Descent of The Generations in Halachic Scholarship
Traditional Judaism views latter generations to be spiritually inferior and lower than former generations. This belief, called Yeridat ha-dorot ("Descent of the generations"), shapes the development of traditional Jewish thought. In Talmudic commentary and Halachah it means that latter authorities in the Eras of Rabbinic Judaism generally do not disagree with authorities from a previous era. The basis of this is two-fold. In the historical chain of transmission of Judaism from generation to generation, a latter generation is further removed from the original Revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The Halachic authorities of a subsequent generation would avoid disagreeing with the preceding Halachic authorities, since to reach them, the chain of Torah transmission is longer and more vulnerable to mistaken recollection. This applies until the Oral Torah was written down in the Talmud, where the Amoraim Sages of the Gemara commentary do not disagree with the earlier Tannaim Sages of the Mishna. Accordingly, the Mishnaic Pirkei Avot begins with a historical account of the chain of Oral Torah transmission from Moses, until it became written down in the Mishna. Once the Oral Torah was written down in the Talmud and its commentaries, the principle still applies for a second reason. While Halachah adapts itself to new technological innovations, the principles behind it are held to be foundational. Latter authorities are less qualified to define the fundamental parameters of Halachah.
Read more about this topic: Gilgulim, Kabbalistic Descent and Ascent in History
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