Lead Tidbit
The Inseparable Partners
The following can fit for many sedras of the Torah, but the opening topic of Matot lends itself to reiterating a point that has been made often in Torah Tidbits over the years.

The Mishna in Yoma spends many chapters presenting the procedures for the Yom Kippur service in the Beit HaMikdash. The opening chapter tells us that the Kohen Gadol was taken from his private home and isolated in the Beit HaMikdash complex for seven days before Yom Kippur. Among the many things that occupy his time during the pre-YK week, is a seemingly strange event that the mishna describes. Representatives from the Sanhedrin teach and/or review the details of Avodat Yom HaKippurim with the Kohen Gadol, who will be doing most of the day's service on his own.

The representatives of Sanhedrin administer an oath to the Kohen Gadol that he will faithfully carry out all the myriad of details of the Yom Kippur service as they have taught him. When they part company, says the mishna, they cry and the Kohen Gadol cries. Why do they cry? And why did they have to make the Kohein Gadol swear?

During the time of the second Beit HaMikdash, there were times when a Kohen Gadol was an appointee of the Greek authorities, rather than one selected by the "proper" methods of selection. Often, the appointed KG was suspected of being a Tzedoki (a sect that most often follows the literal meaning of the Torah, rejecting the definitions, explanations and rulings of the Oral Law). These appointments were made to cause friction between the Sanhedrin and the Beit HaMikdash leadership. By requiring an oath, the Sanhedrin were guaranteed that the KG will perform the Avoda as should be done. Would not a Tzedoki make changes according to his sect's rulings? Not if he took an oath. Without a commitment to the Oral Law, and following the literal wording of the Written Torah, there is no way out of an oath. Even if the oath was made under duress. Even if the "heart and the lips" were never in agreement. Even with regret. For all of the problems with Tzedokim in general, and a Tzedoki Kohein Gadol in particular, if he says the words of an oath, he is duty-bound to keep them. The Sanhedrin could rest easy that the Kohein Gadol would faithfully follow the exacting demands of halacha in the performance of the Avoda on Yom Kippur.

He cried and they cried because he was suspected of being a Tzedoki, eve if he wasn't. It was a very sad situation that existed at the time.

But the point of this example is this: Torah is comprised of two equal parts - the Written Word, Torah she'bichtav, and the Oral Law, Torah she'b'al peh. If one accept the former and reject the latter, gross distortions of the Truth of Torah result. In this example, it is important to keep one's word and not violate a vow. It says that in the Written Torah. It is equally true that one can, in certain circumstances, nullify his vows. It says this in the Oral Law. Neither is more important than the other. The first doesn't work without the second.

We (men) are commanded to bind T'filin on our arms and place them on our heads, between our eyes. T'filin are made of leather. They are to be black. They contain four specific portions from the Torah. The are to be positioned on the arm and head in very specific ways. How do we know anything more than "Wear T'filin"? The answer is the Oral Law.

The mishna in Chagiga states that Hatarat Nedarim "floats in the air" and has no textual support. But it is no less part of the body of halacha because of the lack of a chaper and verse to anchor it to.

Acceptance, belief, in the twin aspects of Torah is crucial to authentic Torah Judaism.

It is prohibited by Torah law to make Beef Stroganoff with real sour cream and real beef. This is so even if the cow whose milk was used to make the cream is totally unrelated to the cow whose beef is being used for the recipe. The Written Word says, "in its own mother's milk". The Oral Law teaches us that the prohibition is more inclusive. This is NOT a Talmudic or Rabbinic extension of the Torah Law. This is DEFINITION of the Torah Law courtesy of the Talmud, the embodiment of the Oral Law as given by G-d to Moshe and from Moshe to his and the next generation, and so on along the Chain of Tradition that teaches us today and will continue to teach our children and children's children forever. The Talmud is this, and a lot more.