(1) Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples and make a fence for the Torah.

Joshua received (the Torah) from Moses, as it states: (Num. 27) "And you (Moses) shall place (a portion) of your splendor on him (Joshua), so that the entire congregation of the Children of Israel shall hear." The Elders received it from Joshua, as it states: (Judges 2) "And the nation served God during all the days of Joshua and all the days of the Elders, who saw the great deeds that God performed for Israel, whose life spanned for days after Joshua('s)." The Judges received it from Joshua, as it states: (Ruth 1) "And it was in the days of the rule of the Judges." The Prophets received from the Judges, as it states: (Jeremiah 7) "and I sent My servants, the prophets, to you daily, betimes and often." Haggai, Zakhariah and Malakhi received it from the Prophets. The Men of the Great Assembly received it from Haggai, Zakhariah and Malakhi. And they said three things: "Be patient in judgement, and appoint many students and make a fence for the Torah.

10) "These are the statutes and the judgments and the teachings": "the statutes": These are the midrashoth; "and the judgments": These are the laws; "and the Toroth": This teaches us that two Toroth were given to Israel, one written, and one, oral..."which the Lord set forth between Himself and the children of Israel": Moses merited becoming the messenger between Israel and their Father in heaven, (viz.) "on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses": We are hereby taught that the (entire) Torah — its halachoth, inferences, and interpretations — was given by Moses at Sinai.

All of the commandments which were given to Moses on Sinai were given together with their oral explanation for, it is said: "And I will give thee the tables of stone, and the Torah and the commandment" (Ex. 24.12.); the Torah, is Holy Writ; and the commandment, its oral explanation. Moreover, He commanded us to observe the Torah by the word of the commandment; thus it is this commandment which is called Oral Torah. (2) The whole Torah was written by Moses our Master, before his demise, by his own hand; and he gave a Book to each and every tribe, and one Book he deposited in the Ark as testimony, even as it is said; "Take this Book of the Torah and put it by the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against thee" (Deut. 32.26.); (3) but the commandment, which is the oral explanation of the Torah, he did not reduce to writing, but he charged the Elders and Joshua and the rest of all Israel concerning its observance, even as it is said: "All the word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do" (Ibid. 23.1.); therefore, is this word of the commandment called, Oral Torah. (4) Although the Oral Torah was not reduced to writing, Moses our Master gave instructions in its full scope at his tribunal-seat, to seventy Elders. Eleazar, Phinehas and Joshua, all the three of them received it from Moses; yet, unto Joshua, because he was the disciple of Moses our Master, he transmitted the Oral Torah and charged him concerning its observance. Joshua likewise continued throughout his lifetime to study it orally; (5) and many Elders received it from Joshua. Eli received it from the Elders and from Phinehas; Samuel received it from Eli and his tribunal; David received it from Samuel and his tribunal; Ahijah the Shiloite who was among those who went forth out of Egypt, and a Levite, heard Moses expounding it; but, as he was an infant in the days of Moses, he became the recipient from David and his tribunal; (6) Elijah received it from Ahijah the Shiloite and his tribunal; Elisha received it from Elijah and his tribunal; Jehoiadah the priest received it from Elisha and his tribunal; Zechariah received it from Jehoiadah and his tribunal; Hosea received it from Zechariah and his tribunal; Amos received it from Hosea and his tribunal; Isaiah received it from Amos and his tribunal; Micha received it from Isaiah and his tribunal; Joel received it from Micha and his tribunal; Nahum received it from Joel and his tribunal; Habakkuk received it from Nahum and his tribunal; Zephaniah received it from Habakkuk and his tribunal; Jeremiah received it from Zephaniah and his tribunal; Baruch son of Neriah received it from Jeremiah and his tribunal; Ezra and his tribunal received it from Baruch son of Neriah and his tribunal. (7) The members of Ezra's tribunal are called Men of the Great Assembly, namely: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, Mordecai, Bilshan²Ibn Ezra supports the contention that Bilshan is the name of one of Zerubbable's associates (Ibn Ezra; Ezra. 2.2.) See Megilah, 16b. G., Zerubbable and many other scholars with them, totaling the number of an hundred and twenty Elders. The last surviving Elder of among them was Simeon the Just, who was included among the one hundred and twenty, and received the Oral Torah from all of them, and succeeded Ezra to the High Priesthood.

(21) Consequently there are forty intervening generations from Rab Ashi till Moses our Master, peace be to him! namely: (1) Rab Ashi received the Oral Torah from Raba; (2) Raba from Rabba; (3) Rabba from Rab Huna; (4) Rab Huna from Rabbi Johanan and from Rab and Samuel; (5) Rabbi Johanan and Rab and Samuel from our Holy Master; (6) our Holy Master from Rabbi Simeon his father; (7) Rabbi Simeon from his father Rabbin Gamaliel; (8) Rabbin Gamaliel from his father Rabbin Simeon; (9) Rabbin Simeon from his father Rabbin Gamaliel the Elder; (10) Rabbin Gamaliel the Elder from his father Rabbin Simeon; (11) Rabbin Simeon from his father Hillel and from Shammai; (12) Hillel and Shamai from Shemaiah and Abtalion; (13) Shemaiah and Abtalion from Judah and Simeon; (14) Judah and Simeon from Joshua son of Perahyah and Nittai of Arbela; (15) Joshua and Nittai from Jose son of Joezer and Joseph son of Johanan; (16) Jose son of Joezer and Joseph son of Johanan from Antigonus (17) Antigonus from Simeon the Just; (18) Simeon the Just from Ezra; (19) Ezra from Baruch; (20) Baruch from Jeremiah; (21) Jeremiah from Zephanaiah; (22) Zephanaiah from Habakkuk; (23) Habakkuk from Nahum; (24) Nahum from Joel; (25) Joel from Micha; (26) Micha from Isaiah; (27) Isaiah from Amos; (28) Amos from Hosea; (29) Hosea from Zachariah; (30) Zachariah from Jehoiadah; (31) Jehoiadah from Elisha; (32) Elisha from Elijah; (33) Elijah from Ahijah; (34) Ahijah from David; (35) David from Samuel; (36) Samuel from Eli; (37) Eli from Phinehas; (38) Phinehas from Joshua; (39) Joshua from Moses our Master; (40) Moses our Master from the Word of Almighty. Thus it is established that all of them received it from the Lord God of Israel.

And so [too] did our rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say in a bereita (Sifra, Behar), "'And God said to Moshe at Mount Sinai [with regards to the sabbatical year]' – and was not the whole entire Torah said form Sinai? Rather it is to tell you [that] just like [the law of] the sabbatical year was stated with its general principles and its details and its inferences from Sinai, so too were all the commandments, with their general principles and their details and their inferences, from Sinai."

And when he died, peace be upon him – since he bequeathed to Yehoshua that which was imbued to him of the explanation – Yehoshua and the people of his generation applied their wisdom and their thought to [the received Torah]. And everything that Moshe received – he or any of the elders – there is nothing to say about it; and no disagreement arose about it.

And whoever did not hear an explanation from the mouth of the prophet, peace be upon him, about matters that derive from them, extrapolated laws by propositions from the thirteen [exegetical] principles through which the Torah is expounded, which were given at Mount Sinai. And among those laws that they derived, there are some things wherein no disagreement arose, but [rather] they agreed about them. And there were among them [those] wherein disagreements between two opinions did arise – this one says like this, and that one says like that; this one reasons according to his reasoning and becomes more sure of his opinion, and that one reasons according to his reasoning and becomes more sure of his opinion; as principles of analysis that are by way of argumentation will result in such a result.

With regard to the origins of the four blessings of Grace after Meals, Rav Naḥman said: Moses instituted for Israel the first blessing of: Who feeds all, when the manna descended for them and they needed to thank God. Joshua instituted the blessing of the land when they entered Eretz Yisrael. David and Solomon instituted the third blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, in the following manner: David instituted “…on Israel Your people and on Jerusalem Your city…” as he conquered the city, and Solomon instituted “…on the great and Holy Temple…” as he was the one who built the Temple. They instituted the blessing: Who is good and does good, at Yavne in reference to the slain Jews of the city of Beitar at the culmination of the bar Kokheva rebellion. They were ultimately brought to burial after a period during which Hadrian refused to permit their burial. As Rav Mattana said: On the same day that the slain of Beitar were brought to burial, they instituted the blessing: Who is good and does good, at Yavne. Who is good, thanking God that the corpses did not decompose while awaiting burial, and does good, thanking God that they were ultimately brought to burial.

(1) “In view of all this, we make this pledge and put it in writing; and on the sealed copy [are subscribed] our officials, our Levites, and our priests. (2) “On the sealed copy [are subscribed]: Nehemiah the Tirshatha son of Hacaliah and Zedekiah, (3) Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,(29) “And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to [follow] the Teaching of God, their wives, sons and daughters, all who know enough to understand, (30) join with their noble brothers, and take an oath with sanctions to follow the Teaching of God, given through Moses the servant of God, and to observe carefully all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, His rules and laws. (31) “Namely: We will not give our daughters in marriage to the peoples of the land, or take their daughters for our sons. (32) “The peoples of the land who bring their wares and all sorts of foodstuff for sale on the sabbath day—we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day. “We will forgo [the produce of] the seventh year, and every outstanding debt. (33) “We have laid upon ourselves obligations: To charge ourselves one-third of a shekel yearly for the service of the House of our God— (34) for the rows of bread, for the regular meal offering and for the regular burnt offering, [for those of the] sabbaths, new moons, festivals, for consecrations, for sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work in the House of our God. (35) “We have cast lots [among] the priests, the Levites, and the people, to bring the wood offering to the House of our God by clans annually at set times in order to provide fuel for the altar of the LORD our God, as is written in the Teaching. (36) “And [we undertake] to bring to the House of the LORD annually the first fruits of our soil, and of every fruit of every tree; (37) also, the first-born of our sons and our beasts, as is written in the Teaching; and to bring the firstlings of our cattle and flocks to the House of our God for the priests who minister in the House of our God. (38) “We will bring to the storerooms of the House of our God the first part of our dough, and our gifts [of grain], and of the fruit of every tree, wine and oil for the priests, and the tithes of our land for the Levites—the Levites who collect the tithe in all our towns subject to royal service. (39) An Aaronite priest must be with the Levites when they collect the tithe, and the Levites must bring up a tithe of the tithe to the House of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. (40) For it is to the storerooms that the Israelites and the Levites must bring the gifts of grain, wine, and oil. The equipment of the sanctuary and of the ministering priests and the gatekeepers and the singers is also there. “We will not neglect the House of our God.”