Oral Torah

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The Oral Torah (or Oral Law or Oral Tradition) (Torah she-be-`al peh תורה שבעל פה), according to Rabbinic Judaism, is Jewish (Torah) Law that was recorded by later rabbis, generally of the Mishnah and Talmud but sometimes later, as reflecting a received oral tradition. (See Oral law for broader application.)

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[edit] Nature of the Oral Torah

According to classical Judaism, the books of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) were transmitted in parallel with an oral tradition, as relayed by the scholarly and other religious leaders of each generation. The "written law" (Torah she-bi-khtav תורה שבכתב) comprises the Torah and the rest of the Tanakh; the "Oral Law" (Torah she-be'al peh תורה שבעל תורה) was ultimately recorded in the Talmud and Midrash.

According to classical Rabbinical interpretation and the tenets of Orthodox Judaism, Moses and the other Jews at Sinai received an Oral as well as a written Torah (teaching) from God at Mount Sinai. The interpretation of the Oral Law is thus considered as the authoritative reading of the "Written Law" (either the Torah or Tanakh or both). Further, halakha (Jewish law) is based on the premise that the Written Law is inherently bound together with an Oral Law. Jewish law and tradition thus is not based on a literal reading of the Tanakh, but on combined oral and written traditions.

[edit] Internal evidence

The above is supported by much internal evidence both in the Torah itself, and in the later books of the Tanakh:

  • In the Torah, many terms are totally undefined, and many procedures mentioned without explanation or instructions, assuming familiarity on the part of the reader, with details from other, oral, sources. Examples include:
    • The discussion of shechita (kosher slaughter) in Deuteronomy 12 which states "...you shall kill of your herd and of your flock which God Lord has given you, as I have commanded you." whereas the Torah does not record that earlier commandment;
    • Deuteronomy 24 discusses the laws of divorce only in passing – they are assumed knowledge in a discussion about when remarriage would be allowed.
    • Knowledge of the laws of Shabbat and tefillin are similarly assumed by the text.
  • There are a number of cases in the Tanakh that either refer to the Oral Law directly, or that are consistent with the Torah's text, but only as read with the Oral Torah. Examples include:
    • "An eye for an eye" is held in the oral tradition to imply monetary compensation - as opposed to Lex talionis. This is the only interpretation consistent with Numbers 35:31. Additionally, this law cannot be carried out in practice, for both practical and ethical reasons;
    • The marriage of Boaz to Ruth as described in the Book of Ruth appears to contradict the prohibition of Deuteronomy 23:3 against marrying Moabites - the Oral Torah explains that this prohibition is limited to Moabite men.
    • Ruth also relies on Oral Torah laws on kinsman redeemers and the conversion ritual.

[edit] Original prohibition to write the Oral Torah

The laws transmitted to Moses were contained in the Torah written down on scrolls. The explanation however, was not allowed to be written down. Jews were obligated to speak the explanation and pass it on orally to students, children, and fellow adults. It was thus initially forbidden to write and publish the Oral Law: written material would be incomplete and subject to misinterpretation (and abuse).

After great debate, however, this restriction was lifted. Following the destruction of the Second Temple and the fall of Jerusalem,it became apparent that the Palestine community and its learning were threatened, and that publication was the only way to ensure that the law could be preserved; see Timeline of Jewish history.

Thus, around 200 CE, Rabbi Judah HaNasi took up the redaction of oral law; it was compiled into the first written work of rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah.(There is also a tradition that the Midrashic-Mystical book "Pirke deRabi Eliezer" is the oldest Jewish book after the TaNaCh.) Over the next four centuries this body of law, legend and ethical teachings underwent debate and discussion, or Gemara, in both of the world's major Jewish communities (Israel and Babylon). The Gemara with the Mishnah came to be edited together into compilations known as the Talmud.

[edit] Development of Jewish law

Because halakha (Jewish law) must include codes of law and behavior applicable to virtually every imaginable circumstance, this body of teaching has subsequently developed throughout the generations in a constantly expanding collection of religious literature based on the Talmud. In antiquity, the Sanhedrin functioned essentially as the Supreme Court and legislature for Judaism, and had the power to create and administer binding law on all Jews - rulings of the Sanhedrin became halakha. That court ceased to function in its full mode in the year 40 CE. Subsequently, the boundaries of Jewish law have been determined through "the halakhic process." Thus, although the Oral Law has been in a written form for almost 18 centuries, it is still referred to as Torah she-be'al peh.

[edit] Halakha LeMoshe MiSinai

The term Halakha LeMoshe MiSinai, literally "Law [given] to Moses from Sinai", is used in classical Rabinnical literature to refer to oral law regarded as having been of direct Divine origin, transmitted to Moses at Mount Sinai at the same time as the Ten Commandments. It is distinguished from the written Torah, on the one hand, and Rabbinical decrees, customs, and other man-made laws on the other land.

One such law is the requirement that tefillin to be dyed black.

[edit] Hidden mystical aspects of Torah

According to Rabbinic literature, Torah knowledge, in addition to its "revealed" component ("nigleh" נגלה) as discussed above, comprises a "concealed" component ("nistar" נסתר), today recorded in the Aggada (and, according to some, in Kabbalistic literature). The nigleh deals with the mitzvot and halakha, as outlined; the nistar, on the other hand, discusses esoteric subjects such as creation, prophecy, the world to come, the Jewish Messiah, and similar abstruse themes.

Although the "nistar" is regarded as a component of the oral tradition, it is not always regarded as part of the "oral law". This is because this material was not recorded in an explicit, mishnah-like, medium; instead, it is presented in a "concealed mode" and via "paradoxes". The difference, according to Orthodox Judaism, is that halakha is to be taken literally, while Aggadah can be allegorical in nature. According to Maimonides and other classical commentators, when expounding halakha, the sages spoke in distinct, understandable terms. On the other hand, higher and mystical ideas are not, necessarily, meant for the masses, and the mode of transmission here thus departs somewhat from that of the halakhic material. The aggadot are therefore presented as tales, folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and business and medical advice, but may, generally, be interpreted allegorically. For Hasidic Judaism and other branches which accept it, the Kabbalah, is regarded as dealing with deeper, esoteric knowledge, further concealed and transmitted to elect individuals, and preserved only by a privileged few.

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[edit] References

[edit] External links

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