A prophet is a spokesperson for his or her own generation. The primary role of a prophet was to communicate with G-d and relay G-d’s message to the people. The Hebrew word for prophet, navi, means “spokesman” – one who speaks for G-d. The Rambam wrote that to be a prophet one must be wise, have a clear mind, be; of impeccable character, and totally in control of their emotions. A prophet is mature, of a calm nature and full of joy. A prophet is not interested in material things or the frivolities of life. A prophet’s desire is to devote themselves entirely to knowing and serving G-d. G-d communicated with prophets through visions and dreams (with the exception of Moshe). I make Myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream. (Bamidbar / Num. 12:6). Moshe, however, heard G-d directly without visions: When Moshe came into the Tent of Meeting to speak to Him, he heard the Voice speaking to him. (Bamidbar / Num. 7:89). Although prophecy is given in imagery (think of Jacob and the ladder) the prophet understands the true meaning of the image. Even if a person meets all the criteria G-d may not give them prophecy (and for now we are not in an age of prophecy). If someone claims to be a prophet the test is his or her accuracy. Did what they said come to pass? If it was a positive message and it did not happen the person was a false prophet. Warnings from prophets (of potential calamities) may or may not happen. Any negative prophetic warning can always be prevented through prayer and repentance. In ancient times nearly all the Jews were prophets - they numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Since the primary role of a prophet was to speak to his or her generation only the words of those who also carried a message for future generations were recorded in the T’nach. The 55 historical recorded in the T’nach (Bible) were public figures who prophesied frequently and became lifetime leaders of their people. Some names are well known: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and twelve lesser ones including Amos, Hosea, Nahum and others. The other 40, who may or may not have been in prophecy full-time, are mentioned in various places throughout T’nach, such as Nathan (the Books of Samuel) and Ido (Chronicles). The listed historical prophets were 55 men, but there were women prophetesses. Sarah (wife of Abraham, mother of all Jews; incidentally, G-d told Abraham that she is your superior in prophecy), Miriam (sister to Moses), Deborah (the only woman among the Judges), Chana (mother of Samuel), Avigayil, Chuldah and Esther (of Purim fame) were all prophetesses. The era of prophecy officially came to an end 23 centuries ago. The last of the prophets were alive before the First Holy Temple was destroyed in 423 BCE. Some survived the 70-year Babylonian exile and lived to see the building of the Second Temple. Ezekiel prophesied in Babylonia, and three prophets, Chaggai, Zachariah and Malachi, were members of the Great Assembly that led the people in the first years of the return from Babylon. The Men of the Great Assembly codified our bible (T’nach) and when they died prophecy departed from Israel. Prophecy will return. G-d communicates to mankind through prophecy remains a foundation of the Jewish faith. Without prophecy we still have a lesser form of communication known as ruach hakodesh (the holy spirit or divine inspiration). To receive divine inspiration one must be a tzadoq – very righteous. One day Elijah the prophet will return and will herald the coming of the Moshiach. With Elijah prophecy will return. Moshiach ben David will be a prophet (approaching the prophecy of Moses according to the Rambam), and in the messianic era, prophecy will become a universal phenomenon -- in the words of the prophet Joel, And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophecy; your elders shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. For more information read the article at Aish. aish/h/9av/ht/48955796.html
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 03:15:33 +0000