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But we, Israel, the children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov have a received tradition, as is known, that the Oral Torah includes not only the Talmud and the other works of our Sages which have already been written or printed. Rather, every explanation and virtuous practice which the people of Israel inherit from their parents or teachers, as long as it does not oppose the holy Torah, is considered part of the Oral Torah and our accepted traditions, and we are bound in it by the prohibition of “Do not stray.” (Devarim 28:14) [Examples] of this type [of tradition] are calling the letter shaped א “alef” and the letter shaped ב “bet” and so too all the letters, and the fact that lo means negation and that hen means affirmation, and that seven days after the [accepted] beginning of the week is considered to be Shabbat and sanctified as such. About all of these and the many things similar to them, the knowledge of which cannot emerge from books and are known only through tradition from our ancestors and teachers, we say that they are received from Moshe at Sinai through direct transmission. So, too, the explanation of the hue of techelet is known and clear to every child of Israel who attends school. When he learns in the Torah of Moshe the word “techelet” his teacher explains to him (blue wool), and the knowledge received from his teacher is acceptable knowledge. And so, we have a clear received tradition about the hue of the color techelet. And why should we involve ourselves with academic analyses which can neither help nor hurt? Even if a wise and brilliant person would come and enumerate proofs like sand against our received tradition it would be forbidden for us to listen to him, and we are warned agains this as part of the prohibition of “Do not stray.” |
