In conversations with friends or family, it is not uncommon to ask whether they have read any good books lately. And if they have, we naturally ask what the book was about. Most people can summarize its central theme in a sentence or two without much difficulty.

Each year, I begin my course on Jewish thought for students attending a Zionist gap-year seminary in Israel with a similar exercise. After asking them to summarize a book they have recently read—a task they complete with ease—I then pose a second question concerning another book they have studied throughout their lives: What is the Torah about?

This question proves far more difficult for them to answer. After several minutes of thought and reflection, their responses include:

“The Torah describes the evolution of Hashem’s relationship to man (specifically the Jewish people) and a way of life which fosters that connection.”

“The Torah is a book of stories of Jewish history—our highs and lows and the laws that come along with living a Jewish life.”

“The Torah is the story of the Jewish people: how they came to be, their becoming a nation and their hardships. It is the story of God’s people, what He does for them, and the laws He gives them.”

The common thread running through these responses is the recognition that the Torah centers upon the relationship between God and the Jewish people; that it contains both narrative and law; and that its commandments constitute the divinely ordained framework for Jewish life. Variations of these themes appear throughout most of their answers.

To help the students evaluate the accuracy of their responses, I then retell the Torah’s narrative in broad strokes.

The opening eleven chapters of Genesis describe the creation of the world and God’s relationship with all humankind—a........

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