Elana and Robin delve into the Torah — what it is, how it’s different from the Bible (is it?), how it’s written, and how we care for it. 

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Show Notes:

    • Vocabulary
      • Here are some words mentioned during this episode and their definitions:
        • Ark: an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls
        • Bimah: the podium or platform in a synagogue from which the Torah is read
        • Holocaust: the genocide of European Jews during World War II.
        • Morah [Moreh]: Hebrew for a female [or male] teacher
        • New Testament: The second division of Christian Bibles is the New Testament, written in the Koine Greek language. 
        • Old Testament: the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Israelites
        • The Prophets (Nevi’im): the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh), lying between the Torah and Writings. It includes Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Jonah.
        • Sofer: Jewish scribe who can transcribe holy scrolls and tefillin
        • Tanakh: the canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures, including the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim
        • Tefillin: a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews during weekday morning prayers.
        • Torah: the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
        • Writings (Ketuvim):  the third major division of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh), coming after the Torah and The Prophets. It includes Psalms, Book of Proverbs, Book of Job, Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Book of Esther, Book of Daniel, Book of Ezra, and Chronicles.
  • Further Reading

Transcript:

Elana
 Hey, Robin.

Robin
Hey, Elana. I’m excited for this episode because I have a very cute story to tell about this topic. 

Elana
So fun. I can’t wait to hear it. First, though, let’s remind our listeners who we are and what this blogcast is all about. 

Robin
Okay. I’m Robin Matthews, Jewish Learning Venture’s graphic designer and the Director of PJ Our Way engagement and jkidpride.

Elana
And I’m Jewish Learning Venture’s CEO Elana Rivel, and we are the hosts of More Than 4, a blogcast that answers some of the questions people have about Judaism. 

Robin