Almost a Prophet

A king is in his palace, and all his subjects are partly in the country, and partly abroad.

Of the former,

some have their backs turned towards the king's palace,

and their faces in another direction;

and some are desirous and zealous to go to the palace,

seeking "to inquire in his temple," and to serve before him,

but have not yet seen even the face of the wall of the house.

Of those that desire to go to the palace,

some reach it, and go round about in search of the entrance gate;

others have passed through the gate, and walk about in the ante-chamber;

and others have succeeded in entering into the inner part of the palace,

and being in the same room with the king in the royal palace.

But even the latter do not immediately on entering the palace

see the king, or speak to him;

for, after having entered the inner part of the palace,

another effort is required before they can stand before the king.

I must now describe the different degrees of prophecy. Not all the degrees of prophecy which I will enumerate qualify a person for the office of a prophet. The first and the second degrees are only steps leading to prophecy, and a person possessing either of these two degrees does not belong to the class of prophets whose merits we have been discussing. When such a person is occasionally called 'prophet', the term is used in a wider sense, and is applied to him because he is almost a prophet.

The first degree of prophecy consists in the divine assistance which is given to a person, and induces and encourages him or her to do something good and grand, e.g., to deliver a congregation of good people from the hands of evildoers; to save one noble person, or to bring happiness to a large number of people; he finds in himself the cause that moves and urges him to this deed. This degree of divine influence is called "the spirit of the Lord"; and of the person who is under that influence we say that the spirit of the Lord came upon him, clothed him, or rested upon him, or the Lord was with him, and the like. All the judges of Israel possessed this degree...

This faculty was always possessed by Moses from the time he had attained the age of manhood: it moved him to slay the Egyptian, and to prevent evil from the two men that quarrelled; it was so strong that, after he had fled from Egypt out of fear, and arrived in Midian, a trembling stranger, he could not restrain himself from interfering when he saw wrong being done; he could not bear it...

This faculty did not cause any of the above-named persons to speak on a certain subject, for it only aims at encouraging the person who possesses it to action; it does not encourage him to do everything, but only to help either a distinguished man or a whole congregation when oppressed, or to do something that leads to that end. just as not all who have a true dream are prophets, so it cannot be said of every one who is assisted in a certain undertaking, as in the acquisition of property, or of some other personal advantage, that the spirit of the Lord came upon him, or that the Lord was with him, or that he performed his actions by the holy spirit. We only apply such phrases to those who have accomplished something very good and grand, or something that leads to that end.

The second degree is this: A person feels as if something came upon him, and as if he had received a new power that encourages him to speak.

She discusses science,

or composes hymns,

or useful sayings,

or discusses political and theological problems;

-- all this she does while awake,

and in the full possession of her senses.

Such a person is said to speak by the holy spirit.

David composed the Psalms, and Solomon the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon by this spirit; also Daniel, Job, Chronicles, and the rest of the Hagiographa were written in this holy spirit; therefore they are called ketubim (Writings, or Written), i.e., written by people inspired by the holy spirit. Our Sages mention this expressly concerning the Book of Esther. In reference to such holy spirit, David says: "The spirit of the Lord spoke in me, and his word is on my tongue" (2 Sam. 23:2); i.e., the spirit of the Lord caused him to utter these words.

PROPHECY is, in truth and reality, an emanation sent forth by the Divine Being through the medium of the Active Intellect, in the first instance to man's rational faculty, and then to his imaginative faculty; it is the highest degree and greatest perfection man can attain: it consists in the most Perfect development of the imaginative faculty...

The principal and highest function is performed when the senses are at rest and pause in their action, for then it receives, to some extent, divine inspiration in the measure as it is predisposed for this influence. This is the nature of those dreams which prove true, and also of prophecy, the difference being one of quantity, not of quality. Thus our Sages say, that dream is the sixtieth part of prophecy...

No part of his body must suffer from ill-health;

he must in addition have studied and acquired wisdom;

his intellect must be as developed and perfect as human intellect can be;

his passions pure and equally balanced;

all his desires must aim at obtaining a knowledge of the hidden laws and causes that are in force in the Universe;

his thoughts must be engaged in lofty matters:

his attention directed to the knowledge of God,

the consideration of His works,

and of that which he must believe in this respect.

Faculties of the body are, as you know, at one time weak, wearied, and corrupted, at others in a healthy state. Imagination is certainly one of the faculties of the body. You find, therefore, that prophets are deprived of their prophetic powers when they mourn, are angry, or are similarly affected. Our Sages say, Inspiration does not come upon a prophet when he is sad or lazy.