Shabbat Reay

The concept of a prophet is central to the Torah reading this week. But what exactly is a prophet? And what is a prophet’s role? The Hebrew word for a prophet is Navi and there are different interpretations of what that word comes from. Does it mean to bring good news? To bring a change for the better to the world? To foresee things that are going to happen. And why is it often paired with a dreamer or a person who gives remarkable signs (Devarim 13). Are the predictions confined to the Jewish people, or do they also apply to the nations of the world?

The earliest prophets Moshe and Miriam were clearly concerned with the establishment of the Jewish people together with their way of life that depended on a special relationship with an indefinable spiritual force we like to call God. But Moshe is more often called a teacher. Which, over time, has turned into a jewel-level relationship that combines the rational with the mystical.

This week, the prophet is described as somebody who is empowered by the Divine Spirit to add a dimension to the ruler, the hereditary priesthood and the judicial system. Not someone appointed but accepted for his or her charisma and moral stature. The Navi’s primary role is to inspire and rebuke those who fail. In the book of Jeremiah (Chapter 1:5) God commands him to be a prophet to the nations (although some commentators take it to be more specific).

The Navi stands in contrast to the political leader, and according to the Torah, the king is subservient to the Torah and to what we would call a constitution. Both Nathan and Gad stood up to King David and berated him when they felt he had betrayed his mission as a religious king.

The Torah also mentions the false prophet. It defines someone as somebody who may be able to perform miracles or signs, but if those messages involve going against the Torah or betraying it, regardless of the magic they perform, they are false. Signs are secondary, devices, easily impressing the naïve. Like miracles often are. The Bible is full of incidents where false prophets say what kings want to hear.

In contrast, the great prophets Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, and Yechezkel are prepared to stand up and preach truths both to the king and the people, and may end up in jail for their pains or be hunted. The bulk of the prophecy of the great prophets of the Bible is that the Jewish people, the Israelites, are constantly betraying their values, the leadership, and the kings are betraying their roles, and that what is supposed to be a fair, just, ethical society has become a materialistic one of power-grabbing selfishness. Prophets, therefore, catered to the poor and the destitute and were popular anti-establishment figures amongst the masses, as well as preaching and teaching. They were often solitary, too.

As for predictions, they usually refer to corrupt societies and politicians that inevitably lead to decline and ultimately defeat. Indeed, this backsliding was predicted by Moshe in the Torah itself. But Prophets were equally confident in predicting the decline and fall of the great empires of that era, the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians. But they had a unique message to the Jews that they would be able to recover and survive. They predicted the resurrection of Israel and a golden era of world peace.

The Navi had both insights and inspiration. Sometimes the Bible uses the term Chozeh (2 Samuel 24:11) and sometimes a dreamer (Cholem). But they all imply a spiritual giant and a concerned human being. The word means to bring to bring, to bring or foresee, something better. Except that sometimes the only way of bringing something better is by clearing out the dirty stables first.

The tradition of official divinely inspired prophecy has lapsed with the destruction of the Second Temple. ״Since the destruction prophecy has been taken from prophets and given to fools and children” ( Bava Batra 12b). If someone does try to prophesy or predict, we do not take them seriously. But people still hanker after answers and certainties. I’m afraid that we live in an era of many false prophets, whether they have beards, read your palm or gaze into crystal balls. The Torah warns us against being fooled. But we credulous humans continue to ignore the Torah’s advice.

Prophets had specific functions and roles in the times in which they preached. They offered inspiration and guidance. In that context, the inspiration of the magnificent literature of the prophets continues to inspire us through the words that they wrote that we continue to read in the synagogue today.

Devarim 11:26 -16:17

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen lives in New York. He was born in Manchester. His writings are concerned with religion, culture, history and current affairs – anything he finds interesting or relevant. They are designed to entertain and to stimulate. Disagreement is always welcome.