TORAH SHEBALPEH------eilu v'eilu

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The Ritva explains how "ailu vailu divrei elokim chaim" works as follows:

When Moshe on Har Sinai asked Hashem a Halachah, Hashem responded not with a clear cut answer but with numerous possibilities. Seventy possibilities for "tahor" and 70 possibilities for "tameh". Then Hashem said, "All these are possible to be the Halachah. Let the Rabbonim study Torah and decide the Halachah based on the Halachic process. Whatever they decide among these possibilities will be the actual halachah."

Therefore, we study all legitimate Halachic opinions since they, too, were created by hashem and given on Har Sinai, meaning, they too are part of the Torah. The bottom line directive for us to follow is a separate issue.