Welcome to Torah Echad!
What does the name mean?
"One Teaching" or "Unified Instruction" are some simple meanings and translations of the Hebrew for "Torah Echad." Using the term "Law" (Greek: nomos; nomia) for Torah is a common and unfortunate misunderstanding that Torah is just Law, precepts, commandments, et. al. Instead, Torah is an instruction of how to achieve the mark, a teaching of how we are to walk - that is, how to behave (it is by definition, halakha!). Torah defined as law is seen as constriction, but in fact it is liberation!
Torah most commonly refers to either the first five books of the Bible (Bereishith/Genesis, Shemoth/Exodus, Va-yiqra/Leviticus, Bamidbar/Numbers, Devarim/Deuteronomy) OR the whole [Hebrew] Bible, which consists of Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings). Therefore, Torah most often means a body of Scripture designed to teach us how to be holy like G-d is holy (Lev 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7-8, 26).
There is also the concept of the "Oral Torah," often known as the Mishneh Talmud - the teachings and laws of [Rabbinic] Judaism. In this context, Torah can mean both Written and Oral Torah. Not all Jews view the Oral Torah in the same way, some choose not to believe in it or uphold it in the same way.
Why this name?
Torah Echad is administered and gets contributions by Jews who submit themselves to G-d and Torah in order to share their love for, reverence of, and liberation found in Torah with any who are seeking liberty and love. There is only One Torah and when we submit ourselves to G-d's covenant, we become a mishpacha (family); there is b'yachad (togetherness; unity) in the kehillah/k'lal (community). Shemoth/Exodus 12:49; Bamidbar/Numbers 15:16,29. Hence, Torah [study and observance] is, in one sense, an exercise in unity.
Torah is for the Jewish people and those who choose to live among & take on the practices of (sojourn with; though people or "strangers" who do not sojourn are still expected to obey certain parts of the laws of Torah while in the land of Israel according to Torah, while all people are responsible for the 7 basic laws of Noach) and through this other nations will be blessed and come to have trust in the L-rd (Isa 56). Though Torah is only for the covenanted Jewish people, eventually all people will come to worship YHVH Tzvaot and obey the laws of Torah which apply to them (Isa ch. 2; 45:19-25; 56:1-8; ch. 61; Eze chs. 44-45 (cf. Exo ch. 28); Zec 8:23; 14:16-21; Joel ch. 3 (in Christian versions: 2:28-32)). It is this vision of peace and clarity that we look forward to, not in a parochial, hegemonic, or demanding way. Rather, that we believe there is benefit to our lifestyle. Everyone is free to advocate their ideas; these are the traditions that have been passed on to us and continue to live on, showing us that the wisdom of Torah is divine, compassionate, a path towards peaceful relationships with people/animals/environment, and incredibly progressive.
It is generally understood that Jews, Christians and Muslims all share [arguably] one thing in common: Torah is part of our/their Scripture. But, how do we view Torah in each of our respective faiths? How do we understand the mitzvoth (commandments)? How do we view practicing the commandment as service to G-d and our fellow human? How and why have Christians and Muslims persecuted Jews for Torah obedience for millenia and can Christians and Muslims make amends? Why do we not see eye-to-eye? What differences do we find in interpreting Torah and in our worldviews (how we see & relate to ourselves & the world around us)?
Each of these 3 faiths eagerly awaits the Moschiach/Messiah (some await the Messiah's next coming) to deliver them, teach them, and rule them (though these faiths often differ about the specifics, not to mention that some have different ideas about this figure: what (s)he will do or is). This "Great Teacher" as it were, will explain how to properly worship G-d. Each faith has different movements/streams/denominations/etc with differing theology and practice; it is simple then to understand that each person of faith seeks truth and the restoration of the truth (even if they "think" they found it, not everyone "has").
Since Torah is [the foundation of] Scripture, gaining understanding in Torah is one important way of learning about the nature of G-d and in finding truth. After all, for Jewish people, Torah is Scripture. For Christians and Muslims, Torah is too often times considered either ineffectual/unnecessary or as having been perverted, is seen negatively, or that is has been improperly transmitted [ie., by the Jews]. Seeing Torah from a positive-light will hopefully curb these anti-Jewish/Judaism views and encourage peace and an active seeking of truth about HaShem (יהוה; G-d).
What does Torah Echad do?
The goal is to provide an avenue for sharing Torah with additional content to uplift, encourage, and provide insight for Jews, potential converts, and the curious in A (i.e., one) way of properly understanding Torah; that is, that Torah is libertating, comes from and is firmly founded on love for all creation (contrary to popular non-Jewish notion) harmonized by reverence, and is an eternal law from HaShem directly. The contributing writers and web admin of Torah Echad don't pretend to know THE perfect way of understanding Torah, but we hope to have A proper understanding - or at least a refreshing perspective. It is this sincere hope that drives us (as many differing streams and even other faiths have) to be a blessing and encouragement for those who seek to worship the G-d who revealed "Him"self to Israel and have Torah written on our hearts and minds. To seek peace and pursue it; to love justice, mercy, and humility.
We seek to challenge, expose, and develop new and additional insights into Torah. Torah should be engaging and personally relevant to inspire Jews to observe its Instruction and see its majestic beauty and profound ability to heal. Oftentimes other religious ideologies are based off of a different (usually Greek) mindset - we hope to expose the reader to ancient and modern Jewish ways of thinking. In this way, we can spread the truth of Torah to all who are open to understand it. Those without a strong Jewish religious upbringing will hopefully be given pathways and insights into how to be Torah observant by their own desire. These perspectives will hopefully help the reader to internalize a positive approach to Torah; to find the Torah as life-giving as it says, "it is your life and length of days" and "choose life!"
The core belief expressed here is that Torah is from the Eternal Creator G-d, given unto the children Israel, it is good, it is liberating, and it is to be guarded (obeyed).
Articles may be addressed to a specific or particular idea or movement, but it should be noted that the content is for everyone who is open to learning Torah. We do not require that a person convert first, nor encourage people to be blindly lead away from their current faith without careful consideration. Christians and Muslims have other Scriptures that they believe are sacred and as such, articles that cover Torah can and should include what these books say about (directly or indirectly) Torah - from a Torah positive approach (without diminishing what they do say since there is both a positive and negative light cast on Torah and Jews from these faiths/books) in order to promote a better understanding of these religious faiths and to counter anti-Jewish and antinomian (anti-law; contrary to Torah obedience) sentiment (which may be a part of the cause for hatred and persecution and intolerance against Jews, especially religious Jews). Also, since not all Jews submit to the authority of an Oral Torah (like the Talmud) any content from the Talmud and other Jewish literature may be written from a Talmud-positive approach, but this information again, is available for all Torah scholars and students regardless.
Our goal is not to proselytize, but to encourage an honest seeking of truth; a truth that we firmly accept is found in and completely based on Torah. One that we find is complimented by science, technology, psychology, and modern learning; this shows that modernity is only catching up to millenia-held beliefs of Jews that was given to us in Torah.
An important part of these goals is to provide fiction (akin to aggadah) and non-scholarly writings to present similar ideas in different ways so as to provide for different learning styles.
