DEUT1681 (Continued from [[DEUT874]] Deuteronomy 17:8 baffling DUTIES 27-9). The second [way] is from the verse: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Hashem is the God of the universe, Creator of the ends of the earth” (Yeshayahu 40:28). [the first phrase] “Do you not know?” refers to knowledge gained from rational argument; [the second phrase] “Have you not heard?” refers to what has been passed down to us, what we rely on from tradition. There is also a verse which says “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Were you not told from the very beginning?” (ibid. 40: 21). Here, too, knowledge gained from rational argument is mentioned before knowledge gained from tradition and transmission. So has Moshe, our Master, said: “Is this how you repay God, you foolish and unwise people?... Remember the days of old, reflect on the years of generations past. Ask your father, and he will tell you; your elders, and they will relate it ” (Devarim 32:6-7 ). This is further proof of what we have said. Although tradition is the first thing that is taught to students, for that is what they need first, nevertheless, it would be halfhearted to rely exclusively on that tradition, if one is capable of attaining certainty by way of rational argument. One should reflect on what is learned by way of the intellect, and bring proofs in constructing an argument which careful judgment would support.