Musar zu Jeschijahu 21:78

And now we will explain the matter of the punishment of those that separate from the ways of the community, and that he is included in the punishments of the groups that we mentioned above: When the heads of the people and the holy communities gather to serve God, may He be blessed, and make agreements to place commandments upon themselves - they are surely sanctifying God, may He be magnified and sanctified, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 33:5), “Then He became King in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people assembled, the tribes of Israel together.” And it is [also] stated (Psalms 47:10), “The great of the peoples are gathered together, the people of Abraham’s God; for the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.” Israel is called, “peoples,” because they are twelve tribes, like the matter that is stated (Deuteronomy 33:19), “They invite the peoples to the mountain.” But they are one people to serve God; therefore is it stated, “the people of Abraham’s God.” And the kings and the officers are called, “shields,” from the usage (Isaiah 21:5), “grease the shields.” The explanation of [Psalms 47:10] is, the great of the peoples gathered together to serve God, may He be exalted, because their kings and their officers are for God - as they are His servants and His faithful, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 89:19), “Truly our shield is of the Lord, our King, of the Holy One of Israel.” “He is greatly exalted,” since the Holy One, blessed be He, is exalted and glorified in His world in their gathering together and in their service. And the man that separates from the ways of the community is like an opponent of the agreement about the service of God; and like one who exits from the aggregate that is sanctifying God. So he shows himself to not want to be in their council, nor be written in their writings. Behold he is [thus] among those that profane the service and is included in the groups that we mentioned - that are scorning the word of God, and do not have a share in the world to come. And secondly, they dissuade the heart of the weak-minded by their separating from the ways of the community, and so are among those that cause the many to sin.

Moses did not need to be separated from the source of his visions by any window-pane, as it is said of him (Numbers 12,8): ותמונת ה' יביט, "He is able to behold a picture drawn by G–d." Daniel 8,2 on the other hand, described himself as seeing himself in Shushan, though in his vision he actually stood on the banks of the river Ulai. Hoseah 12,11 may have referred to the difference between these two kinds of prophetic visions when he said: ודברתי על הנביאים ואנכי חזון הרביתי, "And I (G–d), spoke to the prophets, having granted many visions." Surely the verse should have said עם הנביאים instead of על הנביאים if the meaning is that G–d spoke with or to other prophets. [Kittel brings a version which has the word אל instead of על (as in our texts). The author may have had such a version of the Bible since he dwells on the meaning of the word אל as opposed to על. Ed.] When you understand the meaning of the word אל, you will understand that we are dealing here with a type of prophecy which exceeds in clarity of vision all other types of prophecy and which is referred to in our literature as אספקלריא דנהרא, clear vision. This kind of prophecy was granted to none other than Moses, the father-figure for all subsequent prophets. The Torah (Numbers 12,8) says of him: "I speak to him mouth to mouth, etc." The very word חזון is a reminder of the expression הוגד לי חזות קשה, "a harsh prophecy has been revealed to me "(Isaiah 21,2). We also find this expression used in the type of prophecy Abraham received before he was circumcised, such as in Genesis 15,1.

The second type of prophetic visions which G–d employed to communicate with other prophets, חידות, riddles, are mentioned to indicate that the visions were not as clear. G–d also employed parables and images. All this was required because the prophets in question needed to be separated from the origin of the Divine vision by one or several layers of screens. It is this latter type of prophetic insights that G–d refers to in the verse quoted from Hoseah. When G–d added (Hoseah 12,11) וביד הנביאים אדמה, "I would appear in different guises to the prophets," the meaning is that each prophet was granted the level of communication he could absorb without suffering harm from exposure to G–d's proximity. The reason G–d (the prophet) employs the word יד, is an allusion to אם לא תמצא ידה, "If she (the mother who has just given birth and is required to bring an offering) cannot afford it." (Leviticus 12,8).