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Why does the Torah (תורה) use 'nikra' (impure prophetic language) when describing divine revelation to the Jewish people, the same terminology used for Bilam? The shiur distinguishes between two types of prophecy: earned prophecy that filters through a person's spiritual level, versus granted prophecy where the recipient must temporarily cease conscious existence to avoid corrupting the divine message. This explains why Bilam required 'lashon tumah' and why the Jews in Egypt, before circumcision, temporarily needed similar terminology.
The shiur begins with Hashem (ה׳)'s command to Moshe to approach Pharaoh, where the Torah (תורה) states 'Hashem elokei ha'ivrim nikra aleinu' - 'Hashem, God of the Hebrews, has appeared to us.' The Mizrachi raises a fundamental question: why does the Torah use 'nikra' (with a hey), which Rashi (רש"י) identifies as 'lashon tumah' (impure language), when referring to divine revelation to the Jewish people? This is the same terminology used for Bilam - 'vayikar Elokim al Bilam' - where Rashi explicitly states that God appears to gentile prophets with impure language, in contrast to Jewish prophets who receive divine communication with 'vayikra' (with an alef), representing pure language. The Maharal offers several resolutions to this apparent contradiction. First, the revelation occurred in Egypt, a land filled with impurity and idolatry, necessitating the impure terminology. Second, when people describe their own prophetic experience (as opposed to the Torah's narrative description), they use humble language to avoid appearing boastful. Third, the plural 'aleinu' (to us) refers not just to Moshe and the elders but to the entire nation, and since the whole nation were not prophets, the elevated prophetic language is inappropriate.
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Parshas Shemos 3:18
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