Law given to Moses at Sinai explained

A law given to Moses at Sinai (Hebrew: הלכה למשה מסיני|Halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai) refers to a halakhic law for which there is no biblical reference or source, but rather was passed down orally as a teaching originating from Moses at Sinai. Such teachings have not been derived from any Talmudical hermeneutics, but known solely from the Jewish tradition.[1]

Status

According to Rabbinic Judaism, God transmitted the Torah to Moses in two parts: the written Torah which comprises the biblical books of Genesis through Deuteronomy, and the Oral Torah which was relayed orally, from Moses to his successors, to their successors, and finally to the rabbis.[2]

In rabbinic discourse, a "law given to Moses at Sinai" refers to a law which has no source in the written Torah, and thus must have been transmitted orally since the time of Moses.[3] These laws are nonetheless considered by the Talmud to have the force and gravity of biblical law as if they are written explicitly in the Torah.[4]

In a few cases, however, later commentaries say that the law in question is "not literally" (לאו דווקא) from Sinai.[5] According to some, even a rabbinic law may be called "from Sinai" if it is "as clear as a law from Sinai".[6] R' Reuvein Margolies suggested that any law created by the Sanhedrin could be termed "from Sinai", since the institution of the Sanhedrin has its origins at Sinai.[7]

In those oral teachings delivered by Moses unto Israel at Sinai, the rabbis have said that their underlying motives cannot be properly divulged through study, nor is it permissible to raise an objection against them by way of one of the hermeneutical principles applied in study, as they are always peremptory edicts, precluding or not admitting of debate or question.[8]

Examples

Some examples of a law given to Moses at Sinai are as follows:

Sometimes, the dictum denotes an established, ageless tradition not derived or derivable from the Written Law, but simply practised or observed by Israel since time immemorial, such as the following examples:

Maimonides, in the introduction to his commentary on the Mishna, provides a list of the laws given to Moses at Sinai.[31] They cover a wide variety of topics, including Tefillin manufacture, Shabbat prohibitions, shemitah, tithes, sexual prohibitions, and the structure of a Sukkah.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: מיקרופדיה תלמודית:הלכה למשה מסיני - ויקישיבה. www.yeshiva.org.il.
  2. [Mishna]
  3. Jewish law: history, sources, principles: Volume 1 Menachem Elon - 1994 "... entire Oral Law is that its principles and explanations were given at Sinai, why are only certain laws, and not others as well, referred to as "law given to Moses at Sinai"? The halakhic authorities and scholars have dealt at length .."
  4. Jacob Neusner Judaism when Christianity began: a survey of belief and practice 2002 Page 115 books.google.co.uk " (5) What the great sages teach is encompassed by the Torah revealed to Moses at Sinai, so that "a law given to Moses at Sinai" may include a proposition in no way articulated by the written part of the Torah."
  5. Bartenura on Yadayim 4:3; Kesef Mishna on Hilchot Matnat Aniyim 6:5
  6. [Asher ben Jehiel|Rosh]
  7. http://beta.hebrewbooks.org/20976 Yesod HaMishna VeArichata
  8. [Babylonian Talmud]
  9. [Babylonian Talmud]
  10. [Babylonian Talmud]
  11. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  12. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  13. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  14. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  15. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  16. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  17. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  18. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  19. [Babylonian Talmud]
  20. [Babylonian Talmud]
  21. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  22. [Babylonian Talmud]
  23. [Babylonian Talmud]
  24. [Babylonian Talmud]
  25. [Babylonian Talmud]
  26. [Babylonian Talmud]
  27. [Jerusalem Talmud]
  28. [Mishnah]
  29. [Mishnah]
  30. [Mishnah]
  31. Web site: Rambam Introduction to the Mishnah 8:25. www.sefaria.org.