Anaya Nolan
The Oral Torah, or Oral Law, and the Written Torah, or Written Law, are two distinct but complementary concepts in Judaism. The Written Torah is the sacred text transcribed by Moses and contained within the Torah scroll, encompassing the Ten Commandments and 613 Mitzvos or commandments. On the other hand, the Oral Torah comprises the interpretations, rulings, and traditions handed down orally from generation to generation, providing clarity and context to the Written Law. While the Written Law serves as a foundational text, the Oral Law acts as a legal commentary, ensuring the Written Law's principles are understood and applied correctly.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Oral Law is a legal commentary on the Torah, explaining how its commandments are to be carried out. Written Law is the Torah, now codified in the Pentateuch. |
| Transmission | Oral Law was traditionally transmitted orally and was passed down from generation to generation. Written Law was transcribed by Moses and is contained within the Torah scroll. |
| Interpretations | Oral Law is interpreted by rabbis and sages of each generation. Written Law is open to interpretation by experts on the law and rabbis, who derive their authority from tradition. |
| Examples | Oral Law provides instructions for how to observe the Sabbath and what to put into Tefillin. Written Law includes the Ten Commandments, which specify the covenant relationship between God and the Israelites. |
| Validity | Oral Law gained equal footing with Written Law and was considered to have the same binding authority. Written Law is considered the primary source, but without Oral Law, certain commandments are difficult to understand and follow. |
| Historical Dissenters | Sadducees, Karaites, and Beta Israel rejected the Oral Law and relied solely on the Written Law. Essenes had non-biblical rules and customs that differed from the mainstream Rabbinic tradition. |
| Purpose | Oral Law "makes a fence for the Law", protecting and preserving the Written Law. Written Law establishes a covenant between God and the Israelites, providing a code of conduct for rituals, worship, and interpersonal relationships. |
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What You'll Learn
The Written Torah
In Rabbinic Judaism, the Written Torah is understood to be one part of a larger whole, with the Oral Torah providing essential context and interpretation. The Oral Torah includes the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the Midrash, which offer explanations and amplifications of the Written Torah. According to Rabbinic tradition, both the Written and Oral Torah were given by God to the prophet Moses, and all the teachings were written down by Moses, resulting in the Torah as it exists today.
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The Oral Torah
The Written Torah mentions the Commandments or Mitzvos only briefly or indirectly. The Oral Torah serves to clarify and expand upon these commandments, providing detailed instructions and applications for various circumstances. For example, the Written Torah mentions the binding of "signs" and "symbols" on the arm and between the eyes, but it is the Oral Torah that explains these as specific biblical verses inscribed on parchment, sealed in wooden boxes, and bound to the body with leather straps.
The major repositories of the Oral Torah are the Mishnah, compiled by Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi or Rabbi Judah the Prince around 200 CE, and the Gemara, a series of commentaries and debates on the Mishnah. Together, they form the Talmud, the preeminent text of Rabbinic Judaism. The process of committing the Oral Torah to writing was driven by the need to preserve Jewish law and tradition during periods of persecution, exile, and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
While the Oral Torah is widely accepted within Rabbinic Judaism, there have been historical dissenters, such as the Sadducees and Karaites, who derived their practices solely from the Written Torah. The concept of a divinely ordained Oral Law equal in value to the written one is also foreign to Samaritan theology.
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The Written Law
The Written Torah, or Written Law, is the Torah scroll transcribed by Moses "from the mouth of the Almighty". It contains the Ten Commandments, which specify the covenant relationship between God and the Israelites. The Written Law is to be protected by keeping and observing the tradition (oral law).
The Written Torah mentions each of the Commandments, or Mitzvos, only in passing or by allusion. For example, the Written Law demands an "eye for an eye" (Exodus 21:24), but the Oral Law is needed to mitigate such categorical Torah laws that would have caused problems if carried out literally. The Written Law is an insufficient guide to Jewish life without the Oral Law. For instance, the Written Law instructs followers to "tie them as a sign on your arm and for (Totafos) between your eyes" (Deut. 6 8), but without the Oral Law, we wouldn't know what to tie to the arm or what "Totafos" means.
The Written Torah was originally handed down from teacher to disciple without being officially put in writing. However, around 1700 years ago, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi wrote down the bare basics in the Mishna due to Roman persecution and the destruction of the second Temple, which threatened the ability to retain and transmit the oral law. Centuries later, the rabbis of Babylonia compiled a written version of the Talmud.
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The Oral Law
The Oral Torah or Oral Law (Hebrew: תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל־פֶּה, romanized: Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe) refers to the statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses (the Written Torah) but were passed down orally from generation to generation. It is believed that God revealed his will not only through the sacred book (the Pentateuch or the Written Torah) but also through unwritten traditions. The Oral Law is a legal commentary on the Torah, providing instructions on how its commandments are to be carried out.
The Written Torah was transcribed by Moses and is contained within the Torah scroll. However, it is believed that the Oral Torah was also given to Moses at Mount Sinai and passed down orally for generations. The Oral Law includes the traditional meaning of the text of the Torah as taught by Moses, as well as laws and principles that were not contained within the text but were part of the oral tradition.
Over time, due to Roman persecution and the disruption of stable Jewish communities, there was a concern that the Oral Law would be lost. As a result, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi (or Rabbi Judah the Prince) wrote down the basics of the Oral Law in the Mishna, and rabbis of Babylonia later compiled a more detailed written version known as the Talmud.
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The Written Torah vs. The Oral Torah
In Jewish tradition, there are two Torahs: the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. Both are essential to understanding traditional Jewish teaching and thought. The Written Torah, also known as Torah she-bich'tav in Hebrew, is the scroll read each week in the synagogue. It consists of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Oral Torah, or Torah she-ba'al peh, refers to the later works of the rabbinic period, most notably the Mishnah and the Gemara, jointly known as the Talmud.
The Written Torah mentions the Commandments, or Mitzvos, only in passing or by allusion. The Oral Torah, on the other hand, fills in the gaps and provides specific instructions and interpretations of the Written Torah. For example, the Written Torah states, "And you shall tie them as a sign on your arm and for (Totafos) between your eyes" (Deut. 6:8). This is the source for the Mitzvah of Tefillin (phylacteries). However, without the Oral Torah, one would not know what to tie to the arm, what to tie it with, or what it symbolises.
The Oral Torah also includes laws and regulations that are not found in the Written Torah. For instance, the Oral Torah explains that the prohibition in the Written Torah against "boiling a kid in its mother's milk" (Exodus 23:19 and Deuteronomy 14:21) indicates a broader set of practices, including the ban on consuming any land animal with dairy products, the requirement for separate cooking equipment for meat and dairy, and the observance of a waiting period after eating meat before consuming dairy.
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah comprises statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses but are considered prescriptive and given at the same time as the Written Torah. It encompasses a wide range of rituals, worship practices, interpersonal relationships, dietary laws, Sabbath observance, and civil claims. The Oral Torah was passed down orally for generations until it was committed to writing following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, which threatened the stability of Jewish communities. Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi first wrote down the basics of the Oral Torah in the Mishnah, and later, the rabbis of Babylonia compiled a more detailed written version known as the Talmud.
While the Oral Torah is central to Rabbinic Judaism, it has not been universally accepted. Historical dissenters include the Sadducees and Karaites, who derived their practices solely from the Written Torah. In modern times, the Karaite community continues to rely exclusively on the Written Torah, resulting in unique practices such as prostration during prayer and avoiding any fire on Shabbat.
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Frequently asked questions
In Jewish tradition, the Written Torah refers to the Five Books of Moses, while the Oral Torah refers to statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Written Torah. The Oral Torah was traditionally transmitted orally from generation to generation, but was eventually written down due to concerns about the loss of this knowledge.
The Oral Law serves as a legal commentary on the Written Law, explaining how its commandments are to be carried out. For example, the Written Law demands an "eye for an eye" (Exodus 21:24), but an Oral Law is needed to mitigate this categorical Torah law to prevent grave problems if it were carried out literally.
Oral Laws provide specific instructions on how to observe certain days, such as the Sabbath. For instance, the Written Law mentions refraining from lighting a fire, going away from one's dwelling, cutting down a tree, ploughing, and harvesting on the Sabbath, but it does not provide a clear definition of what constitutes labor on this day. Oral Laws specify that lighting candles, reciting the kiddush, and reading are acceptable activities to observe the Sabbath.
