Today’s #pillowsonavos comes from #PirkeiAvos 2:12 Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai used to say: If all the sages of Israel were in one scale of the balance and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus in the other, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul, however, said in his name: If all the sages of Israel, together with Eliezer ben Hyrcanus were in one scale of the balance, Elazar ben Arach would outweigh them. In his commentary to this Mishna, Rav Matatei Hayitzhari explained that the ability to add novel interpretation to one’s studies is greater than memorizing everything one has studied because the ability to suggest novel ideas is an aspect of prophecy. In his explanation of prophecy, the Rambam wrote, “Prophecy is bestowed only upon a very wise sage of a strong character, who is never overcome by his natural inclinations in any regard. Instead, with his mind, he overcomes his natural inclinations at all times. He must also possess a very broad and accurate mental capacity. A person who is full of all these qualities and is physically sound is fit for prophecy. When he is able to grasp the most esoteric areas of the Torah and is drawn into these great and sublime concepts, if he possesses an accurate mental capacity to comprehend and grasp them, he will become sanctified [as a prophet].” Prophecy isn‘t given to the mystics, it is given to the greatest scholars of the strongest character. These people have reached levels of understanding that far surpass their colleagues’ understanding. This doesn’t mean that they possess more factual knowledge, it means that they have analyzed a vast range of topics in depths unfathomable to those around them. to achieve such great understanding, they had to not only grasp what was already explained, but add interpretation to new areas of thought. It is only a person of such impressive stature that could reach prophecy.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 09:53:15 +0000
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