Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

What according to Jewish tradition was the reason why
part of the Torah was written down and the rest was
kept oral?
Best wishes,
sujata


http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/The_Oral_Tradition.asp

by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan


In many respects, the Oral Torah is more important than the Written Torah.

It is a foundation of our faith to believe that God gave Moses an 
oral explanation of the Torah along with the written text.

This oral tradition is now essentially preserved in the Talmud and Midrashim.

We thus speak of two Torahs. There is the Written Torah (Torah 
SheBiKetav) and the Oral Torah (Torah SheB'Al Peh). Both are alluded 
to in God's statement to Moses, "Come up to Me to the mountain, and I 
will give you... the Torah and the commandments" (Exodus 24:12).

In many instances, the Torah refers to details not included in the 
written text, thus alluding to an oral tradition. Thus, the Torah 
states, "You shall slaughter your cattle... as I have commanded you" 
(Deut. 12:21), implying an oral commandment concerning ritual 
slaughter
(shechitah).

Similarly, such commandments as tefillin and tzitzit are found in the 
Torah, but no details are given, and they are assumed to be in the 
Oral Torah. Although observing Shabbat is one of the Ten 
Commandments, no details are given as to how it should be kept, and 
these are also in the unwritten tradition. God thus said, "You shall 
keep Shabbat holy, as I have commanded your fathers"  (Jeremiah 
17:22).

Just as we depend on tradition for the accepted text, vocalization, 
and translation of the Torah, so must we depend on tradition for its 
interpretation.

The Written Torah cannot be understood without the oral tradition. 
Hence, if anything, the Oral Torah is the more important of the two.

Since the Written Torah appears largely defective unless supplemented 
by the oral tradition, a denial of the Oral Torah necessarily leads 
to the denial of the divine origin of the written text as well...

The Oral Torah was originally meant to be transmitted by word of 
mouth. It was transmitted from  master to student in such a manner 
that if the student had any question, he would be able to ask, and 
thus avoid ambiguity. A written text, on the other hand, no matter 
how perfect, is always subject to misinterpretation.

Furthermore, the Oral Torah was meant to cover the infinitude of 
cases which would arise in the course of time. It could never have 
been written in its entirety. It is thus written, "Of making many 
books there is no end" (Ecclesiastes 12:12). God therefore gave Moses 
a set of rules through which the Torah could be applied to every 
possible case.

If the entire Torah would have been given in writing, everyone would 
be able to interpret it as he desired. This would lead to division 
and discord  among people who followed the Torah in different ways. 
The Oral Torah, on the other hand, would require a central authority 
to preserve  it, thus assuring the unity of Israel.

Since many non-Jews also accept the Bible as sacred, the Oral Torah 
is the main thing that distinguishes Judaism and makes it unique. The 
Oral Torah could therefore not be written until the non-Jews had 
adopted their own religion based on the Bible. God thus said, "If I 
would have written the majority of my Torah, [Israel] would be 
counted the same as strangers" (Hosea 8:12).

The Oral Torah is therefore the basis of God's covenant with Israel. 
It is even more dear to God than the Written Torah.

Details of the Mitzvot

The Oral Torah is the means through which we devote our lives to God 
and His teachings.

God revealed all the details of how the commandments should be 
observed while Moses was on Mount Sinai. God also revealed to Moses 
many interpretations and laws that would not be used until much 
later. These, however, were not taught to the people at large.

There is a tradition that God taught Moses the written Torah by day 
and the Oral Torah by night...

Moses taught the Oral Torah to Aaron, his sons, and the Elders, in 
that order. It is thus written, "Moses called Aaron, his sons, and 
the Elders of Israel" (Leviticus 9:1). The laws were then taught to 
all the people and reviewed, until each person had gone over them 
four times.

Before his death, Moses again reviewed the Oral Torah and clarified 
any ambiguous points. It is thus written, "Moses took upon himself to 
expound this Torah" (Deut. 1:5).

Besides receiving many explanations and details of laws, Moses also 
received hermeneutic rules for deriving laws from the Torah and for 
interpreting it. In many cases, he was also given the cases in which 
these rules cold be applied. Although the study of these rules was 
originally a central part of the tradition, their details were 
gradually forgotten when persecutions destroyed the great academies.

Laws and details involving common everyday occurrences were 
transmitted directly by Moses. However, laws involving infrequently 
occurring special cases were given in such a way as to be derivable 
from scripture by hermeneutic rules. Otherwise, there would be danger 
that they would be forgotten.

Laws from Logic

Laws which Moses taught directly are referred to as "Laws to Moses 
from Sinai" (halachot le-Moshe mi-Sinai). These laws were carefully 
preserved from generation to generation, and for this reason one 
never finds a dispute concerning them.

However, in the case of laws derived from hermeneutic rules or logic, 
occasional disputes can be found. These include all the debates in 
the Talmud. The sages thus had the rule, "If it is law, it must  be 
accepted. But if it is derived, it can be debated."

The laws received directly and those derived by hermeneutic rules are 
equivalent in scope and importance, and are approximately equal in 
number.

Both laws received orally and those derived by hermeneutic rules have 
the same status as laws written in the Torah, and are counted as 
Torah commandments (mitzvot  de-Orayta). It is only with regard to 
oaths that they are in any way  differentiated from laws that are 
actually written in the Torah.

All laws which were derived from scripture or logic were formally 
accepted by the Sanhedrin. They then became part of the Oral Torah 
and were transmitted from generation to generation.

All the laws received by Moses were transmitted orally from 
generation to generation and needed no further proof or derivation 
from scripture.  In some cases, however, a scriptural or logical 
basis was provided for even such laws, so that they be remembered 
better. This was especially true in the case of laws that were not 
common knowledge.

Many oral laws were incorporated into the Bible in the works of the prophets.

God also gave Moses many rules regarding how and under what 
conditions to enact new laws. Therefore, details of rabbinical laws 
are sometimes said to have originated from Sinai.

All laws legislated by the Sanhedrin eventually became part of the 
oral tradition which was transmitted from generation to generation.

Transmission

The Oral Torah was handed down by word of mouth from Moses to Joshua, 
then to the Elders, the  Prophets, and the Great Assembly. The Great 
Assembly was the Sanhedrin led by Ezra, at the beginning of the time 
of the Second Temple, which undertook to enact legislation that would 
make  Judaism viable in the diaspora.

The Great Assembly codified much of the Oral Torah in a form that 
could be memorized by the students. This codification was known as 
the Mishnah. One reason for this name was that it was meant to be 
reviewed (shana) over and over until memorized. The word also
denoted that the Mishnah was secondary (sheni) to the Written Torah.

It was required that the oral tradition be handed down word for word, 
exactly as it had been taught.  The sages who taught this first 
Mishnah were known as Tannayim, Tanna in the singular. This word 
comes from the Aramaic word tanna, equivalent to the Hebrew shana 
meaning "to repeat."

Although the Oral Torah was meant to be transmitted by word of mouth, 
it was permissible to keep personal records. Therefore, many 
individuals would write down personal notes of what was taught in the 
academies. This was especially true of teachings that were not often 
reviews. Many also added  marginal notes to the biblical scrolls 
which they used to study.

Similarly, the heads of the academies would keep written notes in 
order to preserve the traditions  accurately. However, since none of 
these notes was published, they were known as "hidden scrolls" 
(megillot setarim).

During the generations following the Great Assembly, the Mishnah 
developed into a program of study for the students to memorize. This 
was expanded by new legislation and case law. This was  known as the 
"first Mishnah" (Mishnah Rishona).

As controversies began to develop, variations in the Mishnahs of the 
various masters began to appear. At the same time, the order of the 
Mishnah was improved, especially by Rabbi Akiva (1-121  CE). Certain 
parts of the Mishnah were placed in almost their present form.

At this time, however, no part of the Oral Torah had been published. 
The only exception were such minor works as the Scroll of Fasts 
(Megillat Taanit).

Rabbi Yehudah's Mishnah

The final and most precise redaction of the Mishnah was made by Rabbi 
Yehudah the Prince. This is the Mishnah that we have today, as part 
of the Talmud. The work was completed in 3948 (188 CE).

The Mishnah consists of six orders, comprising 63 tracts.

In compiling his work, Rabbi Yehudah made use of the earlier Mishnah, 
condensing it and deciding among various disputed questions. The 
sages of his time all concurred with his decisions and ratified his 
edition. However, even rejected opinions were included in the text, 
so that they be recognized as such and not revived in later 
generations.

There is a question as to when the Mishnah was put in writing. Some 
authorities maintain that Rabbi Yehudah himself published it. 
According to others, however, it was preserved orally until several 
generations later.

There was a tradition that if there was danger that the Oral Torah be 
forgotten, it could be put in writing. It is thus written, "It is a 
time to work for God, make void His Torah" (Psalms 119:126). This 
also implies that when there is danger of the Torah becoming voided 
and forgotten, it  is a time to work for God and remedy the 
situation...

Since the tradition required that the Oral Torah be written under 
certain conditions, the commandment to write a Torah scroll now also 
includes  an obligation to write or purchase books of Mishnah and 
Talmud containing the Oral Torah.

Besides the Mishnah, other volumes were compiled by the students of 
Rabbi Yehudah during this period. These included the Tosefta which 
follows the order of the Mishnah, as well as the Mechilta commentary 
on Exodus, the Sifra on Leviticus, and the Sifri on Numbers and 
Deuteronomy. Works from outside Rabbi Yehudah's school went by the 
name of Baraita. Not too long after this, the Jerusalem
Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi) was compiled by Rabbi Yochanan.

The Talmud

In ancient times, the practice was for students first to memorize the 
basics of the Oral Torah, and then carefully to analyze their 
studies. During the period preceding Rabbi Yehudah, the memorized 
laws developed into the Mishnah, while the analysis developed into a 
second discipline known as the  Gemara. After the Mishnah was 
compiled, these discussions continued, becoming very important in 
clarifying the Mishnah.

The Gemara developed orally for some 300 years following the 
redaction of the Mishnah. Finally, when it came into danger of being 
forgotten and lost, Rav Ashi (352-427 CE), together with his school 
in Babylonia undertook to collect all these discussions and set them 
in order. Rav Ashi spent  most of his life on this project together 
with his colleague Ravina. After his death, his son, Mar bar Rav Ashi 
(Tavyomi) continued the work along with Meremar. The Babylonian 
Talmud  (Talmud Bavli), as it is called, was published in the year 
4265 (505 CE).

The Babylonian Talmud was completed on 37 of the 63 tracts of the 
Mishnah. Its main purpose was to clarify the Mishnah, establish which 
opinions are binding, provide derivations for the laws, discuss later 
legislation, and provide homilies and stories to enhance the 
discussions.

There were a total of 40 generations, comprising 1,817 years, from 
Moses until the final redaction of the Talmud.

The Babylonian Talmud was accepted by all Israel as the final binding 
authority in all questions of  religion and law. All subsequent 
codifications of Torah law are binding only insofar as they are based 
on the Talmud. To oppose even a single teaching of the Talmud is to 
oppose God and His Torah.

From "The Handbook of Jewish Thought" (Vol. 1), Maznaim Publishing.
Reprinted with permission.

 
Published: Sunday, February 27, 2005

 


 

 


 




 
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