JUDAISM 101: WHAT IS THE TORAH?

MINHAGIM: In ancient times, you never went in front of a king with your head uncovered.TALMUD: Rabbi Hunah ben Joshua never walked 4 cubits (2 meters) with his head uncovered. He explained:"Because the Divine Presence is always over my head." (Talmud Shabbat 156b, Kiddushin 31a).HALACHKIC LITERATURE: A Man is to cover his head during prayer (Mishneh Torah, Miamonides).

Pentateuch - Five Books of Moses (Genesis,Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

Sefer Torah – the Torah scroll found in thesynagogue

Tanakh – the Hebrew Bible including Torah,Nevi’im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings)

Talmud – the “oral” law, comprised of theMishna (the central writing) and the Gemorah,the commentary

Halachkic Literature – the commentaries onthe Talmud that have become codified(Miamonides, Rashi, Hillel)

Minhagim/Traditions – the customs that areenforced by a community as holding the sameweight as Torah (custom becomes law)

The Torah appears like a quilt:different stories woven togetherthat seem to be made of differentmaterials and have differentartistic approaches.

What are the “tells” that Torah isquilt like?

Names of God (YHVH, EL,ELOHIM, etc)

Literary Style

Emphasis / Approach

Language

This is the DocumentaryHypothesis.

WHO WERE THE HEBREWS?

The Hebrews were probably Canaanites who left the city-state system to form their own community. This isevidenced by their pottery, which is exactly the same as Canaanite pottery.

Hebrews were shepherds, the poor, marginalized society. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the Torah isfilled with stories of great triumphs, slavery, the “creation” of a new community and a Tribal God.

The Torah is an entirely oral tradition later to be codified into formal stories, laws, etc.

DOCUMENTARY HYPOTHESIS

The modern documentary hypothesis proposes that the Torah was originally four distinct narratives, eachcomplete in itself, each dealing with the same incidents and characters, but with distinctive "messages". Thefour were combined twice by editors ("redactors") who strove to keep as much as possible of the originaldocuments.

J, Jahwist sourceThe oldest source, concerned with narratives, making up half of Genesis and half of Exodus, plus fragments ofNumbers. J describes a human-like God, called YHWH throughout, and has a special interest in the territory ofthe Kingdom of Judah and individuals connected with its history. J has an eloquent style. Originally composedc. 950 BCE

E, Elohist sourceE parallels J, often duplicating the narratives. Makes up a third of Genesis and half of Exodus, plus fragments ofNumbers. E describes a human-like God initially called Elohim, and Yahweh subsequent to the incident of theburning bush, at which Elohim reveals himself as YHVH. E focuses on the Kingdom of Israel and on the Shilohpriesthood, has a moderately eloquent style. Originally composed c. 850 BCE

D, Deuteronomist sourceD in the Pentateuch is restricted to the book of Deuteronomy, although it continues into the subsequent books ofJoshua, Judges and Kings. It takes the form of a series of sermons about the Law, as well as recapitulating thenarrative of Exodus and Numbers. Its distinctive term for God is YHWH Elohainu, traditionally translated inEnglish as "The Lord our God." Originally composed c. 650-621 BCE

P, Priestly sourceP is preoccupied with lists (especially genealogies), dates, numbers and laws. P describes a distant andunmerciful God, referred to as Elohim. P partly duplicates J and E, but alters details to stress the importance ofthe priesthood. P consists of about a fifth of Genesis, substantial portions of Exodus and Numbers, and almostall of Leviticus. According to Wellhausen, P has a low level of literary style. Composed c. 550-400 BCE.[4]

R, RedactorThe first redaction of the Torah combined J and E to create JE, c 750 BCE. A second redactor combined JEwith D and P to put the work into its final form c 400 BCE.

Approaches to Torah

STORYTELLING – Creation of the world, myth-history of the early Hebrews

PRACTICAL/CIVIL LAW – Torah as a series of mitzvoth (commandments) ofwhich we are to follow (expanded upon by Talmud)

SPIRITUAL LAW – the lessons of the Torah (d’var Torah) as a way of learninghow to live now based on broad understandings of the Torah’s messages

DIVINE CODE – the “secrets” of the Torah as understood through mysticalinterpretation/Kabbalah

RITUAL TOOL – use of the sefer Torah in synagogues for rituals

Just like the “layer cake”, Torah at any time can be utilized in all or a few ofthese paths.

Coming Home To the Torah

Torah as a way of explaining who we are, how we got to be where we are today,and how we can return “home”.

Much of the Torah narrative is based on being marginalized from Canaanitesociety or being ruled over by another or fearing the end of our fledglingcivilization.

Torah and the “Other”

Torah as a way of understanding “otherness” in ourselves and the “others” of ourcommunity.