Very interesting I look forward to reading more. Some basic questions: (to be sure I understand this resource correctly)
Is this (what you linked to) a record of the entire Oral Law?
Was this written in the 12th century?
Do all (or at least most) Jews accept this as authoritative, equal to the Torah itself?
Was there anything written later, or is this the “final word” so to speak on what is the Oral Law?
Thank you in advance.
Moses was in supernatural contact with God for several periods of 40 days. He spent 40 years teaching others what God taught him BEFORE he left Torah scrolls as reminder notes. What Moses taught for 40 years before there were Torah scrolls is the heart of ‘Oral Law’. It’s called ‘oral’ because that’s how Moses first taught it, and its transmission must be via an acknowledged teacher.
Think about the attitude one would have toward someone who claimed to be a physician because they had read Harvard medical texts without have been trained there.
Other religions and secularists make up their own versions of Jewish history. Jews that remain Jews from generation to generation do not have an alternative to ‘Oral Law’.
“Do all (or at least most) Jews accept this as authoritative, equal to the Torah itself?”
You cannot observe any of the major Holy Days without the Oral Law.
After going through pretty much all the Jewish movements, I feel confident in saying that it’s up to the individual to perform mitzvot. Getting rid of the Oral Law completely would require reinventing the wheel all over again (yes, I know there are movements that want to do this).
Children must be raised with a Jewish education, or you’re depriving them of a happy life where they know how to make good decisions.
Watch “Srugim” on Amazon Prime if you have it.