In Judah ha-Nasi …the centuries a body of Oral Law had developed. In order to preserve this tradition, Judah spent some 50 years in Bet Sheʿarim sifting the Oral Law, which he then compiled into six orders dealing with laws related to agriculture, festivals, marriage, civil law, the temple service, and ritual purity.… Read More
Greek philosophy
In Judaism: Philo Judaeus …had some knowledge of the Oral Law, which was developing in his time, and he also knew of the Essenes, whom he praised highly. Read More
Karaism
In Karaism …Jewish religious movement that repudiated oral tradition as a source of divine law and defended the Hebrew Bible as the sole authentic font of religious doctrine and practice. In dismissing the Talmud as man-made law substituted for the God-given Torah, Karaism set itself in direct opposition to Rabbinic Judaism. Read More
Pharisees
In Pharisee …on the binding force of oral tradition (“the unwritten Torah”) remains a basic tenet of Jewish theological thought. When the Mishna (the first constituent part of the Talmud) was compiled about 200 ce, it incorporated the teachings of the Pharisees on Jewish law. Read More
recitation
In Jewish religious year: Pilgrim festivals …passages from Scripture and the Oral Law (Mishna) compiled in the late medieval period. An expanded liturgy includes Hallel, public readings from the Torah, yizkor (in many congregations), and musaf. The Book of Ruth is read at the synagogue service, possibly because of its harvest-season setting. Read More
Sadducees
In Sadducee For the Sadducees, the Oral Law—i.e., the vast body of postbiblical Jewish legal traditions—meant next to nothing. By contrast, the Pharisees revered the Torah but further claimed that oral tradition was part and parcel of Mosaic Law. Because of their strict adherence to the Written Law, the Sadducees acted… Read More
