RABBINIC AUTHORITY: Nature and Origins - with Rabbi Michael Skobac
Many people, including most Christians, insist on a strict policy of "sola scriptura". This basically means that if they don't see something in the text of the Bible, then it has no legitimacy. It is on the basis of this axiom that these people challenge the ability of rabbis throughout the ages to formulate laws such as their requirement for ritual hand washing before eating bread or the post-Biblical holiday of Chanukah.
A second problem they have with Rabbinic legislation is their insistence that it violates the Biblical prohibition against adding to the Torah.
In this program, Rabbi Michael Skobac refutes these objections and discusses the Biblical sources for the authority of the sages to render legal judgments, to interpret the Torah and to promulgate new practices, such as the fast days and celebrations.