Shabbat Forshpeis
A Taste of Torah in Honor of Shabbat
PARSHAT RE-EH
THE TRUTH IS NOT FOUND IN THE MIRACLE
AUGUST 22-23 2003 / 24 AV 5763
While a prophet may not
change Torah law, he may override it temporarily except for in the case of idolatry. No prophet may advocate idol worship, no matter the circumstances. If he does, he is considered a navi-shekera false propheteven if he is able to perform miracles. (Deuteronomy 13:2-6)
The obvious question is, if the person is a false prophet how can she/he have the ability to perform miracles? Several answers are offered.
Rabbi Akiva contends that when the Torah speaks of this prophet performing miracles, the prophet was, at the time of the miracle, a true one. Only later did s/he deflect to the wrong path. Once becoming a false prophet the ability to perform miracles is then gone. (Sanhedrin 90a)
The message: Notwithstanding ones achievement or spiritual level, there is always the possibility of later falling. Rabbi Akivas comment may be predicated on his life experiences. Having risen from illiteracy to become the rabbis rabbi, he understood that people can dramatically change for the better or for the worse.
Two other comments ought to be mentioned. Rambam argues that the false prophet may perform what appears to be miraculous, but in fact is not. What one sees is nothing less than a deception. In Rambams words: "And we may be sure that those signs [brought about by the false prophets] were performed with trickery and sorcery. (Rambam, Code Fundamentals of the Torah, 8:3)
Ramban disagrees. What one sees may have actually occurred. In reality, human beings use but a small percentage of the brains capacity. It follows that a false prophet may have mastered the use of a bit more of that capacity and is thus able to perform a supernatural feat. This talent, however, is not indicative of being a true prophet. (see Ramban, Deuteronomy 18:9)
This disagreement between Rambam and Ramban follows their pattern of discourse. Rambam was a rationalist. He, therefore, could not entertain that a false prophet could do the miraculous its simply a deception. Ramban on the other hand, was of the mystical bent. The false prophet can perform the supernatural-but so what? Some people have that ability. But that is not enough to prove youre authentic.
Still, what Rambam and Ramban have in common is that miracles (or acts that appear miraculous) are not the criteria to prove that a prophet is truthful. In this sense, Judaism differs dramatically from Christianity. In Christianity, miracles are of primary importance. This is not so in Jewish tradition. In the words of Moses Mendelssohn: "According to the laws of my faith, miraculous acts are no touchstone of truth, and a miracle cannot be accepted with moral certainty as evidence that a prophet has been sent by God." Nechama Leibowitz, who presents Mendelssohns words, adds, "It is...the content of the prophets message which is the decisive factor, and if it violates the principles enunciated in the Torah, we must not give it credence."
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Avi Weiss
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