Torah is the name used by Jews throughout history for the five Books of Moses, the same as the Greek word Pentateuch. The scroll, written only in Hebrew, holy and sacred, embodies the word of God and is placed in the Ark of every Jewish sanctuary.

A designated portion of Torah is read in Hebrew and often in the native language of the congregation every week. The last portion and then the first portion are read simultaneously on the Festival of Simhat Torah to symbolize the perpetual study of God's laws.