בס”ד
13 Principles of Torah-based Faith that were enumerated by Rambam (Maimonides):
Principel 8. I fully believe that all of the Torah [the Written and the Oral Torah], as we possess it today, was given to Moses by G-d.1
Belief in the Torah
Jews and Noahides believe that G-d gave both the Written and Oral Torah to Moses. The “Written Torah” was transcribed by Moses “from the mouth of the Almighty” is contained within the Torah scroll wich includes the first five books of the Tenach, also known as the Chumash . Along with the Written Torah, the Oral Torah was also given by G-d to Moses at Mount Sinai
Commandments without details
However, most of the commandments in the Written Torah are not detailed. For example, Jews are commanded to pray with tefillin. Tefillin are special boxes and straps placed on the head and arm, as the Torah says in Deuteronomy 6:8:
| 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. | ח וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת, עַל-יָדֶךָ; וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת, בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ. |
But the text does not specify how the tefillin should look, how they should be made, or what texts they should contain. For this, we are dependent on the Oral Torah.
Another example is found in Leviticus 23:3:
| 3 Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; ye [the Jews] shall do no manner of work; it is a sabbath unto the L-RD in all your dwellings | ג שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן מִקְרָא-קֹדֶשׁ, כָּל-מְלָאכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ: שַׁבָּת הִוא לַד’, בְּכֹל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם |
Although the text clearly states that Jews may not work on Shabbat, the Written Torah does not specify what constitutes ‘work’. To define this, we need to see what we can find about that in the Oral Torah.
The Role of the Oral Torah
In Exodus 24:12 lezen we:
| 12 And the L-RD said unto Moses: ‘Come up to Me into the mount and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them | יב וַיֹּאמֶר ד’ אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, עֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה–וֶהְיֵה-שָׁם; וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת-לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן, וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה, אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי, לְהוֹרֹתָם. |
Why did G-d add the word “commandment”? Are there commandments not included in the Torah? The Sage explains that “law” refers to the Written Torah and that “commandment” refers to the Oral Torah.2
In Leviticus 26:46 it is written:
| 46 These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the L-RD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. | מו אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, וְהַתּוֹרֹת, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן ד’, בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל–בְּהַר סִינַי, בְּיַד-מֹשֶׁה. |
In this verse, we see that the word “Torah” is written in the plural, “Torot.” Rashi explains it as follows:
“The plural is used because there are two Torahs:) one in writing and one by word of mouth (the Oral Law). This verse therefore tells us that all (both) of them were given by G-d to Moses on Sinai.”
These verses (among others) clearly indicate the existence of the Oral Torah. The “Oral Torah” includes the traditions handed down from Sinai but not initially put in writing, as we read in Pirkei Avot 1:1, and these traditions were passed on orally from Moses to Jozua, from Jozua to the elders[4] , from the elders to the prophets, until eventually, part of it was written down by Judah the Prince. (see: the Chain of Transmission of the Oral Torah3) This was done out of fear that the Oral Torah would be lost during the Diaspora. This chain of transmission also includes the interpretations and rulings formulated by the sages of each generation.
The Need for Oral Tradition in a practical example for Noahides
What people sometimes forget, because their Tenach, translated into English or another language, includes both vowels and consonants, is that the Torah was originally written only with consonants. This means that a word with, for example, four consonants, depending on which vowels are added, can have different meanings. For instance, the Hebrew word ספר (s-f-r), with different vowels, can have different meanings:
- סֵפֶר (sefer): “book” or “scroll.”
- סָפַר (safar): “to count” or “to recount.”
- סִפֵּר (siper): “to tell” or “to relate.”
Thus, understanding the Torah fully requires an oral tradition. This principle is illustrated in a story where a gentile approached Hillel, asking to be converted on the condition that he would only learn the Written Torah, as he did not believe in the Oral Torah. Hillel converted him and began teaching him the alphabet. The next day, Hillel deliberately changed the order of the letters. When the gentile questioned this, Hillel explained that just as he relied on Hillel to learn the alphabet, he must also rely on the Oral Torah to fully understand the Written Torah.4
Furthermore, the 7 Noahide laws are not explicitly listed in the Tanach. Instead, the enumeration of these laws as we know and use them today is derived from the Oral Torah, as detailed in Sanhedrin 56a. This illustrates the crucial role of the Oral Torah in fully understanding and interpreting both the Written Torah and the Noahide laws.
The Denial of the Torah and the Belief of Pious Noahides
The Rambam writes in the Mishneh Torah (Hilchot Teshuva 3):
“There are three individuals who are considered as one “who denies the Torah”:
a) one who says Torah, even one verse or one word, is not from G-d. If he says: “Moses made these statements independently,” he is denying the Torah.
b) one who denies the Torah’s interpretation, the oral law, or disputes [the authority of] its spokesmen as did Tzadok and Beitus.
c) one who says that though the Torah came from G-d, the Creator has replaced one mitzvah with another one and nullified the original Torah, … Each of these three individuals is considered as one who denies the Torah.”
Pious Noahides must believe in this principle, because only non-Jews who accept the Seven Commandments as given by the Holy One, blessed be He, and made known through Moses at Mount Sinai are considered pious Noahides and merit an eternal portion in the World to Come.5
By Angelique Sijbolts
With thanks to Rabbi Tuvia Serber for his feedback
- See also The 13 Principles of Faith of Rambam on Mishnah Sanhederin 10:1:25
- Berakhot 5a
- See also The Divine Code by Rabbi Moshe Weiner 4e edition Introduction footnote 19 on p. 40-41
- Paraphrasing Shabbat 31a
- Rambam, Laws of Kings, 8:11
Texts: Mechon-Mamre
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