Prophets of Ba'al

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1. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 2)

   Eliyahu Faces the Nation

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu’s words imply that the nation had not abandoned the service of God, but did not serve Him exclusively. Rather, they attached elements of Ba'al worship to their worship of God. On the account of the nation’s acceptance of the challenge between him and the prophets of Ba’al, Eliyahu’s opponents are forced to accept. Eliyahu is attempting now to come close to the nation and therefore does not mention the drought as its harsh results are a sore point for the nation.

2. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 3)

   Eliyahu Addresses the Prophets of Ba'al

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The way the challenge is presented to the nation differs from the way it is presented to prophets of Ba’al, in order to facilitate each side offering their sacrifice separately. The prophets of Ba’al pray and partake in their rites to no avail, but Eliyahu does not proceed, and instead gives them more time. 

3. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 3)

   Eliyahu addresses the prophets of Ba'al (Part 2)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu encourages the prophets of Ba’al to call out louder. Some commentators believe that Eliyahu was explicitly mocking them, but it seems unlikely that they would continue and certainly they would not adhere to his suggestion. Rather Eliyahu is saying something that appears to them as reasonable in order to achieve his goal of prolonging their attempt.

4. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 3)

   Eliyahu addresses the prophets of Ba'al (Part 3)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The failure of the prophets of Ba’al is described in two stages: Prayer and action with no response, followed by intensified prayer and action, but still with no response. This allows the nation to reach an unequivocal conclusion regarding Ba’al. A Midrash about the refusal of the ox to go with Ba’al’s prophets teaches that God's Name is sanctified equally through the failure of the false prophets and the success of Eliyahu.

5. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 4)

   Eliyahu's Preparations for the Descent of God's Fire (part 1)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The preparations of the prophets of Ba’al for the sacrifice are described briefly, while the description of their attempt to bring down the fire is lengthy. In contrast, Eliyahu’s preparations are described in great detail, while the description of his attempt to bring down the fire is brief. It would be a severe psychological mistake to allow the miraculous descent of fire to take place immediately after the failure of the false prophets. Hence, Eliyahu prolongs his physical preparations. The lengthening of the stage of preparations also demonstrates Eliyahu complete faith that God will answer him. 

6. Eliyahu on Mount Carmel (Part 6)

   "To Whom Shall You Compare Me, That I Shall Equal Him? ֠Says the Holy One"

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The use of three Leading Words in the narrative leading up to the climax and their absence in the narrative after the climax makes subtle points of contrast between Eliyahu and the prophets of Ba’al and rejects any comparison or relationship between God and Ba’al. The unparalleled structure of the narrative denies any relevance of a comparison between God and Ba’al.

7. The Test at Mount Carmel

   Rabbi Alex Israel

   Before the showdown at Mt. Carmel there is a lengthy description of Eliyahu's meeting with Ovadya. Ovadia personifies the dilemma of the nation and foreshadows the outcome of the showdown.  Just like the nation feels that it has two masters - God and Ba'al - so too Ovadya is Ahav's closest minister, but he is also God fearing.  Eliyahu forces Ovadya to make a choice.

   At Mount Carmel, Eliyahu seeks to broadcast a message to the entire nation and to activate them. Mount Carmel is chosen as the location for the test between Eliyau and the prophets of the Ba'al as it was a revered site for the worshippers of the Ba'al and because it overlooks the Ba'al culture of Phoenicia to the North and the Kingdom of Israel to the South. The killing of the prophets of Ba'al after Eliyahu's victory raises questions as to Ahav's allegiances in the aftermath of the showdown.

8. Prophet in Distress

   Rabbi Alex Israel

   Eliyahu had orchestrated a three-year drought that had brought the nation to its knees. This had culminated in the decisive religious contest at Mt. Carmel that had exposed the falsity of the Baal, bringing king and country to proclaim faith in God alone. It had been an excruciating process, with Eliyahu living in exile for three years. Indeed, he had succeeding in turning the king around. But now the entire project, this huge educational endeavor, lay shattered, in ruins. It was not Izevel's death threat alone. Izevel's confidence highlighted the understanding that she was in control, and that the transformation of national priorities would be a more arduous, complex, and protracted process. All of this leads to Eliyahu's feeling of dejection and his rejection of his role as a prophet. Unlike Moshe, he is unable to be zealous towards the sinner but to invoke God's mercy on the nation as a whole. 

9. 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.