The Jewish G0-TO Resources, The Oral and The Written Law

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

Our tradition is that over the 40 years, Moses, who led the Israelites and others out of Egypt, took 40 years to go from Egypt to Canaan, and while traveling wrote the 5 Books of Moses that make up our Torah.  That would be Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  Is is said that G-d spoke to him and he wrote what he heard.                                        

We have the tradition of interpretation and analysis  of this Written Law and this was handed down orally from generation to generation.  This held great importance, emphasized by the tradition that it contained words given to Moses on Mt. Sinai together with the Written Law.  

Later, during the 2nd Temple Period (586 BCE-70 CE) the ancient Oral Tradition was upheld by the Pharisees and supported by the majority  of the population.  It was not recognized by other sects, the Sadducees and the Essenes, which is very interesting.  Why? 

They had their own traditions on how to interpret lines of the Written Law.  These sects disappeared after the destruction of the Temple, so the view of the Pharisees won national acceptance .  

Pharisees avoided contact with other people, especially as they had rules to follow about eating.    It was a religious and political party during the 2nd Temple period.  Many people were ignorant of the Law or simply lost the need to practice it and so the Pharisees tried to  influence these uneducated.  The Sadducees had strong control in the Temple.  They were socially different as well.  The Sadducees were incapable of adapting to their changing environment while the Pharisees were lenient in their interpretations, accepting the principle of evolution.  Essenes were on the scene at the end of the 2nd Temple period, close to the Pharissee thinking with their own beliefs and customs that were very structured.  They outdid orthodox Jews today of their do's and don'ts.  One thing I admire is that they opposed animal sacrifice and believed in the immortality of the soul.  What is difficult about them was that celibacy was practiced and common. 

The Oral Law was studied in the various Academies that sprung up.  The various schools had their own style of teaching;  some teaching the Oral Law as a commentary on the relevant section of the Written Law; while others  in a systematic and topical arrangement.  Of course, each teacher gave his own interpretation. 

The Grand Sanhedrin had 71 members (45 rabbis and 26 lay members.  On March 9, 1807 they met with David Sintzheim, president, rabbi of Strasbourg,, and adhered to the civil code -subject to the general demands of Judaism.   

Sometimes they even used the Sanhedrin to decide between the conflicting opinions.  Usually, the majority of votes was accepted, but the rejected viewpoints were also taught theoretically.  

As time went by, people recorded privately, (no tape recorders or computers then) parts of the Oral Law which they feared might be forgotten.  A complete outline, known as the Mishnah, included earlier versions, was compiled by Rabbi Judah HaNasi (135-220 CE ) and became the basis for study.           

The discussion of these laws, remained oral and was only recorded several centuries later,, and was called the Talmud (GEMARA).  After the redaction of the Talmud, study time centered around the written text, but it was still known as the Oral Law because its roots lie in the oral tradition.  The Talmud is the comprehensive written version of the Jewish oral law and the subsequent commentaries on it. It originates from the 2nd century CE. The word Talmud is derived from the Hebrew verb 'to teach', which can also be expressed as the verb 'to learn'.

 Shlomo Yitzchaki,(1040-1105)  today generally known by the acronym Rashi, was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on the Hebrew Bible.               

                             Karaites

During the Gaonic Period of intellectual leaders found in Babylonia that had 2 major academies, the Harvards of the time, Sura and Pumbedita.  

The Karaites, a Jewish sect of the 8th century BCE in and around Persia,  rejected the Oral Law and denied the validity of the Talmud.

 Karaites once occupied their own separate quarter in Cairo—adjacent to the rabbinic Jewish quarter—with its population estimated at 5,000 as of 1948. Karaites still exist today. The community in Israel is estimated at more than 30,000 and is concentrated around Ashdod and Ramla. Some small communities exist outside Israel; many of those residing in eastern Europe consider themselves ethnically distinct from other Karaite Jews.                    

        Chabad honored Alan Dershowitz 

My assumption is that many of these men had high I.Q.s and a photgraphic memory to be able to remember things passed down orally.  Otherwise, they would have had a mess as played in the game of TELEPHONE.  Maybe we're slipping in losing such a gift, though some men such as Alan Dershowitz and my friend, Victor Sharpe display they could have fit right in the group.  

Today our Stone Edition Tanakh contains comments and by who at the end of pages.  I have my parent's 1st set of the Pentateuch and Haftorahs of 2 volumes with one side in Hebrew and the other in English with many more comments taking up more of each page.  

In schools in New York, students learn that who said it, like Rashi, is just as important as what the comment was.  The idea that Reed College professes of WHAT'S YOUR SOURCE follows the Oral tradition.  

Resource;

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Karaism