Prophecy and Divine Inspiration
נבואה ורוח הקודש
There are four levels of supernal revelation: 1) Prophecy (above chapter 16). 2) Divine inspiration (ru’aḥ ha-kodesh), which has many branches (below 4-8). 3) The Urim Ve-Tumim, which are one of the branches of divine inspiration. 4) A heavenly voice (bat kol).
Both in prophecy and in the higher levels of divine inspiration, the divine revelation is received clearly, without doubt or error, above and beyond what a person is accustomed to grasp in the ordinary way through his intellect. However, the level of prophecy is higher than divine inspiration, for the light of prophecy is clearer and stronger, and through it the attachment to God is greater and the revelation more certain and tangible, similar to something a person sees and feels with his senses (Derekh Hashem 3:3:1-4). Even when the divine revelation came in a dream, it was clear to the prophet whether it was a divine revelation on the level of prophecy or on the level of divine inspiration (Guide 2:45).
When the prophet receives prophecy, all his thoughts, feelings and sensations are nullified, and through tremendous attachment to the Source of all life he becomes a vessel for receiving the prophecy. However, when receiving divine inspiration, a person remains with his thoughts, feelings and sensations, and in this state he merits divine revelation. An example is King David, who composed the psalms of Tehillim and led Israel with the help of divine inspiration. As it says: “These are the last words of David: The utterance of David son of Yishai, the utterance of the man set on high, the anointed of the God of Ya’akov, the sweet singer of Israel: The spirit of the Lord has spoken through me, His message is on my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel said concerning me: He who rules men justly, he who rules in the fear of God” (II Shmuel 23:1-3).
Since these are two levels, the Tanakh is divided between the section of the “Prophets” (Nevi’im), whose books were written through prophecy, and the “Writings” (Ketuvim), which were written through divine inspiration. Even prophets who merited to receive revelations through prophecy sometimes merited revelations through divine inspiration. For example, Shmuel the prophet wrote the book of Shoftim and the book of Shmuel through prophecy, and therefore they are included in the Prophets, whereas he wrote the book of Rut through divine inspiration, and therefore it is in the Writings. Likewise, Yirmiyahu wrote his book and the book of Melakhim through prophecy, and wrote the book of Eikha through divine inspiration. Likewise, it is reasonable that when prophets answered personal questions, they were aided by divine inspiration (see Guide 2:45; Rabbeinu Baḥya, Vayikra 8:8; Radak, introduction to Tehillim; Or Hashem 2:4:2; Abarbanel, Shemot 15).
Even though the level of prophecy is higher, in a certain respect divine inspiration has an advantage over prophecy, because its light spreads through wisdom and grants a more comprehensive and broader understanding. In this respect, the stature of Daniel, who was not a prophet but merited divine inspiration, was higher than that of the prophets Ḥaggai, Zekharya and Malakhi, who did not see the big picture regarding the future of the world and the clashes of the kingdoms (Megilla 3a). Similarly, they said: “A sage is preferable to a prophet” (as explained below, halakha 7).¹
Notes (1)
- Rabbeinu Baḥya (Devarim 33:8) divided revelations into the four levels I cited at the beginning of the halakha. In prophecy the thoughts and feelings are nullified, and in divine inspiration they are not nullified; so wrote the Radak and Meiri in the introduction to Tehillim; Rabbeinu Baḥya, Vayikra 8:8; Devarim 33:8; Abarbanel, Shemot 15. So wrote the Guide 2:45 (on the second level). Beyond this, the Rambam (Foundations of the Torah 7:2) wrote regarding prophecy that when receiving it a person loses his faculties, and the Ran and Meiri cited his words. But many disagreed with the Rambam, because we find many prophets who received prophecy without losing their faculties (above 16, n. 5). It seems that the dispute concerns the state of the body, but all would agree that when receiving prophecy, the prophet’s thoughts, feelings and sensations are nullified. Sefer Ha-Akeda (Gate 6) wrote that prophecy stems from the level of the neshama, and divine inspiration from the level of the ru’aḥ, which is lower than the neshama. After Rabbeinu Baḥya (Devarim 33:8) explained that the level of prophecy is above divine inspiration, he wrote in the name of the Ramban: “Divine inspiration is greater than all of them,” because “ru’aḥ ha-kodesh is wisdom, which is a spirit (ru’aḥ) drawn from the holy (kodesh), which is the supernal source.” That is, divine inspiration descends from the sefira of Ḥokhma through Malkhut, whereas prophecy comes from the sefirot of Netzaḥ and Hod, so that the revelation of prophecy is higher, but on the other hand the root of divine inspiration is higher. Furthermore, divine inspiration is received in Malkhut, and therefore through it one can understand the Torah in a broader and more comprehensive way. For this reason a sage is preferable to a prophet (Bava Batra 12a). Similarly wrote Ateret Tzvi on the Zohar, Aḥarei Mot 61a. (See further below, halakha 7.) Our master Rav Kook wrote (Orot Ha-kodesh 2:94) that prophecy actualizes the talent of divine inspiration in a more developed way. Since the basis is divine inspiration, the level of prophecy corresponds to the extent of the attainment of divine inspiration. And some merited a high level of divine inspiration but did not merit prophecy; they will then be on a level of broader understanding than a prophet, but in the particular matter the prophet attained, the prophet reached a higher and more developed level. Therefore, in general, the section of the Prophets in the Tanakh is more important than the Writings, but sometimes the Writings are more important, and therefore halakhically they are equal in that it is permitted to place books of the Writings on books of the Prophets (Rema, YD 282:19). And sometimes the Writings even precede the Prophets, as in the order of Malkhuyot, Zikhronot and Shofarot of Rosh Ha-shana. We likewise find (Megilla 3a) regarding the relationship between Daniel and Ḥaggai, Zekharya and Malakhi: “They are superior to him (they are superior to Daniel), for they are prophets and he is not a prophet (they are prophets and their books are in the Prophets, while he is not a prophet and his book is in the Writings). He is superior to them, for he saw and they did not see.”