[Avodah] Looking for sources about Chazal's Ruach Hakodesh

[Daniel Eidensohn]

*Leshem*^ *(2:4:19): *The critical point is that every Jew is obligated 
to belief with perfect faith that all which is found in the words of our 
Sages – both in halacha, Talmudic agada and medrashim – are in their 
entirety the words of the living G-d. That is because everything that 
they say is with ruach hakodesh (Sanhedrin 48b). This includes even that 
whch isn’t relevant to halacha and deed…Also all their decrees and 
statutes are not the product of human intellect at all but rather are 
the result of ruach hakodesh in which G-d has expressed Himself through 
them. This is the great sound that doesn’t end (Devarim 5:19) of the 
giving of the Torah at Sinai and it expresses itself in the Oral Torah…. 
Thus the Sages are just like messengers in what they say…. This is why 
the Bal Halachos Gedolos includes the Rabbinic mitzvos with the Torah 
mitzvos since all of them were given by G-d (Chagiga 3b)…We can conclude 
from all this that anyone who tries to analzye the words of the Sages in 
order to establish the nature of their truth places himself in great 
danger. That is because man’s intellect can not properly comprehend this 
matter and thus a person can come to heresy from the endeavor. This is 
what Koheles(7:16) states: Don’t make yourself too wise  - why destroy 
yourself?  A person who gets involved in this matter will find it very 
difficult to resist following his human understanding. He will end up 
going back and forth between the view of the Torah and that of his own 
understanding…. The righteous person lives by his faith because that is 
the foundation of the entire Torah….

Bava Basra (12a): R. Abdimi from Haifa said: Since the day when the 
Temple was destroyed, prophecy has been taken from the prophets and 
given to the wise. Is then a wise man not also a prophet?12 — What he 
meant was this: Although it has been taken from the prophets, it has not 
been taken from the wise. Amemar said: A wise man is even superior to a 
prophet, as it says, And a prophet has a heart of wisdom.13 Who is 
compared with whom? Is not the smaller compared with the greater?14 
Abaye said: The proof [that prophecy has not been taken from the wise] 
is that a great man makes a statement, and the same is then reported in 
the name of another great man.15 Said Raba: What is there strange in 
this? Perhaps both were born under one star.16 No, said Raba; the proof 
is this, that a great man makes a statement and then the same is 
reported in the name of R. Akiba b. Joseph.1 Said R. Ashi: What is there 
strange in this? perhaps in this matter he was born under the same star. 
No, said R. Ashi; the proof is that a great man makes a statement and 
then it is found that the same rule was a halachah communicated to Moses 
at Mount Sinai. But perhaps the wise man was no better than a blind man 
groping his way through a window?2 — And does he not give reasons [for 
his opinions]?3

See *Ramban and Chasam Sofer *on this gemora

*Chazon Ish's Letters (1:15):*It is at the roots of our faith that all 
that is said in the gemora whether it is in the Mishna or gemora whether 
it is halacha or agada—all these things were revealed to us through the 
medium of prophetic power

*Chazaon Ish's Letter (2:24): *The truth is that the generation after 
the Mishna witnessed a decline in stature relative to the Tannaim. The 
new generation knew for certain that the truth was always with the 
Tannaim. Once they knew the truth of the matter that it was impossible 
for them to comprehend something that had not been understood by one of 
the Tannaim—it was no longer possible to disagree directly with the 
Tannaim on their own authority. Therefore, they only taught what they 
understood to be the teachings of the Tannaim. Similarly with the close 
of the Talmud, the words of an amora—who was unaware of the teaching on 
that matter of a tanna—were not null. The only exception being Rav who 
because of his greatness his words were not null. All their conclusions 
were reached with Divine guidance and ruach hakodesh which manifested 
itself.

*Sanhedrin (11a):**With *the death of the last prophets—Chagai, 
Zechariah and Malachi—ruach hakodesh left the Jews. Nevertheless, they 
still were able to utilize Bas Kol

*Chasam Sofer (1:208):*

*Meshech Chochma (Vayikra 26:44):*



 

 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20100127/36de4901/attachment-0002.htm>