The word “Torah” means “teaching” in Hebrew and designates the Pentateuch, namely the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
There are 5,888 verses and 79,976 words in the Torah. According to tradition, the Torah was given to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. It contains the laws and commandments together with the history of Israel from the creation of the world until the death of Moses, prior to the entry of the people of Israel into the Promised Land.
The first book, Genesis (Bereshit: "In the beginning..."), recounts the history of Man, from creation to the life of Joseph and his sojourn in Egypt. The second book, Exodus (Shemot: "Names"), recounts the enslavement of the people of Israel and their exodus from Egypt. The third book, Leviticus (Vayikra: "And He called..."), deals with ritual worship. The fourth book, Numbers (Bamidbar: “In the wilderness”), recounts the history of the trials and rebellions of the Jews in the desert. The fifth book, Deuteronomy (devarim: “Words”), summarises Jewish laws and presents the final recommendations of Moses, who dies before the entry of the Jews into the Promised Land.
According to André Chouraqui, “the central message of the Torah lies in the ethical monotheism that the Jews were the first to propagate. The worship of a single, just, invisible God, creator of heaven and earth, implied the refusal by the Bnei (sons) of Israel of all idols worshipped by the nations, of any form of paganism”. The study of the Torah is a religious obligation: its content and its exegesis form part of the foundations of Judaism.
The Torah is handwritten on a long parchment attached sequentially to two wooden rollers provided with handles. The Torah scrolls (or “Sifrei Torah” in Hebrew) are then covered with a velvet fabric (in the Ashkenazi tradition) or enclosed in a case with two doors (in the Sephardi tradition). At the top of the rollers are attached metal ornaments (“rimonim”) which are surrounded by a crown (“keter”). A “pointer” (“yad”) is also attached, which serves as an index for reading the text. The Torah is read in the synagogue on Mondays, Thursdays, Shabbat, festival days, Rosh Chodesh and fast days.
The entire Torah is read over the course of a year, with the cycle ending and restarting during the festival of Simhat Torah. Whenever the reading of the Torah takes place in the synagogue, the congregants stand while the scrolls are taken out of the Ark and carried in procession before being brought to the Bimah (desk) for the reading. Members of the congregation are called individually to “go up to the Torah” (“aliyah”), that is, to affirm that the text read is the fruit of divine Revelation. Once the reading is finished, the scrolls are dressed and a new procession is made before returning the Torah to the Ark.
Source: CICAD