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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