הלכות יסודי התורה ז׳Foundations of the Torah 7

Halacha 1א׳

מִיסוֹדֵי הַדָּת לֵידַע שֶׁהָאֵל מְנַבֵּא אֶת בְּנֵי הָאָדָם. וְאֵין הַנְּבוּאָה חָלָה אֶלָּא עַל חָכָם גָּדוֹל בַּחָכְמָה, גִּבּוֹר בְּמִדּוֹתָיו, וְלֹא יְהֵא יִצְרוֹ מִתְגַּבֵּר עָלָיו בְּדָבָר בָּעוֹלָם אֶלָּא הוּא מִתְגַּבֵּר בְּדַעְתּוֹ עַל יִצְרוֹ תָּמִיד. וְהוּא בַּעַל דֵּעָה רְחָבָה נְכוֹנָה עַד מְאֹד. אָדָם שֶׁהוּא מְמֻלָּא בְּכָל הַמִּדּוֹת הָאֵלּוּ שָׁלֵם בְּגוּפוֹ, כְּשֶׁיִּכָּנֵס לַפַּרְדֵּס וְיִמָּשֵׁךְ בְּאוֹתָן הָעִנְיָנִים הַגְּדוֹלִים הָרְחוֹקִים, וְתִהְיֶה לוֹ דֵּעָה נְכוֹנָה לְהָבִין וּלְהַשִּׂיג וְהוּא מִתְקַדֵּשׁ וְהוֹלֵךְ וּפוֹרֵשׁ מִדַּרְכֵי כְּלַל הָעָם הַהוֹלְכִים בְּמַחֲשַׁכֵּי הַזְּמַן, וְהוֹלֵךְ וּמְזָרֵז עַצְמוֹ וּמְלַמֵּד נַפְשׁוֹ שֶׁלֹּא תִּהְיֶה לוֹ מַחֲשָׁבָה כְּלָל בְּאֶחָד מִדְּבָרִים בְּטֵלִים וְלֹא מֵהַבְלֵי הַזְּמַן וְתַחְבּוּלוֹתָיו, אֶלָּא דַּעְתּוֹ פְּנוּיָה תָּמִיד לְמַעְלָה קְשׁוּרָה תַּחַת הַכִּסֵּא לְהָבִין בְּאוֹתָן הַצּוּרוֹת הַקְּדוֹשׁוֹת הַטְּהוֹרוֹת, וּמִסְתַּכֵּל בְּחָכְמָתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כֻּלָּהּ מִצּוּרָה רִאשׁוֹנָה עַד טַבּוּר הָאָרֶץ וְיוֹדֵעַ מֵהֶן גָּדְלוֹ, מִיָּד רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ שׁוֹרָה עָלָיו. וּבְעֵת שֶׁתָּנוּחַ עָלָיו הָרוּחַ תִּתְעָרֵב נַפְשׁוֹ בְּמַעֲלַת הַמַּלְאָכִים הַנִּקְרָאִים אִישִׁים וְיֵהָפֵךְ לְאִישׁ אַחֵר וְיָבִין בְּדַעְתּוֹ שֶׁאֵינוֹ כְּמוֹת שֶׁהָיָה אֶלָּא שֶׁנִּתְעַלָּה עַל מַעֲלַת שְׁאָר בְּנֵי אָדָם הַחֲכָמִים, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּשָׁאוּל (שמואל א י ו) "וְהִתְנַבִּיתָ עִמָּם וְנֶהְפַּכְתָּ לְאִישׁ אַחֵר":

It is of the foundations of religion to know that God makes people receive prophecy. And prophecy only descends upon a very wise person who is strong in his character traits and whose inclination never overcomes him about anything in the world, but rather he always overcomes his inclination. And he [must have] a mind that is broad and very correct. A person who is filled with all of these traits [and] is complete in his body - when he enters 'the orchard' and is pulled into the distant great matters, and his mind will be correct to understand and comprehend, and he sanctifies himself and goes and separates himself from the ways of the rest of the people that go in temporal darkness, and goes and hastens himself and trains his soul not to have even a single thought about empty matters nor about the wastes of time and its machinations, but rather his thought is always directed towards the Heavens, tied under the Holy throne, to understand those pure and holy forms, and looks into the entire wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, from the primal form to the navel of the earth, and knows His greatness from them; immediately the Holy spirit rests upon him. And when the Divine spirit rests upon him, his soul will be integrated with the stage of the angels that are called eeshim (men) and he will change into a different man, and his mind will understand that he is not like he was, but rather that he has risen to a higher stage than other wise people, as it states with Shaul (I Samuel 10:6) "and you will prophesy with them, and will have turned into another man."

Halacha 2ב׳

הַנְּבִיאִים מַעֲלוֹת מַעֲלוֹת הֵן. כְּמוֹ שֶׁיֵּשׁ בַּחָכְמָה חָכָם גָּדוֹל מֵחֲבֵרוֹ כָּךְ בַּנְּבוּאָה נָבִיא גָּדוֹל מִנָּבִיא. וְכֻלָּן אֵין רוֹאִין מַרְאֵה הַנְּבוּאָה אֶלָּא בַּחֲלוֹם בְּחֶזְיוֹן לַיְלָה. אוֹ בַּיּוֹם אַחַר שֶׁתִּפּל עֲלֵיהֶן תַּרְדֵּמָה כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר יב ו) "בַּמַּרְאָה אֵלָיו אֶתְוַדָּע בַּחֲלוֹם אֲדַבֶּר בּוֹ". וְכֻלָּן כְּשֶׁמִּתְנַבְּאִים אֵיבְרֵיהֶן מִזְדַּעְזְעִין וְכֹחַ הַגּוּף כָּשֵׁל וְעֶשְׁתּוֹנוֹתֵיהֶם מִתְטָרְפוֹת וְתִשָּׁאֵר הַדַּעַת פְּנוּיָה לְהָבִין מַה שֶּׁתִּרְאֶה. כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּאַבְרָהָם (בראשית טו יב) "וְהִנֵּה אֵימָה חֲשֵׁכָה גְדלָה נֹפֶלֶת עָלָיו". וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּדָנִיֵּאל (דניאל י ח) "וְהוֹדִי נֶהְפַּךְ עָלַי לְמַשְׁחִית וְלֹא עָצַרְתִּי כֹּחַ":

There are different levels of prophets. Just as in wisdom, there are sages who are greater than others, so too in prophecy there are prophets who are greater than [other] prophets. And all of them only see the prophetic vision in a dream in a vision of the night, or in the daytime after a trance falls upon them - as it states (Numbers 12:6), "I become known to them in a vision, in a dream I speak to them." And all of them - when they prophesy - their limbs tremble, the strength of the body weakens, and their faculties are impaired [so that] the mind is left unencumbered to understand what it sees, like it states about Avraham (Genesis 15:12), "and behold, a great dark dread fell upon him"; and like it states about Daniel (Daniel 10:8), "And my splendor turned on me to destruction and I had no strength left."

Halacha 3ג׳

הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁמּוֹדִיעִים לַנָּבִיא בְּמַרְאֵה הַנְּבוּאָה דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל מוֹדִיעִין לוֹ וּמִיָּד יֵחָקֵק בְּלִבּוֹ פִּתְרוֹן הַמָּשָׁל בְּמַרְאֵה הַנְּבוּאָה וְיֵדַע מָה הוּא. כְּמוֹ הַסֻּלָּם שֶׁרָאָה יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ וּמַלְאָכִים עוֹלִים וְיוֹרְדִים בּוֹ וְהוּא הָיָה מָשָׁל לְמַלְכֻיּוֹת וְשִׁעְבּוּדָן. וּכְמוֹ הַחַיּוֹת שֶׁרָאָה יְחֶזְקֵאל וְהַסִּיר נָפוּחַ וּמַקֵּל שָׁקֵד שֶׁרָאָה יִרְמְיָה וְהַמְּגִלָּה שֶׁרָאָה יְחֶזְקֵאל וְהָאֵיפָה שֶׁרָאָה זְכַרְיָה. וְכֵן שְׁאָר הַנְּבִיאִים. מֵהֶם אוֹמְרִים הַמָּשָׁל וּפִתְרוֹנוֹ כְּמוֹ אֵלּוּ. וְיֵשׁ שֶׁהֵן אוֹמְרִים הַפִּתְרוֹן בִּלְבַד. וּפְעָמִים אוֹמְרִים הַמָּשָׁל בִּלְבַד בְּלֹא פִּתְרוֹן כְּמִקְצָת דִּבְרֵי יְחֶזְקֵאל וּזְכַרְיָה וְכֻלָּן בְּמָשָׁל וְדֶרֶךְ חִידָה הֵם מִתְנַבְּאִים:

The things which are made known to a prophet in the prophetic vision are made known to him via allegory, and the meaning of the allegory from the prophetic vision is instantaneously implanted in his heart and he knows what it [means], like the ladder which our forefather Yaacov saw, with angels ascending and descending upon it, and he knew that it was a metaphor for the empires and their oppression; and like the creatures (chayot) which Yehezkel saw; and the boiling pot and the almond [branch] staff which Yirmiyahu saw; and the scroll which Yehezkel saw; and the measure which Zechariah saw, and similarly [all the] other prophets. Some of them said the allegory and its meaning like these [mentioned above], and some only said the meaning; and sometimes they only said the allegory without any explanation, like some of the words of Yehezkel and Zechariah. And all of them prophesied via allegory and by way of riddles.