By Ariel Scheib The Torah texts that we read today are believed
by some to be the same as those given to Moses and the people of
Israel by God. It is believed by scholars that the word of God
and history of the Jewish people was imprinted on the minds of
the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Over the years as tradition was
orally passed on and eventually written down, many disparities
of the Torah emerged as countless scribes wrote numerous
scrolls. After being exiled from Israel, and as the Jewish
Diaspora grew more widespread across the World, many Jews
understood the importance of creating a single text of the
Torah. This uniformity would enable the consistency of the
Jewish faith outside the land of Israel. Specific scholars and
scribes were chosen for this task, these men were called
Masoretes. Masoretes derives its name from the word “masorah”
meaning “tradition;” their ultimate goal was to uphold the
traditions of the Jewish people. The Masoretes had to decipher
the authentic word of God and eliminate the dis