Prophet's Mission

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1. Introduction

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Sefer Melakhim dedicates two literary sections to the activities of two prophets. Eliyahu and Elisha perform many miracles and Elisha is Eliyahu’s successor. Eliyahu begins his prophecy when the Kingdom of Israel was politically stable, but had reached new spiritual lows. Eliyahu and Elisha seem to perform their miracles without an explicit command from God. A Divine message can be delivered orally or through action – even an action that is not explicitly commanded by God. At times God may not accept the independent action of a prophet. Other times God may help the prophet preform a miracle, even if God is not in complete agreement with the prophet’s action. The majority of prophetic actions preformed without an explicit command reflect the Divine will, and achieve the objective of the prophet’s mission.

2. Bilaam and Avraham

   Rabbi Alex Israel | 35 minutes

   It is difficult to assess the character of Bilam. At first glance, Bilam seems to be a completely commendable character, and a devoted servant of God. Or is he? Why does he have a terrible reputation in the words of the Sages? Bilam appears in an increasingly negative light as the Torah’s narrative continues. We seek to present a fuller picture of Bilam, and examine positive and negative perspectives of Bilam. Following the Mishna's contrast in Masekhet Avot, we compare and contrast Bilam with Avraham. As we explore the powerful parallels, we find that elements of the story of Bilam have been interposed onto midrashic depictions of Avraham's journey for Akeidat Yitzhak.The power of prophecy comes with important choices. Character traits make the major difference in determining the value of one's prophecy.

3. Introduction to the Prophets

   Shiur #01

   Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom

   In this introduction, I will present an overview of nevua (prophecy) throughout the biblical period. As such, it will be overly broad, with a goal to refining our understanding of the role of the prophets whose works we will study together. I will examine eight possible definitions of prophecy, each of which is reasonable and anchored in traditional sources. This will provide an overview of the range of nevua within biblical history. 

   The “anti-establishment” prophets come in two large waves – one prior to the demise of the northern kingdom of Israel, the other prior to the fall of the southern kingdom of Judea. The prophets whose works we will study, Hoshea and Amos, belong to this era and type. Both prophesied during the mid-late 8th century BCE and stood independently of the court and delivered their prophecies against the elite of the Samarian (and, in a few cases, Judean) society.