They are often referred to as the Chumash which means "five". The Torah scroll itself is hand written by a scribe in black ink on parchment. The parchment sheets are sewn together with the veins of a kosher animal. Wooden rollers are attached to the ends so that we can read from portion to portion on the scroll without the parchment being handled, this is because it is all hand written and the ink becomes brittle with age. Looking at a Torah scroll you can see that there are no vowels or punctuation marks. Start early and practice for your Bar or Bat Mitzvah ! http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/parisha.php 2010 Akhlah Inc. Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:42:23 -0600 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:40:15 -0600 webmaster@akhlah.com FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.1) http://www.feedforall.com http://www.akhlah.com/images/akhlah_rss.png http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/parisha.php The weekly Torah portion (Parsha) for children 78 31 This week's parsha is Bo (Exodus 10:1 - 13:16). The plagues continue with Locusts, then Darkness and then finally the last plague (The Death of the first born). Before the last plague HaShem tells Moses to tell Aaron that the first month of the year is Nisan. That every Jewish family should sacrifice a lamb on the tenth day of the month and that it should be eaten that night and the blood of the lamb should be put on the door posts of the house so that death will Passover that house. The Jewish people are to eat matzah from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan. Eating matzah will be a rule during this time for all generations in remembrance. After the last plague the Jewish people are in a hurry to leave and the Egyptians are glad to let them go, they give them gold and silver. About 600,000 men over the age of 20 leave Egypt. http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/shemoth/bo.php 53037623-18B6-4F3C-B26D-2452120F22D6 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:41:33 -0600 Here is a fun crossword puzzle from this week's Parsha. We have included the answer, so if you can't get the whole thing solved, you can take a peek and see how to solve it. Great way to get the kids involved in learning the Torah Portion for the week. http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/shemoth/bo_puzzle.php 1DDF3A8C-28E3-4A85-B10F-995A2B4605F7 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:42:07 -0600 Bereshit means "in the beginning". The is the first book of the Torah and it tells the story of the creation, the patriarchs and matriarchs (people like Abraham, Sarah, and Jacob), and goes on to tell about the Israelites settling in Egypt. http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/bereshit/bereshit_index.php 65FFB42E-7E21-4621-A74F-71F8AFC21877 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:42:11 -0600 Shemoth means "Names" and it is the second book of the Torah. This book tells the struggles to leave Egypt, receiving the Torah on Mt Sinai and the beginning of our journey in the wilderness. http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/shemoth/shemoth_index.php ABA842CE-30B5-43FD-B838-A847DD2E7CEE Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:42:13 -0600 VaYikra means "and He called", and it is the third book of the Torah. Most of the book is concerned with priestly matters, but there are many wonderful ethics lessons that are taught in the stories. http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/vayikra/vayikra_index.php 3CBEF964-AB0E-4C4F-8E7C-8676DEF30B12 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:42:16 -0600 BeMidbar means "in the wilderness" and it is the fourth book of the Torah. It begins with the census of the tribes and continues with the journey through the wilderness. http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/bemidbar/bemidbar_index.php 4F558556-D179-43CC-998A-02E5DE586F06 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:42:18 -0600 Devarim means "words" and is the fifth book of the Torah. It is Moses' view of the journey and it concludes with the death of Moses and the Israelites entering Israel. http://www.akhlah.com/parsha/devarim/devarim_index.php D4F65D96-1E5B-4DDA-B951-CA23AAD6D505 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:42:21 -0600