What is the Jewish Bible? The Jewish Bible is a collection of smaller books, which are divided into three categories: the Law, the Prophets and the Writings

The Law – “Torah” (in Hebrew): 

• Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy 
• These are the “Books of Moses,” and the source text of all Jewish Law. 
• There are 613 total commandments (“mitzvah” in Hebrew, or “mitzvot” if it is plural) given in the Torah.
• The entire Torah is read in one Jewish year, with weekly “Torah portions” being read at Friday or Saturday services.
• There is a holiday Simchat Torah or Shemini Atzeret (“Eighth Day of Assembly”) which celebrates God giving the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. It is a celebration similar in meaning to Catholic Pentecost, because it is the day that God gave His people their identity as the People of the Torah- similar to Pentecost being the birthday of the Church. At synagogues, the Torah is brought out and paraded (literally danced) through the entire congregation. Members reach out and touch their prayer shawls to the cover of the Torah and then kiss their prayer shawl as a sign of reverence to the Torah scroll.
• The Torah is written in Hebrew, and read in Hebrew at services. 
• The same Torah portion is read in every synagogue in the world on the same Shabbat.
• Every Torah scroll in a synagogue must be copied by hand, with no errors. There are many laws dictating: what type of parchment may be used, the ink and quill composition, the moral status of the scribe, the process of transcription, the composition and construction of the wooden rollers, and the type and kind of the various “garments” that the Torah scroll is clothed in before placing it back into the Ark within the synagogue.
• Want to know more about how Torah Scrolls are made for synagogues? Check out: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/339590/jewish/How-Is-the-Torah-Made.htm

The Prophets- “Nevi’im”: 

• Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
• Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
• A reading from the Prophets is also read at services. The theme links to the Torah portion, and is called the “haftarah.” Different communities read different haftarah, depending on their cultural background, or to which Jewish denomination a community belongs.

The Writings- “Kethuvim”:

• Psalms, Proverbs, Job, The Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles

What do Jews call their Bible?

In English, they call it “The Bible” but it is usually referred to as the “Tanakh.” This is a combination of the three parts in Hebrew: Ta (Torah)- na (nevi’im)- ch (kethuvim). Also, if they are speaking of just the Torah/ Law, they will say, “Torah.”

Does the Jewish Bible and the Catholic Old Testament have the same books?

Yes and no. There are more books in the Catholic Old Testament than in the Jewish Bible. There is debate as to why this is, because there are not concrete records of when the Jewish Canon was finalized. There are, however, books that have significance, even though they are not canonical.  A major example is the First and Second book of Maccabees. These books are not in the Jewish Bible, but they are important texts. Hannukah is based off of information in these books, so it is clearly important, even if it is not seen as divinely inspired.

Is the Old Testament the same as the Jewish Bible?

Yes and no.  Many of the books are the same, but the order is very different. As such the overall message is different.  Example: The Tanakh ends with King Cyrus of Persia proclaiming that God has commissioned him to go build Him a “House in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any one of you of all His people, the Lord his God be with him and let him go up.’” 2 Chronicles 36:23. The message is a call to action for God’s faithful, to establish God’s Chosen People in the land that God has promised them. A call to Jerusalem- God’s city- to build a Temple in which to worship Him. The Christian Old Testament ends with a prophecy from Malachi, in which he says, “I am sending to you Elijah the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day; He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction” Malachi 3: 23-24. The Christian Old Testament is setting up the coming of a prophet to prepare the way of the Lord. 

What’s with the Hebrew?

Hebrew is the language in which the Jewish Bible was written. For centuries, it was the spoken language of the Hebrews and then Israelites and then Jewish people. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jewish people were spread throughout the world in the Diaspora. As a result, Hebrew was often mixed with local languages. For example, Yiddish is a combination of Hebrew and German. During the 18th century, there was a very active movement to revive the more “pure” form of Biblical Hebrew as a spoken language. During this time and through to today, Hebrew has been used as the sacred language of scripture. A large part of any Jewish service is conducted in Hebrew.

Do all Jews speak Hebrew?

Jews learn how to read Hebrew as a part of their religious education. A young man or woman must read in Hebrew at their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. As such, the vast majority of religious Jews has a basic knowledge and varying levels of proficiency in reading Hebrew. Even if they cannot speak Hebrew in conversation, there are prayers that nearly all Jewish children are taught- similar to the Our Father or Glory Be or Hail Mary. Often, if a child attends a “Yeshiva” which is a type of Jewish school, half of the day will be spent in more traditional academic subjects- math, science etc. and half of the day will be spend in Hebrew, studying scripture and the rabbis’ teachings.