Between resident and resident
Hello Rabbi,
I have a question regarding the Written Torah, the Oral Torah, and the connection between them. A common opinion (that’s what many people with a kippah on their heads think) is that Moses received two teachings at Mount Sinai, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, with the Oral Torah being the interpretation of the Written Torah. According to this opinion, the Written Torah is essentially a closed book of laws (I assume the identity between the Toshab”a and the Halacha). This does not seem entirely reasonable to me. Another opinion I have heard is that the Toshab”a and the Written Torah are two different branches (Moses received at Sinai) with different functions. The Written Torah is a book of history with a certain trend, with the commandments that appear in it also being part of the story. And the Toshab”a is the Halacha that has been passed down through tradition, telling us what the commandments are and how they should be kept. And every time it seems that the Sages are learning laws from verses, this is not really the case. Rather, their purpose is to show that there is a connection between the two teachings, which after all were both received from God. This opinion seems much more reasonable to me. In my opinion, this is an important question that needs to be clarified before studying Torah (before studying anything, you need to know what you are studying). Having asked many religious people the question (as someone who did not grow up in the religious world), it seems that there is a lot of confusion on the subject. I would love to hear the Rabbi’s opinion on the subject.
Hello Neria.
There is indeed a lot of confusion on the subject.
I remember once seeing that a book by Rabbi Eliyahu ben Amozag deals with this and has an original approach (I don’t remember the details. I think he claims that these are two teachings and not that one is an explanation of the other. If this interests you, it’s worth looking into).
Personally, I am not bothered at all by these questions, because in my opinion they are based on a false picture. In my opinion, no more Torah was really given to us at Sinai. What was given to us there was the written Torah (or at least part of it or most of it), and interpretations of words and some basic methods of deduction (the qualities of the sermon, and even those are not in the form we know today, and not all of them) and some more laws of Moses from Sinai. And maybe there are a few more things that I have omitted. Everything else, which is the vast majority, was developed by sages throughout history. This is not my innovation, of course, and it is clear to anyone who is familiar with the materials and in particular the words of Maimonides that this is the reality. What is confusing is the slogans on which we were raised and educated, the details and generalities of which come from Sinai (by the way, this only speaks of the specific rules written in the Torah, contrary to the accepted perception that it speaks of all halakha as a whole), etc., etc. But this is a misunderstanding. When we say that everything was given from Sinai, it is a normative and not a historical statement, meaning that everything is as binding as what was given from Sinai (or as if it were given from Sinai). If you are interested, in the second book in the Talmudic Logic series (On Generals and Particulars, Intuitive Definition of Groups in the Talmud. Only on Amazon, but it is in Hebrew) we insist on this and demonstrate this process in detail.
In light of this picture, the question does not arise at all. The written Torah certainly contains laws. Even if they are presented as part of the story (and this is not always the case), it is clearly evident from it that it refers to commandments. The Toshabeh expands, details, and defines these laws and even adds to them (laws of the rabbis, which are also considered part of the Toshabeh, although I think this is an accepted but inaccurate terminology).
——————————————————————————————
Neriah:
So, in the Rabbi’s opinion, is the written Torah the source of some of the laws? I would be happy to receive some examples of such commandments.
Can’t the law of Moses from Sinai be classified as the Oral Torah? That is, laws that are not learned from the Written Torah.
——————————————————————————————
Rabbi:
Hello.
Why are examples needed? There are plenty of them. You shall not do any work on Shabbat, you shall not wear wool and linen together, and so on and so forth.
I wrote that the law of Moses from Sinai (like the Midot Harash) is an oral Torah. What is the question?
Leave a Reply
Please login or Register to submit your answer
