Torah

American  

[toh-ruh, tawr-uh, toh-rah, toh-ruh, toi-ruh] / ˈtoʊ rə, ˈtɔr ə, toʊˈrɑ, ˈtoʊ rə, ˈtɔɪ rə /

Sometimes torah,

noun

Judaism.

Torahs plural

1. Also the Torah the five books containing the Law as revealed to Moses, constituting the first of the three divisions of Jewish Scripture.

   In the desert of life filled with obstacles and challenges, the light of Torah helps lead the way.

2. a parchment scroll on which the five books of the Law are written, used in synagogue services.

3. Also the Torah

   1. the entire body of Jewish Scripture, including all three divisions; Tanakh.

   2. the entire body of Jewish religious literature, law, and teaching as contained chiefly in the Tanakh and the Talmud.

4. law or instruction.

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Torah British  

/ ˈtəʊrə, tɔˈra /

noun

1. 1. the Pentateuch

   2. the scroll on which this is written, used in synagogue services

2. the whole body of traditional Jewish teaching, including the Oral Law

3. (modifier) promoting or according with traditional Jewish Law

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Torah Cultural  

1. The law on which Judaism is founded (torah is Hebrew for “law”). This law is contained in the first five books of the Bible (see also Bible) (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Torah can also refer to the entire body of Jewish law and wisdom, including what is contained in oral tradition.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Torahs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Torah

First recorded in 1570–80; from Hebrew tôrāh “instruction, law”; akin to hôrāh “to teach,” yārāh “to throw”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Torah Torahs

Above the Torah ark in Ms. Wisse’s synagogue, an admonition is written in Hebrew: “Know before whom you stand.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

The conclusion of all this was my reading 30 or so lines from the Torah on my bar mitzvah Saturday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

In the Torah, Amalek refers to descendants of Esau who are known as the Israelites’ sworn enemy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2026

"We don't go to the army not because we are selfish, but because we try to preserve ourselves, what the Torah tells us and the rabbis tell us," he told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2025

If one man studies Torah, the Master of the Universe is already in the world.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

"We were taking the Torahs and the last Jews out of the city. The Torahs will go back, the synagogue will be reopened. Once again there will be Jewish life in Antakya," he said.

From Reuters ● Mar. 7, 2023

The synagogues have some of their original Torahs, prayer books and other documents, and the project will shore up the library, which was threatened by a flood in 2019.

From New York Times ● May 4, 2022

In the old days, we knew this: we kept our ancestries in Bibles, in Torahs, and in oral tradition.

From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2018

Great story: Leo Baeck Temple in Bel-Air had to hurriedly evacuate its Torahs last week as the Skirball fire inched closer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2017

The cantor is at his post at the reading-desk on the platform, two of the principal, well-to-do Jews, with Torahs in their hands, on each side of him.

From Yiddish Tales by Various