Open Heart
Well-known member
This post is meant to be a helpful discussion for Christians who don't understand why "Bible Only" doesn't work. I realize that the majority of Christians in the world, who include the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican communities, do not go by the Protestant dogma of Sola Scriptura. However, I have found that the vast majority of Christians who post here in Carm are Protestant (meaning they believe in the 5 solas, i.e. sola scriptura and sola fide). For such, the idea of giving religious authority "to men" outside of the sacred texts can seem ridiculous, unthinkable. I hope this article will help them understand better why Jews have an oral tradition, contained in the Talmud, although I'm sure I will not convince anyone already comfortable in their beliefs.
Let me begin by saying that all law must be interpreted, whether it is God's law or civil law. In the US we have what is called case law. IOW, the laws that are passed by our government are not always clear in unique circumstances, and must be interpreted by how cases are won and lost in the courts. For example, Brown v. the Board of Education establishes that racial segregation cannot take place in the schools. It is not a "new law." It is an interpretation of the existing constitution.
In the same way, Oral Torah (which was eventually written up as the Talmud) contains a lot of case law, etc. The PRIMARY purpose of the Talmud is to make obedience to the Written Torah possible. Yes, these interpretations are given by men, but these men have been given their authority by God, and are not to be questioned.
Deuteronomy 17:8-13
8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose. 9 Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict. 10 You must act according to the decisions they you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. 11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left. 12 Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. 13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.
This verse completely demolishes the idea of sola scriptura. The Written Torah by itself can't work -- cases WILL arise where the answer is not obvious. Interpetation is needed in order for obedience to be possible. Allow me to give two examples.
The Torah says to rest from work on the seventh day, but it does not spell out what work is. This is made abundantly clear by the fact that even Christians cannot agree what it means. Some Chrisitan sabbath keepers believe it only means not going to work and getting paycheck. Others say it includes uncecessary work around the house like mowing your yard.
I have heard Christians say it should be up to the individual how they understand "work." The problem with that is that Israel functions as a people, especially back in time when the Torah functioned as the law of the land. You couldn't have one Jew say, "work means doing the dishes" and another Jew saying "work does NOT mean doing the dishes." Why? Because violating the sabbath was a CRIME, and so everyone had to agree what was and was not a violation of the sabbath.
And so the levites and sanhedrin (the seventy elders appointed by Moses and their successors) ruled on what was work. They saw that God stopped all work on the tabernacle on the shabbat. They examined all the labor that was involved in building the tabernacle from beginning to end, and divided those labors into 39 categories. These 39 Melachot (labors) are now the standard for what is forbidden on the Shabbat. You can examine them here: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/102032/jewish/The-39-Melachot.htm
Even the interpretations have to be interpreted. For example, just how far can you walk before it is work? Again, there must be agreement in order for violations to be prosecuted. There were elements of interpretation that were still being argued even in the day of Jesus. If you are hungry, and pick only to satiate your hunger, is that harvesting? One thing is very certain -- LIFE comes first. If someone's life is at stake, we are actually required to break the sabbath to save it. This is why, for example, it is okay for Jewish doctors to work in hospitals on the Sabbath.
Moving to my second example now: Shechita (the lawful slaughter of animals for meat). Deuteronomy 12:21 states … "you may slaughter of your cattle and of your sheep, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you....” These words indicate that God commanded that meat be slaughtered a particular way, but whatever this way is, it is not recorded in the written Torah. And you can't just ignore the fact that God gave a command, not if you are trying to be obedient. This manner of slaughter was, rather, passed on orally.
I won't go into the details of shechita, excpet to say that the shochet, or slaughterer, is highly trained. A sharp knife is used to sever the trachea and esophagus in one quick slice. The animal looses blood so quickly that they are unconscious in a matter of seconds, minimizing the pain and suffering of the animal. IOW shechita is designed to be the most compassionate way to slaughter.
But we wouldn't know what it is, without Oral Torah.
Now, I'd like to move into the next section, in which I will discuss Jesus' attitudes towards Oral Torah.
Matthew 23:1-3
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
From this verse we can gather two important points.
1. The Pharisees sit on Moses seat, meaning that they have that God-given authority to interpret Law that was given to the seventy elders and described above in Deuteronomy 17:8-13. Jesus does not do away with this authority. Rather he underscores it.
2. Do everything they tell you. Well, they tell us the Oral Torah in addition to the Written Torah. By saying "everything," Jesus is directing his followers to obey their teaching of the Oral Torah.
Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
In this passage, Jesus instructs the Pharisees to obey BOTH the the Written Torah AND the Oral Torah (the spice tax). The words "without neglecting the former" refers to the spice tax, which was an Oral understanding of the tithe laws.
Mattehw 23:5
Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
Deuteronomy 11:18
Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
In this Matthew passage, Jesus criticises the Pharisees for being ostentatious in their choice of Tefillin (the boxes containing scriptures from the Torah that are bound on the forehead and arm during prayers). But notice he never says to stop using Tefillin. Jesus accepted the Oral understanding of Deuteronomy 11:18.
Mark 7:1-2
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
In this passage, the Pharisees confront Jesus about the fact that some of his disciples are not washing their hands before eating. But notice that the Pharisees do not confront JESUS for it. Obviously, Jesus himself washed his hands. I think that this particular tradition was still in its infancy, still being debated, so that there were Jews who observed it, and Jews who did not. Jesus chose to observe it, even though it is not found in the Written Torah, but only in Oral Torah.
In summary, we have seen instances where Jesus himself observed Oral Torah, and taught both the Pharisees and his followers to observe Oral Torah. We have learned that having an Oral tradition is commanded by God himself. We have learned that such interpretations exist in order to make keeping the Written Torah possible. It's all something that Bible Only Christians should consider. Thank you for listening.
Let me begin by saying that all law must be interpreted, whether it is God's law or civil law. In the US we have what is called case law. IOW, the laws that are passed by our government are not always clear in unique circumstances, and must be interpreted by how cases are won and lost in the courts. For example, Brown v. the Board of Education establishes that racial segregation cannot take place in the schools. It is not a "new law." It is an interpretation of the existing constitution.
In the same way, Oral Torah (which was eventually written up as the Talmud) contains a lot of case law, etc. The PRIMARY purpose of the Talmud is to make obedience to the Written Torah possible. Yes, these interpretations are given by men, but these men have been given their authority by God, and are not to be questioned.
Deuteronomy 17:8-13
8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose. 9 Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict. 10 You must act according to the decisions they you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. 11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left. 12 Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. 13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.
This verse completely demolishes the idea of sola scriptura. The Written Torah by itself can't work -- cases WILL arise where the answer is not obvious. Interpetation is needed in order for obedience to be possible. Allow me to give two examples.
The Torah says to rest from work on the seventh day, but it does not spell out what work is. This is made abundantly clear by the fact that even Christians cannot agree what it means. Some Chrisitan sabbath keepers believe it only means not going to work and getting paycheck. Others say it includes uncecessary work around the house like mowing your yard.
I have heard Christians say it should be up to the individual how they understand "work." The problem with that is that Israel functions as a people, especially back in time when the Torah functioned as the law of the land. You couldn't have one Jew say, "work means doing the dishes" and another Jew saying "work does NOT mean doing the dishes." Why? Because violating the sabbath was a CRIME, and so everyone had to agree what was and was not a violation of the sabbath.
And so the levites and sanhedrin (the seventy elders appointed by Moses and their successors) ruled on what was work. They saw that God stopped all work on the tabernacle on the shabbat. They examined all the labor that was involved in building the tabernacle from beginning to end, and divided those labors into 39 categories. These 39 Melachot (labors) are now the standard for what is forbidden on the Shabbat. You can examine them here: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/102032/jewish/The-39-Melachot.htm
Even the interpretations have to be interpreted. For example, just how far can you walk before it is work? Again, there must be agreement in order for violations to be prosecuted. There were elements of interpretation that were still being argued even in the day of Jesus. If you are hungry, and pick only to satiate your hunger, is that harvesting? One thing is very certain -- LIFE comes first. If someone's life is at stake, we are actually required to break the sabbath to save it. This is why, for example, it is okay for Jewish doctors to work in hospitals on the Sabbath.
Moving to my second example now: Shechita (the lawful slaughter of animals for meat). Deuteronomy 12:21 states … "you may slaughter of your cattle and of your sheep, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you....” These words indicate that God commanded that meat be slaughtered a particular way, but whatever this way is, it is not recorded in the written Torah. And you can't just ignore the fact that God gave a command, not if you are trying to be obedient. This manner of slaughter was, rather, passed on orally.
I won't go into the details of shechita, excpet to say that the shochet, or slaughterer, is highly trained. A sharp knife is used to sever the trachea and esophagus in one quick slice. The animal looses blood so quickly that they are unconscious in a matter of seconds, minimizing the pain and suffering of the animal. IOW shechita is designed to be the most compassionate way to slaughter.
But we wouldn't know what it is, without Oral Torah.
Now, I'd like to move into the next section, in which I will discuss Jesus' attitudes towards Oral Torah.
Matthew 23:1-3
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
From this verse we can gather two important points.
1. The Pharisees sit on Moses seat, meaning that they have that God-given authority to interpret Law that was given to the seventy elders and described above in Deuteronomy 17:8-13. Jesus does not do away with this authority. Rather he underscores it.
2. Do everything they tell you. Well, they tell us the Oral Torah in addition to the Written Torah. By saying "everything," Jesus is directing his followers to obey their teaching of the Oral Torah.
Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
In this passage, Jesus instructs the Pharisees to obey BOTH the the Written Torah AND the Oral Torah (the spice tax). The words "without neglecting the former" refers to the spice tax, which was an Oral understanding of the tithe laws.
Mattehw 23:5
Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
Deuteronomy 11:18
Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
In this Matthew passage, Jesus criticises the Pharisees for being ostentatious in their choice of Tefillin (the boxes containing scriptures from the Torah that are bound on the forehead and arm during prayers). But notice he never says to stop using Tefillin. Jesus accepted the Oral understanding of Deuteronomy 11:18.
Mark 7:1-2
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
In this passage, the Pharisees confront Jesus about the fact that some of his disciples are not washing their hands before eating. But notice that the Pharisees do not confront JESUS for it. Obviously, Jesus himself washed his hands. I think that this particular tradition was still in its infancy, still being debated, so that there were Jews who observed it, and Jews who did not. Jesus chose to observe it, even though it is not found in the Written Torah, but only in Oral Torah.
In summary, we have seen instances where Jesus himself observed Oral Torah, and taught both the Pharisees and his followers to observe Oral Torah. We have learned that having an Oral tradition is commanded by God himself. We have learned that such interpretations exist in order to make keeping the Written Torah possible. It's all something that Bible Only Christians should consider. Thank you for listening.
