Verification of the Torah

I'm under the impression that Orthodox Jews are taught that the stories are true. However, lately I've been told that the answer to this question is no.

Hope you're doing well dear rabbi. When I read the Chumash with a commentary, I see that rabbis have machloket all the time and they seem to 'guess' things, as if they're not 100% sure on what they're talking about. For instance; Rav A says "Oh, Jacob did this because of x", and Rav B says, "No, that's not the case. He did it because of y." Now, this is an historical event we're talking about. Both of them can't be right at the same time. For instance: Artscroll Chumash page 187: "Why Deborah was with Jacob at this point is the subject of another dispute between Rashi and Ramban. Rashi cites R' Moshe HaDarshan who states that she was the nurse Laban had given to Rebecca when she left to mary Isaac. (24:59). Rebecca — not knowing that Jacob was on the way — had sent Deborah to Haran to tell him that it was finally safe for him to return home, but the aged nurse died on the way home. Ramban maintains that it is unlikely that Rebecca would have sent an elderly woman on such a strenuous trip. He suggests that Deborah had returned to Paddan-aram after Rebecca's marriage, but when Jacob left Laban, he took Deborah with him, so that in tribute to his mother Rebecca, he would support her childhood nurse in her old age." end quote. One of them is 100% wrong, no? So how am I going to trust the wrong side on everything else he says from that point on? And I've seen many times Rashi admit "I don't know what this means". True, on some halachic issues they both can be right at the same time. But history is history. And it's not like secular history. We're not really sure what Napoleon did back in the day but we MUST be sure what patriarch Jacob A"H did. Don't Jews have the best mesorah in the world? An unbroken chain from Har Sinai? If yes, why isn't everything crystal clear? Thank you

I teach Torah to some women from different backgrounds. As we study questions come up as to how do the Rabbi's and sages know what happened during Adams time and Noah's time? The particularly question stories about the soul preexisting and for what reason HaShem created the world. Things that are not specifically in the Torah. Some women have come out of catholic backgrounds.

Did the flood in Noah’s time cover the entire planet with water and wipe out all civilization and animals? Or did it only affect the geographic region covered in the Torah? Were the Chinese, Native Americans, and Aborigines (just to name a few) affected by the flood? Or just those in and near the Middle East? Did Noah take all animal species from all parts of the world on board the ark, including kangaroos and llamas, for example? Or just those animals found in the biblical region?