If the Torah, inclusive of the Witten and Oral Law, is the Blueprints of Creation, and therefore the Handbook for all mankind, why isn’t it more accessible for both Jews and non-Jews alike?
There is a fascinating medrish which discusses why the Oral Law was not originally written down, in this week’s Torah portion of Ki Sisa, based on the pasuk, “Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Write these words for yourself, for according to these words have I sealed a covenant with you and Israel,'” (Shemos 34:27). There are in fact a few versions of this medrish. This dvar Torah focuses on the Medrish Rabba (Ki Sisa 47:1 & Naso 14:22).
The medrish in Shemos Rabba writes, “‘Write these words for yourself.’ Similarly, ‘I will write for them most of My Torah but they would be considered as something alien’ (Hoshea 8:12). When Hashem revealed Himself to the Jews on Har Sinai to give them the Torah, Hashem said it over to Moshe in the order of pasuk, mishna, talmud, and aggadic text, as it says, ‘Hashem spoke all these statements’ (Shemos 20:1), even the questions asked from student to rebbe. [The Etz Yosef explains that for each parsha Hashem told over the pesukim, then the mishna related to them, then the halachos related to them, and finally the aggadta related to them, even the questions that were asked pilpul style, meaning even the questions that were asked by the experienced and sharp students towards the rebbe, were all given over to Moshe Rabbeinu by Hashem.] At that time, after he learned directly from Hashem, [Hashem] told [Moshe] to teach it to the Jews. He said back, ‘Master Of The World, I will write it down for them.’ He responded, ‘I did not ask for it to be given written down because it is revealed before Me that the nations of the world will control you in the future and will take it (the Torah) from you and you will be disgraced amongst the nation. [The Etz Yosef adds the reason why is because when the Torah would get into the hands of everybody equally, then the gentiles will haughtily say they are the Jews.] Rather the Chumash I am giving to you written down and mishna and talmud and aggadta I will give you orally. For if the nations of the world will come and subjugate you, you will be different from them. He [Hashem] said to the prophet [Hoshea] [If] I will write to them most of My Torah [Which the Etz Yosef says refers to the Mishna which is bigger than the chumash as it says in Bamidbar Rabba 14:22,] they will be considered alien, [The Etz Yosef says because the gentiles will view themselves as equal to the Jews,] so what shall I do for them? I will write down the chumash and the mishna, talmud and aggadta will be Oral. ‘Write for you these pesukim’ because by word of mouth, which refers to the mishna and talmud, that will differentiate between the Jews and the gentiles.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
In a similar vein the Medrish [Bamidbar] Rabba 14:22 adds, “Hashem gave us ‘two Torahs’, the Written Torah and Oral Torah. He gave the Written Torah which has 613 mitzvos in order to fill them with mitzvos so they accrue merits as it says in Yeshaya 42:21, ‘Hashem desired for the sake of [Israel’s] righteousness that the Torah be made great and glorious.’ He gave to them the Oral Torah in order to set them apart from the other nations and that is why it was given to be written, so that the nations of the world would not plagiarize as they did with the Written Torah, and say they are the Jews. About this the pasuk in Hoshea 8:12 said ‘I will write for them most of the Torah but they will be regarded as something alien.’ Hashem said if I will write down most of My Torah which is the mishna, which is more than the chumash, then they would be considered as something alien.” The Etz Yosef elaborates what the medrish means that the gentiles would claim they are the Jews, “The intention being that which they haughtily say that Hashem chose them and took them in place of the Jews and gave them their Torah. They took all the good mussar (positive moral lessons) that was in Moshe’s Torah and put it into their books. If they would have gotten ahold of the Oral Torah they would have taken everything. There would then be room to mistakenly follow them because Hashem gave His Torah to them. But now that the truth of the matter is not in their hands which is known through the Oral Torah, then it’s known that they are undoubtedly liars, and their explanations [of the Written Torah] are lies because the true meanings are accepted by us in our hands, i.e. based in tradition.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
It is implicit from the medrish that it would have been better if the Oral Torah would have originally been written down. People would have had the ability to understand it and retain it better, and there would have been more access for all Jews, no matter what their memory skills were to be able to learn it and live by it. It was only not written because the gentiles would have usurped it, translated it, and learned it themselves, thereby falsely proclaiming they were the chosen Jewish people, as they did with the Written Torah. Thereforeit was not originally written down and was in fact a sign of a covenant between Hashem and His Children as an everlasting difference between us and the gentiles. The reason why the gentiles should not have access to it is because they would mishandle it, besides for falsely claiming they are the Jews. But they would also incorporate smidgins or entire parts here and there into their bylaws and claim that they are the moral compass of society.
If the Written and Oral Torah is the handbook for of all mankind then why can’t all peoples just understand it by reading and delving into it on their own and figuring out what Hashem wants from them to make this world a better place?
The answer lies in the concluding statement quoted above from the Etz Yosef on Bamidbar Rabba: Mesora! Tradition!!🎻 The only way the Torah can properly be learnt, even if it is written down, is through mesora, the link from generation to generation, father to son, teacher to student going all the way back to Har Sinai, when Hashem, Himself, gave the Torah to the Jewish people. Without the chain, without the links which connects us to the author of the Torah, the Creator Of The World, then it is impossible to accurately understand the Torah and be able to live by the Blueprints of Creation, the Handbook for mankind the way Hashem destined for us to live our lives. Because the gentiles rejected their chance of receiving the Torah directly from Hashem they lost the opportunity to live by the Handbook in its entirety, unless they choose to convert and honestly join the chain of mesora. We must say though that although the Oral Torah has indeed been written down and published since the times of Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi, which was an emergency protocol to ensure the Torah would not be forgotten, but by that point the gentiles were so far gone and even until today with all the advancement of translated Torah works, they are even more far gone, b’chasdei Hashem, that they are too far from being interested in picking up and proactively delving into the Oral Torah.