Torah study has evolved over the generations, as lifestyles changed and also as new texts were written.
They study the weekly Torah portion, the Talmud, ethical works, and more. They may study simply the peshat of the text, or they may also study, to a limited extent, the remez , derash and sod , which is found in Etz Hayyim: A Torah Commentary (Rabbinical Assembly), used in many Conservative congregations. It is common in Torah study among Jews involved in Jewish Renewal. Some level of PaRDeS study can even be found in forms of Judaism that otherwise are strictly rationalist, such as Reconstructionist Judaism. However, non-Orthodox Jews generally spend less time in detailed study of the classical Torah commentators, and spend more time studying modern Torah commentaries that draw on and include the classical commentators, but which are written from more modern perspectives. Furthermore, works of rabbinic literature (such as the Talmud) typically receive less attention than the Tanakh.
They also believed that as both divine intentions and human language are complex, the Torah required interpretation. After the Enlightenment, many Jews began to participate in wider European society, where they learned critical methods of textual study, the modern historical method, hermeneutics, and fields relevant to Bible study such as near-Eastern archaeology and linguistics. Many Jews found the findings of these disciplines compelling and considered them relevant to Torah study. According to this view, the Bible was written by different people who may have been "divinely inspired", but who lived at different times and in different societies; and these factors should be taken into account when studying their works. Consequently, one way to add more to Torah study would be to learn more about the intentions of these people, and the circumstances in which they lived. This type of study depends on evidence external to the text, especially archeological evidence and comparative literature. See the entries on Biblical Higher criticism and the Documentary hypothesis.
Source: Wikipedia > Torah Study
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