The Secret Behind Moses' Prophecy - Rabbi Shlomo Horwitz

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

You would not believe what I learned about Parshas Matos. This week's Torah portion opens with an unusual phrase. God introduces the laws of vows in Nedarim by saying, "Zeh ha'davar." Which means, "This is the matter." The sages point out that this wording is unique. Almost every other biblical prophet, navi, introduces God's message by saying something like, "So says God." But regarding Moshe, it says, "This is the matter. Zeh." It's more specific. What's the difference? So, our rabbis teach us that God communicated his message to every prophet, but not necessarily the exact words that they were to use in expressing it. Each prophet expressed that message through his own personality, vocabulary, and perspective. Think about asking two people the same question. Is this person wealthy? So, person A, who grew up with very little, might say, "Oh, yeah, he's incredibly rich." But somebody who is a millionaire himself might say, "Oh, that other guy's doing okay." The facts have not changed. The people describing them have. And that's how prophecy worked for every other prophet. The message came from God, but the prophet's own perspective influenced the way that was expressed. This is the explanation of Rabbi Yaakov

Jump to a moment

1. 0:10You would not believe what I learned about Parshas Matos. This week's Torah portion opens with…
2. 0:41But regarding Moshe, it says, "This is the matter. Zeh." It's more specific. What's the difference?…
3. 1:11So, person A, who grew up with very little, might say, "Oh, yeah, he's incredibly rich."…
4. 1:41Kamenetsky. But Moshe was different. Jewish tradition teaches that his prophecy was so direct that he…
5. 2:12Why does the Torah teach us that here in the section about vows, which is rather…
6. 2:42your own words can create a new religious obligation. If you make a valid vow, a…
7. 3:12also contributed something of himself to the Torah. Maybe his personality shaped God's commandments. And to…
8. 3:45And that is why the lesson of Mosha's pristine prophecy waits till this portion of the…
9. 4:16through Moses without any alteration. Personally, this thought gives me great confidence in keeping the Torah…

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