Musa Ibn Maymun: Prophethood In Judaism
PROPHETHOOD IN JUDAISM
Judaism is one of the religion that was originally revealed by Allah and has its own holy scriptures and this duty of bringing holy texts to the people has been given to prophets and it is commonly described as the communication between God and people. the One of the basic essentials of faith in Judaism is the prophethood, as well states Musa Ibn Maymun (A.D. 1135-1204)in articles 6-7 in the 13 articles of faith systematized : “I believe with full faith that the words of the prophets are truth. I believe with full faith that our teacher Moses’ prophethood is definitely truth. He is the greatest of all the prophets, all those who came before and after him.”
The Judais understands the prophethood as a concept with two …show more content…
wings. The first wing is an abstract character which comprising communication with the God. This communication or may said as revelation can be attain by everybody, overflows from God to the person. However, this is not enough; another wing is necessary to become a prophet. This wing is a practical character, and is being assigned the task of announcing to the people the information attained through communication with the transcendent informing them of the content of the divine.
There are few words that have been used in Jewish sacred texts to mean prophet such as “navi”, “hozeh”, “roeh” and “ishha-Elohim” . The word “navi” is derived from the word “nabu”, which means “to call” , and is used for the first time in the Tanakh to refer the Prophet Abraham.
CHARACTERS OF PROPHETS As has been indicated earlier that the prophethood in Judaism has two-wing structure. Thus, the characteristics of the prophets are separated into two as well. First of all is in alignment with the wing on communication with God before becoming a prophet. The second aligns with the wing on assignment of duty, and is tied to the duty after becoming a prophet. Ibn Maymun says that prophethood is possible for everyone, even that according to the laws of nature everyone could be a prophet. But as not everyone has developed the individual skill required, not everyone can be a prophet. Similarly, it is not certain that all those who have developed this will be prophets because prophethood is not an occupation that a person can gain through their own efforts but it is a rank given by the Almighty. In order to be worthy of candidacy for this position, an individual must be at the point of perfection in terms of their moral and conveyance capacities. Thus, the individual must be healthy and at a high level in terms of knowledge and spiritual upbringing. In addition, according to the tradition, power, strength and wealth are also important but there is no guarantee that everyone who possesses all of these attributes will be a prophet because the Almighty selects the prophets whom is at the highest level among them. The attribute associated with duty is that of announcing the revelation as be a prophet does not stop at revelation, but being the messenger of God and act as an intermediary to convey the messages they receive from God to the people. That is important that the prophet does not himself add anything to the message.
NATURE OF PROPHETS
It is indicated that prophethood are conceptualized as the medium to convey transcendental messages and as an intermediary communication between the God and the people. Accordingly, in Judaism the rank of prophet does not stop at receiving messages from God but the proclamation of these messages is also essential. Thus in the Jewish understanding there have been those whom, though they are not counted as prophets, have received messages from God because the eyes of their hearts are open. But they are not seen as prophets because they are not charged with announcing to the people the message that they have received. Based on this, it can be said that prophethood entails the state of having full control over the temptation of all types of earthly desires, controlling one’s lower self and developing one’s understanding and mind power, purifying one’s intellect such that one reaches the highest point of existence, attaining full openness of consciousness and understanding at its peak.
Besides,the prophets has a moral conscience. The prophet was not a “Yes-man.” He had to be the fearless conscience of the nation. King Ahab went looking for Elijah the prophet and, when he finally met him, said: “Are you the man who has polluted and destroyed the Jewish people?”
“Not me,” the prophet replied. “You — your family and your father’s house” have destroyed it . “If you see destruction, do not look at me. Look at yourself.”.
Furthermore, Most of the prophets in Judaism engaged in menial occupations such as shepherds, shoe-makers and plowmen. They were parents and spouses like everyone else. Yet they were holy men. They looked to sanctify life and bring that sanctification to others.
Apart from that, when prophets experienced prophecy they went into a trance. It was a physical suspension of ordinary bodily functions. At that moment they were not in contact with reality as we know it, but a different reality, an ultimate reality. Only when it passed did they remember the prophecy. It is the idea of living in a dimension above time and space, beyond one’s “normal” self. The sages of Jewish Tradition also said that an angry person could not become a prophet. Musa Ibn Maymun explained in “Guide for the Perplexed” about this. Some people have the impression that the prophets were angry individuals. that were always telling off the people. However, it is not true. If they were genuinely angry they would never have been prophets.The prophets according to them prophesied out of love and compassion.
QUALIFICATIONS OF PROPHETS ( BY MUSA IBN MAYMUN)
Musa Ibn Maymun lists prophethood as the sixth of his Thirteen Principles of Faith, in Hilchot Teshuva 3:8, the Musa includes in the category of heretics who have no portion in the World to Come "One who says prophecy does not exist and knowledge is not communicated from the Creator to the heart of man".
Prophecy is bestowed only upon a very wise sage of a strong character, who is never overcome by his natural inclinations in any regard. Instead, with his mind, he overcomes his natural inclinations at all times.These characteristics do not themselves bring prophecy, but remove obstacles that a prophet might face were he to lack them.
When one enters the the realm of spiritual knowledge and is drawn into these great and sublime concepts, if he possesses a correct perspective to comprehend and grasp [them], he will become holy. He will advance and separate himself from the masses who proceed in the darkness of the time. He must continue and diligently train himself not to have any thoughts whatsoever about fruitless things or the vanities and intrigues of the times.
Instead, his mind should constantly be directed upward to comprehend the holy and pure forms and gazing at the wisdom of the Holy One then the spirit of prophecy will immediately rest upon
him.
When the spirit of prophecy rests upon him, his soul becomes intermingled with the angels called "ishim", and he will be transformed into a different person and will understand with a different knowledge from what it was previously. He will rise above the level of other wise men.
Nevertheless, there are a number of levels among the prophets. Just as with regard to wisdom, one sage is greater than his colleague, so, too, with regard to prophecy, one prophet is greater than another.
They receive prophetic visions only in a visionary dream or during the day after slumber has overtaken them, as the verse states: "I make Myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream."
When a prophet is informed of a message in a vision, it is granted to him in metaphoric imagery. Immediately, the interpretation of the imagery is imprinted upon his heart, and he knows its meaning.
All the prophets do not prophecy whenever they desire. Instead, they must concentrate their attention upon spiritual concepts and seclude themselves, in a happy, joyous mood, because prophecy cannot rest upon a person when he is sad or languid, but only when he is happy.
NUMBER OF PROPHETS
The Talmud (Megillah 14a) says that there had been twice as many prophets as the number of people who left Egypt (2,600,000), but only those whose messages were for future generations were recorded which was 46 male and 7 female Prophets.
The 7 Female Prophets are Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Hannah which is the mother of Shmuel, Avigail who became the wife of King David, Huldah and Esther. Meanwhile the male prophets are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Pinchas, Nosson, King David, King Solomon, Aidoin the Golah, Micha Ben Yamla, Ovadiah, Hoshea, Amos, Micha, Elijah, Elisha, Yonah Ben Amitai, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Baruch, Neriah, Elkanah, Eli, Samuel, Gad, Nosson , Achiah Hashiloni, Yehu Ben Hanani, Azaryah Ben Oded, Haziel, Morishah, Eliezer, Hagai, Machsiyah, Sharyah, Zechariah, Malachi, Mordechai, Nachum, Joel, Yeshayah, Uriah, Zephaniah, Habakuk and Neriah.
PROPHETESS AND GENTILE PROPHET IN JUDAISM
As in prophethood of Judaism, the prophet are open to gentiles and women as long as they fulfill the requirements. Thus, the jewish believe in several name they taught as prophetess. They are Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Hannah which is the mother of Shmuel, Avigail who became the wife of King David, Huldah and Esther.Meanwhile, among the 46 prophets, there are Job and Bilaam whom is gentile.
WHO IS JESUS IN THE VIEW OF JUDAISM
Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah because Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies and Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah.
One of the central themes of biblical prophecy of what the Messiah has to do is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God.
Specifically, the Bible says the Messiah will build the Third Temple and Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel
The Jews believe if an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be the Messiah thus because no one has ever fulfilled the Bible's description of this future King, Jews still await the coming of the Messiah.
Furthermore, Jesus Did Not Embody the Personal Qualifications of Messiah which says Messiah as the prophet.
“The Messiah will become the greatest prophet in history, second only to Moses.
The jews believe that prophecy can only exist in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry, a situation which has not existed since 300 BCE. During the time of Ezra, when the majority of Jews remained in Babylon, prophecy ended upon the death of the last prophets – Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
Jesus appeared on the scene approximately 350 years after prophecy had ended, and thus could not be a prophet.
Furthermore, Many prophetic passages speak the Messiah is a descendant of King David who will rule Israel during the age of perfection.
The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David . According to the Christians, they claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father – and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father's side from King David. (1)
According to Jewish sources, the Messiah will be born of human parents and possess normal physical attributes like other people. He will not be a demi-god, nor will he possess supernatural qualities.
IS DANIEL ONE OF THE PROPHETS?
According to Judaism, Daniel is not one of the 55 prophets. His writings include visions of the future, which we believe to be true; however, his mission was not that of a prophet. His visions of the future were never intended to be proclaimed to the people; they were designed to be written down for future generations. Thus, they are Writings, not Prophecies, and are classified accordingly.
Judaism is one of the religion that was originally revealed by Allah and has its own holy scriptures and this duty of bringing holy texts to the people has been given to prophets and it is commonly described as the communication between God and people. the One of the basic essentials of faith in Judaism is the prophethood, as well states Musa Ibn Maymun (A.D. 1135-1204)in articles 6-7 in the 13 articles of faith systematized : “I believe with full faith that the words of the prophets are truth. I believe with full faith that our teacher Moses’ prophethood is definitely truth. He is the greatest of all the prophets, all those who came before and after him.”
The Judais understands the prophethood as a concept with two …show more content…
wings. The first wing is an abstract character which comprising communication with the God. This communication or may said as revelation can be attain by everybody, overflows from God to the person. However, this is not enough; another wing is necessary to become a prophet. This wing is a practical character, and is being assigned the task of announcing to the people the information attained through communication with the transcendent informing them of the content of the divine.
There are few words that have been used in Jewish sacred texts to mean prophet such as “navi”, “hozeh”, “roeh” and “ishha-Elohim” . The word “navi” is derived from the word “nabu”, which means “to call” , and is used for the first time in the Tanakh to refer the Prophet Abraham.
CHARACTERS OF PROPHETS As has been indicated earlier that the prophethood in Judaism has two-wing structure. Thus, the characteristics of the prophets are separated into two as well. First of all is in alignment with the wing on communication with God before becoming a prophet. The second aligns with the wing on assignment of duty, and is tied to the duty after becoming a prophet. Ibn Maymun says that prophethood is possible for everyone, even that according to the laws of nature everyone could be a prophet. But as not everyone has developed the individual skill required, not everyone can be a prophet. Similarly, it is not certain that all those who have developed this will be prophets because prophethood is not an occupation that a person can gain through their own efforts but it is a rank given by the Almighty. In order to be worthy of candidacy for this position, an individual must be at the point of perfection in terms of their moral and conveyance capacities. Thus, the individual must be healthy and at a high level in terms of knowledge and spiritual upbringing. In addition, according to the tradition, power, strength and wealth are also important but there is no guarantee that everyone who possesses all of these attributes will be a prophet because the Almighty selects the prophets whom is at the highest level among them. The attribute associated with duty is that of announcing the revelation as be a prophet does not stop at revelation, but being the messenger of God and act as an intermediary to convey the messages they receive from God to the people. That is important that the prophet does not himself add anything to the message.
NATURE OF PROPHETS
It is indicated that prophethood are conceptualized as the medium to convey transcendental messages and as an intermediary communication between the God and the people. Accordingly, in Judaism the rank of prophet does not stop at receiving messages from God but the proclamation of these messages is also essential. Thus in the Jewish understanding there have been those whom, though they are not counted as prophets, have received messages from God because the eyes of their hearts are open. But they are not seen as prophets because they are not charged with announcing to the people the message that they have received. Based on this, it can be said that prophethood entails the state of having full control over the temptation of all types of earthly desires, controlling one’s lower self and developing one’s understanding and mind power, purifying one’s intellect such that one reaches the highest point of existence, attaining full openness of consciousness and understanding at its peak.
Besides,the prophets has a moral conscience. The prophet was not a “Yes-man.” He had to be the fearless conscience of the nation. King Ahab went looking for Elijah the prophet and, when he finally met him, said: “Are you the man who has polluted and destroyed the Jewish people?”
“Not me,” the prophet replied. “You — your family and your father’s house” have destroyed it . “If you see destruction, do not look at me. Look at yourself.”.
Furthermore, Most of the prophets in Judaism engaged in menial occupations such as shepherds, shoe-makers and plowmen. They were parents and spouses like everyone else. Yet they were holy men. They looked to sanctify life and bring that sanctification to others.
Apart from that, when prophets experienced prophecy they went into a trance. It was a physical suspension of ordinary bodily functions. At that moment they were not in contact with reality as we know it, but a different reality, an ultimate reality. Only when it passed did they remember the prophecy. It is the idea of living in a dimension above time and space, beyond one’s “normal” self. The sages of Jewish Tradition also said that an angry person could not become a prophet. Musa Ibn Maymun explained in “Guide for the Perplexed” about this. Some people have the impression that the prophets were angry individuals. that were always telling off the people. However, it is not true. If they were genuinely angry they would never have been prophets.The prophets according to them prophesied out of love and compassion.
QUALIFICATIONS OF PROPHETS ( BY MUSA IBN MAYMUN)
Musa Ibn Maymun lists prophethood as the sixth of his Thirteen Principles of Faith, in Hilchot Teshuva 3:8, the Musa includes in the category of heretics who have no portion in the World to Come "One who says prophecy does not exist and knowledge is not communicated from the Creator to the heart of man".
Prophecy is bestowed only upon a very wise sage of a strong character, who is never overcome by his natural inclinations in any regard. Instead, with his mind, he overcomes his natural inclinations at all times.These characteristics do not themselves bring prophecy, but remove obstacles that a prophet might face were he to lack them.
When one enters the the realm of spiritual knowledge and is drawn into these great and sublime concepts, if he possesses a correct perspective to comprehend and grasp [them], he will become holy. He will advance and separate himself from the masses who proceed in the darkness of the time. He must continue and diligently train himself not to have any thoughts whatsoever about fruitless things or the vanities and intrigues of the times.
Instead, his mind should constantly be directed upward to comprehend the holy and pure forms and gazing at the wisdom of the Holy One then the spirit of prophecy will immediately rest upon
him.
When the spirit of prophecy rests upon him, his soul becomes intermingled with the angels called "ishim", and he will be transformed into a different person and will understand with a different knowledge from what it was previously. He will rise above the level of other wise men.
Nevertheless, there are a number of levels among the prophets. Just as with regard to wisdom, one sage is greater than his colleague, so, too, with regard to prophecy, one prophet is greater than another.
They receive prophetic visions only in a visionary dream or during the day after slumber has overtaken them, as the verse states: "I make Myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream."
When a prophet is informed of a message in a vision, it is granted to him in metaphoric imagery. Immediately, the interpretation of the imagery is imprinted upon his heart, and he knows its meaning.
All the prophets do not prophecy whenever they desire. Instead, they must concentrate their attention upon spiritual concepts and seclude themselves, in a happy, joyous mood, because prophecy cannot rest upon a person when he is sad or languid, but only when he is happy.
NUMBER OF PROPHETS
The Talmud (Megillah 14a) says that there had been twice as many prophets as the number of people who left Egypt (2,600,000), but only those whose messages were for future generations were recorded which was 46 male and 7 female Prophets.
The 7 Female Prophets are Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Hannah which is the mother of Shmuel, Avigail who became the wife of King David, Huldah and Esther. Meanwhile the male prophets are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Pinchas, Nosson, King David, King Solomon, Aidoin the Golah, Micha Ben Yamla, Ovadiah, Hoshea, Amos, Micha, Elijah, Elisha, Yonah Ben Amitai, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Baruch, Neriah, Elkanah, Eli, Samuel, Gad, Nosson , Achiah Hashiloni, Yehu Ben Hanani, Azaryah Ben Oded, Haziel, Morishah, Eliezer, Hagai, Machsiyah, Sharyah, Zechariah, Malachi, Mordechai, Nachum, Joel, Yeshayah, Uriah, Zephaniah, Habakuk and Neriah.
PROPHETESS AND GENTILE PROPHET IN JUDAISM
As in prophethood of Judaism, the prophet are open to gentiles and women as long as they fulfill the requirements. Thus, the jewish believe in several name they taught as prophetess. They are Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Hannah which is the mother of Shmuel, Avigail who became the wife of King David, Huldah and Esther.Meanwhile, among the 46 prophets, there are Job and Bilaam whom is gentile.
WHO IS JESUS IN THE VIEW OF JUDAISM
Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah because Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies and Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah.
One of the central themes of biblical prophecy of what the Messiah has to do is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God.
Specifically, the Bible says the Messiah will build the Third Temple and Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel
The Jews believe if an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be the Messiah thus because no one has ever fulfilled the Bible's description of this future King, Jews still await the coming of the Messiah.
Furthermore, Jesus Did Not Embody the Personal Qualifications of Messiah which says Messiah as the prophet.
“The Messiah will become the greatest prophet in history, second only to Moses.
The jews believe that prophecy can only exist in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry, a situation which has not existed since 300 BCE. During the time of Ezra, when the majority of Jews remained in Babylon, prophecy ended upon the death of the last prophets – Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
Jesus appeared on the scene approximately 350 years after prophecy had ended, and thus could not be a prophet.
Furthermore, Many prophetic passages speak the Messiah is a descendant of King David who will rule Israel during the age of perfection.
The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David . According to the Christians, they claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father – and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father's side from King David. (1)
According to Jewish sources, the Messiah will be born of human parents and possess normal physical attributes like other people. He will not be a demi-god, nor will he possess supernatural qualities.
IS DANIEL ONE OF THE PROPHETS?
According to Judaism, Daniel is not one of the 55 prophets. His writings include visions of the future, which we believe to be true; however, his mission was not that of a prophet. His visions of the future were never intended to be proclaimed to the people; they were designed to be written down for future generations. Thus, they are Writings, not Prophecies, and are classified accordingly.