Prophecy

A prophet has the ability to see beyond our world and into the spiritual world. But all prophets are not equal in their ability to perceive the upper world. There are different levels of prophecy, depending on which level of the upper world the prophet perceives and how clearly he perceives it; and the same prophet does not necessarily achieve the same level with each prophecy.

The lowest stage of prophecy is the ability to see visions only of the lowest level of the spiritual world—Malkhut. (See “The Sefirot – Part I,” posted on 30 July 2009.) The source of prophetic emanation is actually Netzach and Hod, two levels above Malkhut (please refer to the sefirot diagram posted on 5 August 2009); but the prophet who experiences only the lowest form of prophecy is unable to detect Netzach and Hod at all, even through the medium of Malkhut. The prophet sees only those visions that are reflected in Malkhut; and those visions that he (or she) is able to perceive are seen unclearly, as though through a translucent glass.

At the next level of prophecy, the prophet is able to perceive levels above Malkhut, and glimpses of images emanating from Netzach and Hod may be visible, although still only through the perspective of Malkhut itself; and his vision is clouded. He does not have a clear view of those higher levels, and levels above Netzach and Hod are totally beyond his ken. Of all the prophets who ever lived, only Moses was able to see a level higher than Netzach and Hod. Moses was actually able to see as high as Tif’eret, and to have a clear perception, as though through clear, transparent glass. Therefore, Moses never spoke in parables; whereas other prophets often used parables, because their perception was clouded, and their prophetic vision was incomplete.

In the prophetic books of the Bible, the phrasing of the sentence that introduces each prophecy may give a clue to which level of the upper world the prophet’s vision was able to attain. A statement such as “The hand of the Lord was upon me“ (Ezekiel 37:1) indicates that the prophecy was a vision of Malkhut, since “the hand of the Lord” is a code-phrase representing Malkhut. On the other hand, a more direct statement such as “And He said to me . . .” (Ezekiel 2:1, 3:1, and many other places) indicates a communication through Netzach and Hod.

In the above discussion, I mentioned differences between the prophecy of Moses and that of all other prophets. Another difference was that other prophets either received God’s message in a prophetic dream or were awake but in a dazed state. Moreover, even when a prophecy came to the prophet while awake, the prophetic vision resulted in a state of fatigue, and in some cases the prophet fell down or lay down at the completion of his prophecy, as at the end of the first chapter of Ezekiel. But Moses saw his visions clearly, and he was always fully alert when God spoke to him: “. . . When there is a prophet of the Lord, in a vision I make myself known to him, in a dream I speak to him. Not so my servant Moses: he is trusted throughout my house. Mouth to mouth I speak with him, clearly, and not in riddles; and a vision of the Lord he beholds” (Numbers 12:6-8).

© Copyright 2017 by Ben Roshgolin. All rights reserved.



Additional Comments:

For a non-Kabbalistic interpretation of the different levels of prophecy and the significance of various other introductory statements such as “The word of the Lord came to me,” see Moses Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed, II:45.

In the view of the Zohar, the exodus from Egypt was effected through the agency of the Shekhina (i.e., Malkhut). Note the expression “the hand of the Lord” in Exodus 9:3, and the Israelites departing Egypt “with an elevated hand” in Exodus 14:8 and in Numbers 33:3. And finally, note that the Torah says, “for with a strong hand the Lord took you out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:9).