Torah

How is a Torah scroll made? How is the Torah revered?

Torah means “teaching” and refers to the five books of Moses – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Genesis: The story of how the world was made; the story of Adam and Eve.

Exodus: story of Moses leaving his chosen people out of Egypt; giving the Ten Commandments through Moses to the people. Mount Sinai is the place where Moses receives the Ten Commandments.

Leviticus: Written as a guideline for the priests; known as the handbooks for priests.

Numbers (In the Wilderness): The stories of the 40 years spent wandering the desert and preparing them entrance to the holy land ‘Israel’.

Deuteronomy: The farewell of Moses and he addresses to a new generation in which he tells them to faithfully obey God’s blessings in the Promised Land.

U  A Torah scroll is made from sheets of parchment, which is made from the skin of a kosher animal.

U  It is written by hand in Hebrew by a professional scribe, called a sofer. The sofer’s job to ensure that the text is transmitted correctly. Hebrew is read from right to left.

U  The sofer takes at least one year to write out the Torah.

U  He is not allowed to from memory. He must copy from a book of the Torah, and jeep checking for mistakes. Letters must not be smudged or touch another letter.

U  If the sofer makes a mistake, he scrapes off the letters using a glass tool.

U  The most sacred word that he writes is the Hebrew name for God. He cannot correct this- he must start the whole sheet of parchment again. The sheet with the error on is buried in a Jewish cemetery.

U  When all the sheets of parchment are finished, they are sewn together and wound around wooden rollers.

U  The Torah is regarded as holy, and is decorated as beautifully as possible.

U  It has a velvet cover called a mantle.

U  A silver breastplate is hung on the front of it, like the one worn by High Priests in Biblical times. This is decorated with Jewish symbols.

U  Bells are attached so people can hear it being carried around the synagogue.

U  There is also a silver pointer called a yad.

U  A yad (meaning hand) is used by Jews to keep their place when reading from the Torah scroll.

U  This is to show respect for the scroll and to prevent the parchment being spoiled by oil from their fingers.

U  When the Torah is not being used, it is kept in a special cupboard at the front of the synagogue, called and Ark.

U  This reminds Jews of the Ark of the Covenant in which Moses and his people carried the Ten Commandments.