How can we know if the halacha we have is accurate and in accordance with the original will of the Holy One, blessed be He?
Hello, Honorable Rabbi, a secular friend who works with me asked me a question that I didn’t know how to answer. He said that even if the tradition of the Torah is reliable, how can we know that the halacha and the conclusions of the tradition are the conclusions that are desired in the eyes of the Holy One, blessed be He, and that they are relevant to what really needs to be done? I would also appreciate reading materials if that’s okay.
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Indeed, there is no way to know. But it says two things: 1. Even God is supposed to know that there is a tradition and that it can go wrong. 2. We do not have a more accurate version than the one that is the result of our best efforts. Beyond that, God Himself writes in the Torah, “If anything should surprise you… then arise and go up to the place,” meaning that if there is doubt about the halakhic law, we must go to the Sanhedrin and hear its voice. In short, when we say that the halakhic law in our hands is correct, we mean that this is what should be done normatively, and not that this is authentically what was delivered to Moses at Sinai.
You could ask who told us that the judge’s interpretation of the law is accurate? Why listen to him? Here too, it’s the same answer.
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Besides, who said the real truth is required?
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