is divided into the five books below, and each book is divided into about 10 portions. OverviewĪlong with the numerous articles linked to throughout this guide, the following provide some general information about the Bible, its origins, scholarship on it and the Jewish tradition of commentary.Ĭhaplain (Capt.) Sarah Schechter, at a Torah dedication ceremony.
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Want to get to know some amazing, complicated, and relatable biblical personalities? Sign up for a special email series here.
