Previously, we analyzed the Sixth principle of the Jewish faith which asserts our belief that God communicates with men through prophecy . We explained who could be a candidate to prophecy and the nature of prophecy (see here).
The Seventh Principle is also about prophecy. But it discusses the particulars of one Prophet: Moshe Rabbenu. The Seventh principle says that Moshe was the greatest prophet, and more importantly, than no man or prophet would be ever able to attain his level of prophecy.
First, we will discuss in which ways Moshe’s prophecy was higher than that of any other prophet. And second, why is relevant for us Jews to assert Moshe’s superiority.
Our Rabbis explained that the level of prophecy of Moshe Rabbenu was higher than the level of all others. For example: all other prophets received their prophetic message by the means of a vision, in a sort of trance, or in a dream. Moshe Rabbenu, however, was able to receive God’s message while conscious and awake, not in a prophetic trance. This is what the Tora calls: panim el panim, literally: “face to face”, which means that Moshe Rabbenu could listen to God’s words in the same way that a man listens to another man.
The possibility of being conscious allowed Moshe Rabbenu, first of all to be a perfect recipient of the Tora. In other words, the Tora is not Moshe’s interpretation of a prophetic vision. It is not written by Moshe by God’s “inspiration”. We Jews believe that Moshe was indeed the writer of the Tora, but the Tora was dictated to him verbatim by God. God talked to Moshe without any intermediation. This way of “direct communication” which is above prophecy, was possible because Moshe was fully awake and aware while listening to God, “in full possession of his faculties, he did not receive God’s message not in visions and not by parables” ( R. Hayim Pereira Mendes)
Being awake while receiving God’s communication also allowed Moshe to talk back to God and to initiate a communication with God. Something no other prophet ever did. Although we do have texts which describe dialogues between other prophets and God, we believe that these dialogues took place in a prophetic vision, not in real life. Moshe Rabbenu could communicate with God at will. “Whenever he wished, he could be enveloped by divine inspiration, and prophecy will descend upon him” (Yesode haTora 7:6) enabling him to be in constant contact with God.
Thus, Moshe was able, for example, to ask God a question. After the sin of the golden calf, a close encounter took place between God and Moshe. Moshe prayed to HaShem to forgive the Jewish people. At one point Moshe Rabbenu said to God: “Show me Your glory”. Our Hakhamim explained that Moshe was asking God a poignant question: “Why do You allow bad things to happen to good people?” Perhaps on behalf of all humankind, Moshe conveyed to God the question that so often troubles the mind of so many believers. God’s answer to Moshe is a matter for a long analysis. But as it refers to our subject, God taught Moshe (and us) that the answer to that question was beyond man’s understanding (כי לא יראני האדם וחי), in other words, that this question (and other questions as well) was beyond Moshe’s comprehension. This teaches us that even the greatest prophet, Moshe, was still a limited mortal-man, not a human-god.
Now, why is so important to emphasize that Moshe’s Prophecy was superior to that of any other prophet, in the past or in the future?
Because, the Tora was given to us through Moshe’s intermediation. And, as we will learn in the next principle, the Tora is eternal and unchangeable. Conceiving that another prophet might ever achieve the level of Moshe Rabbenu, would open the possibility for considering that our Tora could be ח”ו changed or challenged by such a prophet, as biblical other religions claim.
