Terminology

For the benefit of our general audience, we present you with a list of commonly used words.

Torah—The Five Books of Moses. Can also refer to the entire Written and Oral Law.

Talmud—The primary book of the Oral Law. It is the basis for Halachah—Jewish law and customs.

There are five1 levels of interpretation in Jewish thought.

a)Pshat—basic understanding—the basis for the commentary of Rashi (an acronym of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki [1040-1105]). Rashi is the foremost commentator on the Five Books of Moses.

b)Remez—hint—one law may provide a hint and lead to another one. Generally found in the Talmud.

c)Drush—homiletics and exegesis defining and explaining the verses of the Torah. Found in the Midrash.

d)Sod—secrets—found in numerous texts, and in particular, the Zohar and the writings of the AriZal, Rabbi Isaac Luria, a 16th-century Kabbalist. Sod is primarily the body of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah.

e)Chassidus—essence—the fifth and highest dimension of Torah also referred to as the Teachings of Mashiach. Chassidus clarifies Kabbalah and imparts the underlying spiritual meaning behind the four above-mentioned levels.