Shabbat Forshpeis
A Taste of Torah in Honor of Shabbat
PARSHAT RE'EH
THE BASIC NEED FOR ORAL LAW
AUGUST 13-14 2004/ 27 AV 5764
By Rabbi Avi Weiss
This week's portion-according to many commentators, including
Rashi--makes it clear that God's words to the Jewish people were not all recorded in the ones found in the Torah. We are told in this parsha, "and you shall slaughter as I've commanded you." (Deuteronomy 12:21) One would expect the details of how to slaughter to be spelled out-after all God says "as I've commanded you." Yet, nowhere in the Torah are the specifics of how to ritually slaughter mentioned. It follows then that the details, as our text indicates, were spelled out by God, although they're not found anywhere in the Torah text.
This is not the only place where this phenomenon occurs. The Torah, for example, states "observe the Sabbath day." (Deuteronomy 5:12) Yet, the specifics of how to observe the Shabbat are not found in the Torah.
All this points to a divine aspect of the Torah that was given alongside the written text, this is known as the Torah she-be'al peh, the Oral Law. Additionally, not only were many of God's words transmitted orally, but also the words of our sages were designated to be passed through the oral tradition. This begs a fundamental question: Why was there a need to have an oral transmission--why wasn't it all written down? Several answers come to mind.
Ironically, transmission of ideas through the generations is more exact through the oral legacy. Once written, especially in ancient times when very few copies existed, it was easy for one scribe to tinker with texts and change them, whether purposefully or not. For this reason, many forms of contemporary law, are not written down.
Another possibility: Had everything been written down, it would have sent the message that rabbinic law is closed and that the process of interpretation had come to a halt. The oral transmission sent the message that rabbis in each generation, basing themselves on the earlier text and principles of developing the law, could continue to evaluate and contribute to an understanding in their own particular times.
One last thought. Had everything been written down, a rebbe, a teacher of Torah would have been unnecessary-after all, it's all in the book. The oral transmission made a rebbe, a living person who could teach and lead by example, indispensable. Ultimately, such personalities are necessary for Torah to be sustained.
In time, however, the Jewish community was no longer capable of remembering the oral dictates, and hence, we were left with no choice but to commit the oral law to writing. The challenge, even as we study the oral law from a written text, is to recognize why it was, at first, not put to paper-to remember the precision of the law, that it is ongoing, and it requires a rebbe, a living role model, to teach it. Through both avenues; through the oral and the written, the Torah of God remains dynamic and alive.
Rabbi Avi Weiss
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