Q&A: It Is Not in Heaven and Monism
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
It Is Not in Heaven and Monism
Question
You always say that there is one objective halakhic truth, and that our goal in learning is to uncover that truth—or at least what appears to us to be that truth. If so, why do the Sages reject a heavenly voice as a basis for a halakhic ruling, on the formal ground that “it is not in heaven”? After all, the goal is to arrive at the truth, so why should it matter whether that is done by means of a heavenly voice or not?
Answer
Because in addition to truth, there is also a value of autonomy, even if it comes at the expense of truth. I explain this in those same places.