Source from the Written Torah for the Oral Torah
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Question
Why is it not explicitly stated in the Tanakh that there is an Oral Torah, but only small hints?
Answer
Hello,
A. It is explicitly stated in the Torah (Deuteronomy 17:8-13):
(8) If a matter arises that is too difficult for you to judge, between blood and blood, between judgment and judgment, and between affliction and affliction, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses: (9) And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment: (10) You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses, and you shall be careful to do according to all that they instruct you: (11) According to the law which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you: (12) Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die, so you shall put away the evil from Israel: (13) And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously:
The Torah clearly states here that there will be matters for which you will need to go to the sages of each generation, and they will tell you what the law is. Not everything can be seen in the Written Torah.
B. The Torah is full of commandments that are not detailed. For example, 'and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand.' What to bind, from what it will be made, where to bind, etc. Or 'and they shall make for themselves fringes,' what is this, from what it is made, how it looks, etc.
All this shows to anyone who studies that the Torah provides general rules based on the details that were spoken orally somewhere. It does not expect you to understand everything from the written text.