Faith in Sages: Find Yourself a Rabbi and Avoid Doubt

The answer is found explicitly in the book of Numbers (Chapter 11, Verse 16): "And Hashem said to Moses: Gather to me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting, and they shall stand there with you. And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take from the spirit that is upon you and will put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you...".<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Some are surprised to discover that the early sages were already around during the days of Moses, and that the rabbinic institution was established even in the generation of the desert to legislate laws for the people in every generation, as also stated in the book of Deuteronomy (Chapter 1, Verses 1-13): "These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan... Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that Hashem commanded them... choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads." I also recommend studying the Yitro portion (Exodus, Chapter 18).<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Torah describes the creation of the first Sanhedrin, which continued to ordain rabbis from generation to generation until the times of the sages. The Sanhedrin, as known, existed until the destruction of the Second Temple, and even in Rabbi Akiva's time, rabbis were ordained from previous generations — dating back to Moses! Hashem appointed the sages (Chazal), the scholars who would judge and clarify according to the Torah for every generation, educate the people, and continue to ordain rabbis for the coming generations. Rabbinic courts, Sanhedrin, halachic rulings, decrees, ordinances, laws for the generation — all begin with the Torah, which appointed the sages and courts for the people and required listening to them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Deuteronomy (Chapter 17, Verse 9): "And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who will be in those days... and do according to what they teach you, according to the Torah they teach you, and to the judgment they tell you — you shall do. Do not turn aside from the word they tell you, right or left"! — the ordination of rabbis was given by the Creator of the universe.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Hashem entrusted the Torah's instruction to Israel's greatest sages, the elders, who continue to teach the Torah for future generations, through a continuous tradition of thousands of years passed down from rabbis to disciples. Rabbis in every generation are essentially the disciples of the rabbis who preceded them, transmitting the original Torah and halachic rules from the giving of the Torah. Scholars who choose to immerse in Torah and devote their lives to it become leaders and judges who instruct the public, and those who merit deeply and in a unique, needed manner for the generation, rise to become leading figures who issue rulings for entire communities.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Thus, you see, any person from Israel can rise to become a Torah giant and a scholar worthy of issuing halachic rulings according to Torah laws, if he chooses to devote his life to Torah study as handed down by our sages through generations. The Talmud tells of righteous converts and their descendants who were once gentiles in every sense and, after converting, became powerful Torah scholars who ruled for the masses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

However, it is important to understand that even the rules of adjudication and teaching pass unchanged from generation to generation, and even rabbis may not deviate from them, as the sages (Avot 3, 11) say: "He who reveals face in the Torah contrary to the halacha, even if he possesses Torah and good deeds, has no share in the World to Come"! Rabbis teach students the ways of adjudication handed down from their teachers to the receiving of the Torah, and deviation from these rules is forbidden, as they are "Moshe's rulings from Sinai", as stated (Deuteronomy 4, 2): "Do not add to the word that I command you, nor subtract from it".<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

And if you ask, how is a halachic ruling decided when there is a dispute? This is already stated in the Torah itself (Deuteronomy 30, 11) "For this commandment that I command you today, is not too difficult for you or distant, is not in heaven that you should say, 'Who will ascend to heaven for us and fetch it for us and tell it to us, so that we can perform it,'" the Torah informs us that halachic rulings are given in the hands of the sages receiving the Torah according to their understanding as transmitted by the rules of judgment already given at Sinai, and so we need not seek prophets to make rulings from heaven. A fascinating story about this is found in the tractate Bava Metzia (59, b), recounting a dispute between all the sages of the generation and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, regarding a law about an impure oven. Rabbi Eliezer the Great sought to prove to the sages that his halachic conclusion was divinely true using miracles and signs, but the sages were unmoved, ruling the law according to the rules of judgment learned from generations, quoting the verse "It is not in heaven", and "Once the Torah was given at Sinai, we ignore heavenly voices." Finally, a heavenly voice declared that indeed, the sages acted according to the will of Hashem — that the sages should make rulings from the Torah according to clear rules given, not through prophecy or miracles.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

When we understand that there is a Creator of the world, and nothing is hidden from Him, we can also be assured that He blesses His Torah and gives people in every generation the ability to fulfill His will. Therefore, He gave us the rabbis and ways of adjudicating and learning across generations, instructing us not to deviate from them. Rabbis continue and transmit the original tradition for thousands of years, from the Sanhedrin to the sages, to our wise men and the later scholars, to current rabbis, from teacher to student. Any sect that abandoned the divine tradition of our sages lost both the Torah and Jewish identity, even to the point of real desecration and assimilation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

The rabbis are the only ones who transfer the original Torah through tradition, from the rabbis before them to Mount Sinai, and only from this tradition and halachic rules can we know how to keep the Torah in every generation. Hashem required us to trust them, which is why we rely on their rulings.<\/span>* * *<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Regarding your last question, how do we know the Torah wasn't forgotten, pay attention to the following fact<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Thousands of years of challenges and persecutions have passed over our nation, yet the Jewish people around the world have returned with the same Torah and commandments: the same tefillin, the same tzitzit, the same mezuzah, the same Shabbat, the same festivals, the same laws, and the same Torah scrolls. History itself proves that the Torah hasn't changed over thousands of years, as our sages have transmitted it with precision from generation to generation without change.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

This is indeed a definitive answer for those seeking material evidence, but a stronger response exists in prophecy. There is no doubt that the blessed Creator has been supernaturally sustaining the people of Israel for thousands of years. Massive cultures like Greece, Rome, Persia, and Babylon have entirely disappeared, yet only Israel has survived as promised in the prophecies of the Torah and prophets.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Therefore, it is evident that Hashem personally maintains the Jewish people and the Torah throughout history. As He commanded us to listen to the sages, we know He watches over these sages, imparting them with wisdom and a holy spirit, and does not allow them to mistake or mislead the people, G-d forbid, in understanding the Torah. Hashem, in His respect, preserves the Torah from being forgotten, as He promised in His sacred Torah (Deuteronomy 31, 21): "And this song will respond before Him as a witness, for it will not be forgotten from the mouth of His seed", and so said the prophet in the name of Hashem (Isaiah, Chapter 59): "And this is my covenant with them, said Hashem, My spirit that is upon you and My words that I have placed in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your offspring, said Hashem, from now and forever".<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

After Hashem promised that the Torah would not be forgotten from His people, when you trust the sages, you, in fact, trust the Creator's promise. And when you study in the halachic books how Shabbat is observed in our generation, you can rely on what the Torah promised eternally and everlastingly (Exodus 31, 16): "And the children of Israel shall keep the Shabbat, to observe the Shabbat throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant, a sign forever between Me and the children of Israel"!<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Rise and succeed! Yours with blessing, Daniel Blaus<\/span><\/p>