Oral Torah, The

The Oral Torah has come a long way since it was orally transmitted to Moses atop Mount Sinai. But despite the long way, it remains unchanged at its core.

G‑d told Moses that he will give him "the Torah and the commandments." Why did G‑d add the word "commandments?" Are there any commandments which are not included in the Torah?

Moses received the Torah in the year 2448 after creation. Nearly 2000 years later, Rabbi Ashi and Ravina completed the Talmud. See the links in the transmission of the Oral Law from Moses until the completion of the Talmud.

Question: Many—if not most—of the customs and traditions that comprise “Judaism” are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Why can’t we just follow what’s written there? Really, isn’t it heresy to add on to G‑d’s word? Response: You can go ahead and just ...

Torah is a sharing of purpose, of intent, of the desire from which all that is emerges.

A chart which visually depicts the transmission of the Oral Law, from Sinai to the Code of Jewish Law.

Every translator grapples with two conflicting aims: to faithfully convey the content of the original, and to make it understood, attractive and "natural" in its foreign enclothment. How far to go? The Rebbe sees a precedent in the first Torah scroll ...

Miracles are a concession to the human need to see things from a different perspective in order to apprehend what they've already seen. Shavuot is when G-d believes in us enough not to indulge it

Shimon ben Shetach successfully completed the expulsion of the Sadducees (a sect which denied the Oral Torah and the authority of the Sages) who had dominated the Sanhedrin (Supreme Court), replacing them with his Torah-loyal Pharisaic disciples, on the ...

A four part lecture presenting the oral tradition: A well defined, efficient and structured system, as taught through the ages by our sages.