Wikipedia's first sentence called it “specially hand-written copy of the torah or pentateuch being the holiest book within judaism and venerated by j”. Today it says “handwritten copy of the torah”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Torah Sefer Torah (in Hebrew : "Book [of] Torah ") (plural: sifrei Torah ) is a specially hand-written copy of the Torah or Pentateuch being the holiest book within Judaism and venerated by Jews .1It must meet extremely strict standards of production.2In its completed state it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue called the Aron ("Ark") usually built along the wall that is closest facing Jerusalem and which is the direction faced by Jews when engaged in Jewish prayers .3
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16763910.
The opening as it stood in 2010 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A Sefer Torah ( ; plural: ספרי תורה, Sifrei Torah ; “Book(s) of Torah ” or “Torah scroll (s)”) is a handwritten copy of the Torah or Pentateuch , the holiest book within Judaism . It must meet extremely strict standards of production. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish services .At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue , the Aron Kodesh (“Holy Ark”), which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem , the direction Jews face when praying .The text of the Torah is also commonly printed (for non-ritual functions) in bound form, known as a Chumash (“five-part”, for the five books of Moses), often accompanied by commentaries or translations.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 362939643.
The opening as it stood in 2015
A Sefer Torah ( ; plural: ספרי תורה Sifrei Torah ; "Book(s) of Torah " or "Torah scroll (s)") is a handwritten copy of the Torah , the holiest book within Judaism . It must meet extremely strict standards of production. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish services . At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue , the Aron Kodesh ("Holy Ark"), which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem , the direction Jews face when praying . The text of the Torah is also commonly printed and bound in book form for non-ritual functions.Then it is known as a Chumash ("five-part", for the five books of Moses), and is often accompanied by commentaries or translations.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 662798780.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Handwritten copy of the Torah For tractate Sefer Torah, see Minor tractates .Torah scroll at old Glockengasse Synagogue , Cologne.A Torah scroll , in Hebrew Sefer Torah ( ; "Book of Torah"; plural: Sifrei Torah ), is a handwritten copy of the Torah , meaning: of the Pentateuch , or the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible ). It must meet extremely strict standards of production. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish prayers . At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue , the Torah ark , which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem , the direction Jews face when praying . The text of the Torah is also commonly printed and bound in book form for non-ritual functions. It is then known as a Chumash (plural Chumashim ) ("five-part", for the five books of Moses), and is often accompanied by commentaries or translations.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964670600.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Handwritten copy of the Torah For tractate Sefer Torah, see Minor tractates . A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema .An Ashkenaz Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue .Torah cases at Tiphearth Israel Synagogue, Mumbai , India Torah cases at Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue , Mumbai , India A Sefer Torah ( ; "Book of Torah"; plural: סִפְרֵי תוֹרָה Sifrei Torah ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah , meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible ). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish prayers . At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue , the Torah ark , which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem , the direction Jews face when praying . The text of the Torah is also commonly printed and bound in book form for non-ritual functions, called a Chumash (plural Chumashim ) ("five-part", for the five books of Moses), and is often accompanied by commentaries or translations.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177234715.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Handwritten copy of the Torah For tractate Sefer Torah, see Minor tractates . A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue Torah cases at Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue , Mumbai , India A Torah scroll ( Hebrew : סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה , Sefer Torah , lit. "Book of Torah"; plural: סִפְרֵי תוֹרָה Sifrei Torah ) is a handwritten copy of the Torah , meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible ). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish prayers . At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue , the Torah ark , which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem , the direction Jews face when praying . The text of the Torah is also commonly printed and bound in book form for non-ritual functions, called a Chumash (plural Chumashim ; "five-part", for the five books of Moses), and is often accompanied by commentaries or translations.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1278066238. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “specially hand-written copy of the torah or pentateuch being the holiest book within judaism and venerated by j”. Today it says “handwritten copy of the torah”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
specially hand-written copy of the torah or pentateuch being the holiest book within judaism and venerated by j
Now
handwritten copy of the torah
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
