Kommentar zu Wajikra 8:8

את האורים THE URIM — an inscription bearing the Proper Name of the Lord (cf. Rashi on Exodus XXV 3:30).

ויתן אל החשן את האורים ואת התומים, “he inserted in the breastplate the Urim and Tumim.” These “urim vetumim” were a parchment with the Ineffable Name written on it. We have explained all this in Exodus 28,30. This represented one of the various stages of the Holy Spirit. Access to G’d by means of the urim vetumim was on a lower level than that at the disposal of a prophet, but it represented a higher level of Holy Spirit than hearing a בת קול, “a heavenly echo.” You should appreciate that the difference between what is commonly known as “Holy Spirit” and “prophecy,” is that when a prophet receives a communication from G’d all his normal faculties are interrupted. At such a time he is as if deprived of all bodily functions, remaining temporarily as if a disembodied spiritual being. This phenomenon occurs while these prophets are awake (Maimonides, Yessodey Ha-Torah 5,2) and represented a special prophetic level of what is called the “eighth level.” On the other hand, the level known as רוח הקדש, “Holy Spirit,” does not involve that the recipient is deprived of his normal functions; he speaks like an ordinary individual but is imbued with a supra-natural ”antenna” which puts words in his mouths which he conveys in ordinary language. Such a person will reveal matters which will happen in the future seeing G’d put these words in his mouth. The third part of the Bible, known as Ketuvim was written under the influence of this kind of divine inspiration. The level of divine inspiration possessed by Moses was far superior to that of any of the aforementioned. His prophetic insights exceeded those of any other prophet. This is the reason why whenever our sages speak of the Bible they apply three separate names to it in the same order, i.e. תורה, נביאים, כתובים, “the Torah, the Books of the Prophets, Holy Scriptures.” Everything written in the Torah is of a superior degree of direct communication from G’d. Our sages have even stipulated that when such Books are bound separately, it is inadmissible to place the Book of the Prophets on top of the Torah, or the Book of the Holy Scriptures on top of the Book of Prophets for instance; all this to remind us of the different degrees of sanctity between these three parts of the Bible (compare Maimonides, Hilchot Sefer Torah 10,5). All of this in order for us to appreciate whence prophecy emanates.