And, why do their belivers believe that they are the inspired word of God? Also why do they need to be the only one's that are the inspired words of God?

What does it mean, Inspired? Could being inspired mean that they got the inspirations to just write what they knew? Like a poet, or somone who writes novels just get inspiration to write?

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The Torah is the first five books of the Bible, also know as the Pentateuch.
Exodus, Genesis, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy=Torah or Pentateuch.

I believe in the case of the Bible, inspired means the author was quoting God.

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Be written inthe exact same way as you can read them in the Bible?

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When a man sleeps in his bed, his soul leaves him to soar above, each soul according to its own way.......
The Zohar

I talked with a Rabbi when taking my religions class, and he said that the Torah and the Books of Moses from the Bible are the same. I have never read the Torah for myself, but I don't think that the Rabbi had anything to gain by lying.

"Torah" has different, and yet similar, meanings depending on its context. Most of the time it refers to the Books of Moses, which are the first five books of the Bible (the Tanakh). But sometimes we use "Torah" to mean the Law (which includes regulations specified by the five books, the Mishnah*, and the Talmud*), and there are times we use it to stand for the entire Bible (Tanakh-- excluding the "N.T." of course). But assume it's the first five books unless the context seems to indicate otherwise.

As far as divine inspiration goes, Jews cover the entire spectrum from it being entirely inspired by G-d to not being inspired at all. However, one thing we do agree on is that the Bible cannot be read by taking all the words literally, thus you'll sometimes hear the phrase "the meaning behind the words".

Shalom,
Vern

* The Mishnah is the oral law that was passed down from Sinai, but also includes decisions made after Sinai. The Talmud includes the Mishnah and also explanations of both the Mishnah and Torah, plus all sorts of odds and ends from folklore to recipes.

Lightkeeper and Rev. Kelly and Metis...

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When a man sleeps in his bed, his soul leaves him to soar above, each soul according to its own way.......
The Zohar

and Proverbs, Job, as well as books of the prophets, books like Isaiah, Danial, Ezekiel and Jerimiah? Do Jews cover them and exactly how? Do y'all have the same word for words as the Bible does. On all the first five books as well, do you have any different words at all, is it only different a little, or a lot, if so?

(Tanakh-- excluding the "N.T." of course) So in what ways would Jews think of the Tanakh then? I can't understand the difference between the different one, like Tanakh, Mishnah, and Torah.

The Talmud sounds interesting, do they have them in english? Also, though, if you where to read the Talmud, could you understand it if you hadn't read the Mishnah and Torah?

Also, do you mean that there are different kinds of beliefs in these books, are the Jews books in book form or mostly just in scroll form. What kind of Inspiration do Jews have? Ok, take me, I'm probably not a Jew--but I seriously don't know that either--however, I believe in God as a personal God. I believe God has made himself known to me. So what I'm asking, is there Jews who believe the way I do? Also, if the Jewish person does believe in this way, would he need to be as close to practicing the laws of God as he could, and be going by these, his holy books?

I'm sorry for so many questions. But I just love to try and find out everything I can about Judaism, it is such a mysterious religion still for me, even though I have been trying to understand it forever it seems. Yet, that mysteriousness is still there.

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When a man sleeps in his bed, his soul leaves him to soar above, each soul according to its own way.......
The Zohar

ShyLady:>>and Proverbs, Job, as well as books of the prophets, books like Isaiah, Danial, Ezekiel and Jerimiah? Do Jews cover them and exactly how?<<

Good questions, and I'll answer them with brief responses, but if you want me to expand on any of them, please let me know.

At services, sections from the above books are read right after the Torah.

>>Do y'all have the same word for words as the Bible does. On all the first five books as well, do you have any different words at all, is it only different a little, or a lot, if so?<<

There's little difference nowadays since many Christian Bibles now more closely reflect the Hebrew Torah, especially the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which I highly recommend over most other Christian Bibles.

>>So in what ways would Jews think of the Tanakh then? I can't understand the difference between the different one, like Tanakh, Mishnah, and Torah.<<

These are considered as essentially an unbroken seam in that one flows from and clarifies the other. The Mishnah was the oral law that eventually got recorded a couple of centuries after Jesus' time. The Talmud was a couple of centuries after the Mishnah, and it helps to clarify the Tanakh and Mishnah.

>>The Talmud sounds interesting, do they have them in english?<<

Yes, and you can get it on-line (go to jewfaq.org and follow the directives).

>>Also, though, if you where to read the Talmud, could you understand it if you hadn't read the Mishnah and Torah?<<

Yes and no as far as the Mishnah is concerned, but without understanding Torah, you'd be lost in a hurry. You could get something out of it, but some parts would likely be quite confusing.

>>Also, do you mean that there are different kinds of beliefs in these books, are the Jews books in book form or mostly just in scroll form.<<

We only use the scroll at synagog normally. All the rest are in book form or on-line nowadays.

>>What kind of Inspiration do Jews have?<<

All the way from the belief that Torah and Tanakh were divinely inspired in their entirety, to the belief that are just works of men (with maybe some prompting from the wives), to varying degrees in between.

>>I believe in God as a personal God. I believe God has made himself known to me. So what I'm asking, is there Jews who believe the way I do?<<

Absolutely.

>>Also, if the Jewish person does believe in this way, would he need to be as close to practicing the laws of God as he could, and be going by these, his holy books?<<

Yes. But don't think of these Laws as one might consider the laws of a country. We really are not very legalistic at all if one knows how the process works. In Judaism we have no creeds, so the Law is not binding on belief. One can be an atheist and belong to a synagog without fear of being excommunicated or drummed out.

>>I'm sorry for so many questions. But I just love to try and find out everything I can about Judaism, it is such a mysterious religion still for me, even though I have been trying to understand it forever it seems. Yet, that mysteriousness is still there.<<

Sometimes it is difficult to understand because certain approaches are different between how we versus most Christians deal with certain things.

You have very good questions, and if I helped at all, I'm glad I could do it. And don't be shy about asking more or to have any of these points clarified or expanded on.

Shalom,
Vern

I liked your answers. I also wanna thank you for offering to answer more questions if I have more. I have many, but I won't swamp you with them all at once. I liked the link to the site it looks very interesting there.

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When a man sleeps in his bed, his soul leaves him to soar above, each soul according to its own way.......
The Zohar

Thankyou, Shylady, and don't be hesitant to ask "too many questions"-- I'm retired!

Shalom,
Vern