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Which of these two is the correct Jewish teaching:

(1) God gave the Written and Oral Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. On this basis, rabbis past, present and future derive what Jews must do. These halachot do not exist until the rabbis make them.

(2) God gave the Written and Oral Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. It included all the decisions of rabbis past, present and future on what Jews must do. These halachot were all given to Moses but forgotten, and the rabbis merely rediscovered them.

(How could the rabbis say "Ellu v'ellu divrei Elokim hayyim" when only one set is?)

Maurice Mizrahi
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  • Related: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/92569/were-all-future-torah-innovations-taught-to-moshe-at-har-sinai https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/95790/were-midrashim-and-aggadeta-transmitted-to-moshe-on-sinai-like-the-halachic-tora – Alex Mar 01 '19 at 05:40
  • See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma – msh210 Mar 01 '19 at 07:19
  • It doesn't sound as if G-d could have given Moshe all future Rabbinical decisions on Mt. Sinai. If He did, then all of them would be considered Halacha Lemoshe Misinai. – DanF Mar 01 '19 at 14:02

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