A Popular Dictionary of Judaism
The oral interpretation of the *Written Law. Among *Orthodox *Jews, it is believed that both the written and the oral law were given to *Moses on *Mount Sinai. Originally, however, the oral law was rejected by the *Sadducees.
It was studied in the *academies and collected together and recorded by *Judah haNasi in the *Mishnah. Oral commentary on the Mishnah was recorded in the Babylonian and Palestinian *Talmuds. The *Karaites rejected the authority of the oral law although it has remained the main subject of study in the *yeshivot to this day. Among *progressive Jews who reject the belief in the absolute *God-given authority of *Torah, the oral law is less studied. (See also *MISHNAH, *TALMUD, *TORAH, *WRITTEN LAW).
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