Unlocking the Mysteries of Oral Tradition: Understanding Torah Sheba'al Peh

In the previous article, we explored the concept of Oral Torah, which serves as an explanation and elaboration of the 613 commandments given to Moses at Mount Sinai. These commandments were taught verbally to the Israelites, as noted in the Torah: "And I will speak to you of all the commandments and laws that you shall teach them" (Deuteronomy 5:28).

We find evidence of the knowledge of Oral Torah in the generation of the wilderness. For example, when the Israelites saw a man gathering wood on Shabbat (Numbers 15:32), they understood he was violating one of the 39 forbidden activities on Shabbat and detained him. However, the Torah does not explicitly list these activities, indicating that they learned it from Moses through Oral Torah from Mount Sinai. Without this practical guidance, they wouldn't have known that gathering wood violated Shabbat (would anyone have imagined that collecting wood was prohibited on Shabbat?).

In the Talmud (Shabbat 96b), there are three opinions regarding what the man was doing: carrying four cubits in a public domain, uprooting, or bundling. All these actions, without detailed teachings from Moses, would not have been perceived as more forbidden than chopping a salad on Shabbat. What is the action of bundling? It's gathering scattered fruits into one bundle in a field, requiring explanation. This is evidence that the Israelites had an Oral Tradition not documented in writing.

Furthermore, when they needed to execute the man gathering wood, Moses was ordered to consult Hashem specifically about how to perform the execution, again proving that the Israelites did not perform any commandment without clear instruction from Hashem. They sought practical guidance and detailed explanations for the commandments rather than relying on personal interpretation of Hashem's word.

Another example relating to Shabbat is found in the Book of Jeremiah (chapter 17, verse 22), where the prophet admonishes the people for neglecting one of Shabbat's laws: "Thus said Hashem, guard your souls and do not carry a burden on the day of Shabbat, nor bring them through the gates of Jerusalem."

Interestingly, the Torah does not explicitly prohibit carrying from one domain to another, yet Jeremiah reproaches the people of Israel for bringing burdens to their homes in Jerusalem. From the prophet's previous words, we learn that transferring from one domain to another is another Shabbat prohibition that differs from other forbidden activities, as he states in verse 24: "And it shall happen if you diligently listen to Me, says Hashem, not to bring a burden through the city gates on Shabbat, to sanctify Shabbat by not doing any work therein."

The prophet's rebuke over the laws of transferring between domains, which they received from Moses by word of mouth, is further evidence of the existence of an Oral Tradition learned by the Israelites, which includes specific laws not found in the written Torah.

It is assumed that during the giving of the Torah, there was no distinct name for the Written Torah and Oral Torah, as they were learned as one. That is, a father reading with his children the verse "And you shall slaughter... as I commanded you" (Deuteronomy 12:21) would orally explain the laws of slaughter they received from Moses at Mount Sinai. When he came to the verse "And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 11:20), he would orally explain the laws of mezuzah; when the rabbi would study with his students the verse "And the seventh day is a Shabbat to Hashem your God, you shall not do any work" (Exodus 20:9), he would verbally detail to his students the 39 forbidden activities on Shabbat; and when he reached the verse "And write her a bill of divorce" (Deuteronomy 24:1), he would teach them the laws of divorce.

In other words, studying the Oral Torah was not separate from studying the Written Torah. The Oral Torah was learned as a detailed explanation for fulfilling the practical commandments of the book.

This is explicitly seen in the verse: "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate on it day and night" (Joshua 1:8) - to meditate does not only mean to read what’s written "like a parrot," but to reflect on the commandments, study them in depth, explain and elaborate on them. This is also exemplified by another explicit verse commanding every father in Israel: "And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them" (Deuteronomy 6:7); the Torah requires both teaching and discussing it.

To illustrate, and with many distinctions, let us try to visualize the commandments written in the Torah as a kind of "index" that records and verifies all the commandments we received at Mount Sinai, whose study is intended to be explained in the Oral Torah (surprisingly, the Oral Torah was first called by this name only after it was written down, and only then did the need arise to distinguish it verbally from the Written Torah).

The obligation to heed the Oral Torah must include the requirement to listen to the instructions and decrees of the sages. The Sanhedrin consisted of 70 elders (rabbis) who clarified the Torah for Israel and ruled halachah for each generation. Did you know that the institution of rabbis was first established in the wilderness generation by Moses? In the stories of Yitro and Behaalotcha, it is related how Moses set up the first rabbinic institution and commanded the people of Israel to heed the Torah scholars of every generation: "And Hashem said to Moses, 'Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers... and I will bestow some of the spirit that is upon you, and place it upon them'" (Numbers 11:16).

Moses instructs the people of Israel, from Hashem: "If a case is too difficult for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between plague and plague, even matters of conflict within your gates... you will inquire and they will declare the verdict to you... according to the law that they instruct you and according to the verdict that they tell you, you shall do, do not deviate from the matter that they declare to you, right or left" (Deuteronomy 17:8-11).

This means that any matter unclear in the practice of Torah will be subject to the ruling of sages. This is precisely what our sages did in the Mishnah and the Talmud, clarifying for us every rule from the sources.

We thus learn that the concept of "rabbis" has always been an integral part of the Torah we received at Mount Sinai. The rabbis are commanded to guide the people and teach them how to uphold the Torah of Hashem.

Why Oral Torah Was Transmitted Orally?

The purpose of passing it orally was for accurate understanding, as fathers and rabbis convey instructions in clear language for understanding, in practical terms, without getting entangled in interpretations (since each generation brings new concepts, linguistic changes, historical, and cultural shifts. Oral transmission is more personal, preventing inaccuracies and misunderstandings of earlier words).

Additionally, there is likely another purpose for Oral Torah, which is to preserve the Torah in the hands of its wise teachers, compelling the people to approach and learn the laws from their sages, rather than interpret them personally on their own. Without Oral Torah, there is always the risk that those who did not devote their lives to studying the Torah would come and make their own allowances and distortions as they please.

Why Oral Torah Was Written Down?

Both Written and Oral Torah were given to Israel over 3300 years ago by Moses. The Oral Torah was transmitted orally from generation to generation by the sages to their students, and by fathers to their children, until the destruction of the Second Temple about 2,000 years ago. After the Second Temple's destruction, the spiritual status of the Israelites declined, entering a period of exile. The Romans were persecuting the transmitters and teachers of Torah.

Due to fear it would be forgotten, the Oral Torah was reluctantly written down by Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi in books known as the "Six Orders of the Mishnah" (based on a time-specific command learned from the verse: "It is time to act for Hashem, they have broken Your Torah").

Rabbi Moses Maimonides wrote in his introduction to the Mishneh Torah:

"And why did our holy rabbi (Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi) do this, not leaving it as it was? Because he saw that the students were diminishing, and troubles were renewing and coming, and the Roman kingdom was spreading and strengthening, and Israel was being scattered and rolling to the ends, therefore he compiled this work to be in everyone's hands, so they can quickly learn it and not forget (relying on the verse which states, it is time to act for Hashem)."

The Tannaim and Amoraim, who were the sages living before and after the destruction, debated and elucidated all the laws brought in the Mishnah. All their words were documented in the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud (the Talmud is called in Aramaic "Gemara"). The Babylonian Talmud was edited by Ravina and Rav Ashi about 1,500 years ago, based on which all halachah that we observe today was decided.