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The Pentateuch (Five Books of the Torah)
Moses wrote all the Five Books of the Torah; even the passages that refer to him he wrote in the third person, for every word of it was dictated to him by G-d. The Torah relates how G-d created the universe, how the human race came into being from Adam and Eve, how our Fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob fared, how the Jewish people became a nation, chosen by G-d to be 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation' through receiving and observing the Torah.

The 613 Commandments
The Torah contains 613 commandments, of which 248 are positive (what to do) and 365 are negative (what not to do). The precepts and commandments cover every phase of a Jew's life, both the duties to one's fellow man and the way to worship G-d, in order to attain the highest moral standards.

Massorah-(Tradition)
In addition to the precepts, commandments and prohibitions written in the Torah, G-d taught Moses more laws which he was to memorize and orally convey to his successors, who in turn were to uphold this tradition from generation to generation. Many laws and customs have thus been practiced by us traditionally, as if they were actually written in the Torah.

The Prophets
The books of the Prophets include: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Treassar (the 12 books of the Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zecharia, Malachi).

The Holy Writings
These include the books of Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra and Chronicles. All these books were written by one or another of our prophets by divine inspiration ("Ruach Hakodesh").

The books of Samuel, Kings, Ezra and Chronicles are subdivided into:
Samuel I and Samuel II; Kings I and Kings II; Ezra and Nehemiah; Chronicles I and Chronicles II. In all we had 48 prophets and 7 prophetesses whose prophecies were recorded for their everlasting importance. In addition to them there have been prophets in Israel in every generation, but because of the fact that their prophecies were confined to their times alone, they were not recorded.

The teachings contained within the Talmud, called the Oral Torah, have existed since Sinai. There are many indications of this in the Torah. I will give a couple examples:

1. The Torah says that anyone who works on the Sabbath is liable for the death penalty. (See, for example, Exodus 31:14-15) What is "work"? Ask ten different people and the likelihood is you will get ten different answers. So who gets the death penalty? This is obviously a matter of some import, yet the written Torah never clearly defines the term "work". The only source for this information is the Oral Torah.

2. In Deuteronomy 12:21, we are told that to eat meat we must slaughter animals "in the manner that I have prescribed." Yet, nowhere in the Torah do we find the procedure for slaughtering animals. The instructions were given in the Oral Torah.

3. In Exodus 13:16, Deuteronomy 6:8, and Deuteronomy 11:18, we are commanded to bind "these words" on our arm as a "sign" and on our head as a "totafoth". What exactly does this mean? Which words? How do we bind them? Which arm? And what is a totafoth?!? The word has no parallel anywhere in Scripture except as it is used in these verses. The answer to all these questions is found only in the Oral Law.

There are innumerable such examples. The truth is that the bulk of Torah law cannot be understood without an authoritative traditional interpretation. Partially for this reason, most groups which have denied the validity of the Oral Torah, have also denied the binding nature of Torah law. For example, Christianity, which denies the validity of the Oral Law, also considers the laws of the Torah to be dead letters, laws which are no longer binding.

As a result, Christianity has no need for an authoritative interpretation of these verses. The same is true for Reform Judaism and other such movements (though to different degrees). Some groups, like the Sadducees and Karaites, chose instead to substitute their own interpretations. Obviously such blatantly new interpretations have far less of a claim to validity than the Rabbinic tradition which is clearly of a more ancient origin and may be as old as the Scriptures themselves. Of course, orthodox Jews believe that the Oral Torah was given by G-d at Mt. Sinai together with the Written Torah.

The concept of the Jews as the chosen people is often misunderstood. One thing it does NOT mean is that Jews are "above" other people. We know there is one G-d who created all people and like the different organs of a body, each has a purpose, and all are necessary. Are we proud to be Jewish? Of course, as all people should be proud of any worthwhile group they belong to, meaning any group that has made and continues to make a contribution to the world.

When one organ is deficient, all other organs can suffer. Therefore from the head to the foot, all must be respected and appreciated. Same with all peoples, each has a role to play, each has a purpose to serve. How each serves the greater body is not the purpose of this page. As for the term "chosen" it is alluded to (and it is mentioned) many times in the Torah. The two most prominent places are in Exodus 19:5-6 and Deuteronomy 26:18-19.

Exodus 19:5-6:
Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own treasure among all peoples; for all the earth is mine; And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the people of Israel.

Deuteronomy 7:6-8:
For you are a holy people to the L-rd your G-d; the Lord your G-d has chosen you to be a special people to himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. The L-rd did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples; But because the L-rd loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn to your fathers, has the L-rd brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of slaves, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

As is obvious from these verses, and even more so from their context, the concept of the Chosen People goes hand in hand with the obligations of the Chosen People to serve G-d and obey His commandments. The task of the Jewish people is to serve as priests, exemplars of true spirituality and service to G-d, and to thus lead the entire world towards perfection.