English translation — בהעלותך ג

A.

In the Rambam, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah¹,

where it discusses the matter of prophecy²

— "It is a foundation of the religion to know that God prophesies to human beings" — the Rambam says: And prophecy rests only on a person who is great in wisdom, mighty in his character traits, and his inclination does not overcome him in any matter in the world, but he overcomes his inclination with his mind always, and he has a broad and very correct intellect.

And afterwards the Rambam details the order of the prophet's conduct in practice etc.

Commentators ask³

: In tractate Nedarim⁴

Rabbi Yochanan says, "The Holy One, blessed be He, causes His Shechinah to rest only on one who is mighty, wealthy, wise, and humble, and all of these are from Moses"

(and as it is learned there from a verse each detail,

until humble — "as it is written⁵

And the man Moses was very humble"),

from which it is implied

(from the proof verses)

that "mighty" and "wealthy" mean simply

(in his body and in possessions)

; also — why does the Rambam not mention "wealthy"

(in its simple sense)

and "humble"?

The Kesef Mishneh explains,

that what the Rambam says is from “he states his own reasoning and not from that of Rabbi Yonatan”⁶.

And

explains that the reason the Rambam does not bring the aforementioned details,

is because R. Y. in his statement

(“The Holy One, blessed be He, does not cause His Shechinah to rest”)

speaks about the resting of the Shechinah in a manner of <b>permanence</b>,

as the Rosh explains in Nedarim,

and therefore all these conditions are required; but not permanently “it is possible that he will prophesy even if he does not have all these qualities

(from R. Y. — “mighty, wealthy, wise, and humble”)

and our master did not intend here to explain except the conditions of the prophet to prophesy even if it is not permanently”⁷.

The answer is, however, seemingly not smooth,

because

that the physical virtues

(mighty in his body and wealthy in its simple sense)

pertain to the resting of the Divine Presence permanently more than the virtues of the character traits "mighty in his character traits etc."?

— And seemingly, on the contrary: the spiritual virtues should be a greater cause and reason for the resting of the Divine Presence permanently than physical might and wealth is — difficult]

Why should the Rambam speak only about the resting of the Shechinah-prophecy &lt;b&gt;not &lt;/b&gt;permanently,

and not about

(the conditions that are necessary for)

the resting of the Shechinah permanently?

What this was indeed the state of prophecy of Moshe, Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu &lt;b&gt;etc. &lt;/b&gt;— the prophets explicitly mentioned in the Torah?

Also, it is seemingly more relevant to explain a permanent state than to explain

A one-time thing or generally a temporary situation.

And furthermore, the main point,

from the plain language of the Rambam in that halacha,

and the halachos following it imply that he speaks

(a)

about the permanent resting of the Shechinah⁸

(about a permanent prophet⁹),

the halachos about <b>all </b>types of prophets¹⁰.

(b)

B.

There are commentators¹¹

who answer — the opposite: the Rambam holds that the halacha does not remain like R. Yochanan and that a mighty one and a rich one

(in their simple sense)

are not necessary for the indwelling of the Divine Presence; and the proof: among the prophets there were those who were not mighty or rich¹².

And as is also evident in the Talmud,

that the indwelling of the Divine Presence can be also upon one who is not rich:

The Gemara¹³

brings in several places the story¹⁴,

that a bat-kol came out from heaven and said "There is one here who is worthy that the Shechinah should rest upon him¹⁵

like Moshe Rabbeinu¹⁶

except that his generation is not worthy of it",

and "the Sages set their eyes upon Hillel the Elder"¹⁷,

that Hillel was,

as is known¹⁸,

a great <b>poor man</b>¹⁹.

But the question remains regarding that he does not bring "his humility"²⁰,

which on the contrary: from the aforementioned story in the Gemara regarding Hillel the Elder it is implied,

that that which he was worthy that the Shechinah should rest upon him,

was primarily because of his humility,

as the Gemara elaborates "And when he died they said about him etc. 'the humble one etc.'"²¹.

And so it is also implied in our portion,

that what the verse says "And the man Moses was very humble, more than any man on the face of the earth" is²²

as an introduction²³

to that which is stated immediately afterward: "Not so My servant Moses; in all My house he is faithful. Mouth to mouth I speak with him, and in a vision and not in riddles, and the image of the Lord he beholds, etc.",

where the Almighty praises the level of prophecy of Moses our teacher²⁴.

3.

In simple terms, one could explain,

that the condition of "humble" is included²⁵

in that which the Rambam says "mighty in his character traits, and his inclination shall not overpower him in any matter in the world, etc.",

which

(also)

humility is among the virtues of character traits²⁶,

and likewise that the matter of "mighty in strength" the Rambam brings in the continuation of his words "a person who is filled with all these traits <b>perfect in his body</b>"²⁷.

But — a)

Even if one would say that with "shalem be-gufo" here the Rambam also means health²⁸

and perfection of the body literally²⁹,

this is still not the state of "gibor"; and in any case it is not understood why he includes and hints at it <b>in the continuation</b> of his words and does not say it explicitly and at the beginning of his words as a condition for prophecy.

b)

And likewise regarding humility: since in the Gemara it says "anav" as humble in itself,

why does the Rambam³⁰

not

A separate detail³¹.

D.

The aforementioned Gemara is also brought in Tractate Shabbos³²,

and there it is said "the Divine Presence rests only upon a wise man, a mighty man, a rich man, and a man of stature."

One must understand

(as the Lechem Mishneh asks³³)

: That which the Gemara adds "a man of stature" it is possible to say,

that this is connected and an interpretation of "mighty"³⁴

(which is particularly relevant there in the sugya in Shabbos because it discusses the <b>height</b> of the Levites)³⁵

; it is however difficult — a)

Why does the Gemara there omit³⁶

"humble"³⁷

and b)

it changes the order relative to how it is in Nedarim

("mighty rich wise"),

beginning with "wise mighty"³⁸?

Another variation of language between the two topics: in Nedarim it says "the Holy One, blessed be He, does not cause His Shechinah to dwell etc.",

and in Shabbat — "the Shechinah does not dwell etc."³⁹.

5.

And one must say the explanation in all this:

When defining the matter of prophecy, the Rambam says in the 13 Principles⁴⁰

his: "And that⁴¹

a person knows that this species of man there are found among them⁴²

individuals with natural dispositions of character traits

Very excellent and of great completeness, and their souls are prepared so that they receive the form of the intellect after&lt;sup&gt;43&lt;/sup&gt;

so will that human intellect cleave to the Active Intellect, and there will emanate from it upon him a noble emanation, and these are the prophets, and this is prophecy."

And so it is also implied from the words of the Rambam in the halachic code in the Book of the Hand,

where the Rambam says: "It is a foundation of the religion to know that God prophesies to human beings" and immediately continues regarding the details and conditions of prophecy — "And prophecy does not rest etc.",

and also regarding the details of how the prophet comes to prophecy and "the ways of prophecy"&lt;sup&gt;44&lt;/sup&gt;

(as he continues in that halacha "A person etc. when he enters the orchard etc.")

and regarding the manner of prophecy in actuality —

What he means by this is not merely to describe and inform the details and manners in the order of prophecy,

but he brings them as matters whose knowledge — "knowledge" — is "from the fundamentals of religion"*⁴⁴

From the fundamentals of religion it is not

(only)

to know that there is the matter of prophecy which applies

(line)

to human beings,

"<b>He reveals His secret </b>to His servants the prophets"⁴⁵

<b>In general </b>— but also the knowledge of the manner and limit of prophecy — that this is connected with the intellect and mind of the prophet,

and is received

In his intellect⁴⁶.

As the Rambam continues⁴⁷

(Regarding prophets in general)

"And all of them, when they prophesy, their limbs tremble, and the strength of the body weakens, and their senses become confused, and there remains <b>the intellect free to understand</b> what she sees."

And since prophecy is a revelation that becomes unified with the reality

(intellect)

of the prophet

(until that "he will turn into another man and will understand in his intellect that he is not as he was, but that he has risen above the level of the rest of the wise men"⁴⁸),

Therefore, in the knowledge — "to know" — also the ways of prophecy are relevant in a manner

(As the Rambam continues and elaborates)

"When he enters the Pardes and is drawn after those great and distant matters, and he will have <b>a correct knowledge to understand and comprehend</b>, and he goes and becomes sanctified and separates from the ways of the general public who walk in the darkness of time, and goes and rouses himself and teaches his soul that there should be no thought at all about any vain things nor about the vanities of time and its schemes, but rather <b>his intellect is always free</b> above, bound under the Throne, <b>to understand</b>⁴⁹

In those holy and pure forms and looks &lt;b&gt;into His wisdom&lt;/b&gt; of the Holy One, blessed be He, entirely from the first form until the navel of the earth &lt;b&gt;and knows&lt;/b&gt; from them His greatness,

And then "immediately the spirit of holiness rests upon him"&lt;sup&gt;50&lt;/sup&gt;

— all this is relevant and a part of the "

(from the foundations of the religion)

&lt;b&gt;knowledge&lt;/b&gt;".

6.

And accordingly the conditions of prophecy are understood and why the Rambam specifically counts these conditions

(which he brings)

and not the other matters in the Gemara "mighty, wealthy, and humble".

The Rambam is not out to speak about all conditions that are necessary for the resting of prophecy,

but only about those that are needed to "know" as "the foundation of the religion",

and this is that "prophecy rests only on a person who is great in wisdom, mighty in his character traits, and his inclination does not overcome him, but he overcomes his inclination with his intellect, etc., possessing a very broad mind",

Because these are matters in the very definition of prophecy⁵¹

which add to the understanding of the foundation of prophecy — that this

is in a manner that acts in the intellect of man,

consequently, the state of the intellect and nature of man is relevant when the prophecy applies upon him,

but the other matters "mighty, wealthy, and humble" are only conditions that the &lt;b&gt;prophet&lt;/b&gt; needs to have for the resting of prophecy from above; they are, however, not a part of the essence of the matter of prophecy,

and consequently — not relevant in the "principle" of the foundation of the religion — the matter of prophecy:

Strength and wealth bring out the physical perfection of man,

which is required as a condition for the indwelling of the Divine Presence⁵²,

and "poverty" pertains to removing an obstacle to the indwelling of the Divine Presence, because "any person who has haughtiness of spirit, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: I and he cannot dwell together in the world"⁵³,

and this is a matter like heresy regarding the principle⁵⁴.

7.

And according to this, one can also explain the difference between the Mishnah of our Sages, may their memory be for blessing, as it is brought in Nedarim and as it is brought in Shabbat:

Between the two matters mentioned above,

(a)

mighty and rich and

(b)

humble,

although in general humility is a condition that is more necessary for the indwelling of the Divine Presence than might and wealth⁵¹,

but in a particular aspect might and wealth relate more in a direct way to prophecy

(the indwelling of the Divine Presence).

For the concept of "humility" is a general concept,

which touches not only the concept of prophecy,

that it should be "God causes men to prophesy",

but this pertains <b>in general </b>to the connection and influence in general of the Holy One, blessed be He,

as explained in the Talmud there "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'I and he cannot <b>dwell </b>in the world'"; and further — in the well-known expression⁵⁵

"The Holy One, blessed be He, dwells only upon something that is nullified to Him, may He be blessed",

But strength and wealth are relevant only to prophecy.

Just as the matter of prophecy requires the ultimate perfection of human virtues,

"Great in wisdom, mighty in his attributes, etc.,"

as above,

it also requires the ultimate perfection in the physical existence of the person,

physical strength and wealth.

that this is in accordance with what the Rambam wrote in Hilchos Teshuvah⁵⁶

regarding the physical promises in the Torah,

that these are not matters of reward for [observance of] Torah and mitzvos,

but rather they are matters of benefit and assistance toward perfection in the study of Torah and fulfillment of the mitzvos: The Almighty removes "all the things that hinder us" from studying Torah and fulfilling His mitzvos, and He bestows "all the good things that strengthen our hands to do the Torah, such as satiety and peace and abundance of silver and gold, so that we will not occupy all our days with things that the body needs, but rather we will sit free to study wisdom and to do the mitzvah, etc."

And likewise it can be said regarding a prophet,

that when the virtues of wise, great, mighty in character traits etc. are in him in perfection — at the time

he also has the physical virtues of might⁵⁷

and wealth⁵⁸].

8.

And one must say — in order to explain &lt;b&gt;compare &lt;/b&gt;the two sugias of the Gemara — that in Tractate Shabbat it speaks about &lt;b&gt;prophecy &lt;/b&gt;

(in a high level),

and in Nedarim — about

(prophecy in a level lower than the aforementioned or)

the indwelling of the Shechinah &lt;b&gt;in general&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;59&lt;/sup&gt;

— And as an introduction, in this matter of "Shechinah dwells" there are &lt;b&gt;many &lt;/b&gt;levels&lt;sup&gt;60&lt;/sup&gt;,

beginning from the prophecy of Moses

(in its perfection),

until "&lt;b&gt;when ten sit, the Shechinah dwells&lt;/b&gt;"&lt;sup&gt;61&lt;/sup&gt;,

and "even if they are not speaking words of Torah"&lt;sup&gt;62&lt;/sup&gt;

; and even by Moses himself there were several levels: the prophecy of Moses in its perfection

(as in our parshah.

And it is said, "And there has not arisen a prophet again like Moses, etc."&lt;sup&gt;63&lt;/sup&gt;)

; as it was &lt;b&gt;before &lt;/b&gt;Moses became wealthy

(from the chips of the tablets)

(which includes also the time after he received the Torah from Sinai!)

; the thirty-eight years when the Jews were in the desert before "the men of war finished dying"&lt;sup&gt;64&lt;/sup&gt;,

when "the speech was not designated with him

In a language of affection, face to face, and settled mind"⁶⁵

And further⁶⁶

And based on this, the change of language in the sugyas is also understandable

("The Shechinah does not rest"; "The Holy One, blessed be He, does not cause His Shechinah to rest")

It is known the principle&lt;sup&gt;67&lt;/sup&gt;,

that specifically a "highest one" is a line "lower down".

And therefore: in tractate Nedarim,

where it speaks about one who is "lower down" — he does not have all the virtues&lt;sup&gt;68&lt;/sup&gt;

as enumerated in tractate Shabbat

(and therefore by him there is only the matter of

(a lower prophecy,

or)

the resting of the Divine Presence &lt;b&gt;in general&lt;/b&gt;)

— comes the inspiration with "higher one" — "&lt;b&gt;the Holy One, blessed be He&lt;/b&gt;" "causes His Presence to rest"

(in a high level)

is "the Divine Presence rests" by itself]&lt;sup&gt;69&lt;/sup&gt;.

9.

And based on this one will also understand the other variations of language in the two topics:

In tractate Shabbos where it discusses the resting of prophecy,

therefore it says

the Gemara that the first condition is that he should be a "wise person"

(Because also the perfection in character virtues comes from this that he overcomes himself &lt;b&gt;with his intellect&lt;/b&gt; his inclination etc.' and specifically then when "his inclination overcomes him in a matter of the world" there is in him the perfection of the intellectual virtues)],

Which is a vessel for "prophecy rests" as explained at length;

And afterwards the Gemara continues: "Mighty and rich and of stature" — physical matters and virtues that are conditions and details that help and contribute to perfection in the virtue of "wise"

(And for this reason it is not mentioned there "humble",

because this is a general condition for having a connection to the Above — and not specifically to the resting of prophecy).

But in Nedarim it does not speak about the conditions that are necessary for the resting of prophecy specifically,

but also

(and primarily)

to the general inspiration and connection of the Holy One, blessed be He, with a human being down here below — and therefore the Gemara lists there also "humble",

which brings about that the Holy One, blessed be He, should dwell; and for this reason the Gemara there does not begin with "wise"

(which is relevant specifically regarding the resting of prophecy).

Yud.

According to the above, in this explanation of the foundation of the religion that is in prophecy, there will be answered another question in the Rambam:

The Sefer HaIkkarim⁷¹

explains the

Reason that he counts "Torah from heaven" as a "principle" and prophecy as a "root branching off from it" — because prophecy is not for the purpose that people should know "the personal matters that are renewed in the world or so that through it signs and wonders should be renewed concerning a particular matter etc.",

but "so that through it should arrive the divine&lt;sup&gt;72&lt;/sup&gt;

guidance for the human species, which is Torah from heaven etc.".

Based on this one must understand: the Rambam himself says indeed&lt;sup&gt;73&lt;/sup&gt;

regarding a prophet "If so, why is it said in the Torah&lt;sup&gt;74&lt;/sup&gt;

A prophet I will raise up for them from among their brothers like you, not to make a religion &lt;b&gt;does he come but &lt;/b&gt;to command concerning the words of the Torah and to warn the people that they not transgress it, as the last of them said&lt;sup&gt;75&lt;/sup&gt;

Remember the Torah of Moses my servant"

(It is only "&lt;b&gt;And likewise if &lt;/b&gt;he commands us regarding discretionary matters etc. it is a commandment to listen to him and one who transgresses his words is liable for death"&lt;sup&gt;76&lt;/sup&gt;,

but not because of this "does he come")

— why did he arrange in the thirteen principles

(in the commentary on the Mishnah, chapter Chelek)

that the principles and foundations of prophecy and the prophecy of Moses come immediately after the first five principles and foundations concerning the existence of God and that "it is fitting to serve Him"

(foundation five),

before the foundation

(the eighth)

that Torah is from heaven and

this foundation

(the ninth)

about the absence of change in the Torah?

The Rambam holds that all 13 are <b>principles</b>

(not according to the opinion of the Baal HaIkkarim)

; nevertheless, in them themselves there are levels and earlier and later — and according to the above — according to his own words,

he should have

(the sixth principle about prophecy,

and the seventh principle, the prophecy of Moses our teacher)

placed <b>after</b> the principles about <b>Torah</b>*⁷⁶?

Also: what is relevant in Sefer HaYad,

that that which "Ha-l menabe et bnei ha'adam" is "miyesodei hadat"⁷⁷.

In order to obey the prophet, it is seemingly only relevant to know that it is a "mitzvah lishmo'a mimenu" and the reason for this is because "&lt;b&gt;she'ne'emar &lt;/b&gt;eilav tishma'un" — a new specific command⁷⁸.

11.

And according to the above it will be understood: The revelation of prophecy to prophets is in a manner that the prophet becomes attached and united with the word of G-d,

until the word of G-d becomes clothed "in their intellect and comprehension in the vision of prophecy and also in their thought and speech, as it is written⁷⁹

the spirit of G-d

spoke within me and His word was on my tongue"⁸⁰,

as indicated in the Rambam⁸¹

and explained at length in Kabbalah⁸²

and Chassidut⁸³

In general, there are in prophecy here two

(three)

matters:

A)

<b>Torah </b>says "I will raise up a prophet from among their brethren like you, etc." — "to command matters of Torah"⁷³.

b)

A positive commandment in itself that one must obey a prophet,

one of the 613 commandments,

"To him you shall listen,"

"And one who transgresses his words is liable to death by the hand of heaven, etc."⁷³.

c)

It is "from the foundations of the religion"

(so)

the fulfillment of the positive commandment "To him you shall listen,"

but]

"<b>Knowledge </b>that God prophesies to human beings and that prophecy does not rest except etc.",

that the Almighty is revealed "He reveals His secret," He "prophesies to human beings" in a manner of unification⁸⁴

in the intellect of the prophet,

"<b>Becomes clothed </b>in their intellect and comprehension etc." — up to the perfection in this — the prophecy of Moses our teacher that "prophesies while he is awake and standing ..

Thus was the power in the intellect of Moshe Rabbeinu to understand the words of prophecy while he stood on his standing whole,

with all the details as the Rambam elaborates on this in the continuation of the chapter in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah⁸⁵

(and mainly in chapter 7 of Perek Chelek),

until "and his intellect was bound to the Rock of worlds and the glory never departed from him and the skin of his face shone⁸⁶

and he was sanctified like the angels."

And based on this it is understood why the foundations regarding prophecy come immediately following the foundations

(and principles)

regarding the existence of God

(and following the fifth principle "that the Holy One, blessed be He, alone is worthy to be served"),

And also that which the Rambam included in Sefer HaYad that this is "from the foundations of the religion" —

Because the knowledge of this,

pertains to the continuation regarding the knowledge of the existence of Hashem and His "revealing His secret" revelation and action revealed in the world⁸⁷.

(From the farbrengen of the holiday of Shavuos 5734)