Jerusalem – Prominent Rabbi: Claim Of Divine Prophecy Predictions Troubling

    49

    Rabbi AvnerJerusalem – Israeli Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rav of Beit El and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalyim discounts claims that Kabbalist, Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi’s warnings several weeks ago of impending trouble in Turkey prove that he has the gift of divine prophecy, following yesterday’s devastating earthquake in Turkey.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    “There are no prophets in our days,” R’ Aviner was quoted as saying in an interview with Israeli website Srugim. “Real prophecy ended 2,300 years ago and in our day only children and the mentally unbalanced have the gift of prophecy. While ruach hakodesh does exist, as described by R’ Chaim Vital in his sefer Shaarei Kedusha, it does not give one who is so endowed the ability to predict the future.”

    R’ Aviner described R’ Ben Artzi as a “dear Jew, like every other Jew”, but cautioned that many of R’ Ben Artzi’s predictions have failed to materialize and suggested that those who want to know what will occur when Moshiach arrives should heed the words of the Rambam who said “no one will know what will happen at that time until it actually happens.”

    While his previously written sefer “Ben Or L’chodesh” clearly states that there is no prophecy in our day, R’ Aviner insists that he was not targeting R’ Ben Artzi, but rather the notion that anyone has the gift of divine prophecy, a concept that R’ Aviner called “troubling”.

    Asked to explain the cause of yesterday’s earthquake R’ Aviner told Srguim “earthquakes happen. We must daven that something like this never occurs in Israel.”


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    49 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    12 years ago

    “And I shall bless those who bless you, and I shall curse those who curse you.”

    There is a discussion in the Talmud about earthquakes. Look it up.

    12 years ago

    While I make no case for Rabbi Ben Artzi either way, Rav Aviner should look at the Rambam’s Iggeret Temen, where he predicts the return of Prophecy to Klal Yisroel at a date which passed hundreds of years ago.
    The Lubavitcher Rebbe referred to the Precious Rebbe as a Novi.
    Further, where in Kisvei Arizal does it say that those with Ruach hakodesh can not know the future? On the contrary, there are numerous credible stories of Rebbes and Chahamim, among all sectors of Judaism, who did know and sometimes told of future events correctly.

    TheRealJoe123
    TheRealJoe123
    12 years ago

    I refuse to call aviner a Rabbi he’s one of the people responsible for the Gaza disengagement he is literally the lap dog for the leftists

    Aryeh
    Aryeh
    12 years ago

    An important distinction ought to be made between individual prophecy and national prophecy.

    WithLove
    WithLove
    12 years ago

    Did he predict a financial problem with Greece as well? I don’t think it takes prophecy, just reading the VIN will suffice.

    Member
    12 years ago

    The reason there is no prophesy today as you wish there to be is becuase You do not NEED to know the future to exactly what it will be. I thought I had the divine prophesy yesterday. I tried to predict the football game outcomes and the plays. It did not work. But seriously, I think that you might want to consider that Hashem has a guiding hand in humanity. This world will go where Hashem wants it to go. If someone is to avoid disaster and G-d wants it to be so, G-d will directly make certain that he is not scathed by the troubles at hand. Look at the fact that Elie Wiesel did not succumb to the flames of Germany and the holocaust. He is a major writer. It must been divine providence. So have faith in our Creator. He really does dictate who will live and who will die by the sword, famine or any other disaster. There is no reason why we have to worry about prophesizing the future, even though clearly all of us including myself want to know who will be in our future and what we will do tomorrow.

    PinnyMeir
    PinnyMeir
    12 years ago

    Of course rav Aviner is correct that there is no nevu’a in our time, however…
    There is the well accepted fact that HaSh-m operates the world with the concept of midah k’neged midah (measure for measure).
    Thus, to say that those who show themselves to be enemies of Am Yisrael will be repaid accordingly, one need not be a navi, just perceptive and aware of what is going on.

    qazxc
    qazxc
    12 years ago

    I predicted weeks ago that Rabbi Aviner would make these comments.

    Anon Ibid Opcit
    Anon Ibid Opcit
    12 years ago

    Rabbi Aviner sounds like a rare breath of sanity in Orthodox Judaism.

    12 years ago

    Why are so many of our people obsessed with prophecy and knowing what will happen in the “end of days”? Why are we looking for “holy men” who can tell us what the future will bring when we ought to be more concerned with serving HaShem in the HERE AND NOW!!!

    Member
    12 years ago

    There is no shortage of simple minds who want to predict that some event happened due to someone elses wickedness or perceived iniquity. This is going on and popular today and I assure you that it is an evil.

    Member
    12 years ago

    Even if Hashem would allow for a man or woman to have insight and knowledge of the future or the reason for world events such as if an earthquake is divine retribution for evil in the world, why would he tell us that. It is much more interesting and valid for us to predict patterns in society and clearly our prophetic abilities are not quite such that we are given insight into the details of all the future events. And of course, why would our G-d give us some prediction that basically makes it feel right to basically shake a stick at the other party. For that is all that we are doing by saying that an earthquake in Turkey was due to their evil. That is all. We are wanting to shake a big stick at The moslems and Turks and we just want to be able to justify the anger of G-d. Clearly we do know who is evil and wicked and we know that Israel is being attacked.

    enlightened-yid
    enlightened-yid
    12 years ago

    We should shut down the U.S. Geological Survey, fire every PhD geologist and hire unemployed kabalists “prophets” to predict earthquakes around the globe and pat themselves on the back when fault lines around the globe naturally go active as they have been for thousands of years.

    Lonelyking
    Lonelyking
    12 years ago

    TO above comments: not Precious Rebbe, rather the Frideriker (Previous) Rebbe. The Lubavitcher Rebbe mentioned in many maamorim that the Frideriker Rebber is a Novi.
    However, I understand the skeptics. It’s not so simple for us to tell, who is a Novi, and we have our good intentions violated by undeserving individuals, that we are very very careful granting such pedigree as Novi. Also, this is really not part of Daf Yomi, Mishna Brura Yomi etc, so you can’t expect A L L frumme jews be familiar. And maybe in this, we should be rather skeptic.
    As far as anyone who would claim about himself, that he is a Novi, for me personally that would be a red flag. Let everyone else think he is a Novi, without him telling us. (along withe routing number, if you know what i mean).
    I don’t know this Rabbi speaking in the article, but definitely he is making some statements that are questionable, or not clear enough. I always found intellectually dishonest to agree one side of an argument, just because he holds otherwise. In Daf Yomi a few days ago we learned a whole Mishna, where we quote an opinion that was actually disregarded back then. But the Mishna stayed. (Daf 116b/ on Rennet)

    DRE53
    DRE53
    12 years ago

    Why be mispalel that earthquake don’t happen only in israel? What about people living in other parts of the world, isn’t the rabbi concernd about their wellbeing?

    yossele
    yossele
    12 years ago

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s not nevuah unless he says his prediction in the aibershter’s name, ko amar hashem, etc.

    leedach gisa ruach hakodesh, everyone has…

    Myron
    Myron
    12 years ago

    He was the precious previous Rebbe.

    As for ben Artzi….. there is a video from Rabbi M. Glazerson showing the Torah Codes that ben Artzi is a chozer…. a seer….. google it and you’ll find it, in hebrew only.
    So he is not a Navi, but he is a chozer, according to the Torah Codes.

    12 years ago

    Rabbi Ben Artzi said in 2010 that China would be destroyed that year. If a prophet’s words don’t come true, then he is a false prophet. When he makes these kind of predictions that do not come true, people look down more on rabbis.
    Also, when he makes these dire predictions, does he say it will not come true if people change their ways somehow?

    12 years ago

    I predict that gold will be discovered in Israel and that there will be a civil war among the palestinians.

    Yechi
    Yechi
    12 years ago

    qazxc Says your statement is incorrect. nevuah is dependent on the person, n ot the time..

    I do not mean to say these fellows have nevuah,,

    Secular
    Secular
    12 years ago

    If someone claims Nevua. They should be prepared to live with the consequences. If this man is a Navi then he is a Navi sheker…and we know what the Torah says about false neviim.

    With respect to Rabbi Aviner. He does not decide when Nevua will occur. We know Nevua will return in the end of days. But these vague pronouncements do not qualify as Nevua.

    Beware of charlatans.

    CSLMoish
    CSLMoish
    12 years ago

    Rabbi aviner is being incredibly ignorant when he says “earthquakes happen” Turkey had something coming to them and its no coincidence that it happened at this time

    takeittothem
    takeittothem
    12 years ago

    The weather men always predict the future. So there!