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Related: Was Malbim an innovator?

I was learning Rav Chaim Volozhin's Drasha for Selichos. Near the end he writes:

שאמרו דליכא מידי באוריתא דבע"פ דלא רמיזא באוריתא דבכתב

They said: there is nothing in the oral Torah that isn't hinted to in the written Torah

I'm curious what he is possibly quoting? What are the sources for this idea. I'm looking for as early as possible.

robev
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2 Answers2

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One source earlier than R. Hayyim Valozhiner is Ritva (Rosh HaShana 16a) who states precisely this:

וכל תורה שבע"פ רמוזה בתורה שבכתב שהיא תמימה

The entire Oral Law is hinted to in the Written Law, which is perfectly complete.

Another source which states this (before the 18th century) is the Shelah (Tol'dot Adam R'mazei HaOtiot Lahatimat HaHakdama):

כל תורה שבעל פה רמוזה בתורה שבכתב

The entire Oral Law is hinted to in the Written Law

A broader statement, that everything is hinted to in the Torah is made by R. Eleazar Rokeah in Sefer HaShem (p. 43):

ללמדך כי כל דבר רמוז בתורה אלא שנעלם מבני אדם

To teach you that everything is hinted to in the Torah, but it is hidden from people.

A similar sweeping statement is made by R. Nattan of Clermont (late 13th century) in his commentary to the haggada (published in Moriah 257-9 (5759)):

שכל הענינים רמוזים בתורה

All things are hinted to in the Torah.

The context is the praise of "barukh hamakom" praising God for giving the Torah, in conjunction with the statement that the Torah hints to the responses to four types of children.

mevaqesh
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  • Note also Rabbenu Bahya's comment that all the disciplines are hinted to in the Torah: ספר כד הקמח סוכה וכן שאר כל החכמות בלי ספק כלן רמוזות בתורה, ולכך נקראת תמימה שנא' (תהלים יט) תורת ה' תמימה ואלו היתה חסרת חכמה אחת מכל החכמות לא היה קורא אותה תמימה – mevaqesh Sep 25 '17 at 03:14
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The earliest source I believe, of which the above quote is a paraphrase, is TB (Ta'anit 9a):

מי איכא מידי דכתיבי בכתובי דלא רמיזי באורייתא

Oliver
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    That's referring to Kesuvim, Writings, not the Oral Torah. See Rashi ad loc. ולא רמזה - משה באורייתא שהחומש הוא יסוד נביאים וכתובים ובכולן יש סמך למצוא מן התורה: – robev Sep 24 '17 at 21:17
  • @robev You asked for "sources for this idea", and like I carefully wrote - it's a paraphrase. This is certainly the source for the idea. Else where you find similar quotes but this is the original source. See here then: https://he.m.wikisource.org/wiki/זהר_חלק_ג_רכא_א – Oliver Sep 24 '17 at 21:29
  • It may be the source that there are hints found in the Torah, but I don't see how hints to Kesuvim are indicative that everything in the Oral Torah has a hint – robev Sep 24 '17 at 21:31
  • @robev is your last comment a reply to my answer or to the source in my comment? – Oliver Sep 24 '17 at 21:37
  • To your comment. The Zohar you quoted is if I understood correctly saying everything is in the Torah, which I feel is a separate discussion – robev Sep 24 '17 at 21:38
  • @robev so are you now asking for a source that states that anything in THE ORAL TORAH is found in the PENTATEUCH? Nothing more nothing less? – Oliver Sep 24 '17 at 21:44
  • @Oliver Read the question again. That’s exactly how I read it - “They said: there is nothing in the Oral Torah that isn’t hinted to in the written Torah. I’m curious what he is possibly quoting? What are the sources for this idea?” He cites a speech claiming that the oral Torah is hinted to in the written Torah and asks for the source thereof. Nothing more. Nothing less. I’m tempted to flag as doesn’t answer the question. – DonielF Sep 25 '17 at 00:00
  • @DonielF We're talking about R. Chaim Volozhin here -to use a contextual analogy- not the written Torah that you can be medayek in. When RCV says "באורייתא דבכתב" I believe he meant the opposite of "באורייתא דבע״פ": all the Bible, not the Pentateuch exclusively, as is generally spoken of. – Oliver Sep 25 '17 at 02:28
  • @Oliver Fine, so bring a proof that the Oral Law appears even in Nach. You still haven’t supplied that. – DonielF Sep 25 '17 at 03:08
  • @DonielF I didn't realize I was asked to supply such a proof; see Shulchan Aruch YD 246:4 (it's the first example that springs to mind; there's many others). In traditional nomenclature "תורה שבכתב" refers to the 24 books, again, unless you're being medayek like a sefer Torah. But regardless, I still stand by my original source. OP asked for "sources for this idea". Where do you think other, similar ideas originated from? Think the Ritva (or achronim) had this novel idea? IMHO, OP should have been more precise in his question. – Oliver Sep 25 '17 at 03:29
  • @Oliver You were the one who said that תורה שבכתב referred to Tanach and not Torah. According to that reading, the cited statement is that the Oral Law appears anywhere in Tanach. And I’m not being medayek like a Sefer Torah - that would be an extra ה includes a profound Halacha. Do you really think the Gedolei HaDoros weren’t precise in the words they picked? FWIW I never did submit that flag. – DonielF Sep 25 '17 at 04:04
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Oliver Sep 25 '17 at 04:21