When G-d Gave the Torah to the Jews at Mount Sinai – He gave two Torahs:
The Written Torah – the 5 books of Moses.
The Oral Torah – the explanation of the Written Torah.
Initially the Oral Torah was passed down through the generations from Father to Son, from rabbi to student. For generations, it was learned by-Heart. To assure the proper transmission, the rabbis decided to write it down. Now the Oral Torah is known as the Talmud.
Examples why the Oral Torah / Talmud is Necessary:
The Torah says “Put a sign upon your arm and between your eyes.” What does that mean?
We learn in Talmud that it means “Wearing Tephillin.” How it is constructed and how to wear it is not explained in the 5 Books of Moses.
How do you wear something that is not described in the text? It must mean that there other information that accompanied the giving of the Torah. This is the Talmud.
It says “Do not steal” – several times. The Torah is not redundant – so why mention it more than once?
There are many seemingly extra words in the Torah? Why? The Torah is not redundant.
The Torah says – “Do not boil a Kid (Goat) in its mother’s milk several times.” Why? We said the Torah does not Use extra words.
The Torah says “You should take a beautiful fruit, the leaves of dates, branches of the stream, etc.” what does this mean?
Other religions cannot explain the answers to you. The Talmud explains the answers to everyone of these questions.
Just like you need a key to open a door you need the Talmud to explain what the Torah means.
The Talmud is also a proof of the veracity of Judaism’s explanation of the Torah.
How?
You are a Judge.
Ten people claim a certain castle belongs to them. The castle is empty inside. How do you determine who is the owner?
Answer:
See who has the keys to the castle.
The Talmud is the key to understanding the Torah. The Jews are the only ones who accept the Talmud as the explanation of the Torah. We are the only ones who have the key to the Castle.
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