From Sinai to the Mishnah: Understanding the Oral Torah

Menashe added and asked: "One more question that has been bothering me for a long time. What exactly is the Oral Torah and why is it called 'oral'? Is the Oral Torah all of the Mishnah and Gemara? Did we also receive it at Mount Sinai? Because I understand these are laws transmitted by rabbis, so how does that fit?"

Hello Menashe, and thank you once again for your important questions that touch upon the foundations of Jewish law.

The Written Torah and the Oral Torah

In previous articles, we learned that Moses brought down the tablets from Mount Sinai and taught the Israelites all of the Taryag commandments orally, including both the commandments of the Written Torah and the explanation of the commandments of the Oral Torah.

Before his passing, Moses transmitted to the children of Israel the Book of the Torah, the five books of the Torah referred to as the Written Torah. The Oral Torah, which is the explanation of all the commandments written in the Torah and their details, was passed down orally from generation to generation until the destruction of the Second Temple, at which point it was written down in the Mishnah and later explained in the Gemara.

The Oral Torah consists of two main parts: Mitzvot from the Torah and Mitzvot from the Rabbis.

Mitzvot from the Torah

The Mitzvot from the Torah include all the commandments written in the Book of the Torah, along with the manner of their observance as learned from the Oral Torah. These details cover all the Taryag commandments that Moses orally transmitted to the generation in the wilderness, such as the 39 categories of work prohibited on Shabbat, the permitted and forbidden methods of slaughter, the measurement of a kezayit for consuming a forbidden food, and the shape and passages of the tefillin.

These crucial details are referred to as Halacha given to Moses at Sinai. They were transmitted through oral tradition as law without dispute, meaning that within Halacha given at Sinai, there are never disputes among the sages. All the commandments, both written and oral, have been passed down word for word from Moses to the people of Israel.

Additionally, we received 13 methods by which the Torah is expounded. Just as the courts rule on laws regarding monetary matters and life and death issues with the authority given to them by the Torah, so too is the inquiry of the sages regarding Mitzvot from the Torah binding by Torah law.

The Torah explicitly states: "If a matter is too difficult for you to judge... you shall arise and go up to the place that Hashem your God chooses... and you shall inquire, and they shall declare to you the word of judgment... according to the Torah which they instruct you, and according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do" (Deuteronomy 17:8-11).

Moses transmitted to Israel 13 methods of Torah interpretation, such as kal v’chomer and gezerah shavah. These methods allow the sages to explore the verses and derive practical laws. For example, when a woman is married with a certain value of money, the precise amount is left for the sages to determine based on the needs of the generation.

The rules of Torah study were received by the elders directly from Moses. Through them, they ruled to Israel on laws and regulations even during the generation in the wilderness, until the end of the Second Temple. In the Book of Judges, we find an example of a talmudic inquiry conducted by the elders regarding laws of oaths to allow the daughters of Israel to marry men from the tribe of Benjamin.

The Torah prohibits counting the people of Israel (Exodus 30:12-13), yet through talmudic inquiry, they found a way to count the nation for going to war (I Samuel 15:4). Similarly, the sages learned through the 13 methods regarding marriage by money, so that one who has relations with a woman married in this way is liable to death by Torah law.

The intellectual strength of these 13 methods is so great that even if a law were to be forgotten, it could be reconstructed from the Torah. It is told that Otniel ben Kenaz, through analytical discussion, reconstructed laws that had been forgotten since the death of Moses.

The Torah explicitly commands us to listen to the wise of the generation and ensures that prophecies are no longer needed to observe its commandments (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). This confirms that the sages have the authority to explain the Torah properly. Not even a prophet can change a command of the Torah according to personal inspiration, as the Torah is complete and perfect as it is. Hashem has promised that His Torah will never be forgotten (Deuteronomy 31:21, Isaiah 59:21).

Only a sage who has thoroughly studied the Torah can properly rule from it. The sages warned against incorrect interpretation: "One who reveals the Torah's face not according to Halacha, even if they possess Torah and good deeds, has no share in the world to come" (Pirkei Avot 3:11). Since the conclusion of the Talmud, no new legal rulings have been created after all laws of the Torah were explained in the Mishnah and Gemara.

Mitzvot from the Rabbis

Mitzvot from the Rabbis, referred to in Yevamot 21:1 as "Make a safeguard for My commandments," are regulations and decrees established after the giving of the Torah. They were created by the Sanhedrin and the prophets of each generation, using the authority granted by the Torah to reinforce and protect its commandments.