Q&A: The Oral Torah
The Oral Torah
Question
Hello Rabbi,
How is it possible to know what in the Oral Torah is just a plain human mistake, and what is actually law/teaching with real significance? In other words, today there are so many materials that were said/written by rabbis, and everything gets included as part of the Oral Torah. How do you know what to filter out and what to keep? (I’m asking from the assumption that the idea of the Oral Torah itself really does complement the Written Torah and that we are meant to act in accordance with both.)
Thank you very much!
Answer
There is no general criterion. But even mistakes must be preserved, at least when it is not an obvious mistake. In general, one should use common sense and know how to study and analyze what one is learning, compare it to sources, and see.