RESUME OF A PROPHET

Dear Family,

I hope that everyone is well.

Claude Comaroff has been in hospital. He is the husband of Joy. We all wish you a Refuah shleimah, Claude. ( Yechezkiel ben Ester).

Mazal Tov to Hirshy and Mariasha on their Anniversary next week. Wishing you many more happy years together with much achievement and growth, and with ample parnassah!

Mazal Tov to Zalmy Davidoff senior on his birthday next week. Wishing you a wonderful year Zalmy together with Nechama Dina, going from strength to strength with much happiness BEH.

I learnt something interesting from this week's Sedra Behaaloscha.

It was about PROPHECY.

V 11:25 mentions that Mosheh had the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY, and Hashem transferred some of this onto the 70 Elders. When the spirit rested upon them, they prophesized..

V12:3 states that "The great man Mosheh was extremely HUMBLE.."

The Sicha of this week from Vol 23 of Likkutei Sichas, discusses these subjects and I will try and summarise :

Prophecy is discussed in 2 places in the Talmud, in Shabbos and in Nedarim.

In each of these places the Gemorra mentions the qualities needed by a person to merit prophecy. Each of these sources takes a slightly different view but they speak about the qualities of STRENGTH, WEALTH, WISDOM AND HUMILITY, based on the above verses in our Sedra.

Rambam, however, who draws out the Halachah (Laws) from the Talmud, places the Laws of Prophecy in an interesting section in his Mishneh Torah, and does not focus exactly on those qualities as mentioned. Why not?

He places these Laws in the section dealing with the Foundation of our Faith, which is based on Knowledge.

The very first Mitzvah in this Section is "To Know that there is a G-d"

And he states: "Prophecy is bestowed only upon an exceptionally wise person of strong character, whose natural inclinations never overcome him. Instead, with his mind, he overcomes his natural inclinations..He must possess very broad mental acuity."

Through the Prophets, Hashem reveals His secrets, and this is done through the INTELLECT of the Prophets. Thereby, they transcend the level of other wise men.

Some Prophets retained a permanent state of prophecy like Moshe (the greatest of the Prophets), Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu etc, and some were given this state temporarily.

(It is also a Mitzvah to test the Prophet as the Rambam explains in Chap 10 of these Laws)

Therefore this KNOWLEDGE that we have of Hashem revealing His secret, and his overt interaction with the world, is an essential extension of our knowledge of HASHEMS EXISTENCE, which is part of the FOUNDATION OF OUR FAITH.

(And, even although the Prophets do need to have the special qualities as mentioned in Gemorra, the Rambam only focusses on the above essential characteristics for this reason)

Gut Shabbos to all!