Torah Banal Peh
(The
Oral Torah)
By Greg Killian
Greg's original article included the definition of the Oral Law in the beginning. I moved
it to the end, to provide some continuity to the article. Please refer to Greg's website
via the link at the bottom for further information, and for other excellent articles. I
also made the appropriate substitutions for consistency with the Yavoh web site.
PURPOSE
This paper was written to show that the scripture assumes that there is an oral law, and that without the oral law, the scriptures are incomplete.
The oral law reaches back to Moses for it's beginnings:
|
Sh’mot 18:13-16 13It was on the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood by Moses from the morning until the evening. 14The father-in-law of Moses saw everything that he was doing to the people and he said, “What is this thing that you do to the people? Why do you sit alone with all the people standing by you from morning to evening?” 15Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to seek God. 16When they have a matter, one comes to me, and I judge between a man and his fellow, and I make know the decrees of God and His teachings.” |
Moses is telling the people about God's laws and decrees before the written Torah is given. The written Torah will be given in Sh’mot 20. That which Moses began is made sure in the written Torah:
| D’varim 17:8-13 8If a matter of judgment is hidden from you, between blood and blood, between verdict and verdict, between plague and plague, matters of dispute in your cities — you shall rise up and ascend to the place where HASHEM, your God, shall choose. 9You shall come to the Kohen'im, the Levi, and to the judge who will be in those days; you shall inquire and they will tell you the word of judgment. Commandment 578 Commandment 579 12And the man that will act with willfulness, not listening to the Kohen who stands there to serve HASHEM your God, or to the judge, that man shall die, and you shall destroy the evil from among Israel. 13The entire nation shall listen and fear, and they shall not act willfully any more. |
That oral law which Moses began, is perpetuated in the oral law delivered by the Levi'im and the Shof’tim .
Examples of Oral Law practiced in the TaNaKh.
The first oral law was given to Adam and Eve. The oral command was:
|
B’reshit 2:15-17 15HASHEM God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it. 16And HASHEM God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree in the garden you may freely eat; 17but of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, you must not eat thereof; for on the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.1” |
Not only was this an "oral" command, but it also was a "chok", a command without a reason, and for which we can not even deduce a reason. This first oral command declared all fruit to be kosher except the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Consider that ALL of the commands given by God prior to Sinai, were all oral. This includes the command for the first Passover, the command to build the Noah's ark, and all of the commands kept by Abraham:
| B’reshit 26:2-5 2HASHEM appeared to him and said: “Do not descent to Egypt; dwell in the land that I shall indicate to you. 3Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your offspring will I give all these lands, and establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father: 4‘I will increase your offspring like the stars of the heavens; an will give to your offspring all these lands’; and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your offspring. 5Because Abraham obeyed My voice, and observed My safeguards, My commandments, My decrees, and My Torahs.” |
Here we have Abraham keeping all of God's laws, more than four hundred years before the written Torah was given!
The Oral law says:
There are four fast days: Tammuz 17, Av 9, Tishri 3, and Tevet 10. The entire Talmud tractate of Taanith contains the details of these fasts. The TaNaKh records these fasts as though they were contained in the written Torah:
| Z’kharyah
7:1-5 1It happened in the fourth year of King Darius that the word of HASHEM came to Z’kharyah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, in Kislev. 2Sarezer, as well as Regem-melech and his associates had sent a message to Beth-el to beseech HASHEM , 3[and]to speak [their questions] to the Kohen'im of the Temple of HASHEM Master of Legions, and to the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month abstaining [from pleasures], as I have been doing for many years?” 4So the word of HASHEM , Master of Legions, came to me, saying: 5“Speak to all the people of the land and the Kohen'im, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth [month] and in the seventh for these seventy yeas, was the fasting that you fasted for My honor? [Was it] for Me?’” |
The only fast in the Torah concerned Yom Ha'Kippurim in the seventh month. Note how HASHEM will change the meaning of this oral law:
| Z’kharyah 8:19 19Thus said HASHEM , Master of Legions: “The fast of the fourth [month], the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth will be to the House of Jacob for joy and for gladness and for happy festivals. [Only] love truth and peace!” |
The Torah never commands us not to buy or sell on the Sabbath, however, it was obviously a prohibition in:
| Nechemyah 13:15-22 15In those days I observed in Judah [people] treading on winepresses on the Sabbath and [people] bringing sheaves and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes and figs and every burden, bring in them to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. I warned them on the day they sold their provisions. 16[Also] the Tyrians who dwelled there would bring fish and every merchandise and sell [them] on the Sabbath to the people of Judah — and in Jerusalem! 17So I contended with the aristocrats of Judah, and I said to them, “What is the wicked thing that you are doing, desecrating the Sabbath day? 18Did not your ancestors do this, and then our God brought all this evil upon us and upon this city? And now you bring additional wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath!”
It happened when the gates of Jerusalem cast shadows before the Sabbath, that I
spoke [the order] and the doors were closed, and I spoke [the orders]
not to open
them until after the Sabbath. I stationed some of my servants at the gates, [so that] no
burden could come in on the Sabbath. 20So the merchants and the sellers of
every merchandise lodged outside Jerusalem once and then a second time. 21I
warned them, and said to them, “Why do you lodge across from
the wall? If you repeat this, I will send a force against you!” From that time
onward they did not come on the Sabbath. 22Then I told the Levi'im that they
should regularly purify themselves and come as guards of the gates, to sanctify the
Sabbath day. |
The Mishna says:
| Rosh Hashanah chapter 1, Mishna 1: There are four new years. On the first of Nisan is the New Year for Kings and for Festivals; on the first of Elul is the New Year for the tithe of animals — R.Eliezer and R.Simon say, on the first of Tishri — on the first of Tishri is the New Year for the years, for Sabbatical Years, for Jubilee Years, for planting and for vegetables; and on the first of Shevat is the New Year for Trees, according to the view of the School of Shammai, but the School of Hillel say, On the fifteenth thereof. |
God commanded Moses to:
| Sh’mot 12:1-2 1HASHEM said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2“This month shall be for you the beginning of months, it shall be for you the first of the months of the year.” |
However, we later see that that another time is also called "Rosh Hashanah":
| Yechezk’el 40:1 1In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the City was conquered — on that very day the hand of HASHEM came upon me and He brought me there. |
This verse is referring to Yom Kippur which is the tenth day of the seventh month. In Sh’mot 12, God says that the first month is the beginning of the year. The mishnah then clears up the confusion by indicating that there are four new years. (In the Jubilee year the slaves stopped work on the first day of the seventh month and spent the 10 days packing, while the owners spent 10 days getting together the wealth for the slaves.)
Having multiple new years is something that we are all familiar with. We have a new year for school, in September; a new year for counting years, in January; and a new year for fiscal matters set whenever we want it to be.
The Torah never forbids us to buy and sell on the New Moon, yet it is obviously a sin, as we can see in:
| ’Amos 8:3-7 3They will wail the songs of the banquet hall on that day — the word of Adonai HASHEM Eloheim. There will be many corpses; in every place, ‘Cast away! Remove!’ 4Hear this, you who devour the needy, decimating the poor of the land, 5saying, ‘When will the month pass, so that we can sell grain; the Sabbatical [Year], so we can open the [stores of] grain; reduce the ephah and increase the shekel, and distort scales of deceit, 6to purchase the poor with silver and the destitute for shoes; and we will sell the refuse of grain?’ 7HASHEM has sworn by the glory of Jacob, ‘I will never forget all their deeds.’ |
The Torah has clear laws to define divorce:
| D’varim 24:1-4 1If a man marries a woman and lives with her, and it will be that she will not find favor in his eyes, for he found in her a matter of immorality, and he wrote her a bill of divorce and presented it to her hand, and sent her from his house, 2and she left his house and went and married another man, 3and the latter man hated her and wrote her a bill of divorce and presented it into her hand and sent her from his house, or the latter man who married her to himself will die — 4her first husband who divorced her shall not again take her to become his wife, after she had been defiled, for it is an abomination before HASHEM . You shall not bring sin upon the Land that HASHEM , your God, gives you as an inheritance. |
There are no rules, however, to define marriage which is a prerequisite to divorce other than:
| B’reshit 2:21-24 21HASHEM God cast a deep sleep upon the man and he slept; and He took one of his sides and He filled in flesh in its place. 22Then HASHEM God fashioned the side that He had taken from the man into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23And the man said: “This time it this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This shall be called Woman, for from man was she taken.” 24Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh |
The Mishna says:
| Taanith 4, Mishna 8: Rabban Simon ben Gamaliel said, There were no happier days for Yisra'el than the fifteenth of Av and the Day of Atonement, for on them the daughters of Jerusalem used to go out dressed in white garments which were borrowed in order not to shame the one who had none. All the garments required immersion. And the daughters of Jerusalem used to go forth to dance in the vineyards. And what did they say? ‘Young man, lift up your eyes and see what thou wilt select for thyself; set not your eyes on beauty but fix your eyes on family; for Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Eternal she shall be praised; and it says further, Give to her the fruit of her hands and let her deeds praise her in the gates; and it says moreover, Go forth, ye daughters of Zion, and gaze upon King Solomon, even upon the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him in the day of his espousals and in the day of the gladness of his heart. In the day of his espousals — this is ‘the giving of the Law’; and in the day of the gladness of his heart — this is ‘the building of the Temple’. May it be rebuilt speedily in our days! Amen! |
The TaNaKh records one of these events as though it were law:
| Shof’tim 21:15-22 15The people had relented toward Benjamin, for HASHEM had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16The elders of the congregation said, “What can we do [to provide] wives for the survivors? For the women of Benjamin have been destroyed.” 17They said, “The inheritance of the remnant of Benjamin [must survive], and let a tribe not be eliminated from Israel! 18But we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the Children of Israel have sworn, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’” 19They said, “Behold, there is a yearly holiday unto HASHEM at Shiloh, which is north of Beth-el, east of the road going up from Beth-el, to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20So they directed the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards. 21And see; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh go out to perform the dances, you shall emerge from the vineyards, and each of you grab his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22It shall be that if their fathers or brothers come to protest to us, we will say to them, ‘Be compassionate toward [the Benjamites], for we did not capture a wife for each man in the war [with Jabesh-gilead], and because you did not give the [wives] to them, so that you should not incur guilt. now ’” |
The story of Rut is read at the time of the giving of the Torah so that we might know that the written Torah and the Oral Torah, are together one Torah, and one is not Possible without the other. For David, the anointed of God unto all generations, was descended from a Moabite woman, and his legitimacy depended on the Oral Torah — which declared that only a Moabite man was prohibited from entering the fold of Yisra'el — but not a Moabite woman. On the foundations of the House of David, the whole people of Yisra'el is supported. All this could only come about through the authority of the Oral Torah.
| D’varim 23:4 4An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of HASHEM, even their tenth generation shall not enter the congregation of HASHEM to eternity, |
The Talmud gives us some insight into the problem that a Moabite brings:
| (Yevamoth 77b) As, however, Doeg submitted
to them all those objections and they eventually remained silent, he desired to make a
public announcement against him. Presently [an incident occurred]: Now Amasa was the son
of a man, whose name was Ithna the Israelite, that went in to Abigal the daughter of
Nahash, but elsewhere it is written, Jether the Ishmaelite! This teaches, Raba explained,
that he girded on his sword like an Ishmaelite and exclaimed, ‘Whosoever will not
obey the following halachah will be stabbed with the sword; I have this tradition
from the
Beth din of Samuel the Ramathite: An Ammonite but not an Ammonitess; A Moabite, but not a
Moabitess’! Could he, however, be trusted? Surely R. Abba stated in the name of Rab:
Whenever a learned man gives directions on a point of law, and such a point comes up
[for
a practical decision], he is obeyed if his statement was made before the event; but if it
was not so made he is not obeyed! Here the case was different, since Samuel and his Beth
din were still living. (Yevamoth 69a) R. Simeon b. Gamaliel said: Whenever you may marry his daughter, you may marry his widow etc.’ What is the practical difference between R. Jose and R. Simeon b. Gamaliel? ‘Ullah replied: The difference between them is the case of an Ammonite and a Moabite proselyte. And both of them derived their respective views from none other than [the disqualification] of a widow by a High Priest. R. Jose reasons thus: As with a High Priest who married a widow, his seed is disqualified and he himself causes disqualification, so does any other person cause disqualification only when his seed is disqualified. R. Simeon b. Gamaliel, however, reasons thus: As with a High Priest who married ,a widow, all his seed is disqualified and he himself causes disqualification, so does only such a person cause disqualification, all whose seed is disqualified; an Ammonite and a Moabite are, therefore, excluded since not all their seed are disqualified. For a Master said: An Ammonite, but not an Ammonitess; a Moabite, but not a Moabitess. |
And:
| (Yevamoth 76b) GEMARA. Whence are these laws inferred? — R. Yonahan replied: Scripture stated, And when Sail saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said into Abner, the captain of the host: ‘Abner, whose son is this youth’? And Abner said: ‘As thy soul liveth, O King, I cannot tell’. But did he not know him? Surely it is written, And he loved him greatly; and he became his armour bearer! — He rather made the inquiry concerning his father. But did he not know his father? Surely it is written, And the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among them; and Rab or, it might be said, R. Abba, stated that this referred to the father of David, Jesse. who came in with an army and went out with an army! — It is this that Saul meant: Whether he descended from Perez, or from Zerah. If he descended from Perez he would be king, for a king breaks for himself a way and no one can hinder him. If, however, he is descended from Zerah he would only be an important man. What is the reason why he gave instructions that inquiry be made concerning him? — Because it is written, And Saul clad David with his apparel. being of the same size as his, and about Saul it is written, From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. Doeg the Edomite then said to him, ‘Instead of inquiring whether he is fit to be king or not, inquire rather whether he is permitted to enter the assembly or not’! ‘What is the reason’? ‘Because he is descended from Rut the Moabitess’. Said Abner to him, ‘We learned: An Ammonite, but not an Ammonitess; A Moabite, but not a Moabitess! But in that case a bastard would’ imply: But not a female bastard?’ — ‘It is written mamzer [Which implies] anyone objectionable’. ‘Does then Egyptian exclude the Egyptian woman’? — ‘Here it is different, since the reason for the Scriptural text is explicitly stated: Because they met you not with bread and with water; it is customary for a man to meet [wayfarers]; It is not, however, customary for a woman to meet [them]’. |
The story of Rut also contains the application of the oral law to the Kinsman-Redeemer. Lets first re-add what the written Torah says about the Kinsman-Redeemer:
| D’varim 25:5-9 5When brothers dwell together and one of the dies, and he has no child, the wife of the deceased shall not marry outside to a strange man; 6It shall be that the firstborn — if she can bear — shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, so that his name not be blotted our from Israel. 7But if the man will not wish to marry his sister-in-law, then his sister-in-law shall ascend to the gate, to the elders, and she shall say “My brother-in-law refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel, he did not consent to perform the levirate marriage with me” 8Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him, and he shall stand and say, “I do not wish to marry her.” 9Then his sister-in-law shall approach him before the eyes of the elders; she shall remove his shoe from on his foot and spit before him; she shall speak up and say, “So is done to the man who will not build the house of his brother.” 10Then his name shall be proclaimed in Israel, “The house of the one whose shoe was removed!” |
The written Torah relates the Kinsman-Redeemer to a "brother" only. We find the application of the oral law in Rut:
| Rut 4:1-12 1Boaz, meanwhile, had gone up to the gate, and sat down there. Just then, the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken passed by. He said, “Come over, sit down here, Ploni Almoni,” and he came over and sat down. 2He then took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit here,” and they sat down. 3Then he said to the redeemer, “The parcel of land which belonged to our brother, Elimelech, is being offered for sale by Naomi who has returned from the fields of Moab. 4I resolved that I should inform you to this effect: ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you are willing to redeem, redeem! But if it will not be redeemed, tell me, that I may know; for there is no one else to redeem it but you, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I am willing to redeem it.” 5Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Rut the Moabite, wife of the deceased, to perpetuate the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” 6The redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I imperil my own inheritance. Take over my redemption responsibility on yourself for I am unable to redeem.” 7Formerly this was done in Israel in cases of redemption and exchange transactions to validate any matter: One would draw off his shoe, and give it to the other. This was the process of ratification in Israel. 8So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” He drew off his shoe. 9And Boaz said to the elders, and to all the people, “You are witness this day, that I have bought al that was Elimelech's and all that was Chillon's and Mahlon's from the hand of Naomi. 10And, what is more, I have also acquired Rut the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the deceased on his inheritance, that the name of the deceased not be cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.” 11Then all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “ [We are] witnesses! May HASHEM make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, both of whom built up the House of Israel. May you prosper in Ephrah and be famous in Beth-lehem; 12and may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which HASHEM will give you by this young woman” 13And so, Boaz took Rut and she became his wife; and he came to her, HASHEM let her conceive, and she bore a son. |
The application of the oral law shows that any relative can perform the act that the Torah specifies only a brother can perform.
Where does it ever say that Messiah will be called a Nazarene? It is not found any where in the TaNaKh!
| Mattit'yahu 2:19-23 19Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of HASHEM appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Yisra'el, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” 21Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Yisra'el. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” |
The Temple buildings are not described in enough detail to build one without the oral law!
The Written Law can understood ONLY in conjunction with the Oral Law.
The Torah says:
| D’varim 12:21 21If the place where HASHEM , your God, will chooses to put His Name will be far from you, you may slaughter from your cattle and your flocks that HASHEM has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat in your cities according to heart's entire desire. |
'V'za-vach-ta ka-ahser tsee-vee-see-cha'
'You shall slaughter <the animal> as I commanded you'. This refers to the technique of accomplishing Schita.
Nowhere in the Torah do we find God commanding Moses about the laws of Schita.
Q. Why does the Torah specify that the laws of shemita were taught on Har Sinai?
A. 25:1 — To teach us that just as shemita was taught in detail on Har Sinai, so too, all the mitzvot were taught in detail on Har Sinai.
Nowhere does the Torah tell us when the water was created. He told us that He separated it, but, He never tells us when He created it. The oral law tells us when the water was created.
The Torah says:
'Hachodesh Ha-zeh La-chem rosh cha-da-shim'
'This month (Abib) is the head of all the months'
When God uses the term 'zeh', "this" .... which is a demonstrative word, to what does he refer? How did Moses know the basis for the calculation of the month? What determined it? It is nowhere written in the Torah. It is written in the Oral Torah:
| (Talmud — Mas. Rosh HaShana 20a) Is all this correct, seeing that Rabbah b. Samuel has learnt: I might think that just as the year is prolonged in case of emergency, so the month may be prolonged to meet an emergency; therefore it says, This month is for you the head of months, [which implies], See [the moon] like this and then sanctify! — Raba replied: There is no contradiction: in the once case we speak of prolonging the month, in the other of sanctifying it, and what [the above teaching] meant is this: I might say that just as the year is prolonged to meet an emergency, so the month may be sanctified to meet an emergency, therefore it says, ‘This month is for you’; See [the moon] like this, and then sanctify. This is illustrated by the dictum of R. Joshua b. Levi: ‘Witnesses can be intimidated [to withhold the report of] the new moon which has appeared in its due time in order that the month may be prolonged, but they may not be intimidated into reporting the new moon which has not appeared in its proper time in order that a New Moon may be sanctified [on the thirtieth]’. Is this so? Did not R. Judah the Prince send to R. Ammi a message saying: Know that when R. Yonahan was alive he used to teach us that witnesses may be intimidated into reporting [on the thirtieth day] the new moon which has not appeared in its due time, in order that the New Moon may be sanctified, and even though they have not seen it they may say, We have seen it? — Abaye said: There is no contradiction: the one rule holds good for Nisan and Tishri, the other for the other months of the year. Raba said: This teaching which Rabbah b. Samuel learnt follows the ‘Others’, as it has been taught: ‘Others say that between one Pentecost and another and between one New Year and ‘another there are always four days [of the week] difference, or, if it was a leap year, five’. R. Dimi from Nehardea reports the teaching in the reverse form: ‘Witnesses can be intimidated to report [on the thirtieth day] the appearance of the moon which has not appeared in its proper time, in order that the month may be sanctified, but they may not be intimidated to withhold the report of the new moon which has been seen at its proper time in order that the month may be prolonged. What is the reason? |
The Torah says:
'Ayin ta-chas ayin. Shayne ta-chas shayne'
'An eye for an eye. a tooth for a tooth'
Torah Law at ALL TIMES meant that as monetary compensation; never literally. Where can see find that in the written Torah? It's not there.
The Torah tells us something to do without giving us a definitive time to do it:
| Vayikra 23:9-16 9HASHEM spoke to Moses, saying: 10Speak to the Children of Israel, and say to them: When you shall enter the Land that I give you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring an Omer from your first harvest to the Kohen. 11He shall wave the Omer before HASHEM to gain favor for you; on the morrow of the rest day the Kohen shall wave it. 12On the day you wave the Omer, you shall perform the service of an unblemished lamb in its first year as an Olah-Offering to HASHEM . 13Its Minchah-Offering shall be two tenth-ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an Eshayah-Offering to HASHEM , a satisfying aroma; and its libation shall be wine, a quarter-hin. 14You shall not eat bread or roasted kernels or plump kernels until this very day, until you bring the offering of your God; it is an eternal decree for your generations in all your dwelling places. 15You shall count for yourselves — from the morrow of the rest day, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving — seven weeks, they shall be complete. 16Until the morrow of the seventh week you shall count, fifty days; and you shall offer a new Minchah-Offering to HASHEM . |
Notice that we are to wave this grain, but it does not tell us what grain. No where in Torah are we ever told what grain to wave. Further, the Torah does not tell us which Sabbath is the beginning of our count! This has led to the classic argument of the Pharisees and the Sadducees over the meaning of this enigmatic command. The Sadducees say that it means that we begin on Sunday during Passover week. The Pharisees tell us to start on the day after Passover high Sabbath. Many Christians follow the Sadducees, but nearly all Jews follow the Pharisees. At any rate, both positions have to have some reason for what they do. The Pharisaic position relies on the oral law.
The Torah says nothing about what we do with food before we eat. The Torah says:
| D’varim 8:10 10You will eat and you will be satisfied, and bless HASHEM, your God, for the good Land that He will give you. |
Yet, notice what happens:
| Mattit'yahu 26:26 26And as they were eating, Yeshua took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Ur 24:30-31 |
The oral law commands us to bless God, for our food, before we eat:
| Talmud — Mas. Berachoth 33a R. AKIBA SAYS: HE SAYS IT AS A FOURTH BLESSING, etc. R. Shaman b. Abba said to R. Yonahan: Let us see: It was the Men of the Great Synagogue who instituted for Yisra'el blessings and prayers, sanctifications and habdalahs. |
Yeshua, therefore, followed that oral law.
The Torah says:
'Seven days shall you dwell in a sukkah'
Where is the source of how to build the sukkah, it's height, its size, the acceptable materials that may be used and the definition of the essential parts of the sukkah? The Written Torah is silent on all this, and yet every Jew knows what a sukkah should look like.
The Torah says:
'And you shall take for yourselves the fruit of a beautiful tree’
What fruit does the Torah mean? Where is there any reference in the Torah to the Citron, the Etsrog? There is none, and yet Jews the world over know what an etrog is!
The Apostolic Writings say:
| Acts 27:5-10 5And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. 7When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Knidos, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. 8Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. 9Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Sha'ul advised them, 10saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” |
The Torah never commands a fast. How then do we know that there is a day of fasting which is so great as to be known as "the fast"? The Torah says:
| Vayikra 16:29 29This shall remain for you an eternal decree: In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict yourselves (deny yourselves) and you shall not do any work, neither the native nor the proselyte who dwells among you. Vayikra 23:26-32
B’midbar 29:7 |
The Mishna says:
| Yoma Chapter 8, Mishna 1 On the Day of Atonement eating, drinking, washing, anointing, putting on sandals, and sexual intercourse are forbidden... |
It is the Torah sh'b'al Peh, the Oral Torah that supplies the details. These are but a few examples of why, without the Oral Law, the Written Torah has no meaning.
Moses spent those 40 days and nights receiving the Oral Law, in its entirety, with all the details and nuances, so that in future generations, should there be an outstanding scholar who might extrapolate and infer from what he has received by the Messorah, (the transmission of the Torah). That, too, was what Moses learned on Sinai from God.
Examples of Oral Law Practiced in the Apostolic Writings
Throughout the Apostolic Writings we NEVER see the proper name of God used. This is in keeping with the oral law:
| Talmud — Mas. Pesachim 50a And HASHEM shall
be King over all the earth; in that day shall HASHEM be One, and His name one: is He then
not One now? — Said R. Aha b. Hanina: Not like this world is the future world. In
this world, for good tidings one says, ‘He is good, and He doeth good’, while
for evil tidings he says, ‘Blessed be the true Judge’; [whereas] in the future
world it shall be only ‘He is good and He doeth good’. ‘And His name
one’: what does ‘one’ mean? Is then now His name not one? — Said R.
Nahman b. Isaac; Not like this world is the future world. [In] this world
[His name] is
written with a yod he and read as alef daleth; but in the future world it shall all be
one: it shall be written with yod he and read as yod he. Now, Raba thought of lecturing it
at the session, [whereupon] a certain old man said to him, It is written, le'alem. R.
Abina pointed out a contradiction: It is written, this is my name, to be hidden;
[and it
is also written], and this is my memorial unto all generations? The Holy One, blessed be
He, said: Not as I [i.e., My name] and written am I read: I am written with a yod he,
while I am read as alef daleth. Talmud — Mas. Rosh HaShana 18b G-d's name by the Yisra'elites, and when the Government of the Hasmoneans became strong and defeated them, they ordained that they should mention the name of G-d even on bonds, and they used to write thus: ‘In the year So-and-so of Yonahan, High Priest to the Most High G-d’, and when the Sages heard of it they said, ‘To-morrow this man will pay his debt and the bond will be thrown on a dunghill’, and they stopped them, and they made that day a feast day. Now if you maintain that the Megillath Ta'anith has been annulled, [is it possible that] while the former [prohibitions of fasting] have been annulled, new ones should be added? — With what are we here dealing? With the period when the Temple was still standing Talmud — Mas. Kiddushin 40a R. Abbahu said on R. Hanina's authority: Better had a man secretly transgress than publicly profane G-d's name, for it is said: As for you, O house of Yisra'el, thus saith HASHEM G-d: Go ye, serve every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but my holy name shall ye not profane. |
The Greek word "euche" is properly translated "vow". I have heard a rumor that the oral law indicates that a nazirite vow was taken to beseech God to cure someone. Consider the following verses:
| Ya'akov 5:14-15 14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of HASHEM . 15And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and HASHEM will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. |
There are only two other places in the Apostolic Writings where we find this word:
| Acts 18:18 18So Sha'ul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. Acts 21:19-25 |
So, we'll be on the lookout for the oral law reference for this.
Chanukah is a Rabbinic feast with an historical account in the apocryphal books of first and second Macabees. There is no mention of this feast in the TaNaKh, yet Yeshua observed Chanukah. Clearly, Yeshua observed the oral law:
| Yochanan 10:22 22Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23And Yeshua walked in the Temple, in Sh'lomo’s porch. Maccabees Alef 4:58-59 (NRSVA) |
Some excerpts from the Talmud regarding Chanukah:
| Sukkah 46a It is a
mitzvah to
kindle the Chanukah lights in one's home with the appropriate blessing. Shabbat 24a It is customary to place the chanuki Hashem (Chanukah menorah) where it's lights will be visible from the outside. |
The half-shekel Temple tax was another oral law which is described in the Talmud:
| Talmud — Mas. Beitzah 39b [if he said,] Behold, thou art herem, to thee, the vower is forbidden; [if he said,] Behold, I am [herem] to thee, and thou to me, both are forbidden to benefit from one another; but [to both] is permitted the use of things that belong to them that came up from Babylon, but the use of things that belong to the citizens of that town is forbidden to both. And the following are the things which belong to them that came up from Babylon: The Temple Mount, the [Temple] Chambers, the [Temple] Courts, and a well in the middle of the road. The following belong to [the citizens of] that town: The market-square, the Synagogue, and the bath-house. Now if you say that a well is held jointly, then why is it permitted? Surely we have learnt: Partners who vowed not to derive benefit from one another may not enter their [common] court-yard to bathe in the well! — To bathe in it is indeed [not allowed], but we are treating here of drawing [water]; the one draws of his own and the other draws of his own. Does then R. Nahman hold the rule of bererah, but we have learnt: Brothers who are [also] partners, when they are liable to surcharge they are exempt from cattle-tithe, and when they are liable to cattle-tithe they are exempt from the surcharge. And in this connection R. Anan said: This was taught only in the case when they divided goats for lambs and lambs for goats; but if they divided goats for goats and lambs for lambs, we say, each receives his share which was designated for him at the very beginning. While R. Nahman said: Even if they divided goats for goats and lambs for lambs, we do not say each receives his share which was designated for him at the very beginning! — Rather, all agree that the well is ownerless, but they dispute here with respect to the case of one who picks up a lost article on behalf of his neighbor; one is of the opinion that he [the neighbor] acquires title [to it], and the other is of the opinion that he does not acquire [it]. MISHNAH. IF ONE HAS HIS PRODUCE IN ANOTHER TOWN, THE INHABITANTS OF WHICH HAVE MADE AN ‘ERUB IN ORDER TO BRING TO HIM SOME OF HIS PRODUCE, THEY MAY NOT BRING IT TO HIM; BUT IF HE HIMSELF MADE AN ‘ERUB, HIS PRODUCE IS LIKE HIMSELF. |
Yeshua paid this tax:
| Mattit'yahu 17:24-27 24When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the Temple tax came to Kefa and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the Temple tax?” 25He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Yeshua anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” 26Kefa said to Him, “From strangers.” Yeshua said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.” |
The oral law forbids eating and associating with Gentiles:
| Talmud — Mas. Avodah Zarah 35b THEIR BREAD. R. Kahana said in the name of R. Yonahan: Their bread was not permitted by the Court. Is it to be deduced from this statement that anybody does allow it? — Yes, because when R. Dimi came [from Palestine] he said: On one occasion Rabbi went out into the field, and a heathen brought before him a loaf baked in a large oven from a se'ah of flour. Rabbi exclaimed: How beautiful is this loaf; why should the Sages have thought fit to prohibit it! ‘Why should the Sages have thought fit to prohibit it?’ As a safeguard against intermarriages! — No, what he meant was: Why should the Sages have thought fit to prohibit it in a field! [As the result of this remark] people imagined that Rabbi permitted the loaf [of a heathen] but it was not so; Rabbi did not permit it. R. Joseph — according to another version, R. Samuel b. Judah said: The incident was not so; but it is said that Rabbi once went to a certain place and observed that his disciples experienced difficulty in obtaining bread; so he asked, ‘Is there no baker here?’ people imagined that his inquiry was for a Gentile baker, but he really intended an Yisra'elite baker. R. Helbo said: Even according to those who maintain [that he inquired for] a Gentile baker, [the permission] would only apply where there was no Yisra'elite baker and not where such was to be found. R. Yonahan, however, said: Even according to those who maintain [that he inquired for] a Gentile baker, [the permission] only holds good in a field, and not in a city as a safeguard against intermarriages. Aibu used to bite and eat [Gentiles'] bread at the boundaries [of the fields]; but Raba-according to another version, R. Nahman b. Isaac-said to the people, ‘Hold no converse with Aibu because he eats the bread of Gentiles.’ |
The Apostles clearly obeyed this oral law:
| Acts 10:27-29 27And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?” |
In this passage we see some women preparing spices and resting on the Sabbath. The Torah does not forbid us to prepare a body for burial on the Sabbath; so, why do these women rest?
| Ur 23:56-24:1 56Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. 24:1Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. Talmud — Mas. Baba Bathra 100b An objection was raised: [It has been stated that] they said unto him, ‘If so, such [procedure] should be permitted on the Sabbath also’. Now, if it is said [that the ceremonial is to take place] in the graveyard and on the first day [only], [for] what [purpose] is the graveyard required on the Sabbath? — In [the case of] a town which is near a graveyard [and the dead] was brought [to burial] at twilight. Talmud — Mas. Shabbath 73a Mishnah. The primary labours are forty less one, [VIZ.:] sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, bleaching, hackling, dyeing, spinning, stretching the threads, the making of two meshes, weaving two threads, dividing two threads, tying [knotting] and untying, sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches, capturing a deer, slaughtering, or flaying, or salting it, curing its hide, scraping it [of its hair], cutting it up, writing two letters, erasing in order to write two letters [over the erasure], building, pulling down, extinguishing, kindling, striking with a hammer, [and] carrying out from one domain to another: these are the forty primary labors less one. |
So, the women observed the oral law and rested on the Sabbath rather than preparing Yeshua's body. Notice that they rested “in obedience to the commandment”.
The oral law commands that we should pray particular prayers, three times a day:
| Talmud — Mas. Shevu'oth 39a What is the
meaning of: it also may be said in any language? — As we learnt: These may be recited
in any language: The scriptural text of the
Sotah, confession when giving the tithe, the Shema’, Tefillah, Grace after meals, the oath of testimony, and the oath of deposit.
And now it says also, ‘The oath of the judges may also be said in any language.’ Talmud — Mas. Shabbath 24a The scholars propounded: Is New Moon to be mentioned in grace after meals? Should you say that it is unnecessary in the case of Hanukkah, which is only Rabbinical, then on New Moon, which is Biblical, it is necessary; or perhaps since the performance of work is not forbidden, it is not mentioned? Rab said: It is mentioned; R. Hanina said: It is not mentioned. R. Zerika said: Hold fast to Rab's [ruling], because R. Oshaia supports him. For R. Oshaia taught: On those days when there is an additional offering, viz., New Moon and the weekdays of Festivals at the Evening, Morning and Afternoon [services] the Eighteen [Benedictions] are recited, and the nature of the occasion is inserted in the ‘Abodah; and if one does not insert it, he is turned back; and there is no Sanctification over wine, and mention thereof is made in grace after meals. On those days when there is no additional offering, viz., Mondays, Thursdays, Fasts, and Ma'amadoth -What business have Mondays and Thursdays [here]? -Rather [say thus:] on the Mondays, Thursdays and the [following] Mondays of Fasts — and of Ma'amadoth — at the Evening, Morning and Afternoon [Services] the Eighteen [Benedictions] are recited, and the nature of the occasion is inserted in ‘Thou hearkenst unto Prayer’; yet if one does not insert it he is not made to repeat it, and no reference is made on these [days] in grace after meals. |
We see Daniel obeying in:
| Dani'el 6:11(10) 11(10)When Dani'el learned that the writing had been inscribed, he went home. He had windows open in his upper story, facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he fell to his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, exactly as he used to do before this. |
We see the Apostles obeying this oral law in:
| Acts 2:42 42And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. |
The Torah commands:
| B’midbar 15:37-40 37Again HASHEM spoke to Moses, saying, 38“Speak to the children of Yisra'el: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of HASHEM and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, 40and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.” |
The Hebrew for tassels, is tzitzit. We see Yeshua wearing tzitzit in:
| Mattit'yahu 9:19-22 19So Yeshua arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. 20And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22But Yeshua turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour. |
The hem of His garment, is the tzitzit. The Greek word that the King James translators rendered "hem" is kraspedon. This is the same word that is used in the Septuagint, to translate tzitzit.
It is found three times in B’midbar 15:37-41, where the wearing of tzitzit is commanded.
| B’midbar 15:37-41 37HASHEM said to Moses, saying, 38“Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them that they shall make themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations. And they shall place upon the tzitzit of each corner a thread of turquoise wool.3 39It shall constitute tzitzit for you, that you may see it and remember all the commandments of HASHEM and perform them; and not explore after your heart and after your eyes after which you stray. 40So that you may remember and perform all My commandments and be holy to your God. 41I am HASHEM , your God, who removed you from the land of Egypt to be an God unto you; I am HASHEM your God.” |
Mal’akhi talks about the healing to be found in the tzitzit:
| Mal’akhi 4:1-2 1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says HASHEM of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. 2But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.” |
His wings are the wings formed in the Tallit which contains the tzitzit. The way tzitzit are made is only contained in the oral law, it is not found in the Torah:
| Talmud — Mas. Baba Bathra 74a They slept on their backs; and the knee of one of them was raised, and the Arab merchant passed under the knee, riding on a camel with spear erect, and did not touch it. I cut off one corner of the purple-blue shawl of one of them; and we could not move away. He said unto me: ‘[If] you have, peradventure, taken something from them, return it; for we have a tradition that he who takes anything from them cannot move away.’ I went and returned it; and then we were able to move away. When I came before the Rabbis they said unto me: Every Abba is an ass and every Bar Hana is a fool. For what purpose did you do that? Was it in order to ascertain whether [the Law] is in accordance with the [decision of] Beth Shammai or Beth Hillel? You should have counted the threads and counted the joints. |
The oral law has an extensive treatment of the laws pertaining to the tzitzit in: Menachoth 38b
So, since Yeshua obeyed all of the Torah, he was wearing tzitzit and they were tied according to the oral law.
The Torah commands:
| D’varim 6:4-9 4Hear, O Israel: HASHEM, is our God, HASHEM is the One and Only. 5You shall love HASHEM , your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources. 6And these matters that I command you today shall be upon your heart. 7You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise. 8Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be ornaments between your eyes. 9And write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates. |
The description of tefillin, the binding of these laws, can only be found in the Oral Torah. They are nowhere described in the Torah. Yeshua, then, followed the Oral Torah when he wore tefillin. The Talmud contains many details of tefillin in Shabbath 28b.
Yeshua followed the oral law when he read the Torah in the synagogue in:
| Ur 4:14-20 14Then Yeshua returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17And He was handed the book of the prophet Yesha’yahu. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. |
Yeshua read this portion of the Haftorah:
| Yesha’yahu 61:1-2 1The spirit of my Lord HASHEM God is upon me, because HASHEM has anointed me to bring tidings to the humbled; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for captives and release from bondage for the imprisoned, |
This is the exact Haftorah portion for the third Sabbath of Cheshvan in the third year of the triennial cycle of Torah readings:
Torah: D’varim 15:7 — 16:17
(7th year rules — Pilgrimage feasts)
Haftorah: Yesha’yahu 61:1-2
(Freedom for the captives, sight for the blind...)
| Mizmor 131:1-3 1A song of ascents, by David. HASHEM , my heart was not proud, and my eyes were not haughty, nor did I pursue matters too great and too wondrous for me. 2I swear that I stilled and silenced my soul, like a suckling child at his mother's side, like the suckling child is my soul. 3 Let Israel hope to HASHEM from this time and forever. |
The oral law says:
| Talmud — Mas. Megilah 29b The following was then cited in objection: ‘If it [the New Moon of Adar] falls on the portion next to it [the portion of Shekalim], whether before or after, they read it and repeat it’. Now this creates no difficulty for one who holds that ‘When thou takest’ is read because [the regular portion containing this passage] falls about that time. But according to the one who says that ‘My food which is presented to ‘me’ is read — does [the portion containing that passage] fall about that time? — Yes, for the people of Palestine, who complete the reading of the Pentateuch in three years. |
So, we know that Yeshua followed the oral law in His reading and in His fulfillment of the scripture. Now lets see how Sha'ul followed the oral law in this regard:
| Acts 19:8 8And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. |
If Sha'ul was allowed to speak in the synagogue, he would have had to observe many parts of the oral law. He would have read the Torah according to the triennial Torah cycle. He would have lain his tefillin and worn his Tallis. These articles could only have been made in accordance with the oral law because the manufacture of these items is not described in the written Torah.
At the Passover Seder: How did Yeshua know that he was to dip? How did He know to take cups of wine? The answer is found in the Mishna in Pesachim 10.
| Mattit'yahu 26:20-30 20When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. 21Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” 22And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” 23He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” 25Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.” 26And as they were eating, Yeshua took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” 30And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. |
A Sabbath day's journey is not found in the TaNaKh, yet it is clearly part of the oral law:
| Acts 1:4-12 4And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Yisra'el?” 7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Yeshua, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” 12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. Talmud — Mas. Eiruvin 42a R. Nahman stated in the name of Sh’mu’el: If a man was walking and did not know where the Sabbath limit ended he may walk a distance of two thousand moderate paces; and this constitutes for him the Sabbath limit. |
Oral Law Used as Authoritative to Support Teachings
Sukkot Water Libation (m. Sukkot 4:9) was obviously going on when Yeshua said these words:
| Yochanan 7:37-38 37On the last day, that great day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” |
What does this Succoth event have to do with Oral Law? The water libation ceremony which Yeshua identifies himself with is from the Oral Law (m. Sukkot 4:9) not the written.
The Mishna has this to say about the water libation:
| (Succah 4, Mishna 9) The water-libation; How so? A golden flagon holding three log was filled from the pool of Shiloah. When they arrived at the Water Gate they sounded a prolonged blast, (and) a quavering note, and a prolonged blast. He went up the ramp and turned to his left where there were two silver bowls. R. Juday says, They were of plaster, but their surfaces were blackened because of the wine. And they each had a hole like a narrow spout, one wide and the other narrow, so that both were emptied out together, the one to the west was for water and that to the east for wine. If one emptied out that for the water into the one for wine or that for wine into the one for water, it is valid. R. Judah says, With one log they could carry out the libations all the eight days. To him who performed the libation they used to say, ‘Raise thy hand!’, for on one occasion he poured it over his feet and all the people pelted him with their citrons. |
Ruling on Circumcision vs. Sabbath conflict (Shabbat 18:5-19:5)
| Yochanan 7:21-23 21Yeshua answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. 22Moses 23If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?” |
Abel's Sacrifice of higher quality than Cain's (Talmud story)
| Hebrews 11:4 4By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. |
Yesha’yahu was martyred by sawing in half, as recorded in the Talmud (b.Yeb. 49b).
| Hebrews 11:32-40 32And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Sh’mu’el and the prophets: 33who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36Still others had trial of mocking and scourging, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—<">38of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, <">40God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. |
The well of Miriam that provided water in the wilderness (B’midbar Parashah Chukkat 20:1b-2a).
| Corinthians Rishon 10:1-6 1Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah. 5But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. |
ORAL LAW Supported in the Apostolic Writings
Sha'ul never did anything against the CUSTOMS OF OUR FATHERS [halachah]. This would have included obedience to the oral law:
| Acts 28:16-17 16Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Sha'ul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. 17And it came to pass after three days that Sha'ul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romiyim,” |
Sha'ul states he has kept the customs of the Jews. Strong's number for the word translated "customs" is #1485. Thayer's definition is a "custom or a usage prescribed by law, institute, prescription or rite." From a Jewish point of view, he is talking about the Oral Law.
At the end of his life, Sha'ul reiterates that he has not done anything against the law of the Jews. The Jews considered the oral and the written law to be of equal validity:
| Acts 25:8 8while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the Temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.” |
The Oral Law provides the details or fine points of how to perform a Commandment. The Oral Law will not be found in Torah. An example would be how to keep the Sabbath. God says, “do no work” on the Sabbath, with no further explanation (Sh’mot 20:10). It was up to the leaders to define "work." Defining what "work" is would be an example of the Oral Law. Moses also received these Oral Laws (D’varim 5:30-31) as well as the Written Torah at Mount Sinai.
Sha'ul did NOT teach against the halachah.
| Acts 21:17-26 17And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18On the following day Sha'ul went in with us to Ya'akov, and all the elders were present. 19When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20And when they heard it, they glorified HASHEM . And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; 21but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. 23Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. 24Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. 25But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.” 26Then Sha'ul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the Temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them. |
Sha'ul taught oral law to goyim.
| Thessalonians Shaynee 2:15 5Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. |
The Greek word translated as "traditions" is paradosis, a word which refers to the Jewish traditionary law. Sha'ul is writing to Gentile cities, Corinth and Thessalonica. He is addressing synagogues that included many Gentiles. Notice that he particularly mentions traditions that were delivered by "word of mouth" or by "letter".
What instructions did Sha'ul give regarding dealings with people who did not keep the "traditions" or Oral Law:
| Thessalonians Shaynee 3:6 6But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Adonai Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. |
You guessed it. Again the word for traditions is the same, Strong's #3862.
| Corinthians Rishon 5:6-8 6Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8Therefore let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. |
Sha'ul makes it clear he not only kept the Written Law but the Oral Law as well:
| Corinthians Rishon 11:1-2 1Imitate me, just as I also imitate Messiah. 2Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. |
Strong's number for the word translated "traditions" is paradosis. Thayer's second definition states:
2b) of the body of precepts, especially ritual, which in the opinion of the later Jews were orally delivered by Moses and orally transmitted in unbroken succession to subsequent generations, which precepts, both illustrating and expanding the written law, as they did were to be obeyed with equal reverence.
What does Sha'ul say to Believers about those who try to prevent people from observing the traditions of the Jews?
| Romiyim 16:17 17Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. |
Have we not learned what Sha'ul has been teaching? Is it not the traditions and laws of the Jews? Beware of those who state the Law is dead. Keep away from them.
Sha'ul, in his second letter to Timothy, quotes from the oral law to name those who opposed Moses:
| Timothy Shanee 3:8-9 8Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith; 9but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. |
The Torah records this incident, but it does not name the names:
| Sh’mot 7:11-12 11Pharaoh, too, summoned his wise men and sorcerers, and they, too, — the necromancers of Egypt — did so with their incantations. 12Each on cast down his staff and they became snakes; and the staff of Aaron swallowed their staffs. |
In the Talmud we have this note:
| Talmud — Mas. Menachoth 85a ALL [OFFERINGS] MUST BE OFFERED FROM THE CHOICEST PRODUCE etc. Yonaha and Mamre said to Moses, ‘Wouldst thou carry straw to Hafaraim?’ He answered them, ‘There is a common saying. "Bring herbs to Herbtown".’ |
Sha'ul remained a Pharisee (in favor of Oral Law) as a believer.
| Acts 23:6 6But when Sha'ul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” |
Sha'ul kept all the Law, but perhaps most importantly, he told the people to follow his example as he follows the Messiah's example, verse 1. Does not the Messiah have to be a Torah-observant Jew? If he was not an observant Jew, then he would be disqualified from being the Messiah. Since the Messiah was observant and Sha'ul followed his example, then Sha'ul was instructing all Jews, whether they believed Yeshua was the Messiah or not, to keep the Law. This is the Messiah's example. Keep in mind that Sha'ul stated this after Messiah's death. Sha'ul is misunderstood repeatedly because he wrote in Jewish terms and at a high level of presumptive understanding. Sha'ul wrote with the assumption that the person reading his letter knows Written and Oral Torah.
Yeshua endorsed Pharisaic teaching (Oral Law).
| Mattit'yahu 23:1-3 1Then Yeshua spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.” |
Yeshua apparently attached great importance to the Oral Torah (unwritten in his day), and it seems he considered it to be authoritative. When he admonished his disciples to “do and observe everything they [the scribes and Pharisees] command you” he was referring to the Pharisees' oral traditions and interpretations of the Written Torah. The Written Torah itself could not have been in question, for it was accepted by all sects of Judaism. Notice that Yeshua is giving this command just days before He is to die by the hands of the court of Pharisees!
Basic History of the Oral Law Authority
Moses is burdened day and night making Oral Law rulings, HASHEM relieves this burden by setting up a council of 70 Elders who have the authority of Moses.
| Sh’mot 18:13-24 13It was on the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood by Moses from the morning until the evening. 14The father-in-law of Moses saw everything that he was doing to the people and he said, “What is this thing that you do to the people? Why do you sit alone with all the people standing by you from morning to evening?” 15Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to seek God. 16When they have a matter, one comes to me, and I judge between a man and his fellow, and I make know the decrees of God and His teachings.” 17The father-in-law of Moses said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18You will surely become worn out 19Now heed my voice, I shall advise you, and may God be with you. You be a representative to God4 and you convey the matters to God. 20You shall caution them regarding the decrees and the teachings, and you shall make known to the them the path in which they should go and the deeds that should do. 21And you shall discern from among the entire people, men of accomplishment, God-fearing people, men of truth, people who despise money, and you shall appoint them leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. 22They shall judge the people at all times, and they shall bring every major matter to you, and every minor matter they shall judge, and it will be eased for you, and they shall bear with you. 23If you do this thing God shall command you.” 24Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law, ad did everything that he had said. B’midbar 11:16-17 B’midbar 11:24 D’varim 17:8-13 |
Council of Elders replaces itself with a king. Under the 70 Elders HASHEM was king.
| Sh’mu’el Rishon 8:4-6 4All the elders of Israel then gathered together and came to Sh’mu’el, to Ramah. 5They said to him, “Behold! You are old, and your sons did not follow your ways. So now appoint for us a king to judge us, like all the nations” 6It was wrong in Sh’mu’el's eyes that they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” and Sh’mu’el prayed to HASHEM . |
Upon the return from the exile, Ezra re-establishes the council of Elders. They make Halachic decisions.
| Ezra 7:24-28 24We also declare to you that concerning all the Kohen'im and the Levi'im, the singers and gatekeepers, the Nethin'im and whoever serves in this Temple of God — it shall not be lawful to impose upon them any levy, tax or duty. 25And you, Ezra, in accordance with the Divine wisdom that you possess, shall appoint judges and magistrates who will judge all the people who are in the Trans-Euphrates region; [appoint] men who know the Law of your God and the law of the king, judgment shall be swiftly executed against him, whether to be put to death or to be uprooted or to be punished with loss of property or with imprisonment. 27“Blessed be HASHEM God of our forefathers, Who has put such [thoughts] in the heart of the king, to glorify the Temple of HASHEM that is in Jerusalem. 28Who extended kindness to me from before the king and his counselors and all the kings powerful officers!” I then strengthen myself, in accordance with whatever the hand of HASHEM my God, gave me the ability to do, and I assembled leaders from Israel to ascend with me. Ezra 10:10-17 12The entire congregation then called out and exclaimed in a loud voice, “It is true! We must do as you say! 13But there are many people, and it is the rainy season and there is no strength to remain outdoors. This is not a task for one-day or for two days, for we have sinned abundantly in this matter. 14Let our chiefs now remain with the entire congregation, and let all those in our cities who have taken in alien wives appear at designated times, accompanied by the elders and judges of each city, until we cause the burning wrath of God to recede from us, until this matter [is resolved].” 15Only Johathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah stood against this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levi supported them. 16The people of the exile did so. Ezra the Kohen and the distinguished men who were the heads of the families — all of them renowned — separated themselves and convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17They finished dealing with all the men who had taken in alien wives, by the first day of the first month. |
At time of Yeshua the council still exists and Yeshua endorses it:
| Mattit'yahu 5:21-22 21You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not kill Sh’mot 20:13, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ <">22But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Mattit'yahu 23:1-3 |
Note that Mattit'yahu 23:3 is a quote from:
| D’varim 17:9-10 9You shall come to the Kohen'im, the Levi, and to the judge who will be in those days; you shall inquire and they will tell you the word of judgment. 10You shall do according to the word that they will tell you, from that place that HASHEM will choose, and you shall be careful to do according to everything that they will teach you. |
Yeshua gives Oral Law authority to his Talmidim, probably the 70, and they utilize it to make Halachah decisions (Acts 15)
| Mattit'yahu 18:15-18 15Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘according to two witnesses or according to three witnesses shall a matter be confirmed.’ D’varim 19:15 <">17And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.<"> 18Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Ur 10:1 Acts 15:1-2 Acts 15:19-21 |
What is the oral law? The Encyclopedia Britannica will give us some insights.
THE AGE OF THE TANNAIM (135-c. 200): The Making of the Mishna
Although the promulgation of an official corpus represented a break with Rabbinic precedent, Judah's Mishna did have antecedents. During the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, Rabbinic schools had compiled for their own reference collections in which the results of their exegesis and application of Scripture to problematic situations (Midrash, "investigation" or "interpretation"; plural Midrashim) had been recorded in terse legal form. By 200 CE several such compilations were circulating in Jewish schools and were being utilized by judges. While adhering to the structural form of these earlier collections, Judah compiled a new one in which universally accepted views were recorded alongside those still in dispute, thereby largely reducing the margin for individual discretion in the interpretation of the law. Although his action aroused opposition, and some rabbis continued to invoke their own collections, the authority of his office and the obvious advantages of a unified system of law soon outweighed centrifugal tendencies, and his Mishna attained quasi-canonical status, becoming known as "The Mishna" or "Our Mishna." For all its clarity and comprehensiveness, its phraseology was often obscure or too terse to satisfy all needs, and a companion known as Tosefta ("Additions") was compiled shortly thereafter in which omitted traditions and explanatory notes were recorded. Since, however, neither compilation elucidated the processes by which their decisions had been elicited, various authorities set about collecting the midrashic discussions of their schools and recording them in the order of the verses of Scripture. During the 3rd and 4th centuries the tannatic Midrashim on the Pentateuch were compiled and introduced as school texts. Fundamentally legal in character, this literature was designed to regulate every aspect of life--the six divisions of the Mishna on agriculture, festivals, family life, civil law, sacrificial and dietary laws, and purity encompass virtually every area of Jewish experience - and, accordingly, also recorded the principal Pharisaic and Rabbinic definitions and goals of the religious life. One tract of the Mishna, ("Sayings of the Fathers"), treated the meaning and posture of a life according to Torah, while other passages made reference to the mystical studies into which only the most advanced and religiously worthy were initiated; the activities of the Merkava, or divine "Chariot," and the doctrines of creation (see below). The Rabbinic program of a life dedicated to study and fulfillment of the will of God was thus a graded structure in which the canons of morality and piety were attainable on various levels, from the popular and practical to the esoteric and metaphysical. Innumerable sermons and homilies preserved in the midrashic collections, liturgical compositions for daily and festival services, and mystical tracts circulated among initiates all testify to the deep spirituality that informed Rabbinic Judaism.
Copyright (c) 1995 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Mishna
The Mishna is divided into six orders (sedarim), each order into tractates (massekhtot), and each tractate into chapters (peraqim). The six orders are: Zera'im, Mo'ed, Nashim, Neziqin, Qodashim, and Tohorot.
Zera'im ("Seeds") consists of 11 tractates: Berakhot, Pea, Demai, Kilayim, Shevi'it, Terumot, Ma'aserot, Ma'aser sha'ni, Halla, 'Orla, and Bikkurim. Except for Berakhot ("Blessings"), which treats of daily prayers and grace, this order deals with laws related to agriculture in Palestine. It includes prohibitions against mixtures in plants (hybridization), legislation relating to the sabbatical year (when land lies fallow and debts are remitted), and regulations concerning the portions of harvest given to the poor, the Levi'im, and the priests.
Mo'ed ("Season" or "Festival") consists of 12 tractates: Shabbat, 'Eruvin, Pesahim, Sheqalim, Yoma, Sukka, Betza, Rosh Hashana, Ta'anit, Megilla, Mo'ed qatan, and Hagiga. This order deals with ceremonies, rituals, observances, and prohibitions relating to special days of the year, including the Sabbath, holidays, and fast days. Since the half-shekel Temple contribution was collected on specified days, tractate Sheqalim, regarding this practice, is included.
Nashim ("Women") consists of seven tractates: Yevamot, Ketubbot, Nedarim, Nazir, Sota, Gittin, and Qiddushin. This order deals with laws concerning betrothal, marriage, sexual and financial relations between husband and wife, adultery, and divorce. Since Nazir (ascetic) and other vows may affect marital relations, Nedarim ("Vows") and Nazir ("Nazirite") are included here.
Neziqin ("Damages") consists of 10 tractates, the first three of which were originally considered one (the Bava qamma, Bava metzia, Bava batra, Sanhedrin, Makkot, Shevu'ot, 'Eduyyot, 'Avoda zara, Avot, and Horayot. This order deals with civil and criminal law concerning damages, theft, labor relations, usury, real estate, partnerships, tenant relations, inheritance, court composition, jurisdiction and testimony, erroneous decisions of the Sanhedrin, and capital and other physical punishments. Since idolatry, in the literal sense of worship or veneration of material images, is punishable by death, 'Avoda zara ("Idolatry") is included.
Avot ("Fathers"), commonly called "Ethics of the Fathers" in English, seems to have been included to teach a moral way of life that precludes the transgression of law
Qodashim ("Sacred Things") consists of 11 tractates: Zevahim, Menahot, Hullin, Bekhorot, 'Arakhin, Temura, Keretot, Me'ila, Tamid, Middot, and Qinnim. This order incorporates some of the oldest Mishnaic portions. It treats of the Temple and includes regulations concerning sacrifices, offerings, and donations. It also contains a detailed description of the Temple complex.
Tohorot ("Purifications") consists of 12 tractates: Kelim, Ohalot, Nega'im, Para, Tohorot, Miqwa`ot, Nidda, Makhshirin, Zavim, tevul yom, Yadayim, and 'Uqtzin. This order deals with laws governing the ritual impurity of vessels, dwellings, foods, and persons, and with purification processes.
Copyright (c) 1995 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. All Rights Reserved
THE AGE OF THE AMORAIM
THE MAKING OF THE TALMUDS
(3RD-6TH CENTURIES)
The promulgation of the Mishna initiated the period of the amoraim (lecturers or interpreters), those teachers who made the Mishna the basic text of legal exegesis. The curriculum now centered on the elucidation of the text of the standard compilation, harmonization of its decisions with extra-Mishnaic traditions recorded in other collections, and the application of its principles to new situations. The records of these amoraic studies have been preserved in the form of two running commentaries on the Mishna known as the Palestinian (or Jerusalem) Talmud ("Teaching") and the Babylonian Talmud, reflecting the study and legislation of the academies of the two principal centers of Jewish concentration in the Roman and Persian empires of that time. (Talmud is also the comprehensive term for the whole collections, Palestinian and Babylonian, containing Mishna, commentaries, and other matter. The principal agencies mediating the rabbinic way of life and literature to the masses were the schools, ranging from the primary school to the advanced "house of study" and more formal academy (yeshiva), the synagogue, and the Jewish courts, which not only adjudicated litigations but also decided on ritual problems. Primary schools had long been available in the villages and cities of Palestine, and tannaitic law made education of male children a religious duty. Introduced at the age of five or six to Scripture, the student advanced at the age of 10 to Mishna and finally in mid-adolescence to Talmud or the processes of legal reasoning. Regular reading of Scripture in the synagogue on Mondays, Thursdays, the Sabbaths, and festivals, coupled with concurrent translations into the Aramaic vernacular and frequent sermons, provided for lifelong instruction in the literature and the values elicited from it. The amoraic emphasis on the moral and spiritual aims of Scripture and its ritual is reflected in their midrashic collections, which are predominantly homiletical (sermonic) rather than legal in content. An amoraic sermon conceded that of every thousand beginners in primary school only one would be expected to continue as far as Talmud. In the 4th century, however, there were enough advanced students to warrant academies in Lydda, Caesarea, Sepphoris, and Tiberias (in Palestine), where leading scholars trained disciples for communal service as teachers and judges. In Caesarea, the principal port and seat of the Roman administration of Palestine, where pagans, Christians, and Samaritans maintained renowned cultural institutions, the Jews, too, established an academy that was singularly free of patriarchal control. The outstanding rabbinic scholar there, Abbahu (279-320), wielded great influence with the Roman authorities and, because he combined learning with personal wealth and political power, attracted some of the most gifted students of the day to the city. In 350 the studies and decisions of the authorities in Caesarea were compiled as a tract on the civil law of the Mishna. Half a century later, the academy of Tiberias issued a similar collection on other tracts of the Mishna, and this compilation, in conjunction with the Caesarean material, constituted the Palestinian Talmud. Despite increasing tensions between some rabbinic circles and the patriarch, his office was the agency providing a basic unity to the Jews of the Roman Empire. Officially recognized as a Roman prefect, a government official, the patriarch at the same time delegated apostles to Jewish communities to inform them of the Jewish calendar and of other decisions of general concern and to collect an annual tax of a half shekel paid by male Jews for his treasury. As titular head of the Jewish community of the mother country and as a vestigial heir of the Davidic monarchy, the patriarch was a reminder of a glorious past and of a hope for a brighter future. How enduring these hopes were may be seen from the efforts to gain permission to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Although the emperor Julian (reigned 361-363) actually authorized the reconstruction, the project came to naught as a consequence of a disastrous fire on the sacred site and the subsequent death of the Emperor. The adoption Christianity as the religion of the empire had no direct effect on the religious freedom of the Jews; i.e., on their freedom to worship and observe their life rules. The ever-mounting hostility between the two religions, however, resulted in severe curtailment of Jewish disciplinary rights over their co-religionists, interference in the collection of patriarchal taxes, restriction of the right to build synagogues, and, finally, upon the death of the patriarch Gamaliel VI in 425, the abolition of the patriarchate and the diversion of the Jewish tax to the imperial treasury. Though Mediterranean Jewry was now fragmented into disjointed communities and synagogues, the principles of the regulation of the Jewish calendar had been committed to writing by the patriarch Hillel II, and this, coupled with the widespread presence of rabbis, ensured continuity of Jewish adherence. Even the emperor Justinian's (reigned 527-565) restrictions on synagogue worship and preaching apparently had no devastating effect. A new genre of liturgical poetry, combining ecstatic prayer with didactic motifs, developed in this period of political decline and won acceptance in synagogues in Asia Minor as well as beyond the Euphrates.
| JUDAIC TERM | GREEK WORD | KJV ENGLISH | STRONGS# | EXAMPLES |
| MISHNAH/GAMARA |
PARADOSIS |
TRADITION | 3862 | Mattit'yahu 15 Mark 7 Galatiyim 1:4 Thessalonians Shaynee 2:15;3:6 |
| AGGADAH | PARABOLAY | PARABLE | 3850 | Mattit'yahu 13; 15:15 |
| MIDRASH | ALLEGOREO | ALLEGORY | 238 | Galatiyim 4:24 |
| HALACHAH | ETHOS | CUSTOMS | 1485 | Acts 21:21; 28:17 |
| HALACHAH | HODOS | WAY | 3598 | Mattit'yahu 22:16 Yochanan 14:6 Acts 18:25-26; Acts 22:4 |
COMMENTS:
It's "Nit picking."-— This is the problem of Christianity, when a disagreement arises they start a new Sect! In Judaism we have an open forum and air out the issue in an orderly manner, preserving unity... I prefer "Nit picking" to Sectarianism any day. We either care about HASHEM 's Word (Torah) or we don't. If we care then its not "Nit picking", if we don't care, then that is a problem in itself.
The Talmud was penned by those who rejected Messiah.-— True to an extent, though Ya'akov the Min, the Judge of b.Shab.116a and Nakdimon (Nicodemus) were believers, and Gamliel was somewhat open minded about it... Regardless the Talmud is not inspired, just a reasonably correct account of the Oral Law.
Some say that the Oral Law made some drastic change between the close of the Apostolic Writings (c. 100 CE) and the Mishna (c.200 CE). — There is no evidence of this, the accounts we have of the Pharisees from the Apostolic period (those made by Josephus) match up quite well with those made in the fourth century by Epiphanius! Epiphanious even said in the fourth century, well AFTER the Mishna was penned, that the Nazarenes were exactly like the other Jews except for the acceptance of Yeshua as Messiah. (Nazarenes = Messianic Jews).
The Apostolic Writings show that Yeshua condemned the practices of the Pharisees. True, but, only their practices, because of hypocrisy, just as He will do to the rest of the congregation... He was very careful to endorse Pharisaic teaching as opposed to Pharisaic actions, as we saw in Mattit'yahu 23:2-3.
The Oral Law is valid, but its authority is superseded by the Written Law.
Is the Oral Law inerrant? Yes and No... just as with scripture, the original autograph is inerrant, but copied manuscripts contain variation. The same is true of the Oral Law, but since the Oral Law is more vulnerable to corruption than the written Law, the written is therefore more authoritative.
Rabbinic Commentary on the Talmud
...did so under the spiritual influence of an Orthodox Rabbi, who considers the Talmud not ONLY SECONDARY TO THE SCRIPTURE but believes, as a Jew should, that the Talmud was given unto Moses orally on Mount Sinai together with the Bible; as the Talmud states (Volume I, page 12 En Ya'akov, Aggadah Of The Babylonian Talmud).
Know that it is your duty to understand that whoever propounds a certain theory or idea and expects that theory or idea to be accepted merely out of respect for the author without proving its truth and reasonableness pursues a wrong method prohibited by both the Torah and human intelligence...According to this preamble, then, we are not in duty bound to defend the opinions of the sages of the Talmud, concerning medicine, physics and astrology, as right in every respect simply because we know the sages to be great men with a full knowledge of all things regarding the Torah, in its various details...
Moses Kibayle Torah M'Sinai.........
Moses RECEIVED (kibayle) TORAH FROM SINAI AND TRANSMITTED IT (u'm'sa-ra) TO Y’hoshua, AND Y’hoshua TO THE ELDERS, AND THE ELDERS TO THE PROPHETS, AND THE PROPHETS TRANSMITTED IT TO THE MEN OF THE GREAT ASSEMBLY.
- The beginning of the first Mishna begs for some understanding. If the purpose of the statement above is to tell us the location it should have said AT or ON Sinai, a very definable place. Why the use of the word 'from'?
We are not interested in "location" here; our concern is a relationship, which the word 'from' connotes. We are emphasizing the resource from whence these ethics derive. They are God given; they stem from the same source as all the other religious laws. They have the same validity as the laws of Shabbos, Kashrut, Family Purity (Taharas Hamishpa-cha) because they were given to Moses by God on Sinai. This is fundamental!
True, the human mind is rational and one can argue that even if we were not given the ethical laws on Sinai, a decent human being would perforce observe them nonetheless. Who could justify killing? Who could justify stealing, cheating? Who cannot see the 'morality' of honoring father and mother or helping the poor? It's axiomatic!
We offer two responses:
The Torah view is that even what we accept axiomatically as 'good' and 'evil' is something that HASHEM implanted in us. This idea is expressed in the Midrash (B'rayshis Rabbah 2:5)
Rebbe Abavhu said: At the beginning of the world's creation, The Holy One, Blessed be He, gazed at the deeds of the righteous and at the deeds of the wicked....The world was 'tohu v'vaohu' (B’reshit 1:3) refers to the deeds of the wicked. ... and God said “Let there be light” refers to the deeds of the righteous. But still I would not know which of them He desires....the deeds of these of the deeds of those. However, once Torah writes...“And God saw the light that it was Good” (B’reshit 1:4)...it is the deeds of the righteous that He desires and He does not desire the deeds of the wicked.
Who could justify killing?!? Look at the holocaust. It happened. A society created a new 'morality' where genocide became acceptable, where selection based on racial qualities was the ideal, and where dishonor to parents, by spying and reporting on them to authorities became the norm. Look at the Socratian concept of 'Justice is in the interest of the stronger' and Hobbes' 'dog eat dog' pessimism about human nature, and you question how inviolate some of our basic concepts of 'good' and 'evil' are.
The Mishna establishes that ethics are from Sinai, and are absolute. Man has no authority to tamper with it lest he destroy himself and the world.
The messages and the codes of conduct what will be henceforth taught are not arbitrary, man-made rationalizations.
- As a corollary, having acknowledged God's authorship of Ethics, it follows that Fear of Heaven must precede the study of Torah. Later in the Mishna we learn that...he whose fear of Heaven and fear of sin precedes his study of Torah...his Torah will be sustained. But he whose study of Torah is not predicated on fear of Heaven, his Torah will dissipate. There are teachers of ethics in the universities whose lives have double standards.....one in the classroom and the other on the outside......both in opposition. One who is truly enveloped by Torah is a whole personality and his life by example as well as precept is the message.
There is an interchange of terms in the Mishneh. It speaks of Moses "receiving" and then "transmitting" to Y’hoshua, to the elders, the prophets, etc.
Why the change in format? It could have stated either that each one "received" or each generation "transmitted".
The message here is that the Torah that Moses received from HASHEM , by its very nature of having been given by God, is infinite in quantity and depth. No human can fathom its intensity. Notwithstanding what HASHEM was prepared to transmit to Moses, Moses could only receive what he, as a human, was capable of receiving.
Having received the Torah from HASHEM , Moses could then transmit it to the next generation, ad infinitum.
The Torah recognizes the finiteness of man and suggests that the "understanding" of Torah is something that each individual will attain in different measure according to his capacity. The "fulfillment" of the Mitzvahs of the Torah, however, are independent of a complete understanding of their infinite nature and value. Can a finite mind comprehend the infinite wisdom?
The term 'kibayl', 'received' suggests something which he earned. Indeed, this is hinted at by the use of this word. There is a famous Midrash which describes Moses' ascent onto Mt Sinai, and engaging in a debate with the angels about HASHEM 's granting the Torah to Yisra'el. The angels argued before God: Who is Man that you find him worthy to receive such a Divine document? How can You give such a Godly document to flesh and blood?
Moses parried their argument:....Do you have need of a Torah? You are angels; by definition, you have no desires, no lusts no avarices. What would you do with the commands 'Do not steal', 'Do not murder', 'Do not commit adultery'? YOU don’t need Torah!......The function of Torah is to purify man and to elevate him out of the flesh and blood men Tallis. The function of Torah is to show man that his soul is a part of HASHEM , and to strive for communion with HASHEM ... by living in an ethical and G-d fearing way.
Moses won! He "received" the Torah.
(Question: What was the presumption of the angels in claiming the Torah for themselves? They knew its contents could never apply to them)
Moses received Torah from Sinai. The chronology of that event is as follows:
After having heard the Asseres Hadibros, the Ten Commandments from Sinai, Moses ascended onto the mountain and remained there for 40 days and nights. The Torah describes that he ate no bread nor drank no water.
WHAT DID Moses DO ON SINAI FOR 40 DAYS AND NIGHTS ? ? ?
He received the Torah on Sinai. Now this can't be the Written Torah, as we know it as the Five Books of Moses, since we know that some mitzvot, like Shabbos, were given prior to Sinai, and most were recorded after the event at Sinai. There is a debate in the Talmud as to whether the Torah was written all at one time by Moses, or section by section throughout the 40 year trek through the desert.
But one thing is certain that the text of the Written Law was "not" given on Sinai, with the exception of the Ten Commandments, which were oral and which were then given to Moses engraved by HASHEM in stone. So, the question "what" was given to Moses on Sinai during those 40 days?
Moses received the Oral Law on Sinai. The Oral Law is the basis for the Written Law. Without the Oral Law, the Written Law, that what we all see in the Hold Ark in the synagogue, is meaningless. The Written Law is merely a set of cryptic notes, symbols, shorthand abbreviations for a more expansive, fundamental and complete system of a blueprint for the world and life<">.
Let me illustrate. The basis for our liberty in these United States is the Constitution. Can a short concise document like the Constitution contain all the laws that cover every facet of a nation's life? It is absurd to think so. It is a compendium of all the values upon which our freedoms and rights are built. It abstracts the values of the Torah, the Magna Carta, and the vision of our founding Fathers. It is a blueprint which guides the designers and the builders of the nation in each generation.
In effect, then, the Written Torah is an abstract of a fuller expanded gift that HASHEM gave Yisra'el, the Torah sh'b'al Peh, the Oral Law. The Oral Law is the underpinnings of the Written Law and by its very nature of being a Weltanschaung, it could not be frozen in stone or parchment.
This study was written by Greg Killian.
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
24620 Russell Road P204
Kent, WA. 98032
Internet address: gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://members.aol.com/gkilli/home/
253-850-6169
Further Proofs of the Oral Torah
1 B’reshit 2:17. Since Adam lived to the age of nine hundred and thirty, it is clear that he was not to die as soon as he ate the fruit. Rather, he would become subject to death.
2 Vayikra 23:27. The word<"> אַ, but, always implies a limitation. Atonement is available to those who repent, but not to those who ignore this opportunity to earn forgiveness (Rashi). You shall afflict it the Torah’s term for fasting.
3 B’midbar 15:38. One of the strings of each fringe is to be dyed turquoise with the blood of an aquatic creature known as chilazon (Rashi). The exact identity of the creature that is the source of this blue dye is unknown nowadays.
4 Sh’mot 18:19-22. New Judicial System. Though conceding that only Moses could serve as the intermediary between God and Israel and teach them the general laws of the Torah, Jethro suggested a system of delegated authority for the adjudication of disputes.
5 B’midbar 11:16. In response to Moses’ complaint that he could not carry on alone, God commanded him to select seventy elders who would constitute a Sanhedrin.
6 D’varim 17:8-13. Though differences of opinion are inevitable, it is so important to establish the authority of the Sages that the Torah imposed the death penalty on a judge who rules against the decision of the Great Sanhedrin.
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