What Did We Really Receive at Mount Sinai? Part 1

Menashe asks: "Hello and blessings. I'm getting closer to Judaism, and I really want some order in these topics:

1. The first thing I want to know is when did we receive the Torah? Because if the entire Torah was given at Mount Sinai, then it seems the Israelites already knew everything that would happen to them... Could it be that Korach read in the Torah that he would be swallowed by the earth and still sinned?

2. Another question that's been bothering me for a long time, what exactly is the Oral Torah (and why specifically oral?): Is the Oral Torah all the Mishnah/Gemara? Was it also given at Mount Sinai? Because I understand these are laws transmitted by rabbis, so how does that work?"

Hello Menashe, and thank you for your important questions.

1. First of all, what did Moses receive at Mount Sinai?

The Torah says: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Come up to me on the mountain, and be there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Torah, and the commandment, which I have written, to teach them'" (Exodus 24:12).

In other words, at Mount Sinai, Moses received the Tablets of the Covenant which contained the Ten Commandments, and he learned over forty days and forty nights all the 613 commandments of the Torah and how to fulfill them - which he taught Israel orally.

The Torah was not written at Mount Sinai, but throughout the forty years of wandering in the desert. Hashem dictated the Torah to Moses in the Tent of Meeting until it was completed before his passing, and this is the "Written Torah" - the Torah comprising the five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

The complete Torah was handed over to the Israelites only before Moses' passing, as told at the end of Deuteronomy: "Take this Torah book, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and it shall be there as a witness against you" (Deuteronomy 31:26). Therefore, the Torah begins with the creation of the world and ends with Moses's passing in the desert generation, across the Jordan, before entering the land.

Here is the answer to your second question. The Israelites did not read about the sin of the spies beforehand; Korach and his followers certainly did not know they would be swallowed by the earth, as it was only after they were punished that the "Parashat Korach" was dictated by Hashem to Moses in the Tent of Meeting, and thus included in the Torah.

Our sages discussed the question of whether the Torah was given in parts (scrolls) throughout their days in the desert until it was completed, or whether it was given to them all at once before Moses's death (Gittin 60a). Rashi explains on this topic: "(The Torah) was given scroll by scroll - when a portion was said to Moses, he would write it, and at the end of the 40 years when all the portions were completed, he joined them with tendons and sewed them." However, note that according to both opinions, the entire Torah that is in our possession today was given to the Israelites completely before Moses's passing.

Only at the end of Moses's days, the complete Torah was placed beside the Ark of the Covenant as a safeguard for the priests, and a copy was given to each of the tribes of Israel: "Moses wrote this Torah and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel" (Deuteronomy 31:9).

2. What is the Oral Torah?

Have you noticed that in no verse in the Torah do we find an explanation of what a mezuzah is? Or what a tzitzit is? Or what tefillin are? Or what a ketubah is? Or how to perform shechita? Or how to conduct a brit milah? Or how to sanctify? Or even what are the forbidden labors on Shabbat?

All 613 commandments are recorded in the Torah, but no instructions on how to fulfill them are given. This is because the instructions were handed to the Israelites orally. Moses received from Hashem practical guidance on how to practice the commandments, and he taught the Israelites, explaining what a mezuzah is and what is written in it, how tefillin look and what the sections within them are, how to conduct a sanctification and the text of the ketubah, how to perform shechita, what the 39 types of labor forbidden on Shabbat are, and more. Without this guidance, there would be no way to fulfill the commandments written in the Torah.

This is essentially the Oral Torah: an explanation and detailed instructions for all 613 commandments presented in the Written Torah, on how to fulfill them in practice.

Moses taught the "Oral Torah" orally to the Israelites, as it says: "and the Torah and the commandment which I have written to teach them" (Exodus 24:12). To teach them - meaning to instruct, an oral explanation of the commandments.

It is further stated: "And I will speak to you all the commandment and statutes and ordinances to teach them" (Deuteronomy 5:28) - meaning, Hashem commanded Moses to teach the commandments, to explain them to Israel.

"Moses began to explain the Torah, saying" (Deuteronomy 1:5) - explained, meaning clarified the Torah.

It says: "And me, Hashem commanded at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances to perform them" (Deuteronomy 4:14) – Hashem commanded Moses to teach and explain how to fulfill the statutes and ordinances, with the aim of carrying them out practically. The sages tell us that: "Moses showed the month (new moon) to Israel, and said to them 'like this, you shall see and establish the month for generations'" (Mechilta Exodus 12:2).

In the next article, we will continue to explore your important questions with Hashem's help, and learn about the parts of the Oral Torah.