Oral Torah

Oral Torah is the body of Jewish teachings and interpretations traditionally understood to accompany the written Torah and transmitted across generations, later recorded in rabbinic works.

Written Torah: The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also called the Pentateuch or Torah. Oral Torah is traditionally understood as the interpretive teaching paired with this written text.
Sinai revelation: The biblical account of God revealing commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai. Rabbinic tradition traces the transmission of Oral Torah back to revelation at Sinai.
Mishnah: A foundational compilation of Jewish legal teachings redacted around the beginning of the third century CE. It is the earliest major written compilation of Oral Torah.
Karaism: A Jewish movement that rejects rabbinic Oral Torah as binding authority and emphasizes scripture. Karaism offers the clearest historical challenge to rabbinic claims about Oral Torah.
Torah: Jewish religious teaching and law, especially the Five Books of Moses and their interpretation. Oral Torah belongs to the broader Jewish concept of Torah.
Moses: The biblical prophet who leads the Israelites from Egypt and receives the Torah in Jewish tradition. The traditional chain of Oral Torah begins with Moses receiving and transmitting teaching.
Gemara: Rabbinic discussions and analysis of the Mishnah, compiled in the Talmuds. Its debates preserve layers of oral interpretation surrounding the Mishnah.
Rabbinic Judaism: The form of Judaism shaped by rabbinic interpretation, law, and institutions after the Second Temple period. Its authority structure treats Oral Torah as essential to interpreting Jewish scripture.
Halakha: The collective body of Jewish law governing religious practice and daily life. Oral Torah supplies interpretations and traditions that shape Jewish law.
Second Temple Judaism: The diverse forms of Jewish religion and society during the Second Temple period, from 516 BCE to 70 CE. Oral legal traditions developed within the Jewish communities and institutions of this era.

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