The Seventh Principle - Moses as Greatest Prophet

Full Summary

This shiur examines the seventh principle of the Ani Maamin - that Moses was the chief of all prophets, both before and after him. Rabbi Zweig begins by questioning why this should be considered a fundamental article of faith rather than merely a historical fact, asking what practical difference it makes whether Moses was the greatest prophet if all prophets must be obeyed equally. The answer emerges through an analysis of a Talmudic passage stating that Moses wrote his book and the book of Bilaam. While other commentators struggle to explain why only Bilaam is mentioned when many prophets appear in the Torah (תורה), Rabbi Zweig offers a novel interpretation based on the fundamental difference between Moses' prophecy and that of all other prophets. The key distinction lies in the phrases used to introduce prophecy. Other prophets say 'Ko amar Hashem (ה׳)' (thus says God), indicating an approximation of God's words, while Moses uses 'Eileh divrei Hashem' (these are the words of God), indicating the exact divine words. All prophets except Moses received subjective prophecy - they understood God's message perfectly but expressed it in their own words and style, filtered through their personal experiences and frame of reference. Moses alone achieved objective prophecy, receiving the precise words of the Almighty without any subjective filtering. This is why the Talmud (תלמוד) can say Moses wrote Bilaam's book - because Bilaam, uniquely among non-Jewish prophets, also achieved this objective level and would have used the identical words Moses recorded. With other prophets, their personal accounts would have differed from Moses' objective version. This distinction has profound implications. Prophecy from other prophets constitutes divine messages requiring obedience but not study for deeper meaning. Moses' prophecy, however, constitutes Torah itself - divine law and truth that can be studied, analyzed, and understood at infinite levels because it retains the infinite nature of God's own words. The shiur explains that Moses' unique ability stemmed from his quality of being 'anav' - typically translated as humble, but better understood as objective. His complete lack of self-interest allowed him to receive God's word without any subjective coloring. This objectivity, Rabbi Zweig suggests, is the Hebrew equivalent of what we call objectivity today. The seventh principle thus validates that we possess actual Torah from God, not merely prophetic messages. Without Moses' unique objective prophecy, we would only have subjective divine communications rather than the infinite, studyable Torah that forms the foundation of Jewish law and thought.