“Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.”
Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat. The handwashing accusation targets the disciples' failure to observe the oral tradition's pre-meal purification rituals. The tradition of the elders is the scribal elaboration of the Torah — the fence around the law that the Pharisees developed to prevent inadvertent Torah violations. The washing was not a Mosaic command but a rabbinic addition.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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