Law given to Moses at Sinai

A law given to Moses at Sinai (Hebrew: הלכה למשה מסיני, romanized: Halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai) refers to a halakhic law for which there is no biblical reference or source, but rather was passed down orally as a teaching originating from Moses at Sinai.

Such teachings have not been derived from any Talmudical hermeneutics, but known solely from the Jewish tradition.

[4] In a few cases, however, later commentaries say that the law in question is "not literally" (לאו דווקא) from Sinai.

[7] In those oral teachings delivered by Moses unto Israel at Sinai, the rabbis have said that their underlying motives cannot be properly divulged through study, nor is it permissible to raise an objection against them by way of one of the hermeneutical principles applied in study, as they are always peremptory edicts, precluding or not admitting of debate or question.

[8] Some examples of a law given to Moses at Sinai are as follows: Sometimes, the dictum denotes an established, ageless tradition not derived or derivable from the Written Law, but simply practised or observed by Israel since time immemorial, such as the following examples: Maimonides, in the introduction to his commentary on the Mishna, provides a list of the laws given to Moses at Sinai.