Oral Torah

The Oral Torah is the body of interpretive teachings developed to explain and apply the written Torah. In Hebrew it is called Torah she-beʿal peh (תורה שבעל פה), meaning “Torah transmitted by speech.” These teachings include explanations of commandments, interpretive methods, and discussions of daily practice and were preserved through memorization and instruction before being recorded in rabbinic literature. The Oral Torah is central to defining Rabbinic Judaism, since it provides the interpretive framework through which the written Torah is understood, practiced, and sustained after the loss of the temple-based system.