The Jewish people are not only the “people of the Book” (meaning the Bible); they are the people of many books, some of which represent collections totaling millions of words. And it is through these other books—and their accompanying traditions—that religious Jews interpret the Bible.
The ultimate holy book of Judaism—in terms of being the inspired Word of God—is the Tanakh (the Old Testament; see #4), with the Torah having the preeminence in the Tanakh, since traditional Jews believe that God literally dictated the contents of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai, supplementing this written Torah with thousands of oral explanations and principles. These oral traditions, customs, laws and interpretations were eventually put in writing, beginning around a.d. 200 (see #3; again, this represents the traditional Jewish viewpoint).
Although there were many Jewish writings produced between the end of the Tanakh and the early centuries of this era—some of which are preserved in the Apocrypha, which is considered to be part of the Bible by Catholics, and others of which have been discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls—none of these books is considered sacred in traditional Judaism. To be sure, some of them, such as the Book of Enoch (included in what is called the Pseudepigrapha) or the Temple Scroll (from the Dead Sea Scrolls), were considered to be sacred in certain Jewish circles roughly two thousand years ago. But since those Jewish expressions—called “Judaisms” by many scholars today—did not continue to thrive after the destruction of the Temple in a.d. 70, and since Pharisaic Judaism, which developed into Rabbinic Judaism, eventually prevailed, traditional Jews today place virtually no importance on these ancient writings, writings they would consider “external” or heretical. (For traditional Jews, the New Testament would also fall into the category of an external, heretical document.) As far as the authority of “holy books” in Judaism, the closer the book to Mount Sinai, the more authority it has (for further explanation of this, see #3).
How do traditional Jews relate to their holy books? These books are certainly considered sacred, and to study them is to study Torah (see #5), to learn the ways and the will of God, to participate in the spiritual life of the nation, thereby bridging the generations. And in a real sense, the holy books are seen as continuations of the Sinai revelation, the outworking of divine truth and practice through the chosen nation. On the other hand, traditional Jews do not relate to their holy books—outside of the Bible itself and, on some level, the Talmud—in the same way that Christians relate to the New Testament. That is to say, because traditional Judaism is, by its very nature, a religion based on tradition, not every word of the holy books has to be taken as direct, infallible truth. That also means that to this day, “holy books” can be written by religious Jews—part of the ongoing chain of tradition—but again, they would not carry the same authority as the foundational books of Judaism.
These foundational books can be divided into legal material (called halakha) and biblical, interpretive material (called haggada), although the Talmud contains much of both, and some of the interpretive material is legal in its emphasis. Here is a glossary describing the most important books (or collections of books) in Judaism:
Babylonian Talmud—The foundational text for Jewish religious study, it consists of 2.5 million words of Hebrew and Aramaic commentary and expansion on the Mishnah. It includes much Halakha as well as Haggada, and thus it touches on virtually every area of life, religion, custom, folklore and law. It reached its final form between a.d. 500 and 600, and it is mainly the product of the Babylonian sages. See also Palestinian Talmud.
Haggada (sometimes spelled Aggada)—Nonlegal (i.e., non-binding) rabbinic stories, sermons and commentaries relating to the Tanakh and Jewish life. See also Halakha and Midrash.
Halakha—A specific legal ruling (“What is the halakha in this case?”); or rabbinic legal material in general. The word Halakha is interpreted as meaning “the way to go.” See also Haggada.
Humash (pronounced KHU-mash)—Another name for the five books of Moses. It literally means “fifth,” short for the “five-fifths of the Torah.”
Jerusalem Talmud—See Palestinian Talmud.
Kabbalah—The general term for Jewish mystical writings and traditions. It literally means “that which has been received.” See also Zohar.
Midrash—Rabbinic commentaries on a verse, chapter or whole book of the Tanakh, marked by creativity and interpretive skill. The best-known collection is called Midrash Rabba, covering the five books of Moses as well as the Five Scrolls (see #4).
Mishnah—The first written collection of legal material relating to the laws of the Torah and the ordinances of the sages. It provides the starting point for all subsequent Halakha. It was compiled about a.d. 200 by Rabbi Judah HaNasi (which means “the Prince”) and especially emphasizes the traditions of the rabbis who flourished from a.d. 70 to 200. See Talmud and Halakha.
Mishneh Torah—Systematic compilation of all Jewish law by Moses Maimonides (also called Rambam; a.d. 1135–1204). It remains a standard legal text to this day. See also Shulkhan Arukh.
Palestinian Talmud—Similar to the Babylonian Talmud but based primarily on the work of the sages in Israel. It is shorter in scope, less authoritative and therefore studied less than the Babylonian Talmud. It reached its final form in Israel about a.d. 400.
Responsa Literature—A major source of Halakha from a.d. 600 until today, it consists of the answers to specific legal questions posed to leading rabbinic authorities in every generation.
Shulkhan Arukh—The standard and most authoritative Jewish law code, compiled by Rabbi Joseph Karo (a.d. 1488–1575). See also Mishneh Torah.
Siddur—The traditional Jewish prayer book, containing selections from the Tanakh, as well as prayers composed by the rabbis.
Talmud—See Babylonian Talmud and Palestinian Talmud (or Jerusalem Talmud).
Tanakh—Acronym for Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim, the Jewish name for the Old Testament in its entirety. Although the order of the books is different from that of a Christian Old Testament, the contents are exactly the same. For details, see #4.
Targum—Literally, “translation.” This refers to the expansive Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible that were read in the synagogues where biblical Hebrew was no longer understood. They were put in written form between a.d. 300 and 1200. The most important Targums are Targum Onkelos to the five books of Moses and Targum Jonathan to the Nevi’im (Prophets).
Zohar—The foundational book of Jewish mysticism. It was composed in the thirteenth century a.d., although mystical tradition dates it to the second century a.d. The general term for Jewish mystical writings and traditions is kabbalah, known today in a popularized and somewhat distorted form. Kabbalah literally means “that which has been received.”
An older but extremely useful introduction to the most sacred books of Judaism is Barry W. Holtz, ed., Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts (reprint, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986). See also Barry W. Holtz, ed., The Schocken Guide to Jewish Books (New York: Schocken, 1992).