I am reading the Torah for the first time in about 10 years and have been considering it carefully over the past year. I have been wondering about the oral tradition and where it comes from. I have not yet read any of the oral tradition. The scriptures were clearly handed down by G-d to Moses on Mount Sinai, where they were apparently written down by Moses before he descended from the mountain back to the people. But where in the Torah is there an account of the oral tradition, where does it comes from, and why should it have authority over me?

Hi! You are asking an extremely important question. The answer is that without the Oral Torah, the Written Torah would be pointless. I’d like to illustrate with a story from the Talmud, which is itself part of the oral tradition:

(Shabbat 31a) A certain man came before Shammai, and said to him, “How many Torahs do you have?” He said, “There are two, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah.” Said the man, “I believe in the Written Torah, but not in the Oral Torah. Convert me based on my determination to learn the Written Torah alone.” Shammai refused. He came before Hillel [and tried again]. Hillel accepted him. The first day, Hillel taught him the sounds of the letters, “Aleph Beis Gimmel Dalet”. The next day, he switched them around. The man complained, “That’s not what you taught me yesterday!” Retorted Hillel, “Are you not relying on what I tell you? Then rely on me for the Oral Torah as well.” The man later said, “The gentleness and patience of Hillel brought us under the wings of G-d’s presence.”

Let us analyze the meaning behind Hillel’s “unorthodox” outreach technique. He seems to be saying that we all rely on our oral tradition far more than we realize. Without the connection to people who read Hebrew today, we would not even know how the words of the Torah are pronounced! We certainly would not understand their meaning. But really we see much more: There would be no reason to study the Torah at all. Unless we trust the faithful transmission from their generation down to ours, what reason could anyone have to believe that G-d gave the Torah to us? What could distinguish the Torah from a thousand other religions, each making its own claim of ultimate truth?

But the difference is, must be, that only the Torah has been handed directly from G-d to Moses to Israel to us. When G-d gave the Torah to Moses, he gave it completely, along with a full understanding of its contents. So too did Moses give the Torah to Israel. He didn’t just say the words of the Torah to them, he explained them. Each verse, each phrase, is really a chapter heading, and came along with a full measure of understanding. And each generation passed that understanding to the next to the best of their abilities. That is what we mean by the Oral Torah.

This is what each generation of our people has told the next. If someone doubts them, he can’t help but be rejecting Torah in its entirety.

The truth is that the Torah without its Oral part is not very usable. Many commandments are mentioned in a single verse or part of one, without any detail. Some refer to detail that is not to be found: (Deuteronomy 12:21) “You shall slaughter your cattle and from your flock in the way that I have commanded you.” Nowhere in the Torah does it give instruction on how to slaughter. For that one must learn Tractate Chullin. How would anyone know how to observe our beautiful Sabbath from the very brief instructions in the Torah? Don’t do work, whatever that is; don’t light fires, don’t go outside! That’s what the Karaites tried to do, huddling miserably in the dark, eating cold food. To observe the Sabbath properly, let’s find out instead how Moses understood G-d’s words – learn Tractate Shabbat. Do we have difficulties with grasping incidents in the Bible? The Midrash adds innumerable nuances and details to help us understand more deeply.

The Oral Torah brings the Written Torah to life. So much of our nation’s wisdom is to be found there.

Best wishes,
Michoel Reach