To Hashem is the entirety of creation,
Greetings, Muman613,
Here is a general link to Rabbi Brody's thoughts about natural healing. He is an amazing writer and I love his stuff. He quotes Reb Nacham more than anyone else, but I feel he is well grounded in Torah.
http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/health_and_fitness/There is a collection of talks called "Dvar Malchus". It is a collectin of talks given from about 1990-1992 by the Rebbe. In the sicha from parshas Shoftim, 5751, the Rebbe says that nevua is back. However, he says this in regard only to his holy father-in-law, who he feels is the leader of the generation.
My opinion is - since the Rebbe said this about 41 years after the hhistalkus of the Previous Rebbe, he was trying to tell us a change of status within the Jewish people themselves. The Ramak writes a lot about attaining prophecy and from his writing its prtty clear it can be done with proper yirat Hashem.
This is a link to the translated talk
http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sichos-in-english/49/20.htmI will cut and paste the relevant part, but of course it's important not to take things out of context and the best way to learn these deep concepts is in their original language with a learned rabbi who was actually was there at the time of the talk or has the background and yirat shami'im to explain it to you.
"An illustration of the difference between the two functions mentioned above can be found in the contrast between the words of the Torah, and the words of prophecy, (both of which are mentioned in the Torah portion Shoftim).
Torah transcends the world, for it is the wisdom and will of G-d. Thus in the same way that one cannot grasp the being of G-d in any way, the real essence of the Torah is above our comprehension.[204] Therefore the manner in which the Torah is conveyed to this world is mainly through commandments and rulings from above.
In contrast, prophecy -- even though it is the word of G-d, "the spirit of G-d spoke to me" -- is the revelation of G-dliness to man. "He revealed His secrets to His servants, the prophets", according to their limits[205] that it should be absorbed in the knowledge and mind of the prophet. A prophet becomes as one with the prophecy communicated to him and the vision of prophecy becomes clothed in his minds and understanding and also in his thoughts and speech, as it is written "The spirit of G-d spoke in me, and His word is on my tongue."
Moreover, prophecy is intended to be revealed through speech. The very Hebrew term for prophecy, nevuah implies that it is a subject proclaimed and announced to the people as in the term niv s'fosayim, ("the expression of the lips"). In contrast, Torah which can remain in one's thoughts. Also the import of prophecy has connection with the events of the world. To quote the Rambam, "A prophet is only there to inform us of what is going to happen in the future in the world."[206]
There is a commandment to obey "your judges" at all times, as it is written in our Torah portion "And you shall come... to the judge who will be in those days." Similarly, there is a commandment to obey the prophets, as it is written separately in the Torah portion (18:15) "G-d will set up for you a prophet from your midst, from your brothers, like me, and you shall hearken to him."
In this context, the Rambam explains "one of the fundamentals of the religion is to know that G-d sends His prophecies through people." Since the Rambam prefaces the commandment to heed a prophet with the concept that prophecy is one of "the fundamentals of the religion," we can understand that this affects Jews in all generations. Our Sages tell us "that from the time the later prophets, Chaggai, Zecharia and Malachi died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel." Nevertheless, the word "departed" does not mean that it was abolished completely. The spirit of prophecy did not cease, but rather ascended to a higher plane. Indeed, even after the era of the later prophets, the spirit of prophecy permeated very many people. (This can also be understood from the fact that, in the Mishneh Torah, the Rambam does not mention the cessation of prophecy, nor that the spirit of prophecy can flourish only in a specific time.)
Indeed, in his Iggeres Taimon, the Rambam writes that "as a preparatory step for Mashiach's coming... prophecy will return to Israel." This can be understood in connection with the explanations above. To prepare us to be able to receive the revelations of the Era of the Redemption, we must experience through prophecy, a foretaste of the "advice" that will be communicated in that era.
It is therefore important for later generations to know that it is "one of the fundaments of [our] faith to know that G-d sends His prophecies through people." Always, in all generations, the revelation of prophecy is possible. Moreover, this will include even a level of prophecy which is akin to the prophecy of Moshe as implied by the verse, "I will set up for them from their brothers like you." Moshe's level is the zenith of prophecy, as the Rambam explains at length. Nevertheless, it is not exclusive to him, but reflected to others as well.
This enables us to comprehend why the Rambam deals with the prophecy of Moshe at such length, explaining that it reflects a higher level of prophecy than experienced by all other prophets. On the surface, this is merely a historical fact. Of what purpose is there in discussing it in a book of law for the Jewish people of later generations. And if this only refers to the time after Mashiach has come, when Moshe will arise, the people will see Moshe's uniqueness themselves. Of what purpose is there to mention this ruling now?
The explanation is that in all generations, even before the Resurrection of the Dead, it is necessary to know that Torah law prescribes that G-d sends His prophecies through men, that the verse, "I will set up a prophet... like you (Moshe)" applies in every generation. Every prophet is a continuation of the prophecy of Moshe and his Torah (except that in regard to revelation, there are different levels as the Rambam explains). In our generation, these concepts were personified by the leader of the generation, the Previous Rebbe.
We can now understand the uniqueness of the time in which we are living, an age when all the service required of us has been completed, to borrow an expression of the Previous Rebbe, "the buttons have been polished," and we are in the final seconds before the Ultimate Redemption.
From the time when the Torah commanded "You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates," the fact that the Redemption did not come then served as a proof that the Jews had not completed the service required of them. Traces of our sins remained, and hence "because of our sins, we were exiled from our land." Hence, in addition to judges, we still required "officers" to enforce obedience of the decisions the judges rendered.
Nevertheless, after the great amount of service throughout the generations, we are obviously very much nearer to the Redemption. Surely this has been enhanced by the revelation of P'nimiyus HaTorah, beginning from the AriZal's declaration that "it is a mitzvah to reveal this wisdom," and particularly through the service of the Rebbeim in spreading forth the wellsprings of Chassidus. These leaders are the individuals through whom "prophecy will return to Israel." They are the prophets of our generation, "like me (Moshe)," i.e., they are "the spark of Moshe that exists in every generation."
They are "your judges." This reflects to their function as nesi'im. This term related to the word hisnasus, "uplifted," reflects how they are elevated above the people.[207] In this capacity, they serve as the teachers of the Torah to the people. Similarly, they serve as "your advisors," giving counsel in connection with our Torah service, and also giving advice in worldly matters, which is the function of the prophets.
This is particularly expressed through the revelation of the teachings of Chassidus through the Chabad approach which allows one to comprehend Torah's mystic secrets within the conceptual framework of ordinary human intellect. This serves as a foretaste of the revelation of the inner meanings of Torah in the Era of the Redemption which will in turn prepare our people for that era.
All this has been greatly increased in our generation -- when "the spreading of your wellsprings outward" has been completed, reaching a level that can be comprehended by a person who is extremely remote and having been extended to all corners of the earth. This includes the translation of the teaching of Chassidus into many languages (e.g., Russian) at the request of the Previous Rebbe and the printing of the Tanya -- the written law of Chassidus -- in Braille for those who unfortunately cannot see.
In this context, the knowledge that all the service required of us has been completed provides us with a heightened understanding of the lesson we must take from Parshas Shoftim. Each person has to recognize himself, and publicize among his widest circle of influence, that we need to accept upon ourselves the rulings and advice of "the judges" and "the advisers" of our generation. In general, this refers to all Rabbis, for "Our Rabbis are our kings," and in particular, this refers to the leader of our generation -- the judge, adviser and prophet of our generation.
When a person has the merits and individual perfection required of a prophet, and he performs signs and wonders -- as we saw and see continually in the fulfillment of the blessings of the leader of our generation, the Previous Rebbe -- "we do not believe in him only because of the sign [he performed]..., but because of the commandment which Moshe gave in the Torah."
Furthermore, "A prophet about whom another prophet testifies that he is a prophet (as is the case with the Previous Rebbe, and is continued in the next generation through his disciples), he is accepted as a prophet and requires no investigation." He has to be obeyed immediately "even before he performs a sign." "It is forbidden to disparage or criticize his prophecy saying that it is perhaps not true." There is a specific negative commandment forbidding us to test a prophet more than necessary. After it has become known that he is a prophet, the people should believe in him, and they should not disparage or criticize him. Their belief should not be in the prophet as an individual, but as a messenger charged with communicating the words of G-d.
This concept has to be publicized to everyone in this generation. It must be made known that we have merited that G-d has chosen and appointed a person who of himself is far greater than the people of his generation, to serve as a judge, adviser, and prophet to the generation. He will grant rulings and advice in connection with the service of the Jews and indeed, of all the people of this generation, in all matters of the Torah and its mitzvos, and in their general day to day behavior, allowing them to "know Him in all your ways," so that "all your actions should be for the sake of Heaven." Surely, this includes the fundamental prophecy "To Redemption immediately," for "Behold Mashiach is coming."
This, the acceptance and fulfillment of the rulings of the "judges" and the "advisers" of our generation begins the process of the fulfillment of the prayer "Return our judges as at first, and our advisers as at the beginning" which will be realized in a full sense with the true and complete Redemption.
On this basis, we can answer the questions being asked lately: Why is there is so much talk about the Redemption coming immediately? How will the family react, and what will the world say? To which the answer is that if the idea of Redemption was something novel, there might be cause for the question. This is not the case; everything connected with the Redemption began a long time ago and has long been accepted in this world. Hence, there should be no wonderment and surprise when the Redemption does actually come.
On a practical level, the injunction of "You shall appoint judges at all your gates," must be applied on several different levels. Firstly, "the gates" can be interpreted as referring to the seven gates of man: the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and mouth. They should act according to the dictates of the Torah. On this level, the "judges" refer to the intellectual attributes of the G-dly soul and the "advisers," the emotional attributes. Thus every element of the life of a Jew has to be permeated and led by the G-dly power of his soul.
This concept should be extended and every man and woman should serve as a "judge" and an "adviser" in their household and family, insuring that it run according to the teachings and advice of the Torah. And to extend the concept even further, the whole world should follow the directives of the "judge" and the "adviser" of the generation, the "prophet I will set up for them, like you (Moshe)," the leader of the generation."
We are now at the end of the year, in the month of Elul, which is the month of reckoning for the past year and the month of preparation for the next year; and in this month itself, the first seven days have passed, from Sunday until Shabbos, which include all the days of the year passed and to come.
It is therefore an even more fitting time to make a true reckoning, and to undertake appropriate preparations for the next year in connection with the service described above. And this will bring each member of the Jewish people and the entire Jewish people as a whole, a kesivah vachasimah tovah, an inscription and the sealing of that inscription for a good and sweet year materially and spiritually.[208] Included in this will be the fulfillment of the prophecy, "And I will return your judges as in former times, and your advisers as at the beginning," with the return of our people to Eretz Yisrael and to the Beis HaMikdash. May this take place in the immediate future."
Topic: Historian: Conditions Are Ripe for a King of Israel (Read 5308 times)