Question
What does it mean that the Torah is "eternal?"
Answer
The eternity of the Torah is the ninth of Maimonides’ 13 principles of the Jewish faith; see also the ninth stanza of the poem Yigdal. Maimonides emphasizes the aspect that we cannot add to the Torah or subtract from it (Deut. 13:1); the poet emphasizes the fact that the Torah will not be replaced. In the first section of the Mishneh Torah (Ch.1) Maimonides also cites the verse in Deut. 29:28: "The things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may carry out all the words of the Torah".