Oral law

(Heb. Torah she-be'al-peh). Judaism's code of law as recorded in rabbinic literature, based primarily upon rabbinic interpretation of the Written Law found in the Pentateuch. The talmudic sages stated, as a principle of Judaism, that the Oral Law, which was to be transmitted by oral teaching from master to disciple, was communicated to Moses by God at Mount Sinai simultaneously with the Written Law. This was based upon their interpretation of the verse (Ex. 24:12): "The Lord said to Moses, Come up to Me to the mountain and I will give you the stone tablets and the Torah and the Commandment which I have inscribed to instruct them." R. Simeon Ben Lakish said, "This verse is to be understood as follows: 'the stone tablets' refer to the Ten Commandments; 'and the Torah' refers to the Pentateuch; 'and the Commandment' refers to Mishnah; 'which I have inscribed' refers to the Prophets and the Writings; 'to instruct them' refers to Gemara; teaching that all were given to Moses at Sinai" (Ber. 5a). The term Torah, originally applied to the Pentateuch, was later commonly used to cover the entire Written Law together with the Oral Law.

Ongoing interpretation of the written code was a necessity, in light both of the concise nature of the Written Law and changes in circumstances over the centuries. For example, the Written Law prescribes: "You shall not do any work on the Sabbath" (Ex. 20:10); the Oral Law had to define precisely which "work" constitutes a violation of this injunction. As new situations arose, the expounders of the Oral Law, the ḥakhamim or Sages, would apply a particular ruling (halakhah) which then became an integral part of the Oral Law .

In the course of time, the content of the Oral Law grew. The changes in Jewish life---from Babylonian Exile to Return to Zion to renewed Exile---necessitated further interpretation of the basic Written Law, as well as the adoption of new regulations for exigencies unanticipated in that code. This proliferating process began in the days of Ezra (mid-5th cent. BCE), described as "a Scribe [sofer] expert in the Torah of Moses" (Ezra 7:6), who "expounded" the Written Law ("Ezra set his heart to expound [li-derosh] the Torah" (Ezra 7:10)). From this verb is derived the term Midrash, the method employed by the sages to infer from Scripture the rulings (halakhot) which comprise the Oral Law. These halakhot were designated divré soferim, "the pronouncements of the Scribes," and were given the status of biblical law. Indeed, the sages had to avow, "The pronouncements of the Scribes are far more precious than the words of the Bible" (TJ, Pe'ah 2:6 (17a)). This assertion was made to counter the contention of the Sadducees that there is no biblical sanction for the Oral Law.

The Oral Law also includes rulings of rabbinic origin not derived from the expounding of Scripture, such as the observances commanded by the sages for the holidays of Purim and ḤANUKKAH, and the kindling of CANDLES on Sabbath and festival eves. The sages added other rulings: some to ensure the observance of biblical law, known as GEZERAH; others "for the welfare of society," known as TAKKANAH. Also included in Oral Law are certain practices which arose as a matter of community CUSTOM, known as minhag.

The Oral Law is not a definitive code; it includes many diverse and even conflicting opinions. Concerning these the sages said, "All of them are the words of the living God" (Er. 13a). It was only through discussion and disputation that a definitive ruling (halakhah) could be established. HERMENEUTIC laws of deduction were established for this purpose.

During the period of the TANNAIM (c. 2nd cent. CE) several collections were made of rulings inferred from Scripture and appended to the relevant verses (midrash halakhah), in addition to collections handed down from previous scholars. By the beginning of the third century, halakhic opinions had become so scattered among the various scholars that R. JUDAH HA-NASI decided to gather them and arrange them according to subject-matter in six major divisions (shishah sidré mishnah). The result was the Mishna, the basic text of the Oral Law. Several disciples of R. Judah gathered tannaitic opinions not included in the Mishnah, in a collection called the TOSEETA. All the opinions assembled in these collections formed the basis of further discussions of the AMORAIM in the academies of Erets Israel and Babylonia. By the beginning of the sixth century these discussions were collected and edited in the Jerusalem and Babylonian TALMUDs. These, particularly the latter, became in turn the basis of further discussion in the following centuries (in fact, to this day).

The subsequent literature of the Oral Law can be divided into the following categories: NOVELLAE (ḥiddushim) and TALMUD COMMENTARIES; Codes such as the Mishneh Torah of MAIMONIDES and the SHULḤAN ARUKH with their commentaries (see codification); RESPONSA (teshuvot) to halakhic queries. Another category of compositions in the medieval period was arranged according to the 613 biblical COMMANDMENTS derived by the rabbis from the Written Law.

Refusal to accept the Oral Law and insistence on relyiing solely on the Written Law characterized various groups in Jewish history. The SAMARITANS accepted only the Pentateuch, while the Sadducees and ESSENES rejected the Pharisaic (rabbinic) tradition but had their own ways of interpreting the Written Law. The KARAITES (from the eighth century) relied solely on the Written Law without any subsequent interpretation. reform judaism, while not regarding the Oral Law as binding, has veered between respect and rejection. The more recent trend (for example in the responsa of Solomon freehof) has been to regard the Oral Law as a guide providing counsel and tradition but not authority. The official relevant body of the CONSERVATIVE movement, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, seeks to anchor its decisions on the Written Law although actual practice within Conservative congregations often deviates from halakhic tradition.

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