Q&A: Why Is There No Ongoing Revelation to Clarify Doubts in Jewish Law?
Why Is There No Ongoing Revelation to Clarify Doubts in Jewish Law?
Question
I assume the Rabbi has already answered this question, but I couldn’t find it. My apologies.
If it is philosophically plausible that the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed to us His halakhic will at Mount Sinai, why was that revelation essentially a one-time event rather than an ongoing one? Why doesn’t the Holy One, blessed be He, maintain continuous contact with us and reveal His will to us in every case of doubt [through prophecy / the Urim and Thummim / divine inspiration, or any mechanism available to us]?
Seemingly, if the Holy One, blessed be He, wants the realization of religious values, He should reveal them to us at every stage and in every doubt. Isn’t that so?
Even when we had prophecy, which I might have guessed would serve that purpose, the Sages came and said that a prophet is not permitted to introduce anything new in Jewish law by virtue of his prophecy…
Answer
I don’t know. It is possible that in His eyes there is value in interpretation and in forming an autonomous position, even at the price of mistakes. As I wrote in my article on autonomy and authority regarding the individual person (that there is value in autonomous halakhic decision-making, even at the price of error).