Torah and Jewish Idea > Torah and Jewish Idea
Questions about Judaism
Sox7:
Now, I am a Christian, so do not take this as offensive. It seems to me that it is absurd to say that the Oral Torah is the same kind of law as the Written Torah. If it were, it would have been written down back then. There's no point in leaving something to oral tradition and human memory when it can be written indelibly on parchment/papyrus/stone. There must be something different about it.
Kahane-Was-Right BT:
--- Quote from: Sox7 on November 23, 2010, 05:27:46 PM ---Now, I am a Christian, so do not take this as offensive. It seems to me that it is absurd to say that the Oral Torah is the same kind of law as the Written Torah. If it were, it would have been written down back then. There's no point in leaving something to oral tradition and human memory when it can be written indelibly on parchment/papyrus/stone. There must be something different about it.
--- End quote ---
True, there is something different. That difference is the whole point of Oral Torah, as opposed to the concept of Written Torah. It was meant to be flexible and allow the application of written Torah to new realities and situations that would present themselves and require adaptation. Since the written Torah is not entirely explicit about every single matter, this allows a range of flexibility and is where the oral Torah comes in to ensure that a pragmatic approach is selected and implemented by the group of sages whose responsibility it is to collectively teach the people, judge the cases, and spread the Torah wisdom since they are the experts in wisdom and devote themselves to developing their Torah knowledge.
Kahane-Was-Right BT:
Btw, Sox7, you can see from all this that argument is a key part of Jewish culture. ;D
muman613:
I found this discussion relevant to this thread:
http://www.pardes.org.il/online_learning/candy_questions/#oral
Oral Torah: Out of Whose mouth?
Was the Oral Law given to Moshe at Sinai?
This Essay was culled from and inspired by the Pardes 2001 "Philosophy of Halacha" class taught by Rabbi Levi Cooper..
Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam 1138-1204) highlights the importance of establishing the "entire" Torah as divinely transmitted in his "Thirteen Principles of Faith."
Principle number eight of the Rambam's list is paraphrased as follows: I believe with a complete faith that all of the Torah that we now have in our hands is that which was given to Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him. Establishing this principle does not answer but rather further emphasizes the importance of delving into the question of whether or not Moses received the Oral Torah as well as the written at Sinai. What does Rambam mean by the "entire" Torah?
There are many possibilities to explore in the realm of attempting to discern Rambam's definition of "entire." A few examples include:
1. The entire Oral Torah - as encountered by all future generations - was given at Sinai
2. Only a portion of the Oral Torah was given at Sinai, while a portion of Oral Toah was developed later in history.
3. Moses received all Oral Torah on Sinai, some of which was forgotten in ensuing generations, this lost transmission was later reconstructed.
4. Moses viewed all of the Oral Torah, but was not charged with transmitting its entirety.
5. Moses received all of Oral Torah and Written Torah; the Oral Torah was received in potential but not in actuality. The tools but not the text comprise the "entire" Torah received at Sinai (hence the potential for innovation was also possibly given at Sinai).
The First Chapter of Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers, 1:1) says: "Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, Yehoshua to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, the Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: be deliberate in judgement, develop many students and make a fence around Torah."
Moses received the Torah at Sinai, Was it both the Written and the Oral Torah? How much of the Torah? In generalities or in detail? Moses to Yehoshua, How much of what Moses learned did he transmit and in what detail? Yehoshua to the Elders, How much did he transmit and how much did he possibly forget? The Elders to the Prophets, How much did they forget? How much did they re-reveal? The Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly, How much did the Prophets forget? How much did the Prophets re-reveal? They said three things: be deliberate in judgement, develop many disciples and make a fence around Torah. Are these three sayings new teachings adding to knowledge transmitted or does this mean the Great Assembly was re-establishing three lost precepts?
The experience of exploring the question of what Moses did or did not receive at Sinai joins us, in the modern age, to the chain of transmission or "mesorah."
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[*] Previous page
Go to full version