Q&A: A Factual Matter with Abaye and Rava
A Factual Matter with Abaye and Rava
Question
You have already written many times that the sages have no authority regarding facts, and therefore we are not obligated to accept their determinations in all matters of fact.
Why don’t you extend that rule to the halakhic principles themselves? After all, when Abaye and Rava dispute a Torah-level law (at least in some areas of Torah law), the dispute revolves around what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses. What God said to Moses is also a fact, something measured in terms of truth and falsehood: either He said it or He did not. Why, in such a case, is your view that the sages do have authority?
Answer
Because the dispute is not about what the Holy One, blessed be He, said. He said neither this nor that. The question is what is correct to do in light of what the Holy One, blessed be He, said. And that is not a factual question. By the way, I discuss this question in my article on the myth.