The major sacred book which tells the history and origin of Judaism is called Tanakh. Tanakh is a base text for Judaism which holds three important sacred books, The Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim. The name Tanakh is made from the three sacred books.
Firstly the Torah (Meaning to teach), the five books of Moses; Genesis (Bereisheet), Exodus (Shemot), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (BaMidbar) and Deuteronomy (D'varim) is the most important foundation of Judaism. Torah was written by Moses and it contains the creation of the world, commandments given to Moses, freedom of slaves in Egypt, Hebrew's development in Cannan and many other stories.
The Tanakh also include the Nevi'im and Ketuvim. The Nevi'im, also known as the prophet contain Joshua, Judges,Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Hosea to Malachi are called 'The Twelve Prophets' as the last 12 books. Nevi'im basically tells about the history of Israel and Jewish people long time after Moses'.
Lastly the Ketuvim is series of sacred stories and poetries which are not connected or related to each other. They mainly tell about the histories and ways/direction of ethical lives God want Judaism people to have. Ketuvim invloves;
-Poetic books; Tehilllim (David's Psalms), Mishlei (Book of Proverbs), Iyyobh (Book of Job)
-The Five Megillot (Scrolls); Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs/Solomon), Ruth (Book of Ruth), Eikhah (Lamentations), Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) and Ester (Book of Esther)
-Others including Daniel (Book of Daniel), Ezra (Book of Ezra-Book of Nehemiah) and DIvrei ha-Yamim (Chronicles)
Firstly the Torah (Meaning to teach), the five books of Moses; Genesis (Bereisheet), Exodus (Shemot), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (BaMidbar) and Deuteronomy (D'varim) is the most important foundation of Judaism. Torah was written by Moses and it contains the creation of the world, commandments given to Moses, freedom of slaves in Egypt, Hebrew's development in Cannan and many other stories.
The Tanakh also include the Nevi'im and Ketuvim. The Nevi'im, also known as the prophet contain Joshua, Judges,Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Hosea to Malachi are called 'The Twelve Prophets' as the last 12 books. Nevi'im basically tells about the history of Israel and Jewish people long time after Moses'.
Lastly the Ketuvim is series of sacred stories and poetries which are not connected or related to each other. They mainly tell about the histories and ways/direction of ethical lives God want Judaism people to have. Ketuvim invloves;
-Poetic books; Tehilllim (David's Psalms), Mishlei (Book of Proverbs), Iyyobh (Book of Job)
-The Five Megillot (Scrolls); Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs/Solomon), Ruth (Book of Ruth), Eikhah (Lamentations), Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) and Ester (Book of Esther)
-Others including Daniel (Book of Daniel), Ezra (Book of Ezra-Book of Nehemiah) and DIvrei ha-Yamim (Chronicles)
OTHER SACRED TEXTS
-Another important sacred text is called Talmud which draws about a Halakha, Ethics, traditions, philosophy, histories, stories and many others. It is a compilation of laws and doctrines and it is a central sacred text of Rabbinic Judaism which was written around the 8th century, A.D by ancient Jewish teachers. There are two parts in Talmud which is Mishnah; the oral Torah and Gemara; the explanation of Mishnah. Talmud entirely consists 63 tractates and is more than 6000 pages long.
-Midrash is a simpply rabbinic literature that contains Midrash Aggada and Midrash Halakha. Its purpose is to help Jewish people's comprehension with the difficult passages or sentensces in the bible. Midrash Aggada is a story telling part as Aggada means 'Story' in Hebrew. It tells about the story in the bible passages with much simpler interpretion so that Judaism people can understand and evaluate the true meanings and values of the text. Midrash Halakha is about the laws, values and practices that Judaism people should follow. It explains the laws or values required for Judaism with right reasons or examples.
-A Responsa (Meaning Response) is a large collection of answers about the Jewish law. It was written by a Rabbis, meaning teachers of Judaism as quite many Jewish people had troubles understanding some of the passages and texts in the bible. So the Rabbis started to pick those questions, answered them and gathered them together. Responsa is like today's FAQ, Friquently asked question but about the Jewish laws. These days, there are answers about modern day's problems such as clothing or teenagers or unethical issues.
-The Septuagint is a translated text of Hebrew bible.
-A Zohar is a group of books about mystical commentaries of Torah which is for people who have reached high level of sprit and soul. It is to guide those people for higher perception and deeper spirit.
-Midrash is a simpply rabbinic literature that contains Midrash Aggada and Midrash Halakha. Its purpose is to help Jewish people's comprehension with the difficult passages or sentensces in the bible. Midrash Aggada is a story telling part as Aggada means 'Story' in Hebrew. It tells about the story in the bible passages with much simpler interpretion so that Judaism people can understand and evaluate the true meanings and values of the text. Midrash Halakha is about the laws, values and practices that Judaism people should follow. It explains the laws or values required for Judaism with right reasons or examples.
-A Responsa (Meaning Response) is a large collection of answers about the Jewish law. It was written by a Rabbis, meaning teachers of Judaism as quite many Jewish people had troubles understanding some of the passages and texts in the bible. So the Rabbis started to pick those questions, answered them and gathered them together. Responsa is like today's FAQ, Friquently asked question but about the Jewish laws. These days, there are answers about modern day's problems such as clothing or teenagers or unethical issues.
-The Septuagint is a translated text of Hebrew bible.
-A Zohar is a group of books about mystical commentaries of Torah which is for people who have reached high level of sprit and soul. It is to guide those people for higher perception and deeper spirit.