FLP TORAH STUDY - WEEK ONE
Here is Kyle's First Torah Hangout Lesson. Please make sure to answer this question on the blog:
BLOG DISCUSSION QUESTION:
In your opinion, why does the TaNaKh begin with a story of how the world was created? Post your answer on the FLP blog! (Write no less than three sentences.)
To comment on the blog check the bottom of the post and click the link that says "no comments" and it will direct you to the page where you can post.
WHAT IS TANAKH?
What you need:
• A JPS TaNaKh
• Pencil and paper
Getting started:
The TaNaKh is the most ancient and widely read book in the world and it is the most important book for the Jewish people. Non-Jews call it the Hebrew Bible because it was written in Hebrew. Christians call it the Old Testament. But what is it exactly? Follow this study sheet closely to learn about it. There are quiz questions the end of the sheet for you to answer in your own words and a discussion question for you to respond to on our
FLP Blog.
What's in a Name?
TaNaKh is not a real Hebrew word. It's an acronym. The T, N, and K in the word TaNaKh stand for Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. These are the three parts of the book of TaNaKh.
Þ Torah + Nevi’im + Ketuvim = TaNaKh
תורה + נביאים + כתובים = תנך
Three Parts?
Like Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings, which are several books long, the TaNaKh has three parts:
1st Part: Torah:
Torah means instruction. This part is five books long. We also call this part The Five Books of Moses. The books are divided into chapters. This is the most holy part of TaNaKh and is handwritten on a scroll made of animal hide. We read the whole Torah scroll every year, chanting from one chapter (parashah) each Shabbat morning. When you have your bar/bat mitzvah, you will be assigned a parashah. You will study it, learn how to chant it, and teach about it. You won't study it from the scroll until the day of your bar/bat mitzvah. Until then, you will use a Humash, which is the same words but they are printed in a book.
The Torah describes the creation of the world, the first Jewish family and their descendants, their life in Canaan and in Egypt, their slavery in Egypt and their escape from Egypt, their wandering in the wilderness, receiving God's commandments, and reaching their homeland.
2nd Part: Nevi'im:
Nevi'im means prophets. This part is 8 books long. It continues the story of the Israelites after they reach Canaan, how they establish a kingdom there, and how that kingdom falls apart. Throughout Nevi'im there are prophets who tell the people to be loyal to God. We also chant a section of this part every Shabbat morning. This reading is called the Haftorah. The chanting for Haftorah has a different melody than when we chant from the Torah scroll.
3rd Part: Ketuvim:
Ketuvim means writings. This part is 12 books long. In it there are poems, advice, stories, and histories all about the Jewish people and God.
Now it's your turn!
Þ Open up your TaNaKh and turn to the CONTENTS section. Read aloud the names of the five books in the Torah in English.
Þ Now close your book. Close your eyes and open your TaNaKh to a random page. Look at the top of the page to figure out which part you are in. With your pencil and paper, write the part of TaNaKh you are in and the name of the book. If you are in the Torah, also write which parashah you are in.
Þ Now turn to the first page of your TaNaKh. This is the first chapter of the first book of the Torah. Read the first sentence in Hebrew three times. Now read that same sentence in English. Continue reading in English until you get to the number 2.
QUIZ QUESTIONS:
Take your pencil and paper and answer the questions. You may use your TaNaKh…
1. What does TaNaKh stand for? What do those words mean in English?
2. Name the five books of the Torah in English or Hebrew.
3. Which parts of TaNaKh do we chant from on Shabbat morning?
4. What is the difference between Torah and Haftorah?
5. What is a parashah?
6. What is the only difference between a Torah and a Humash?
7. What is the first chapter of the Torah about?
Hayden and Madi Miller said:
ReplyDeleteWe start with creation because you can't really tell a story about people until you explain how they got there in the first place. You can't tell a reader what earth and people are until you explain how it was all created. The reader would be lost otherwise. Also, it is a very interesting thing to know how the world was created.
Emily said:
Hayden and Madi:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on our blog! The TaNaKh can get very confusing at times because it does not always follow a specific narrative. You both make a good point in understanding that an author needs to set up a story in order to draw the readers in to it!
Please feel free to continue to post comments here!
ReplyDeleteWhy does the TaNaKh begin with a story of how the world was created? Julian: The TaNaKh starts with the creation of the world because we need to go in order to understand the story. If we don't go in order, it gets confusing. So at the beginning, we start with the beginning of everything.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great thought, Julian! I wonder if you can think of your favorite book. Does it start at the beginning of the story or somewhere in the middle? One of the my favorite books, Harry Potter, for instance, doesn't start at the beginning of the story with Harry's birth or Voldemort's birth, it starts instead in the middle of Harry's life. Why do you think that might be?
DeleteCarly says:
ReplyDeleteThe creation of the world led to everything else in the TaNaKh so it would be weird to talk about Moses and then go back and talk about the creation of the world. Starting with the creation of the world makes each of the following books kind of like a sequel. Starting this way, the whole thing makes more sense when you read it.
Henry: It's like an introduction. You need to start with creation because that is the beginning and if you skipped ahead it may be confusing or you could get lost in the story. This is a way of keeping the story organized.
ReplyDeleteWill says:
ReplyDeleteThe TaNaKh starts with the creation of the world so that we would understand how the world was made. And it is an introduction to the rest of the Torah. If the TaNaKh started someplace else it wouldn't make sense because we would have no idea where we are, what we are doing here, or how we got here.