Is your blood more important than your heart? Would you rather keep your lungs or your skeleton? These, contrary to what teachers often tell students, actually are stupid questions. One without the other is less than useless. Try to separate them and you lose everything.
There is one Torah, of course. Even though we have and even use the terms תורה שבכתב/Written Torah and תורה שבעל פה/Oral Torah, one without the other is not Torah at all. As discussed more in this TftD, where you will find some examples. I realized there is another example that goes further to show how they are interconnected and how the combination is much greater than the sum of its parts.
We are prohibited by Torah decree to cook meat with milk, to eat meat cooked with milk, and to even benefit from meat cooked with meat. You will find all of this detailed in Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, simanin 87 through 97; 11 simanin, 63 s'y'fim. I started learning that section of Shulchan Aruch when I retired, just over a year ago. When my rav, R' Dovid Siegel, shlita, "suggested" I learn that, I figured... sigh... not much to learn there, I'll finish this off and ask what to do next in a month or so. It has been just over a year and I am about half way through מעדני השלחן; a detailed summary (yes, summary) of the relevant halachos. Moreover, I have realized that I am definitely going to need to review this entire sefer at least once to feel any sort of competence in the subject matter.
The source in the Torah? One verse, five words: לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו/Thou Shalt Not Seethe a Kid in Its Mother's Milk. You really can't beat good ole King James for poetic, if not always entirely accurate translation of our Torah. This verse, however, is a quite nice translation. One verse, five words, 11 simanin, 63 s'y'fim, and years to master all the intricacies.
How does the Torah pack all that into one verse of five words? It is repeated three times in different contexts. See the S'forno on each instance for an explanation of why each verse is positioned where it is. It is from that repetition that we know the three things that are forbidden: cooking, eating, and benefiting. It is also from that repetition that we know that wild animals (such as deer), chicken, and fish may be cooked and eaten with meat according to Torah law, though Chazal forbad cooking and eating both wild animals (such as deer) and poultry with milk.
It is from the wording -- לא תבשל -- that we know the Torah prohibition is limited to בישול/cooking in liquids like water. Dipping hot roasted meat into milk and frying meat in butter are forbidden by Rabbinic decree as a safeguard, but not by Torah law. Cold mixtures -- such as pastrami and Swiss cheese on rye (yum, by the way) -- are forbidden by Rabbinic decree.
One more thought before leaving: How awful does the Torah make this sound? What kind of monster would kill an animal, strip the meat from its dead carcass, take the very substance that nourished this animal as a baby, and boil them together for supper?! Bon Appetit?
This is all from one verse of just five words. From here we can begin to appreciate both the incredible efficiency and powerful impact of the way HaShem chose to reveal His Will to His beloved nation through both the תורה שבכתב and תורה שבעל פה.
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