Comentario sobre Deuteronómio 13:4

FOR THE ETERNAL YOUR G-D TRIETH YOU. This is to state that the purport of the wonder which came to pass and which G-d showed him in his dream or [as the philosophers say] in his kahin¹⁰⁷This is borrowed from the Arabic, kahanah, a term referring to the power residing in man to be able to foretell the future. It is so explained by Shmuel ibn Tibbon in his list of “Foreign words.” was G-d’s will in order to test you in your love of Him. Now I have already explained¹³⁸Genesis 2:1 (Vol. I, p. 275). that the term “test” is derived from the point of view of the one who is being tested. It states here to know [for the Eternal your G-d trieth you ‘to know’ whether ye do love … meaning] that it became known in fact what exists in potential and is revealed [only] to Him. Thus the commandment of this entire section refers to someone who prophesies to worship the idols. But concerning one who prophesies in the name of G-d to change any of the commandments of the Torah, our Rabbis have interpreted¹³¹Sanhedrin 90a. that if he came to [completely] uproot any item from the Torah, such as permitting [the eating of] swine or [permitting] one of the adulterous relationships, according to this judgment shall it be done to him¹³⁹Exodus 21:31. [i.e., he is liable to death as is stated here in Verse 6]. But if he declares it to be permissible only for some time as a temporary measure such as Elijah did on Mount Carmel [in permitting offerings to G-d outside of the Sanctuary in Jerusalem],¹⁴⁰I Kings 18:33-38. The purpose was to vindicate the belief in the true G-d and cause the people to reject the idolatrous worship of Baal. And because Elijah was an acknowledged righteous prophet we were commanded to listen to him (Rambam, Hilchoth Yesodei Hatorah 9:3). we are obligated to listen to him and to do everything that he commands us.
It appears [to me] that if he prophesies in the name of G-d to command a precept that he innovates, as happened concerning reading of the Scroll [of Esther on Purim],¹⁴¹See Ramban above, 4:2. that he is not guilty of a capital offense, only that we are not to obey him, because it is written, These are the commandments,¹⁴²Leviticus 27:34. [which our Rabbis interpret to mean]:¹⁴³Torath Kohanim, end of Bechukothai. The reading of the Megillah (Scroll of Esther) on Purim is “a positive commandment by the authority of the Scribes” (Mishneh Torah, Hilchoth Megillah V’Chanukah 1:1). “No prophet is henceforth permitted to declare any new matter therein.” But perhaps, since we do not believe him, he is thus a false prophet and his death is by strangulation.¹⁴⁴See “The Commandments,” Vol. II, pp. 25-26.

לא תשמע אל הנביא ההוא, do not even turn to listen to find out if his words have even partial substance, for there can be no question that the man is full of lies and tells you things he has made up, all for an evil purpose; כי דבר סרה, for what he portrays as a miracle is nothing but sleight of hand or forgery of some other kind.

כי מנסה ה׳ אלוקיכם אתכם לדעת, for the Lord your G'd is testing you, wanting to know, etc." You may well ask why such a prophet should be executed if G'd sent him to test the loyalty of the Jewish people! Clearly then the words כי מנסה do not mean that G'd instructed this prophet to say what he said, but it explains only why the miracles this prophet performed in order to legitimise himself were allowed to happen.