User:Copper Dreamer/oven

Story
The debate was centred on an oven, constructed from rings of tile with the gaps filled with sand. A case came before the Sanhedrin, seeking an opinion on whether an oven constructed in such a way could be "pure". Eliezer ben Hurcanus stated that it was; because the oven's pieces were separated by sand, it could not be considered a single item: instead, it was a collection of fragments, and fragments cannot be impure. The other rabbis of the Sanhedrin, led by Joshua ben Hananiah, disagreed; they considered the oven a single object, and thus capable of becoming impure.

After a long argument, with Eliezer continuously opposed by all of the other rabbis, he began asking for miracles to try and convince them. He first proclaimed that, if he was right, a nearby carob tree should "offer testimony". In response, the tree uprooted itself and moved between 100 and 400 ells depending on the version of the story. The other rabbis refused to accept this as a valid sign, and so Eliezer then stated that, if he was right; a nearby brook would also offer testimony - it promptly reversed itself. Again, the other rabbis refused to accept this as evidence.

After Eliezer called for the walls of the study hall to buckle (and they did, and the other rabbis again rejected this as evidence), he finally proclaimed "if the Halakhah is as I say, let it be demonstrated from heaven!" A "divine voice" immediately came down from heaven and said "Why do you disagree with Rabbi Eliezer? The Halakhah is always as he says it is." In response, Joshua rose to his feet and simply stated "the Torah is not in heaven".