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Welcome
to the
Learning
is Worship Website!
This website
has been established to provide you with free access to a scholarly
work in progress which is a fusion of a new English
translation/commentary of the Hebrew Torah with a
literal English translation of each Hebrew word of the
Torah.
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If
a person gains a new insight into the Torah, he must teach it to his
colleagues and not be selfish about
it.
-- Yaakov Culi (as translated by Aryeh
Kaplan)
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If you answer "yes"
to any or all the following questions, then the answers you seek may
be found in this
website:
- When you look
at the Hebrew Torah, and find it totally incomprehensible, does
that frustrate you?
- Do you want
free access and greater understanding of the knowledge, wisdom and
spiritual meaning of the Torah?
- Are you
interested in learning the meaning of each Hebrew word in the
Torah?
- Are you too
busy to attend classes?
- Does lack of
money prevent you from attending
classes?
- Does the lack
the time prevent you from attending
classes?
- Is the
pressure of attending classes and having to hand in homework
assignments too much for you to
handle?
- Would you like
to learn at your own pace and at a time of your own
choosing?
This website is
your self-educational connection to free access of the knowledge,
wisdom and spiritual meaning of the
Torah.
Call me
DooMeeRaal
All
my life I knew of the Torah,
but
little about its content and meaning.
One
day, I realized my thirst for
knowledge,
wisdom and spirituality
could
only be quenched by learning Torah.
I
wanted to learn Torah
in
its original Hebrew language.
I
wanted to read and understand Hebrew
as
easily as I understood English.
I
needed to find a bridge of
understanding
between
the two languages.
For
a while I looked longingly
at the
unreachable shoreline of the land of
Torah.
Then
one day, I built my own bridge
between
the
English-speaking world
and
the Hebrew Torah.
This
website is the bridge between
the
English-speaking world and the Hebrew
Torah.
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It is in Torah that G-d is most immediately immanent and
accessible, and the study of Torah is therefore not only a religious
commandment per se, but the most exquisite and the most
characteristically Jewish form of religious experience and
communion.
-- Norman
Lamm
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Why Study
Torah?
I
ask HaShem:
If,
as You say, I am a world unto myself,
and
I imagine myself orbiting around You,
as
a planet orbiting the sun,
then
does my study of Torah determine
whether
or not I remain in orbit?
I
imagine HaShem would say:
As
a world unto yourself,
regardless
of whether or not you study Torah,
you
always remain in orbit around Me.
But
when you study My Torah,
then
a living world are you;
as
was the Earth
at
the end of My sixth day of creation.
And
when you study not My Torah,
then
a desolate world are you;
as
was the Earth during My first day of
creation.
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My Mantra
Learning
is Worship when Torah is Studied
Learning
is Worship when Torah is Studied
Learning
is Worship when Torah is Studied
Learning
is Worship when Torah is Studied
Learning
is Worship when Torah is Studied
Accessibility is Key to the Assimilation of
Knowledge
On
average, you have to go through a ton of ore to obtain an ounce of
gold. If gold were more
accessible than that, we would all quit our jobs and become gold
miners. When the
average English-speaking person with little or no knowledge of the
Hebrew Torah attempts to mine an ounce of ‘gold’ from the Torah, he
or she usually has to sift through a ‘ton’ of trials and
tribulations. A newborn
can only initially assimilate mother’s milk or formula; then mashed
food and finally solid food.
It takes years for the newborn to develop the capacity to
assimilate all kinds of food.
The same is true for the uneducated. You would no more attempt to
have an uneducated person start at assimilating the highest level of
a particular branch of knowledge than you would attempt to feed a
piece of steak to a newborn.
I believe my translation of the Hebrew Torah will make the
assimilation of Hebrew Torah knowledge a far easier task than it has
ever been before. I
hope my system of translation will shorten the learning curve and
make acquisition of Torah knowledge a far less arduous
task.
The Financial Facts of Life
Regarding Education:
"Esoteric"
means "teaching the few."
"Exoteric" means "teaching the many." "Esoteric" is just another
word for "expensive."
Knowledge is a commodity; just like food, clothing and
shelter. Time and money
is the price you pay for an education. Not here. Your time is the only price
you pay for the knowledge posted on this website. In most instances, the money
you pay for an education goes toward paying grossly underpaid
teachers and profit-making educational institutions. I'm a teacher who neither
desires nor asks for payment.
When you
visit my website it's the same as walking into a classroom. Each Torah verse posted on
this website is a lesson.
You choose the lesson and the time to study it. I have put my teaching voice
into each verse of the Torah so that when you study a Torah verse
posted on this website, it's as if I'm teaching it to you
myself. Whether you're
being taught by a living teacher or learning from a book or from a
website, it's always up to you to educate yourselves. Learning is just like
eating: You eat food,
your body assimilates it, and it becomes part of you. You ingest knowledge, your
brain assimilates it, and it becomes part of you.
I believe
the knowledge of the Torah is worth learning and should be easily
accessible. This
website is an "Exoteric" website because the knowledge posted on it
is being made available to you, at no cost, for individual study or
for group study.
Here are the Rules of the School:
- I translate a verse from the Torah.
- I post it on this website.
- You study
it.
How to Access, Study and Save
These Newly-Translated Torah
Verses:
(1) While you are in real-time
connection to this website, you can use the Adobe Acrobat program to
download and view each Torah verse or other information posted on
this website;
or
(2) While you are in real-time
connection to this website, you can use the Adobe Acrobat program to
download and save each Torah verse or other information posted on
this website to your own computer. With the files now saved to
your computer, you will be able to access and study the knowledge
posted on this website without having to establish a real-time
connection to this website.
You must
have or acquire Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to open the files
posted on this website.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free, downloadable software utility
program.
Printing the Torah Verses:
I wish I
could allow you to print the Torah verses posted on this website,
but as many verses contain the name of G-d, I cannot do so, because
if you were to improperly dispose of a page containing His name, it
would be considered an act of desecration.
How to View Torah Verses
(1) Click on one of the "Torah
Chapter" buttons appearing on the left-hand portion of the screen
(e.g. "Genesis 1")
(2) Then click on one of the
chapter verses (e.g. "Genesis 1:1")
(3) While "Genesis 1:1" is being
downloaded to your computer, look at the horizontal bar in the lower
right-hand section of your screen as it denotes the progress of the
download in the form of a blue line moving from left to right. When the download is
complete, the blue line will disappear and the selected verse should
appear on the screen.
Note: If the
verse is one page long, the Hebrew and English should appear
correctly. If the verse
is two pages long, then the Hebrew text in the right-hand column
might appear as unintelligible symbols. To remedy this, click on the
"refresh" icon (which is the fifth icon to the right of the "back"
icon located at the top left section of your screen) (the "refresh"
icon displays an arrow curving to the right with an arrow curving to
the left under it). When you are finished looking at an Adobe
.pdf file and wish to go back to the web page, just click on the
"back" button.
How to Read Torah Verses
(1) Each file contains one verse
of the Five Books of Moses.
If you look at the top of the page of Genesis 1:1, the first
Hebrew word appearing in the rightmost column (pronounced "Say
Fer"). Look to the left
for its English equivalent "Book." This verse is from Book One
of the Five Books of Moses.
(2) The next Hebrew word on the
second line from the top (pronounced "Buh Ray Shees"). This is the Hebrew name
of the First of the Five Books of Moses. The English equivalent of
"Buh Ray Shees" is "In the beginning." This book is generally known
in the English speaking world as "Genesis." If you look at the bottom of
the page of each translated verse (in the document "footer"), you
will see the commonly known English form of denoting each chapter
and verse of the Bible (e.g. "Genesis 1:1"). For the purpose of ideal
computer file organization, the translator has named the Adobe
Acrobat files of each verse of the Five Books of Moses using the
universally recognizable English name which contains in its name the
book, chapter and verse number (e.g.
"Genesis-01-01.pdf").
(3) The next Hebrew word on the
third line from the top denotes the chapter title. Although
the first chapter in the first of the Five Books of Moses is also
named "Buh Ray Shees," the subsequent chapters have different
names. Take a look at
Torah Tablets of Contents.pdf which
contains the name and synopsis of every chapter in the Five Books of
Moses.
(4) The next Hebrew word on the
fourth line from the top (pronounced "Peh Rek") means "Chapter"
as in "Chapter and Verse."
(5) The next Hebrew word on the
fifth line from the top denotes the chapter number which is
comprised of one or two Hebrew letters. Please note that Hebrew
letters are also used as numbers. To those who have no
knowledge of Hebrew, studying these Hebrew letters would be a good
place to begin. Access
and print the document named Hebrew-English Numbering 1 through
1000.pdf For
the purpose of studying the Five Books of Moses, concentrate on
learning Hebrew numbers 1 through 100 (as "51" is the highest
chapter number and "89" is the highest verse number). Learn each Hebrew letter's
numerical value and work on learning the proper pronunciation of
each Hebrew letter by studying its English phonetical
equivalent. Access and
print the following document provided for learning all the Hebrew
letters in the alphabet: Hebrew Alphabet.pdf When you are able to
comprehend all the Hebrew letters, you can then access, print and
study the Hebrew vowels which are contained in the document named Hebrew Alphabet and
Vowels.pdf
(6) The next Hebrew word on the
seventh line from the top (pronounced "Paw Sook") which means
"verse," denotes the verse number which follows on the next
line. As with the
chapter number, it too is comprised of one or two Hebrew letters and
you can study from the same documents denoted in paragraph 5
above.
(7) The eighth line from the top
is blank and it separates the "header" from the actual text of each
verse.
(8) The ninth line from the top
contains the first Hebrew word of the particular verse in its
rightmost column and its English equivalent in its leftmost
column.
(9) Read vertically, from top to
bottom, one Hebrew word in the rightmost
column.
(10) Then read its English
equivalent (in blue italics) in the leftmost
column.
(11) Then read the parenthetical
English text appearing either before, in between and/or after the
English equivalent of the Hebrew counterpart.
(12) Then go on to read the next
Hebrew word in the verse and repeat steps 10 through
12.
Can't Read Hebrew?
If you
would like to view and/or print a document containing all the
letters of the Hebrew alphabet, then click on the following: Hebrew
Alphabet.pdf
If you
would like to view and/or print a document containing all the
letters and vowels of the Hebrew alphabet, then click on the
following:
Hebrew Alphabet and Vowels.pdf
If you
would like to view and/or print a document containing the numbers of
the Hebrew alphabet, then click on the following: Hebrew-English Numbering 1 through
1000.pdf
I am in the Process of Translating
All 5,883 Verses of the
Torah
I will continue to translate and post additional
verses of the Torah onto this website to further your study and
understanding of the Torah.
Why Have I Chosen to Save Each
Verse
of the Torah as a Separate
Document?
The Torah is comprised of 5,883 verses. In
saving each portion of the Torah as a separate electronic file
containing neither more than, nor less than one verse of the Torah,
I believe I am providing the ideal size portion of Torah that one
may study, without fear of being overwhelmed. If you had 5,583
acres of land to take care of all by yourself, it would be wise for
you to tend to one acre at a time.
You
Don't Have to Be Jewish
to Enjoy this
Website
Regardless
of your religious persuasion, or lack thereof, I encourage the
intellectually curious and all who thirst for Torah to freely drink
from the wellsprings found on this website.
Go on Now. Start Learning!
Recite a Blessing
Before
and After Reading
Torah
If you are so inclined, you may want to recite a
blessing before reading the Torah and a blessing after reading the
Torah. To do so, click
on the following document:
Blessing Before and After Reading
Torah.pdf
Want to Read a Synopsis of Each
Chapter
of the Five Books of Moses?
If you
would like to view and/or print the document containing a synopsis
of each chapter of the Five Books of Moses, then click on the
following: Torah Tablets of
Contents.pdf
The Many Different Names of the Torah
- Torah = Five Books of
Moses
- The Five Books of
Moses = Torah
- Torah =
Chumash
- Chumash =
Torah
- Torah =
Pentateuch
- Pentateuch =
Torah
Who am I?
If you would like to know who I am, then click on the
following:
Doo Mee
Raal.pdf
Would You Like to Hear the
Chanting of Each Verse of the Torah?
If you
would like to compare and contrast each verse of the Torah in the
format contained on this website with each verse of the Torah as it
appears in scroll form and also hear the chanting of each verse of
the Torah as one would hear it if one attended synagogue services on
a Saturday, then click on to the following website:
http://bible.ort.org/
Take a Look at Our Business Card
To access
a copy of our "Business Card," click on the
following:
learning is worship business
card.pdf
Please Let me Hear from You.
Send an E-mail by Clicking on the
Following:
doomeeraal@learningisworship.org
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