Prophetic Mission

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1. Eliyahu in Horev (Part 7)

   The Mission (Part 2)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu runs away to Be’er Sheva to be far from the nation. God commands him to go to Horev in order to reconnect with the nation. However, after Eliyahu rejects God’s message and maintains his ways, God sends him back to Eretz Yisrael – the place he was trying to escape – in order to bring the punishment he had desired upon the nation, and end his role as God’s prophet by appointing Elisha as his replacement.

2. Eliyahu in Horev (Part 8)

   Was the Mission Fulfilled? (Part 1)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Why does Eliyahu refuse to fulfill the commands given to him at Horev? Charging Eliyahu with the terrible responsibility of appointing a cruel king who will become the enemy of his nation was the test of the limit of Eliyahu's criticism. Eliyahu does not agree to this mission, and thereby finally withdraws from the position that he had previously maintained as a prophet. Up until this point, Eliyahu's behavior was characterized by actions undertaken without any explicit Divine command. Now Eliyahu is no longer zealous of his own initiative, but rather sent by God with explicit instructions.

3. Eliyahu in Horev (Part 8)

   Was the Mission Fulfilled? (Part 2)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu does not execute God's mission to appoint Haza’el and Yehu. The appointments are ultimately executed by Elisha - but with many discrepancies from God’s original command. Transferring the appointments from Eliyahu to Elisha is not the rejection of an unpleasant command; rather, it transforms the mission and softens it through the milder personality of the prophet Elisha.

4. Eliyahu in Horev (Part 9)

   The First Encounter Between Eliyahu and Elisha (Part 1)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The description of the meeting between Eliyahu and Elisha highlights the profound contrasts between these two prophets. The scene describing their meeting brings together, like a mirror, Eliyahu's past and Elisha's future. Therefore, every detail in this brief description contributes to understanding the relationship between the two men and their respective eras.

5. Eliyahu in Horev (Part 9)

   The First Encounter Between Eliyahu and Elisha (Part 2)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu casts his mantle towards Elisha, not only signaling that Elisha is going to become a prophet, but also implying that Elisha is destined to inherit Eliyahu's own role as the prophet of his generation. However, the Divine command previously indicated that God has chosen as Eliyahu's successor a prophet whose attitude is different from Eliyahu's, and is tasked with correcting the zealousness in Eliyahu's approach. It is difficult to find so stark a contrast as that between the prophetic activity of Eliyahu and the prophetic activity of Elisha.

6. Did the Prophets Create a New Torah When They Criticized the Sacrifices?

   Rabbi Yuval Cherlow

   תאריך פרסום: תש"ע | | Hour

   Tanakh was an important source of inspiration for early secular Zionists, enabling the spirit of revolution while serving as roots for life in the Land of Israel. The prophets were viewed as the first commentators of the Torah who championed the spirit of justice as opposed to sacrifices and ritual.

   But was this an accurate view? How can we reconcile the prophetic continuity of the Torah with their apparent rejection of sacrifices? Did they really reject sacrifices? We begin with the revolutionary approach of Yirmiyahu to God’s relationship with the Mikdash and analyze prophetic statements and the content of the Book of Devarim. The prophets emphasize the priorities of the religious identity that can too easily fall to the wayside. Are they saying that sacrifices aren’t important? Or are they highlighting behaviors and actions that need to form the basis of a society that includes ritual as well?

7. 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. 

8. The Prophecies of Amos: Oracles against the Nations

   Shiur #03

   Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom

   תאריך פרסום: 5778 |

   In this chapter, we will introduce Amos’s famous prophecies against the surrounding nations, which make up the first twenty verses and comprise a “set-up” for his prime audience in Shomeron. Amos delivers oracles against Aram, Peleshet, Tzor, Edom, Ammon and Moav, then Yehuda before zeroing in on Yisrael.  Why does Amos deliver prophecies foretelling punishment specifically to these nations? Why does he not mention Assyria or Egypt, two major (and threatening) superpowers? What is his prophetic purpose, and what is the nature of these "prophecies to the nations?" 

   Looking at the map, we see that as the people of Israel hear the prophecies of doom for their enemies, they feel some relief. And then they realize that they are being entrapped instead of protected, and destruction is looming closer and closer.