False Prophets

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The Altar, the Prophet, and the Lion
Rabbi Alex Israel
The Ish Haelokim's refusal to eat on his mission against Yerovam and the new form of worship in Beit El stems from God's command which proves the chastity of the prophet. He is not a paid prophet, but loyal to God, Nonetheless, when he disobeys God's word he dies at the hand of the lion. This is symbolic of the confusion surrounding Yerovam. On the one hand he is ordained by God in Ahiya's prophecy. On the other hand he is disobeying God in the new system of worship that he set up. He is given an opportunity to repent but rejects it.

Are the Golden Calves of Yerovam considered Idol Worship or an alternative but prohibited worship of God?
A Test of Faith
Rabbi Alex Israel
Despite Eliyahu's response to the events in the aftermath of the showdown on Mt. Carmel, the evidence of the next few chapters would seem to show that the prophets of Ba’al do not return. Instead, prophets of God - many of them false prophets - have a fixed presence in the royal court which attests to the success of Eiyahu. When Aram lays seige on Shomron, Ahav is prepared to be a vassal state, but refuses a complete capitulation. Whether it is national pride that drives Achav, according to the Pshat, or a religious pride in protecting the Sefer Torah, according to the Midrash, God comes to Ahav's aid and sends him the tools for a miraculous victory.
Ahav's Final Battle
Rabbi Alex Israel
While the 400 prophets in the narrative are not prophets of Ba'al, but speak in the name of God, they are nonetheless false prophets. The method in which God reveals himself to prophets, other than Moshe, does not allow two prophets to prophecy in the same words. At the request of Yehoshafat, the king of Yehuda who enthusiastically embraces unity with the Northern kingdom, a solitary true prophet is brought. He brings a message of Ahav's demise and for this he is punished. Despite his disguise, Ahav is mortally wounded in battle, but remains in the battleground, sacrificing his life, in order to give moral support to his soldiers.

Ahav is a wavering personality who lacks a solid backbone and is easily influenced. He can be swayed towards Ba'al and can be shocked to veer closer to God worship. It is this lack of personal resilience and consistency that leaves him so susceptible to wide alterations in his religious orientation. The damage that he inflicted upon both the nation and the unfortunate individuals who met their death as a result of his actions means that he is one of the worst kings in the history of the Northern kingdom.
The End
Rabbi Alex Israel
Sefer Melakhim has little to say about the life of the last king of Yehuda, Tzidkiyahu. No specific happening or event that occurred during the first nine years of his eleven year rule are recorded. It is as if his reign was almost inconsequential and the Hurban just happens to transpire on his watch.

From the book of Yirmiyahu, King Tzidkiyahu emerges as a weak leader, a spineless and fickle character. On the one hand, he seeks Yirmiyahu's advice and assistance, and then, when intimidated by his own officials, he submits to their demands that Yirmiyahu be imprisoned as a traitor. When conditions get dire, Tzidkiyahu tries to escape Jerusalem, saving his own life but abandoning his nation still entrapped within. Tzidkiyahu conspires with other kings to rebel against Babylon, supported by local false prophets, but Yirmiyahu continues to prophesy the imminent destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.

In the aftermath of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, Gedaliah is murdered, sealing the fate on any chance of continued Jewish life in Israel. Yehoyakhin's reprive at the end of Sefer Melakhim gives a glimmer hope for a better future for the Jewish people.
The Personal Dimension of Yirmiyahu’s Prophecy
Part II
Rabbi David Sabato
In the analysis of the personal dimension that are found in the chapters of Yirmiyahu, one encounters the complicated relations between Yirmiyahu and his neighbors, the agony that he suffered as a result of his prophecies, and his resignation from and reappointment to prophecy.

The descriptions in Yirmiyahu of the prophet’s conflicts with those who wished to stop him from prophesying raise another dimension of Yirmiyahu's personal tragedy: Yirmiyahu's twofold roles and identities – his being a member of his people and his mission as a prophet – not only cause a profound mental crisis, but also create a severe disconnect between him and the people. A false image is created of him as enemy of the people who seeks their harm, when there is nothing further from Yirmiyahu's true goal. The budding opposition and the attempted assassination at the beginning of his prophetic mission in Anatot herald the great dangers and challenges that await him in the future and prepare him for them.
Yirmiyahu and the False Prophets
Rabbi David Sabato
Clashes between true and false prophets take place in many places in the Bible. But for no other prophet does this type of confrontation play such a central role in his world as it does for Yirmiyahu.

Yirmiyahu highlights four distinctions between the true prophet and the false prophet.

Personality of the Prophet:

One cannot separate the prophet's personality from his prophecy. Prophecy is not a profession external to the prophet's person; rather, it must fill his entire world. Hence, a prophet who sins in his personal life cannot be a true prophet in his public life.

Purpose of the Prophecy:

The role of the true prophet, from the days of Avraham, is to speak out against the faults of society and try to fix them, thus trying to prevent the moral deterioration so that it not be destroyed like Sedom. The false prophets, on the other hand, work in the opposite manner: They turn Jerusalem into Sedom by way of their false prophecies of reassurance, thus betraying their role as prophets.

Wording of the Prophecy:

The authenticity of a prophecy is reflected in the unique style of the prophet who delivers it. He receives the word of God and then formulates it in his own words and his own personal style. The uniform style of the false testifies to its inauthenticity and the absence of inner connection to the prophet himself.

Experience and Clarity of the Prophecy:

The realm of dreams is by its very nature a place where the boundary between reality and imagination becomes blurred; a person is liable to think that he received a prophecy from above, when in fact he merely had a dream and imagined fantasies in his mind. The experience of prophecy, on the other hand, is unequivocal; a prophet who experiences the intensity of prophecy – "like a burning fire shut up in my bones" cannot be mistaken about it. The inner distinction between imagination and prophecy is sharp and clear, and anyone can distinguish between the two in himself.
The Attempted Rebellion against Babylon and Yirmiyahu's Prophecy Concerning the Bonds
Rabbi David Sabato
The chapter contains a three part prophecy: The first to the kings of the nations who plan a rebellion against Babylon; to Tzidkiyahu king of Yehuda; to the priest and the people. All three prophecies have a similar structure: They open with a positive command – to submit to the king of Babylonia – and then they warn against listening to the words of the false prophets who prophesy just the opposite.

King Nevuchadnetzar does not conquer countries by his own power. Rather, God puts them in his hands, and therefore anyone who rebels against Nevuchadnetzer rebels against God who gave him rule over the world. At the end, Nevuchadnetzer will be punished too since he did not act out of a sense of mission, but simply in an attempt to glorify his own name, he has no real right to do so, and he will therefore be punished for his actions.

Until the rise of the king of Babylonia, Yirmiyahu’s goal was to bring about the mending of Israel's ways so that they not become subjugated to the people from the north. However, now that this period has come to a close, Yirmiyahu's prophetic message changes. Now he preaches to accept the yoke of the king of Babylonia, and warns of the greater dangers that may fall upon the people should they try to turn back the clock and undo the decree.
Yirmiyahu and Hananya ben Azzur
Rabbi David Sabato
Yirmiyahu hears the words of Chananya which negate his prophecy, does not counter them, but merely warns Chananya against false prophecy. Moreover, Yirmiyahu who loves his people with all his heart, hopes and wants to believe that his own prophecy of calamity will be cancelled. Only after God speaks to him does he know that this was a false prophecy. A true prophet is aware of the possibility of change and of the dynamic quality of prophecy. The decree is not fixed and absolute, but rather dynamic and conditioned on the situation.

In contrast, Chananya presents the opposite position. He extrapolates from prophecies he heard from others and attempts to draw conclusions from them. The falseness in his prophecy stems from his failure to understand that God's word does not fit every generation in the same way, and in this regard, he is the total opposite of Yirmiyahu, the true prophet.
The Exiles In Babylon
Rabbi David Sabato
In the interim period between the exile of Yekhonya and the exile of Yehuda in the days of Tzidkiyahu, a complex situation was created in which there were two Jewish centers: one in Bavel, which included the elite of Jerusalem, and one in Jerusalem, where the poorest of the people of the land remained. There is a king in both centers: Yehoyakhin in Bavel and Tzidkiyahu in Jerusalem. This complex situation raised the question of the status of each center and the relationship between them.

One perception arises in Bavel among the elders of Israel who come to Yehezkel thinking that the covenant between God and Israel has been annulled and that they should now integrate themselves among the nations.

In contrast stands the opposite position, expressed primarily in the words of the false prophets, which views the exile as a temporary and fleeting event that will come to a close in the near future.

Yirmiyahu proposes a third possibility, one that is different and more complex. Yirmiyahu argues that the exile is not a passing event, but rather a significant one. It is a long and extended process for which preparation is necessary. The people must settle into it and build upon it, while knowing that its goal is the return to Eretz Yisrael. Exile is a necessary condition for redemption. However, for the first time, Yirmiyahu also expresses the idea that will accompany exiled Jews for thousands of years – identification with the country in which they are found.

Historically, the complex picture that Yirmiyahu tried to fix in the nation's consciousness in the exile was not always successfully absorbed. Sometimes, Jews became overly settled in their lands and over-emphasized seeking the peace of exile; occasionally, they strongly opposed their country and preached rebellion.
The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
Rabbi David Sabato
The prevalent mood among those who remained in the Land of Israel after the exile of Yehoyakhin was that their brothers had been exiled from the land and they viewed themselves as heirs to the land. Yirmiyahu struggled against this perception, arguing that it is precisely the exiles, who are likened here to good figs, who will return to the land and inherit it, while those who remained in the land, who are likened to bad figs, will become diminished in numbers and disappear.

There are several lines of similarity between the vision concerning the figs in Yirmiyahu's prophecy and the dreams of Pharaoh that were interpreted by Yosef. Yosef interprets Pharaoh's dream and reveals to him that a great calamity is about to fall upon Egypt. However, Yosef, who was sold as a slave to Egypt, succeeds in saving his family in the years of famine and sustaining them in the exile of Egypt.

In the same way, Yirmiyahu, the prophet of destruction and exile, stands before a great calamity that is threatening to befall the people. In this vision, Yirmiyahu reveals that it is precisely in the depths of the calamity that we find a bright spot in the form of the good figs, the exile of Yehoyakhin, who were "picked" at an earlier stage, before they became ruined, in order to constitute a base for the renewal of the people after the destruction and after the exile in Babylon.
The Last Days of Jerusalem
Part 1
Rabbi David Sabato
King Tzidkiyahu requests of Yirmiyahu to pray on behalf of the city, which is under siege, and Yirmiyahu refuses to do so. This scenario is reminiscent of Hizkiyahu’s request of Yishyahu to pray when the city is facing an Assyrian siege. While Yishyahu answers Hizkiyahu’s request affirmatively, Yirmiyahu refuses Tzidkiyahu’s request.

This difference is reflected in the circumstances surrounding the request. Unlike Hizkiyahu, who performs actions of repair and repentance, rending his garments and going to the Temple, Tzidkiyahu contents himself with sending messengers to Yirmiyahu with the request to repeat the miracle from the days of Hizkiyahu. Whereas Hizkiyahu sets God's honor in the center and prays for the cessation of the insults hurled at God by the king of Ashur, Tzidkiyahu asks Yirmiyahu to pray for him and the people.

When the Babylonian siege is lifted due to Egyptian intervention - an event that was viewed as miraculous, but was ultimately temporary - Yirmiyahu attempts to leave the city fearing he would be arrested as a false prophet. He fails to leave and is accused of attempting to defect to the enemy by none other than the grandson of Hananya ben Azzur. This accusation reflects the perception of officials and princes of Jerusalem, who saw Yirmiyahu as a traitor who was helping the Babylonians against his people. This fundamental misunderstanding of the people and their ministers concerning Yirmiyahu's objectives has accompanied Yirmiyahu throughout his mission.
The Assassination of Gedalya
Part 2
Rabbi David Sabato
There has been no mention of Yirmiyahu since his meeting with Nevuzar'adan; we do not know how he reacted to the assassination and the events that preceded it. The text, as it were, has made Yirmiyahu disappear. On the other hand, in contrast to the period that preceded the destruction when the people bluntly and repeatedly rejected the words of Yirmiyahu, here they seek the word of God from his mouth. It seems that now they are finally ready to listen to him and receive the word of God from his mouth.

Yirmiyahu urges Yohanan and his men to remain in Eretz Yisrael and warns them against going down to Egypt. This reverses the prophetic message that Yirmiyahu preached during the years that preceded the destruction – that of submission and acceptance and encouraging life in exile. But now the time has come for building and planting in Eretz Yisrael.

The second part of Yirmiyahu's words, which is several times longer, moves on to the negative side – the refusal to remain in the land and its consequences. Yirmiyahu senses the mood of the people and their inclination to go down to Egypt, and he begins to warn them not to go down to Egypt. The warning is repeated and intensified from one stage to the next. There is a fundamental contradiction between the building and reconstruction of Eretz Yisrael and the descent to Egypt.

Not only do they refuse to listen to him, contrary to their own declaration, but they accuse him of speaking falsely to them. Yirmiyahu is accused here with the same old accusation levelled against him by his opponents – that he is a false prophet who seeks the detriment of his people. Yohanan wisely sought the word of God from the mouth of Yirmiyahu, but lacked the strength to listen to it. His timidity, his irresoluteness, and his little faith made him a partner in the self-destruction of the remnant of Yehuda.
Yehezkel's Symbolic Actions and their Meaning
Dr. Tova Ganzel
Generally speaking, the Latter Prophets, unlike the Earlier Prophets, do not perform miracles. Therefore, in order to convey their messages effectively, they must employ both elevated speech and symbolic acts. Perhaps for this reason Yehezkel only conveys his prophecies after a series of symbolic actions performed at the beginning of his prophetic career. Indeed, the difficulty of convincing the nation of the authenticity and reliability of God’s prophets is clearly demonstrated in Yirmiyahu’s struggle against the false prophets. In Sefer Yehezkel too – even in the prophecies that follow the Destruction – the prophet’s audience treats his words as mere poetry and they continue sinning.

Yehezkel’s symbolic acts are a step-by-step demonstration of what is yet to happen due to the sins of the nation: first the siege with no response from God; the unbearable hunger and thirst; and finally – annihilation of most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, only a few of whom will escape and be saved.
The End is Near
Dr. Tova Ganzel
The prophetic message of Yehezkel and Yirmiyahu is that the end of Jerusalem is imminent. The common belief in Jerusalem and in Babylonia is that somehow God will save the inhabitants of Jerusalem, allowing them to survive this crisis. The exiles themselves, though, might – in a best case scenario – return to the land; but will otherwise assimilate and disappear among the nations.

Yirmiyahu prophesies that in his own days Yehoyakhin is “a man who shall not prosper” and in those years that Yehuda is desolate, none of his progeny will prosper as king or ruler. But in the long term, the exile of Yehoyakhin will settle and prosper in Babylonia for a long period of time and they will serve as the salvation of the people. It would be these exiles who would return one day to rebuild the land which was about to be destroyed. Yehekzel prophesies that those who remained in Jerusalem will die by pestilence, by the sword or by famine.

But even after these prophecies, neither the inhabitants of Jerusalem nor the exiles in Babylonia were convinced. The Temple was still standing; the inhabitants of Jerusalem remained steadfast despite the crises they had faced since the time of Shlomo. These facts made a stronger impression than the prophecies of Yirmiyahu and Yehezkel.

To convey his messages, Yehezkel enlists all possible means: the use of symbolic acts and the borrowing of expressions familiar from the Tokhaha in Vayikra. Now, another means is adopted: a key word, aimed at emphasizing the subject of the prophecy as a whole. We see here the repeated use of the word “ketz” (end), alluding to the story of the Flood.
Prophecy and Prophets
Dr. Tova Ganzel
The prophets whose messages run counter to those of Yehezkel are divided into different groups, whose order in the text may reflect their respective popularity.

The first argument that was commonly used against Yehezkel’s prophecy was that, with time, his words would lose their relevance. It was enough for these opponents to remind their listeners that warnings as to the destruction had also been voiced in the past, and the passage of time showed that “that which was, is that which shall be”: Jerusalem would not be destroyed. God’s response is that before long their own claim will lose its relevance. The prophecies of the Destruction of Jerusalem will be realized soon, in their own days.

The second group that Yehezkel targets with his words consists of those who claim that their message is prophecy from God, while in fact they are making up their prophecies from their hearts. This shows even more clearly how complicated Yehezkel’s prophetic mission was. The difficulty in differentiating between true prophets and false ones arose from the fact that these were not two completely distinct and separate groups; they were not easily distinguishable from each another.

In this prophecy Yehezkel compares the false prophets to foxes reminiscent of the lamentation that follows the destruction in Eikha. Through their misleading words, the prophets have made themselves like the foxes that would soon wander among the ruins of the Temple. Yehezkel thereby connects the false prophecies with their results. Over the generations the fox came to symbolize the cause of the Destruction, the Destruction itself, but also the hope of a future redemption and rebuilding.
Why does Yirmiyahu's Message Change?
Rabbi David Sabato
True or False: Yirmiyahu vs. Hananya
Rabbi David Sabato
Praying for Jerusalem: Yirmiyahu and Tzidkiyahu vs. Yeshayahu and Hizkiyahu
Rabbi David Sabato
Post-Gedalya Fallout: Yirmiyahu Warns Against Fleeing Israel
Rabbi David Sabato
Divine Entrapment
Rabbi Ben-Tzion Spitz
Yirmiyahu 23-24
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David Sabato
As a continuation to the rebuke which was addressed to the kings in prakim 21 and 22, perek 23 rebukes the leaders of the nation. The leaders are compared to shepherds who have abandoned their flocks, just as they have not taken care of their people and thereby brought the nation to the difficult situation they are in. The rebuke ends with a prophecy of future consolation which speak of establishing new, trustworthy shepherds, and of setting up a new king from the House of David who will embody the values of David, justice and righteousness. In the continuation, the prophet turns to a different type of leader - the false prophets, who constitute one of the most difficult obstacles in Yirmiyahu's life. The false prophets prophesize in God's name, but their prophecies are lies and foresee peace for the sinning nation. Yirmiyahu turns to them and points out the foundation of lies upon which their behavior rests and the differences between them and the true prophets. In addition, he rebukes them for leading the nation astray with their false prophecies and thereby causing the situation to further deteriorate.

After the exile of Yehoyachin king of Yehudah, along with the elite members of society, his uncle, Tzidkiyahu, became king of the people who were left in Israel. Those who remained in Israel interpreted the fact that God had not exiled them as a sign that they were better than those who were exiled to Babylonia. Yirmiyahu, however, has a vision which shows this to be wrong: the exiles in Babylonia will merit returning to the land and reestablishing themselves while those who remain in the land will become lost.
Yirmiyahu 27-28
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David Sabato
Perek 27: After Tzidkiyahu's rise to the throne, the countries in the area attempt to reorganize against the Babylonian Empire. The smaller countries rely on the strength of the Egyptian superpower, and their representatives meet in Jerusalem to oppose the spreading Babylonian occupation. The prophecies to the kings of the gentile nations, to the king of Judah and to the nation which are found in our perek were given in light of this gathering. From the perek we see that the false prophets found among both the Jews and the gentiles are encouraging opposition to the Babylonian Empire, and Yirmiyahu stands alone, warning against opposition and accompanying his words with symbolic visual aids - bonds and bars - which are meant to strengthen the message to the kings that they must accept the bondage of Babylonia and not listen to the words of the false prophets.

In perek 28 we have a continuation of the description of Yirmiyahu's struggle with the false prophets in the time of the king Tzidkiyahu. Central to the perek is the direct confrontation between Yirmiyahu and one of the false prophets - Chananya ben Azur, who publicly contradicted the prophecies of Yirmiyahu. Throughout the story the character of the false prophet is described and contrasted with the unique character of the true prophet.
Yirmiyahu 29-30
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David Sabato
Yirmiyahu's war against the false prophets continues in perek 29, this time describing his struggle with the false prophets in the Babylonian exile. Those exiled in the exile of Yehoyachin were influenced by the false prophets who prophesied that the exile would end soon and there would be a return to Jerusalem. In contrast to these prophecies stands Yirmiyahu, who sends a letter to the exiles to convince them to settle in and establish themselves in the exile, which will continue for a while longer. Paradoxically, it is Yirmiyahu's prophecy of the long exile which contains within it the seeds of hope and redemption. In the continuation of the perek we hear how Yirmiyahu's letter angers one of the false prophets in Babylonia, Shmayahu haNechelami, who requests that the priests in Jerusalem imprison Yirmiyahu. In response Yirmiyahu prophesies that Shmayahu's descendants will not merit seeing the consolation.

Perek 30 opens the section of prophecies of consolation in the book, which continues through perek 33. Our perek describes the Day of the Lord, the day when the great war will begin which will begin the salvation of Israel, a prophecy which seems to hint at the fall of the Babylonian empire. In the continuation of the prophecy, the stages of redemption are described - the return of Israel to its land and to independence, the rebuilding of the desolate land and the renewal of the connection between God and His nation.
Yehezkel 12-14
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David Sabato
Perek 12:21-13

A series of prophecies concerning vision and prophecy appear in these pesukim. They are divided into two pairs. The first pair (12:21-28) decscribes two sayings concerning true prophecy that were prevalent at the time. The people discount the words of the prophets with the argument that they will not be realized in their time, while the prophet lays claim to legitimacy by saying that they will be realized shortly. The second pair (perek 13) consists of two prophecies against false prophets (1-16) and false prophetesses (17-23).

Perek 14 begins by condemning the elders who come to consult God while they still cling to idolatry in their hearts (1-11). The rest of the perek deals primarily with the principle of personal retribution during a period of national punishment. The end of the perek concerns the fate of Jerusalem and it survivors in the context of this principle.
Sticks, Stones, & Sour Figs: Misinterpreting Messages of Nevuah
Shani Taragin |
What is the unique nature of Yirmiyahu's mission? By focusing on the first perek detailing Yirmiyahu’s inauguration, we can explore Yirmiyahu’s prophetic purpose at a deeper level. God asks Yirmiyahu three times over the course of the book - "what do you see", and through an analysis of the text we can infer that this as a test to see whether he grasps the full meaning of his prophetic mission. This leads us to grapple with the concept of true and false prophecies in general, and the messages we are meant to learn from these prophecies for the future.
Zechariah 13-14
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David Sabato
Perakim 13 and 14 continue the succession of prophecies about the End of Days. Perek 13 includes two short prophecies about the End of Days: the vision of eradicating the pagan gods and prophets (2-6), and the vision of the purification and refining of the nation, which climaxes in the renewal of the covenant between God and His nation (7-9).

Perek 14: The succession of End of Days prophecies in our book ends with a long and lofty prophecy which describes in detail the war of the End of Days. This prophecy is similar to the prophecy in perek 12. However, while the prophecy in perek 12 dealt with the fate of Jerusalem and Judah, our prophecy expands the perspective to the whole world. The prophecy opens with a description of the gathering for the war and the conquest of Jerusalem (1-2), followed by the appearance of God to go to war with the enemy (3-5). In the end, the transition from dark to light symbolizes the hope which will come after the war (6-9). Unlike Jerusalem which will be secure, the nations will be plagued (12-15). In the second half of the prophecy the prophet describes the kingdom of God over the land which will come after the war (16-21).
Nehemya Wards Off his Enemies
Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky
Prophecy is on the wane. In this transitional moment, the book of Nehemya invokes the term “navi” in both ambiguous and shifting ways. Prophecy still exists, but it casts a far shorter shadow than in earlier ages.

During the time of the patriarchs and Moshe, prophecy certainly existed. Indeed, Moshe himself was the greatest of prophets. Nonetheless, Moshe’s primary mode of leadership was not necessarily exercised in the way of the later prophets. The same may be said of the patriarchs. Similarly, as the Biblical period ebbs away, prophecy continues to exist, but no longer represents a major mode of Jewish leadership. It is appropriate, therefore, that just as the earliest usages of navi are unclear, so too in Ezra-Nehemya, we find ambiguous usages of the word that gradually transition away from prophecy.

While divine reward and punishment still figure heavily in Ezra-Nehemya, Sanbalat and Tovia’s concern for tarnishing Nehemya’s reputation has a strikingly modern ring to it; they wished to embroil him in scandal. As before, here too we find evidence that the transition to a post-prophetic period is well underway.
Rashbam and Ibn Ezra
Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin
תאריך פרסום: 5777 | | Hour
Beginning with biographical sketches, we compare and contrast, Ibn Ezra and Rashbam, two Torah commentators who claim to look for the plain meaning of the text. Both are interested peshat at a time when others aren’t, but they are two very different people from different contexts and milieus. Their methods and comments can often be remarkably similar, but the differences are telling. We delve into the question of what peshat is. Do they both see "peshat" as the highest value in their Torah commentary, or is something else going on? We will look at some fascinating examples that highlight their respective methodologies.