''Chumash'' (also Ḥumash; , or or

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

: ; plural Ḥumashim) is a copy of the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

(the Five Books of Moses that begin the Hebrew bible), printed and bound in the form of a book (i.e. a

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

) for convenience when studying. In comparison, a Torah scroll is handwritten, with rigorous production standards, on a special type of

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

and sewn together as a single scroll for use in the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

. The word 'Chumash' comes from the Hebrew word for five, (). A more formal term is , "five fifths of Torah". It is also known by the Latinised Greek term Pentateuch in common printed editions.

Etymology

The word has the standard Ashkenazi Hebrew vowel shift of , meaning "one-fifth", alluding to any one of the five books; by synecdoche, it came to mean the five fifths of the Torah. The

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew (, or ), also known as Israeli Hebrew or simply Hebrew, is the Standard language, standard form of the Hebrew language spoken today. It is the only surviving Canaanite language, as well as one of the List of languages by first w ...

pronunciation is an erroneous reconstruction based on the assumption that the Ashkenazic accent, which is almost uniformly penultimately stressed, had also changed the stress of the word. preserves the original stress pattern and both pronunciations contain a shifted first vowel. In early scribal practice, there was a distinction between a Torah scroll containing the entire Pentateuch on a

scroll, and a copy of one of the five books on its own, which was generally bound in

form, like a modern book, and had a lesser degree of sanctity. The term strictly applies to one of the latter. Thus, strictly means "the Genesis fifth", but was misread as and interpreted as meaning "The Pentateuch: Genesis", as if was the name of the book and the name of one of its parts. Compare the misunderstanding of " Tur" to mean the entirety of the Arba'ah Turim. In the legal codes, such as

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

' '' Mishneh Torah,'' it is laid down that any copy of the Pentateuch which does not comply with the strict rules for a Sefer Torah, for example, because it is not a parchment scroll or contains vowel signs, has only the same sanctity as a copy of an individual book (). In this way, the word (or ) came to have the extended sense of any copy of the Pentateuch other than a Sefer Torah.

Usage

The word ''ḥumash'' generally only refers to "book" bound editions of the Pentateuch, whereas the "scroll" form is called a ''sefer Torah'' ("book f theTorah"). In modern Jewish practice: * A printed ''ḥumash'' usually sets out the Hebrew text of the Torah with '' niqqud'' (vowel marks) and cantillation marks, separated into its 54 constituent

weekly Torah portion The weekly Torah portion refers to a lectionary custom in Judaism in which a portion of the Torah (or Pentateuch) is read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' (), is popularly abbre ...

s (''parashiyyot''), together with the '' haftarah'' for each portion and, often, translations and notes. * A ''ḥumash-Rashi'' also contains the Targum Onkelos and the commentary of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

, and may or may not have a vernacular translation of the text. * A '' Tikkun soferim'' or ''Tiqqun Qore'im'' sets out, in parallel columns, the unvocalized text of the Pentateuch as it would appear in a Torah scroll and the normal printed text as it appears in a Chumash; it sometimes includes '' haftarot'' and the

Five Megillot The Five Scrolls or the Five Megillot ( , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Bo ...

. It exists as an aid for '' soferim'' (Torah scribes) and for those preparing to read from the sefer Torah in the synagogue. * A multi-volume set in Hebrew only, often but not always including the entire Tanakh with masoretic notes (sometimes), Targumim and several classical commentaries, is referred to as '' Mikraot Gedolot'' ("Great Scriptures").

Various publications

* ''The Pentateuch and Haftorahs'', London 1937, known as the "Hertz Chumash", containing the commentary of former British Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz * '' Soncino Chumash'', (1st of the 14 volume Soncino Books of the Bible series) ed. Abraham Cohen, containing notes summarizing the traditional commentaries ( Mikraot Gedolot). * ''Torah and Haftarot'', translation by Philip Birnbaum (Hebrew Publishing Company, 1983. ) * '' Etz Hayim Humash'' (Published by the Jewish Publication Society of America ): associated with

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

movement * Gutnik Chumash with Onkelos,

and commentaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe * ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Revised Edition.'' W. Gunther Plaut, ed. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 2006: associated with American Reform movement * ''The Torah: A Women's Commentary'', edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss, Union for Reform Judaism/Women of Reform Judaism, 2008

References

External links

Judaism 101: Chumash
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chumash Sifrei Kodesh