The Torah uses its words sparingly—and sometimes not at all. The Torah tells us very little about the laws of Shabbat[1]. They are, in the poetic words of the Mishna (Chagigah 10a), “like mountains reliant on a thread of hair” or, in the case of annulling vows, “floating in the air with nothing to lean on”. It is only through the Oral Law that we can begin to understand how to observe these laws.

A fundamental question that has been debated since the beginning of Jewish history regards the degree of contact and integration one should have with outside culture. Should we embrace it, drawing out its positive features as we assimilate it into our Torah worldview? Should we try to achieve a deeper understanding of Torah through a study of "non-Torah" sources, or should we avoid the potentially corrosive influence it may have upon us?

Our Torah was given to us on at least two occasions. The first revelation just weeks after the exodus was ineffectual as the people built a golden calf a mere 40 days later. The Torah that we have in our possession today was in actuality given after Moshe succeeded in gaining forgiveness for the people, what we today know as Yom Kippur, a day henceforth reserved for renewing our relationship with G-d.