Yesodei haTorah - Chapter Eight

The performance of a wonder which transcends the natural order appears to indicate that the person has been granted special powers by God. Nevertheless, this is not a substantial basis for faith, as the Rambam proceeds to explain.

The Rambam’s statements are problematic when compared to his statements in Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 11:16, which states: All these matters [sorcery, witchcraft, divination, and the like] are all deception and falsehoods with which the ancient idol worshipers misled the peoples of the earth to attract them to them. It is not fitting for Israel, who are sophisticated and wise, to be drawn after such emptiness or to think they are of any value...Anyone who believes in such matters and considers them to be true and a product of wisdom, but, [merely] forbidden by the Torah, is foolish and inane....All these practices forbidden by the Torah... are emptiness and vanity. If so, why does the Rambam say that one can perform a wonder through sorcery? A possible resolution to this question can be given in terms of the Rambam’s statement (Chapter 10, Halachah 2), that it is possible for some of the foretellings which sorcerers and diviners relate to come true. There will, however, never be total truth to their statements. Thus, the signs and wonders the Rambam mentions could be a prediction which was fulfilled to a partial degree. It must be noted that many other Jewish thinkers disagree with the Rambam’s entire approach and believe that sorcery and other occult arts are powerful and can produce change within the world.

See Exodus, Chapter 14. Avodat HaMelech questions why the Rambam considers the drowning of the Egyptians to be the purpose of the miracle. On the surface, the purpose was the salvation of the Jewish people. He explains that had God desired, He could have saved the Jews through other means. The fact that He slew the Egyptians implies that taking retribution against them was part of His intent.

See Exodus, Chapter 16.

See Exodus, Chapter 17.

See Numbers, Chapter 16. This particular instance presents somewhat of a difficulty. Moses tells the people (16:28-30) that, “With this [the opening of the earth to swallow Korach] you will know that God sent me to do these deeds.” However, it can be explained that the legitimacy of Moses’ prophecy had already been established, and the sign was intended with regard to the appointments of Aaron and Elitzafon.

None of them were performed in order to demonstrate that Moses’ prophecy was inspired by God, but rather to deal with practical difficulties which arose.

I.e., the entire Jewish people were present at Mount Sinai, witnessed the miracle, and accepted Moses as a prophet. The revelation was not confined to a single individual or to a small group, but rather affected the entire Jewish people who — when counting all the men, women, and children — numbered approximately 2 million people.

The latter verse emphasizes that, with the expression ‘Moses’ prophecy,’ the Rambam refers to the Torah as a whole.

Thus, God explicitly told Moses that the Jews’ faith in him was dependent on the revelation at Sinai.

At Mount Sinai.

The authoritative manuscripts of the Mishneh Torah have a slightly different text, which would be translated as “for he and they are alike in this matter.”

For a person will never cease believing in something that he has seen with his own eyes. See Halachah 3.

To reinforce their belief in him. Nevertheless, as the Rambam notes in the Guide for the Perplexed, Vol. II, Chapter 35, there is a unique difference between the miracles performed by Moses and those performed by the other prophets. Moses performed his miracles in the presence of the entire people (and also, frequently in the presence of many gentiles) and, for the most part, the miracles were of consequence to the people as a whole. In contrast, the other prophets performed their miracles in the presence of only a portion of the people, and for the most part, these wonders affected individuals or groups, but not the people as a whole. This concept is alluded to in the closing words of the Torah: “No prophet like Moses ever arose in Israel... [to perform] the signs and miracles... which Moses performed before the eyes of all of Israel.”

I.e., the transformation of his staff into a serpent, the affliction of his hand with tzara’at, and the transformation of the water into blood.

Because of these wonders.

Both the revelation at the burning bush and the Giving of the Torah took place on Mount Sinai.

The Lechem Mishneh and others question the Rambam’s statement, because the order of the verses in the Torah differs from the order which would be apparent from the Rambam’s statement. (This verse — which according to the Rambam appears to have been stated last — is mentioned first in the Torah.) There are some commentators who resolve the question by quoting the principle: There is no chronological order in the Torah’s verses. What was written first may have been recited last. Rav Levi ibn Chaviv does not accept this attempted resolution and explains that, at the outset, God informed Moses of the means through which he would ultimately be accepted by the people. Afterwards, He informed him of the signs that he would perform to win their belief until they were prepared for that total revelation.

Since a wonder can be performed by sorcery, it is not sufficient proof that God has appointed this person as a prophet

Belief in a prophet.

Note the Sefer Chakirah of the Tzemach Tzedek, which questions the status of a prophet who performs a wonder that could not be performed by sorcery (e.g., the plague of lice). Is he also to be believed only because of the Torah’s command, or should he be believed by virtue of the wonder he performed? Note Likkutei Sichot, Vol. 19, which resolves that question, explaining that the Torah’s command endows a prophet with a higher status than that which he could attain on his own.

See the words of Rav Saadia Gaon in his introduction to his Book of Legal Documents:

I.e., deviate from the Torah and its mitzvot, as stated in Chapter 9, Halachah 1.

His appointment as a prophet.

The Rambam elaborates on this subject because the signs and wonders which a false prophet performs are likely to make a powerful impression on a person. Therefore, the Rambam explains that we must take past history into consideration and realize that the authority of the Torah was proven to us in a way that precludes any and all disputation.

Likkutei Sichot, Vol. 19, explains a parallel concept within the realm of Torah law. Rosh HaShanah 26a states that a person who witnesses the commission of a murder cannot serve as a judge. Since he saw the deed being committed, the impression made upon him is so powerful that he will never be able to accept any of the arguments advanced by the defense. Similarly, having witnessed the appointment of Moses through actual sight, there is no way anything can sway it.

In Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 5:7 and in Sefer HaMitzvot (negative commandment 28), the Rambam uses this verse as a prooftext for the prohibition against listening to a person who prophesies in the name of a false god. (Note Chapter 9, Halachah 5.) From his statements in Hilchot Avodat Kochavim, one may conclude that listening to the words of a false prophet is also included in the scope of that prohibition. [Note the Hasagot of the Ramban to Sefer HaMitzvot (loc. cit.), which argue against including as a mitzvah listening to one who prophesies in the name of false gods, but which are willing to grant that status to the prohibition mentioned here. See also the comments of the Megillat Esther, who writes that the prohibition against listening to a false prophet is included in the mitzvah not to detract from the Torah, and should therefore not be considered to be a mitzvah in its own right.]

Thus, by denying Moses’ prophecy, the ‘prophet’ denies the only basis on which his words could be accepted as binding upon us.

As explained in the commentary to Chapter 9, Halachah 1, the Rambam’s statements — though immutable Torah law — were also timely in nature, intended to negate the claims of the Christians and Moslems. This theme is also evident in these halachot which emphasize how no miracles or wonders may be regarded as grounds to forsake the Torah.