The Puzzle of the Oral Law

One of the most fundamental Jewish dogmas is the belief in the Oral Torah: that vast body of unwritten knowledge that the Talmud and other ancient rabbinic works claim to record. In the traditional understanding, God imparted this knowledge to Moses along with the Pentateuch at Mount Sinai, although it is abundantly clear from the Talmud’s own testimony that the Oral Torah also includes rabbinic innovation, interpretation, and disputation. There is no clear consensus—not among haredi rabbis and not among academic scholars—about how these various parts fit together. Nor is this a problem solely for the Orthodox, as other denominations, whatever their positions on revelation, look to the rabbinic corpus for wisdom and inspiration.