Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: The Torah 101 9

Chapter 1: Beginning with Torah Basics 11

Chapter 2: Encountering God, the Ultimate Author 21

Chapter 3: Examining the Treasures of the Torah 39

Part II: One by One: The Books of the Torah 59

Chapter 4: “In the Beginning”: The Book of Genesis 61

Chapter 5: “These Are the Names”: The Book of Exodus 79

Chapter 6: “And He Called”: The Book of Leviticus 101

Chapter 7: “In the Wilderness”: The Book of Numbers 113

Chapter 8: “Words”: The Book of Deuteronomy 127

Part III: The Torah: An Operating Manual for Planet Earth 141

Chapter 9: Keeping Your Personal Behavior in Line with the Torah 143

Chapter 10: Living by the Word of the Torah in the Community 155

Part IV: The Importance of the Torah in Judaism 165

Chapter 11: Observing the Holy Days in Torah Time 167

Chapter 12: Following Jewish Customs According to the Torah 191

Chapter 13: Walking through the Torah Synagogue Service 209

Chapter 14: The Final Commandment: Writing a Torah Scroll 229

Chapter 15: Always Up for Discussion: Analyzing the Torah 247

Chapter 16: Studying the Torah with Translations, Commentaries, and Other Resources 263

Part V: The Part of Tens 277

Chapter 17: The Ten Commandments According to the Torah 279

Chapter 18: Ten Frequently Misunderstood Quotes from the Torah 287

Part VI: Appendixes 295

Appendix A: A Glossary of Torah Terms and Names 297

Appendix B: The 248 Positive Commandments in the Torah 305

Appendix C: The 365 Negative Commandments in the Torah 321

Index 341

About the Author

Arthur Kurzweil is known as America's foremost Jewish genealogist. He is a teacher, a lecturer, and the author of several books including Kabbalah For Dummies.