Torah literally means "instruction." It also is closely related to the Hebrew word which means "light." It is the instruction manual for the cosmos, illuminating us on how it’s supposed to work. G-d illuminated Moses and all the Children of Israel with it on Mt. Sinai a few thousand years back, and Jews have been studying and living it ever since.

Most specifically, the word Torah refers to what’s commonly known as The Five Books of Moses. "A Torah" is that handwritten parchment scroll in your synagogue’s ark. More generally, the word Torah includes anything that authentically explains or expands the instructions received at Sinai, the Prophets and Scriptures, the Mishna, Talmud, Shulchan Aruch (that’s the Code of Jewish Law), and the thousands of books and commentaries on them all. They all fit under the vast, ever-expanding Torah umbrella.

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