Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Rambam- Yesodei HaTorah- Chapter 9 Halacha 4: Prophets Do Not Decide The Law, For 'It Is Not In Heaven!"

וכן אם עקר דבר מדברים שלמדנו מפי השמועה או שאמר בדין מדיני תורה שה' צוה לו שהדין כך הוא והלכה כדברי פלוני הרי זה נביא השקר ויחנק. אע"פ שעשה אות. שהרי בא להכחיש התורה שאמרה לא בשמים היא. אבל לפי שעה שומעין לו בכל:

So too, if the prophet contradicts something that we learned from an oral tradition or says one of the laws of the Torah is [a specific way] because G-D commanded him that the law is so and the law follows so-and-so's opinion, this is a false prophet and he should [be put to death] through strangulation. [This is true] even if he performs signs since he came to destroy the Torah, since it says(Devarim 30:12) "It is not in heaven." However, we listen to him with all [commandments that are to last] for a finite amount of time.

Why is it so bad for a prophet to tell us which Rabbi to side with? He is not telling us a new law, only telling us which one of the Rabbis is favored by G-D. Why should this lead to him being put to death? One answer is given by the Maamer Mordechai:

לא בשמים היא וכו'. נ"ב אין להקשות ממ"ש בריש הפרק ויאמר שה' שלחו להוסיף מצוה וכו' דמשמע דוקא כשבא להוסיף או לגרוע הוא דנקרא נביא השקר אבל באומר הלכה כפלוני (דאיהו) [דאינו] מוסיף ולא גורע לא דהא גם הכא הוי שינוי דהא כיון דכתיב לא בשמים היא א"כ גם אינה בשמים להכריע הדין עם מי וא"כ כשזה בא ואמר הלכה כפלוני ואומר שה' שלחו א"כ נמצא דמכחיש כתוב דכתיב לא בשמים היא והכי דייקי דברי רבינו ז"ל ועיין בכ"מ ובפר"ח ודוק.

It is not in heaven, etc: This requires explanation. One should not ask based on what it says in the beginning of the chapter "The [false prophet] will say that G-D sent him to add a law, etc." That this seems to imply specifically when the [false prophet] tries to add or take away [a law] that he is called a false prophet, but if he says the law follows so-and-so, that [the false prophet] is not adding or taking away [a law, he is] not [put to death.]   This [is faulty reasoning] because [a prophet telling us which Rabbi to follow] is a change [from normative Jewish practice] because it is written (Devarim 30:12) "It is not in Heaven." Therefore, it is not in heaven to decide who the law follows. If so, when this [prophet] comes and tells us, "The law is like so-and-so," and he says, "G-D sent me," we find that he is extinguishing the verse that writes (ibid), "It is not in heaven." This is the reasoning of the [Rambam]. 

The Torah tells us that no one is allowed to add laws or subtract laws from the list of commandments. However, the verse (Devarim 4:2) "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you," only tells us that the prophet is not allowed to come and make up a new commandment. From where do we know that their status as a prophet has no authority over us in any matters of permanent law? That comes from the verse (Devarim 30:12) of "It is not in heaven." This verse teaches us that once the Torah was given, the Rabbis now have authority over the law and not G-D. Human logic and reasoning is how we decide matters and not through divine intervention. This is a foundational principle of Judaism and must be understood. The majority rules what is law, not G-D. As demonstrated in Babba Matzia 59b by the oven of Aknai as was described in the previous mishna.    


Sunday, June 2, 2019

Rambam- Yesodei HaTorah- Chapter 9 Halacha 3: To What Extent Must We Listen To The New Prophet

וכן נביא שעבר על דברי עצמו והכובש נבואתו חייב מיתה בידי שמים ובשלשתן נאמר אנכי אדרוש מעמו. וכן אם יאמר לנו הנביא שנודע לנו שהוא נביא לעבור על אחת מכל מצות האמורות בתורה או על מצות הרבה בין קלות בין חמורות לפי שעה מצוה לשמוע לו. וכן למדנו מחכמים ראשונים מפי השמועה בכל אם יאמר לך הנביא עבור על דברי תורה כאליהו בהר הכרמל שמע לו חוץ מעבודת כוכבים. והוא שיהיה הדבר לפי שעה. כגון אליהו בהר הכרמל שהקריב עולה בחוץ וירושלים נבחרת לכך והמקריב בחוץ חייב כרת. ומפני שהוא נביא מצוה לשמוע לו וגם בזה נאמר אליו תשמעון. ואילו שאלו את אליהו ואמרו לו היאך נעקור מ"ש בתורה פן תעלה עולותיך בכל מקום. היה אומר לא נאמר אלא המקריב בחוץ לעולם חייב כרת כמו שצוה משה. אבל אני אקריב היום בחוץ בדבר ה' כדי להכחיש נביאי הבעל. ועל הדרך הזאת אם צוו כל הנביאים לעבור לפי שעה מצוה לשמוע להם. ואם אמרו שהדבר נעקר לעולם מיתתו בחנק שהתורה אמרה לנו ולבנינו עד עולם:

So too, a prophet that transgresses his own instructions and the [prophet] that suppresses his prophecy, [they] are sentenced to death by the heavenly court. By all three (A regular person that does not listen to the prophet, a prophet that does not listen to himself, and a prophet that suppresses his own prophecy) it says (Devarim 18:19) "I will interrogate him." This is true even if a prophet, who is known to us to be a true prophet (he has already been proven to be a prophet), tells us to transgress one of the [613] commandments that are stated in the Torah or [if he tells us to transgress] many [commandments] regardless of whether they are easy [commandments to keep] or difficult [commandments to keep], [as long as it is only for] a finite amount of time, it is a commandment to listen to him. 

So too, we learned an oral tradition from the earlier Rabbis that, with regard to all things except idol worship, if the prophet tells us to transgress the words of the Torah, similar to how Eliyahu [transgressed commandments] by the Mount Carmel incident, we listen to him. [However,] it must be a temporary [change], similar to Eliyahu at Mount Carmel when he brought a burnt offering outside [of the Temple in Jerusalem] and [the Temple] in Jerusalem had already been chosen for [the area to bring sacrifices], and [the law states] that anyone who brings a sacrifice outside [of the Temple (once it has been designated)] is [punished] by being spiritually cut off from the nation.   [Nevertheless,] because he is a prophet it is a commandment to listen to him [even if his statements contradict the Torah in this temporary fashion] since [in a situation such as] this it states (Devarim 18:15) "You shall listen to him."

If it would have been asked to Eliyahu and said to him "How could you uproot that which is written in the Torah (Devarim 12:13) '[Do not] offer sacrifices in every place.'" He would have responded, "This commandment was only referring to one who continuously sacrifices outside [of the Temple who] will be spiritually cut off from the nation, as Moshe had commanded. However, I only brought a sacrifice today outside [of the Temple] according to the word of G-D in order to destroy the [false] prophets of the Baal." In this regard, if any of the prophets command us to transgress [a commandment other than idol worship] for a finite amount of time, it is a commandment to listen to them. [However,] if they say [a commandment] is permanently uprooted they are put to death by strangulation, since the Torah states (Devarim 29:28), "For us and our children, forever."   

One important implication we can glean from this Halacha is that a prophet that is going to change one of the commandments, even though it is only for a finite period of time, must be directly commanded by G-D to do this. As Eliyahu states (Kings 1 18:16):


וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּעֲל֣וֹת הַמִּנְחָ֗ה וַיִּגַּ֞שׁ אֵלִיָּ֣הוּ הַנָּבִיא֮ וַיֹּאמַר֒ יְהוָ֗ה אֱלֹהֵי֙ אַבְרָהָם֙ יִצְחָ֣ק וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַיּ֣וֹם יִוָּדַ֗ע כִּֽי־אַתָּ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַאֲנִ֣י עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ ובדבריך [וּבִדְבָרְךָ֣] עָשִׂ֔יתִי אֵ֥ת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃ 


When it was time to present the meal offering, the prophet Elijah came forward and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! Let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your bidding.

A prophet must listen to the word of G-D and convey the message as instructed and we must follow him. However, the question arises, can a prophet infer other ideas from his prophecy or must he only repeat exactly what G-D has commanded? 

In the commentary on the Rambam named Avodat Hamelech on this Mishna it states:

ולפי דברינו יהיה כוונת רבנו לבאר דדוקא כשהנביא אומר כן בשם ה' כמו שאמר אליהו אבל אני אקריב היום בחוץ כדבר ה', משא"כ אם לא אמר כן בתורת נביא אלא בא לעשות סיג מעצמו לדבר תורה אף שהוא נביא מוחזק לא מהני ובעינן דוקא בי"ד לכך וכמ"ש בהל' ממרים
According to our words, the intention of our Rabbi (Rambam) is to explain that specifically when the prophet says [his commandment] in the name of G-D, like what Eliyahu said, "I offer this sacrifice today outside [of the Temple] according to the word of G-D." However, this is not true, [meaning we do not listen to him,] if he did not say it within the parameters of his prophecy, but rather as a way to make a fence around a Torah matter (biblical commandment) from [his own reasoning.] Even though he is an established prophet, this does not help (we do not have to listen to him), [rather,] we need the courts to [to make such a rule,] as is written [by the Rambam] in the laws of mamarim.
This is a very important point and a foundation of Jewish law. Prophets are not listened to because they are authority figures, but because they are simply repeating the word of G-D. Additionally, we only listen to them with regards to rebuke, that they are chastising us to follow the commandments, or if they tell us G-D is suspending or making an additional commandment for a FINITE amount of time. However, we DO NOT listen to a prophet to decide laws or to change any existing laws. We follow the majority of Rabbis to decide on the Torah laws. This is best illustrated in the story of the oven of Aknai where Rebbe Eliezar was arguing with the rest of the Rabbis in his day about whether the oven was pure or impure (Babba Metzia 59b):

חזר ואמר להם אם הלכה כמותי מן השמים יוכיחו יצאתה בת קול ואמרה מה לכם אצל ר"א שהלכה כמותו בכ"מ עמד רבי יהושע על רגליו ואמר (דברים ל, יב) לא בשמים היא מאי לא בשמים היא אמר רבי ירמיה שכבר נתנה תורה מהר סיני אין אנו משגיחין בבת קול שכבר כתבת בהר סיני בתורה (שמות כג, ב) אחרי רבים להטות אשכחיה רבי נתן לאליהו א"ל מאי עביד קוב"ה בההיא שעתא א"ל קא חייך ואמר נצחוני בני נצחוני בני


Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, Heaven will prove it. A Divine Voice emerged from Heaven and said: Why are you differing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakha is in accordance with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion? Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: It is written: “It is not in heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12). The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of the phrase “It is not in heaven” in this context? Rabbi Yirmeya says: Since the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai, we do not regard a Divine Voice, as You already wrote at Mount Sinai, in the Torah: “After a majority to incline” (Exodus 23:2). Since the majority of Rabbis disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion, the halakha is not ruled in accordance with his opinion. The Gemara relates: Years after, Rabbi Natan encountered Elijah the prophet and said to him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do at that time, when Rabbi Yehoshua issued his declaration? Elijah said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, smiled and said: My children have triumphed over Me; My children have triumphed over Me.   

The point of this mishna in the Rambam is to clarify how and when we are supposed to follow a prophet and when NOT to follow a prophet. 



Monday, May 27, 2019

Rambam- Yesodei HaTorah- Chapter 9 Halacha 2: One Must Follow The New Prophet As Long As He Doesn't Contradict Jewish Law

א"כ למה נאמר בתורה נביא אקים להם מקרב אחיהם כמוך. לא לעשות דת הוא בא אלא לצוות על דברי התורה ולהזהיר העם שלא יעברו עליה. כמו שאמר האחרון שבהן זכרו תורת משה עבדי. וכן אם צונו בדברי הרשות כגון לכו למקום פלוני או אל תלכו. עשו מלחמה היום או אל תעשו. בנו חומה זו או אל תבנוה. מצוה לשמוע לו והעובר על דבריו חייב מיתה בידי שמים שנאמר והיה האיש אשר לא ישמע אל 
דברי הנביא אשר ידבר בשמי אנכי אדרוש מעמו:

If it is true [that this new prophet will not change any of the laws of Judaism] then why does it say in the Torah (Devarim 18:18) "I will establish someone like you (Moshe) for the [Jewish people] from among their midst?" [G-D is] not bringing forth [a new prophet] to make a [new] religion, only to [remind the people] of the commandments of the Torah and to warn the nation not to transgress them. Like it says in [the book] of the last [prophet] (Malachi 3:22) "Remember the Torah of Moshe, my servant." Additionally, if the [prophet]commands us with regard to a matter [that the Torah does not speak about], for example go to such and such place or do not go, or wage war today or do not wage war, or build this wall or do not build it, then it is a commandment to listen to him and anyone who transgresses his command is worthy of the death penalty from Heaven, for it says (Devarim 18:19) "And it will be the man that does not listen to the [new] prophet's words that are spoken in My name, I will interrogate him."  

The Rambam now tells us the authority of the new prophet and his use. A new prophet can not erase what had been previously established, he can only add additional ancillary commandments that, according to the Rambam's examples, are for that specific time and situation. This is keeping in line with the commandment that one is neither allowed to add or subtract from the Torah (Rambam Safer Shoftim in hilchos mamarim). The Rambam continuously makes this point to show that a true Torah observant Jew could never even consider christianity or Islam as this would require someone to believe that a later prophet is coming to essentially change the previous commandments. No matter what these "prophets" do, a Torah observant Jew can not believe them. The new prophet could perform great miracles or have convincing arguments, but nothing can change the previously established commandments.

This idea brings up one of the Rambam's main ideas (Yisodei Hatorah Perek 1 Mishna 11) "[G-D] never changes, since there is nothing that can cause Him to change."  The idea that a prophet would come along and tell the Jewish people that certain commandments in the Torah are no longer to be followed would go against this basic concept of the Rambam. G-D does not change, therefore, it is impossible within the Rambam's conception of G-D that the religion that G-D created could experience any permanent change. It must be that when the Torah was initially given by Moshe, it was complete and would never be significantly altered.

The main utility of a new prophet is to remind us of the true Torah laws and that we should keep them. The additional use is that they can help guide us in matters of current events that are transient in nature like whether we need to build up protection for a future assault or if that will be seen as an aggression (build a wall or not), avoid a specific area or leave a specific area because of a future calamity (do not go to a certain place or do go), or perform a preemptive strike on an enemy or not (wage war or not). These concepts would not be found in the Torah as they are only appropriate for a specific time period and the Torah only contains that which is eternal and not bound to specific time periods. For example, war strategy against the Romans is only relevant against the Romans. Once that kingdom is gone or before they exist, there is no reason to speak of them. However, the commandments about sacrifices are relevant in any generation that has a Temple (Beis hamikdash), that is relevant in the first temple period, second temple period and it will be relevant again during the third temple period.