Prophets
The primary job of a prophet was to arouse the
people and the government to repentance and observance. The
traditional view is that prophecy was removed from the world after
the destruction of the First
Temple. Those prophets who are mentioned after that were alive at
the time of the destruction. Several explanations are offered for why
prophets no longer exist:
1. The fact that the Jews did not heed the calls
to repentance of the prophets showed that they were not worthy. When
most of the Jews remained in exile after Ezra returned, they showed
that they were still not worthy of that level of holiness. The second
temple did not have the level of kedushah [holiness] of the
first Temple even from the beginning.
2. This was actually a sign of Gd's mercy. Had
the Jews had a prophet and continued to disobey (as was probable
based on the behavior of the following centuries) even after the
punishment of the exile, they would have merited complete
destruction. Now they could say that had a prophet come they would
have obeyed and thus mitigate the punishment (though some consider
the current exile (i.e., the diaspora) to be harsh enough).
3. After the destruction of the first Temple the
sages prayed for the removal of the "Evil Inclination" of
idolatry. Since the world exists in a balance, the removal of the low
point (idolatry) necessitated the removal of the high point
(prophecy).
Another effect of losing prophecy is that it is no
longer known the specific acts that result in specific good and bad
consequences. In the age of prophecy, a person undergoing misfortunes
could learn from a prophet what he or she was doing wrong and how to
do teshuvah (repentance). Today, some feel that a tzaddik or a rebbe can
provide spiritual guidance and advise paths for repentance.
Sources: Shamash |