Sefer (Hebrew)

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For other uses of the word sefer, see Sefer (disambiguation)

Sefer in simple Hebrew is a word that means any kind of "book" (plural s'farim.) It is derived from the same Hebrew root-word as sofer ("scribe"), sifriyah ("library") and safrut ("literature").

Among Orthodox Jews it is used for books both of the Hebrew Bible, the oral law (Mishnah and Talmud) or any work of Rabbinic literature. Works unrelated to Torah study are rarely called sefer by English-speaking Orthodox Jews.