The Rabbis Overrule God

And this is the oven of Akhnai. What is Akhnai? Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel: That they surrounded it with words like this snake (akhna), and declared it impure. It was taught: On that day Rabbi Eliezer brought forth all the responses in the world, but they did not accept them from him. He said to them: "If the law is as I say, let this carob tree prove it." The carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. They said to him: "One does not bring proof from a carob tree." He returned and said to them: "If the law is as I say, let the channel of water prove it." The channel of water flowed backward. They said to him: "One does not bring proof from a channel of water." He returned and said to them: "If the law is as I say, let the walls of the study hall prove it." The walls of the study hall inclined to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua rebuked them; he said to them: "If Torah scholars are contending with one another in the law, what business is it of yours?" They did not fall, out of respect for Rabbi Yehoshua, and they did not straighten, out of respect for Rabbi Eliezer, and they still stand inclined. He returned and said to them: "If the law is as I say, let it be proven from Heaven." A heavenly voice went forth and said: "What is it to you regarding Rabbi Eliezer, for the law is as he says in every place?" Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: "It is not in heaven!" (Deuteronomy 30:12). What is "It is not in heaven"? Rabbi Yirmiyah said: That the Torah has already been given from Mount Sinai; we pay no heed to a heavenly voice, for You already wrote at Mount Sinai in the Torah: "After the majority to incline" (Exodus 23:2). Rabbi Natan came upon Elijah; he said to him: "What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do at that hour?" He said to him: "He laughed and said, 'My children have defeated Me! My children have defeated Me!'"