35. Prophecy

Yesodei HaTorah 7:1

One of the basic principles of Judaism is that God communicates with us through prophecy. Prophecy is granted only to a wise scholar of strong character, who never yields to his natural urges in any way. Rather, he always uses his mind to overcomes his urges. He must also possess very keen mental acuity. When a person possesses all these qualities, and he is physically fit, he is a candidate to receive prophecy. When he enters the “Pardes” (i.e., he delves into certain profound areas of study), he is drawn towards certain lofty and sublime concepts. If he possesses the proper mental potential to master these subjects, he will become holy. He will grow and he will separate himself from the masses who are bogged down by less-important material concerns. He must continue to develop himself spiritually and not be distracted by pointless things of little value. He must constantly focus his attention upwards so that he can acquire an understanding of spiritual matters. When he has been successful, God’s spirit will rest upon him. When this happens, his soul will commune with the lowest level of angels, called “Ishim” and he will understand things differently from the way he did before. The prophet, Samuel told Saul that when the latter achieved prophecy, he would “be transformed into a different person” (I Samuel 10:6).

Yesodei HaTorah 7:2

Just as one scholar can be greater than his another, so, too, one prophet can have greater prophetic abilities than another. However, they all share certain traits; for example, they all receive their prophecies in a dream or a vision, as per Numbers 12:6, “I make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.” When a prophet receives a prophecy, his limbs tremble and he becomes physically weak. The prophet loses control of his senses, freeing his mind to focus on his vision. Such a trance is described in Genesis 15:12. There, we are told regarding Abraham that “a great, dark dread fell over him.” Similarly, Daniel 10:8 tells us. “My appearance was dramatically changed and I retained no strength.”