פירוש על במדבר 11:25

ולא יספו [AND THEY PROPHESIED] BUT DID NOT CONTINUE (to prophesy) — i. e. they prophesied only that day alone. Thus is the phrase explained in Siphre. Onkelos, however, rendered renders it ולא פסקין “and they did not cease”, meaning that the gift of prophecy never again departed from them (cf. Sanhedrin 17a and Rashi on Deuteronomy 5:19).

וירד ה׳ בענן וידבר אליו, G'd descended within the cloud and spoke to him, etc. What did G'd say to Moses? Besides, what was the neeed for this whole procedure? Why did G'd not simply let these people prophesy? We may understand what happened when we consider a statement of the Zohar on Pinchas 220 on Numbers 25,12: "Behold I give unto him My covenant, peace." G'd commanded Moses to bestow this covenant of peace on Pinchas. The reason was that Moses had already acquired that gift so that it was considered his possession. Seeing that G'd does not take away a gift He had given to someone in order to give it to someone else, Moses had to be the one to bestow it on Pinchas. Similarly, here. Moses had been given the gift of prophecy, exclusively. When G'd wanted to give the elders the gift of prophecy He had to do so via Moses. This is why Moses is known as אדון הנביאים, the "master" of the prophets. When Moses assembled the elders he remained with them and G'd descended within the cloud. The word vayedaber may be read as vayadber, "He made subordinate" (compare Psalms 47,4). G'd took permission from Moses to transfer some of his Holy Spirit.