What Is the Oral Law?

Many people find themselves intrigued by the beauty and wisdom of the Written Torah, but they hit a wall when it comes to the Oral Law.

They ask:

• What is the Oral Tradition?

• Why should I trust the Rabbis?

• How could ancient sages possibly relate to life today?

Let’s explore these questions honestly and clearly.

1. What Is the Oral Torah (Torah SheBaal Peh)?

When G-d gave us the Torah at Sinai, it came with two parts:

• The Written Torah (Torah SheBichtav) — the text we see in the Chumash.

• The Oral Torah (Torah SheBaal Peh) — the living transmission that explains how to understand and fulfill it.

The Oral Law was never meant to be fully written down. Even when it eventually was (as the Mishnah and Talmud), it was deliberately written in shorthand to preserve its dynamic, teacher-student chain of transmission. Without it, the Torah would be abstract — unreachable.

The Oral Law grounds the Torah in real life. It’s not just theory. It’s how we become walking Torahs — bringing Divine wisdom into our day-to-day choices.

2. Why Can’t I Just Stick to the Written Torah?

Great question.

Take a look at the Chumash. You'll find G-d tells us to:

• Wear “Totafot” between our eyes

• Not to “work” on Shabbat

• Slaughter animals “as I commanded you”

But nowhere in the text does it define:

• What “Totafot” means (hint: it’s Tefillin)

• What counts as “work”

• How to slaughter an animal

If we only had the Written Torah, we’d be completely lost. It's like getting blueprints without instructions. The Oral Law is the instruction manual.

To deny the Oral Torah is to accept that G-d gave us a law we couldn’t possibly follow — and that’s not the G-d Judaism believes in.

3. Can’t I Interpret the Verses Myself?

Interpreting Torah isn’t guesswork or poetic license.The Rabbis didn’t make it up. They used an ancient system of interpretation rooted in:

• 13 Hermeneutic Principles

• Deep grammar rules

• Precise use of language

• Cross-referencing verses

Their analysis wasn’t arbitrary — it was rigorous, disciplined, and consistent.

You wouldn’t perform surgery without training. Interpreting Torah requires the same care and humility.

4. What Is Halacha?

Halacha — Jewish law — comes from the word “to walk.” It’s the roadmap for Jewish living.

Halacha lifts us beyond emotion, mood, or whim. It gives us structure when we’re inspired, and stability when we’re not.

It’s not meant to stifle — it’s meant to elevate.

“G-d gave us Halacha as a gift — a way to bring even mundane life into holiness.”

And within Halacha, there’s still vast room for personal creativity, individuality, and depth.

5. Why Must I Keep Rabbinic Laws (Mitzvot D’Rabbanan)?

Because G-d Himself told us to.

“According to the law they instruct you… you shall not deviate from what they tell you.”— Devarim/Deuteronomy 17:11

G-d empowered the Rabbis to create safeguards and enact laws that would preserve Torah in every generation. These weren’t casual rules — they were debated rigorously, often for generations, before being enacted.

Rabbinic laws aren’t optional. They’re part of the system G-d designed.

6. What Makes Someone a Rabbi?

Technically, a rabbi is someone who has been tested and ordained (semicha) in core areas of Jewish law. But beyond knowledge, a true rabbi lives and breathes Torah — with sincerity, humility, and integrity.

Many great sages never had formal ordination. What mattered most was their wisdom, character, and dedication to truth.

7. How Can Ancient Rabbis Speak to My Modern Life?

Let’s be real: the Sages didn’t have smartphones or Spotify. But they understood something much deeper — the human soul.

Technology changes. Human nature doesn’t.

The Sages dealt with love, power, temptation, justice, anger, anxiety, and meaning — all the same things we struggle with now. And their wisdom has endured because it speaks to the eternal questions of life.

8. But They Didn’t Know About Electricity, Cities, or the Internet…

That’s true. But the principles they taught — spirituality, self-mastery, ethical living, holiness in the mundane — are timeless.

They created a system flexible enough to evolve, yet grounded enough to remain unshaken. And their rulings weren’t guesswork. They studied psychology, nature, languages, and philosophy — and many of them were prophets or operated with Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration).

When they set up fences around commandments, it was to protect our souls, not to control us.

Imagine a priceless glass bowl near the edge of a table. What did the Sages do? They moved it to the center — so even if the table is bumped, it won’t fall.

That’s what Rabbinic decrees are. They preserve holiness in a fragile world.

Final Thought: A Living Torah for a Living People

The Oral Law is not a burden. It’s a bridge — linking G-d’s wisdom to our lives.

Without it, Torah would be a closed book. With it, it becomes a living conversation — one that began at Sinai and continues through you.

“These are not just words; they are your life.”— Deuteronomy 32:47

Don’t settle for partial truth. Embrace the whole Torah — both the written and the living — and become part of its eternal story.