How Torah study shapes judaism

Judaism is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, ethnic religion comprising the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people. What can readers understand about Torah as a tradition of study, and how it shapes religious life? The lessons consider study through law, sacred readings, festivals, and beliefs about the Torah.

2 articles, 1 book · about 2 hr 10 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   judaism · Wikipedia · 60+ min read

   Judah ha-Nasi compiled the Oral Torah into the Mishnah, redacted c. 200 CE, as persecution of Jews increased and its details were in danger of being forgotten. The Talmud combines the Mishnah with Gemara, rabbinic commentaries redacted over the next three centuries. Shavuot celebrates the revelation of the Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai and, as the Festival of Bikurim, or first fruits, coincided in biblical times with the wheat harvest. In Judaism, festival and Shabbat prayer services center on public Torah readings, alongside connected readings from other books of the Tanakh called Haftarah. The whole Torah is read over a year, with the cycle restarting in autumn on Simchat Torah.

2. Read
   

   "Maimonides' 13 Foundations of Judaism" · mesora.org · 13 min read

   Maimonides' 13 Foundations of Judaism says the Torah given by Moses is entirely from God. Moses was like a stenographer, writing all the events, dates, stories, and commandments told to him.

3. Book
   

   The Chosen · Bookshop.org

   The Chosen by Chaim Potok is discussed in an overview by Cristiana Facchini, a scholar at the Università di Bologna. Facchini describes its account of late Roman Judaism as focusing on communal rules requiring children to learn Torah, which she says made Jews a uniquely literate group.

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