I've just finished reading the last few verses of the Torah, our most sacred text. It starts with birth of Adam and ends with the death of Moses, so it covers the entire journey of life. But we read it piecemeal, just a few verses each week. I thought today, we could take an overview of some of its major themes.

Now when I said, ‘the Torah’, I meant the first five books of the Bible. But what does the word ‘Torah’ literally mean? Translating Torah as "law" gives the wrong impression. "Teaching" or "instruction" is better. So Torah involves making decisions on how to live a good and proper life. How to be the best person we can.

There is no historical proof for any of the stories in Torah. Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, the parting of the Red Sea – are clearly mythical or legendary. But the key question is not the historical accuracy of the stories, but what is the religious truth in the text?  

As the brilliantly named Ben Bag Bag said in Pirke Avot when referring to Torah: “Turn it, and turn it, for everything is in it.” Let me talk through the books and pick our something to think about as we read it this year.

The first book is Genesis or Bereshit. “In the beginning.” It covers 2309 years, from the creation of the world to the development of the seminal Hebrew family. The first message in the book is that God, not human beings, created and controls the universe. Regardless of what some politicians hope, human power is limited; we are not divine.

But the human is the pinnacle of creation. God gave people free will, and so also moral responsibility and accountability. Humans learnt to master their environment, but did not develop morally. So when faced with a tough choice, people in early Genesis responded selfishly and destructively. God simply did not anticipate humans would act like this. So God may be supreme, but God is also fallible and not all-knowing. Gradually God learnt to work with people as they were, rather than as God hoped they might be. God gradually separated from people and stopped trying to control everything they did. Genesis could be a manual on parenthood.

Another key message from Genesis, is that we are our brother’s keeper. There are 5 sets of siblings in Genesis. Cain murdered Abel. Ishmael was thrown out of his house when his brother Isaac was born. Jacob deceived Esau out of his birthright. Leah and Rachel competed for the affections of Jacob. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. But eventually on of the brothers, Judah, had the courage to admit his sin and repented. At the end of Genesis, there was a genuine family, who cooperated and lived together peacefully. That only happened because the brothers put aside their pride and acted as though they were on the same team. Just like the Reform and Liberal movements are planning to do. We should support this enthusiastically.

The second book is Shemot (“names”) or Exodus. It covers either 140 or 2 years.

Now Exodus is perhaps the most important book of all, as it contains so many of the practises and key events of Judaism e.g. Shabbat, Pesach, manna, the Ten Commandments, the golden calf, the ten plagues, the splitting of the Red Sea.

Exodus describes the journey from slavery to freedom. And key to the story is who should Israel serve? The author wanted to show Egypt, Israel and the world, that God is incomparable and that God’s authority is supreme. The belief that God redeemed Israel from Egypt, has strengthened Jews’ belief in their ultimate destiny, despite 2,500 years of persecution. There is the light of freedom at the end of the Jewish tunnel – no matter how dark it currently is.

Another key belief from Exodus is that the relationship between God and Jews is defined by the covenant made at Mount Sinai. This was when God spoke to all Jews, and gave guidelines on how to live. In Genesis, when people did what they wanted to, it all ended badly. That all changed at Sinai, with its message that we should choose to serve a higher purpose.

And that purpose was not an arbitrary pagan god, but the God of love and justice, who Exodus describes as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.” God wants us to succeed, and will be compassionate when we inevitably fail.

We talked a lot about this at Yom Kippur. Enough with the talking. Now is the time to turn our commitment to love and compassion into practical action.

Leviticus or Vayikra (which means “And He called”) is an instruction manual for daily living for the ancient Israelite. It covers just 8 days. It describes the key institutions that shaped Israel's identity - the law, priesthood, and Temple. By worshipping God and keeping both ritual and ethical laws, people become a living witness to God's existence. The Israelites were one community, united by this common destiny.

Time and time again the people were told: "Be holy, for I the Eternal your God am holy." Leviticus gives examples of what this means - striving for justice and dignity, not taking vengeance or bearing a grudge, acting honestly, and dealing with others as you treat yourself. And because of Israel’s experiences living as aliens in Egypt, “There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you.” Strangers can be foreigners. They can also be the person sitting behind you, who has never been here before. Let’s hope the way we deal with them tonight, means it not their last time!

Numbers describes Israel's journey from Mount Sinai to the Jordan river. It lasts 39 years. The book’s Hebrew name, Bamidbar is highly descriptive. It means “In the desert.” In Numbers, people complain about their lack of material possessions, and rebel against God and their leaders.

Yet, however much the pessimistic, cynical Israelites complained, God stuck with them and guided them through the wilderness, and provided for their needs. Despite this, the Israelites lacked faith and continually fell morally short. The pagan prophet, Balaam, and his talking donkey actually showed the most faith in the book. In contrast, the Israelites were a fractured society, and couldn’t deal with conflict and dissent.

They were on a journey to nowhere. They wandered around and didn’t take charge of their own destiny. They were frightened by the gloomy reports of the spies who scouted the Promised Land. Their lack of trust led to a breakdown in society. They didn’t change and so they were doomed. Eventually a new generation arose that did have moral courage and faith, and the ability to focus on a shared goal – the conquest of the land. Is there a shared ideal that our society and community commits to? And if you are struggling find an answer, how are we different from the Exodus generation? Are we also wandering around aimlessly?

Deuteronomy or Devarim (which means “Words/things”) is the big finale. It covers 9 weeks and is Moses’ summary of the law in preparation for entering the Land of Israel. Deuteronomy contains powerful statements of monotheism, that no other God exists. The shema emphasises God's love, justice and transcendence. This isn’t the physical God of Genesis you were taught at Cheder, and is the god you don’t believe in. God in Deuteronomy is a spiritual ideal.

The shema outlines the deal that binds God and Israel. God will give Israel food, fertility, and prosperity. In return, the people are subject to special obligations and laws. We have to establish a society pursuing justice and righteousness, especially taking care of the poor and disadvantaged. If we do this, God will be happy and we will be blessed, if not, we will be cursed.

The guidelines on what to do, are readily available to us all; they are not in a secret handbook which only priests have access to. My favourite verse from Deuteronomy is that Torah is “very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.” We should see Torah not as a burden, but as a gift. Studying it helps us create a holy society - a new Garden of Eden perhaps - in which I am not only my siblings’, but also my neighbours’, keeper.

There is so much in Torah, but what’s the most important idea? I want to talk about covenants; a bargain in which one side promises to do something, if the other side does something else. God made three different covenants in the Torah. The first was with Noah. God unconditionally promised never again to destroy people and animals. God didn’t demand anything in return. This is how we treat babies.

The second covenant was with Abraham. This promised to make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation of landowners. Abraham had to acknowledge God as his god, and to be circumcised, but that was it. It’s our expectation of children.

The third covenant was with the people of Israel. God gave guidelines on how to create a society fit for all, and then let people get on with it. This covenant was for adults, who take responsibility and consciously decide how to act.

At the beginning of Genesis, Eve was attracted to the fruit of the tree of knowledge because it “brings about understanding” (haskil). The word haskil does not occur again until the end of Deuteronomy (29:8): “And you shall observe the words of this covenant and do them, so that you’ll understand all that you’ll do.” This means that we do not need to obey without comprehension. Instead, we can use our brain and our heart to make sense of our experiences and decide how to live.

So for me, the most important message of Torah is to take seriously our free will. We have the opportunity and duty to decide how to live our lives; how to improve ourselves, nurture our families, build up our community, contribute to wider society. There are so many different ways to do this. And its’ been a privilege and a pleasure, learning with so many of you over 8 years, how 80 Audacious Jews have chosen to live their lives. Thank you for your enthusiasm and appreciation. The series is carrying on, and I hope to see you for the start of Season 9, which starts on Wednesday October 25. The first topic will actually be … the Torah, and you’ve just has a taster session.