## Gevia Kesef Chapter 22

###### Gevia Kesef 22:1
[Gevia Kesef 22:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:1)

| אולם היתר השאלה הכה׳ דע כי המורה האריך בזה בפרקי הנבואה והניח כמה ספורים שהיו בחלום, ושם מכת הנמנע היותם בהקיץ. עד שאמר ״ולא יסכל זה אלא מי שיתערבו לו האפשריות בנמנעות.״ והנה דעתי הוא שכן הוא במקומות, אבל תמה אני במקצת מקומות.

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
| As for the solution to the twenty-fifth question,¹ know that Maimonides discussed this at length in the chapters dealing with prophecy,² II:46. and asserted that several of them occurred in a dream, by including them among that class of things of which it is impossible that they occurred while (the prophet) was awake. He even said that “this is a thing that can be doubted or not known by him who confuses the possible things with the impossible ones.”³ Now my opinion is that this is true in certain cases, whereas in other cases I would question (him).

footnotes:
¹ 1. The question is, apparently: How does one establish which prophetic experiences recorded in Scripture occurred exclusively as a vision or dream, and which involved an experience of the external senses?
² 2. Cf. Guide
³ 3. Ibid. In that chapter Maimonides insists that every prophetic experience occurred in a vision (or dream) of prophecy—unlike the masses, who think that “they happened in a state in which they could have been perceived by the senses.”


###### Gevia Kesef 22:2
[Gevia Kesef 22:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:2)

וזה כי ענין יעקב בכל סיפור הכתוב ב״וישלח יעקב מלאכים״ מודה אני שזה כולו ראה בחלום. אבל דעתי אחר כך קיים זה בהקיץ כמו שיש רבים מזה המין. אמנם האבקות המלאך לא היה מעולם רק בחלום והיה תקיעת כף הירך עד ״וגיד הנשה״ רמז למאורעות רעות יחולו לו בנשים, כי ״נשה״ שם משותף כמו חובלים וזולתו. ולכן אירע לו מאורע דינה, ורחל ומניקת רבקה.

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
Thus, in the case of Jacob, I admit that the entire narrative of “and Jacob sent messengers”⁴ occurred as something seen in a dream. Nonetheless, in my opinion Jacob carried this out when he awoke, as happened in many such cases.⁵ II:42, asserts that the entire section occurred in a vision, including the preparations for the meeting with Esau (vv. 14-24) and the wrestling with the angel (vv. 25-32). Kaspi, both here and in the *Ṭirat Kesef* (MK I 22), asserts that the intermediary passage, where Jacob prepared to meet Esau, did occur outside of the prophetic vision. As for the wrestling with the angel,⁶ this never occurred other than in a dream. The touching of the hollow of his thigh (and the passage following) until “the sinew of the thigh vein”⁷ was intended as an allusion to evil events that would befall Jacob in respect of women, for *nasheh* (“thigh vein”) is equivocal,⁸ (“woman”); consequently, the maiming of that limb would be an oblique allusion to being maimed on account of woman. Accordingly, Jacob was maimed in the thigh during the course of the vision, through some divine instrument. similar to *ḥovlim* and the like.⁹ II:43, which refers to *ḥovlim* and other instances of metathesis. On Kaspi’s use of metathesis, see above Chapter 2. Accordingly he experienced the events of Dinah,¹⁰ Rachel,¹¹ and Rebeccah’s handmaid.¹²

footnotes:
⁴ 4. Gen. 32:4 ff.
⁵ 5. Maimonides, in the Guide
⁶ 6. Gen. 32:25-32.
⁷ 7. Gen. 32:26, 33. This comment is intended to answer the following problem: If indeed the wrestling with the angel was but a mental occurrence, how and why did Jacob limp in the morning (v. 32)?
⁸ 8. The Hebrew term could also be taken as the root for ’ishah
⁹ 9. Cf. Guide
¹⁰ 10. He is referring to the rape of Dinah in Gen. 34.
¹¹ 11. He is referring to the tragic death of Rachel in Gen. 35:16 ff.
¹² 12. Gen. 35:8. All three instances caused Jacob much grief.


###### Gevia Kesef 22:3
[Gevia Kesef 22:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:3)

וכן אומר אני כי ענין ישעיהו בהלכו ערום ויחף היה כולו בהקיץ, אבל נצטוה כן בחלום, כמו שנצטוה יחזקאל בחלום. והוא אומר ״ואקום בבקר ואעש כן.״ ״ואומר אני מופת כי כאשר עשיתי יעשה להם.״ ואין תמה מאמרו ״וחשופי שת ערות מצרים,״ ו״ערום ויחף״ כי זה מובן מצד ההגיון והטבע. כי שמות העדר והשלילה המוחלטת אמר על השלם בקנין מה, כמו שהתבאר בספר המופת, וספר השמים והעולם. וכן יחזקאל באכלו מלחם כצפעי בקר הטעם סמוך להם. וכן בגלחו הזקן והראש כי ראוי לנביאים זה.

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
Similarly, I maintain that the incident wherein Isaiah went naked and barefoot¹³ occurred in its entirety when he was awake,¹⁴ II:46 insists that the event occurred in a vision. having been commanded to (act) thus in a dream. This was similar to Ezekiel’s being commanded in a dream, which (is followed by) his saying, “I arose in the morning and did so,”¹⁵ as well as, “I say for a fact that what I have done will be done to you.”¹⁶ One cannot raise a question from Isaiah’s statement (in the above passage)¹⁷ of “with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt,”¹⁸ and “naked and barefoot.”¹⁹ For this should be understood in accordance with logic and nature, (which assert that) terms signifying deprivation or absolute negation (could be used) to describe one who possesses some partial perfection,²⁰ as was explained in the *Prior Analytics*²¹ and *De Caelo.*²² 303a, Aristotle affirms that all judgments are relative. Thus descriptive terms such as “naked” might be relative to one who is fully dressed. It was similar with Ezekiel when he ate “bread on cow’s dung,”²³ all this is explained as occurring in a prophetic vision. where the real meaning is (that he ate bread) in proximity to those things. It was similar when he shaved his beard and head,²⁴ that being an appropriate prophetic act.²⁵

footnotes:
¹³ 13. Isa. 20:3.
¹⁴ 14. The Guide
¹⁵ 15. Ezek. 24:18.
¹⁶ 16. Ezek. 24:22, which should be understood to imply that what had been done had occurred before their eyes, and not merely in Ezekiel’s vision.
¹⁷ 17. The question that Kaspi appears to refer to is: How was it possible for the prophet of the Lord to parade himself naked, and thereby to disgrace himself?
¹⁸ 18. Isa. 20:4.
¹⁹ 19. Isa. 20:3.
²⁰ 20. This answer states that Isaiah was not completely naked, for even one who is partially covered or clothed can be called “naked.”
²¹ 21. I have not found such a reference in this particular work of Aristotle. Cf. the following note.
²² 22. In the De Caelo
²³ 23. Ezek. 4:15. In the Guide
²⁴ 24. Ezek. 5:1. Here Kaspi refers to the question: How could the prophet have completely shaved his head, in violation of the Biblical commandment not to shave the corners of one’s beard? By equating that act with the earlier instances, Kaspi implies that here too the prophet might have left the “corners” of his beard intact.
²⁵ 25. What is intended here is Kaspi’s oft-repeated assertion that the prophets would on occasion act in some bizarre way, so as to draw attention to a point that they wanted to stress. In the next paragraph Kaspi goes on to list other similar acts, undertaken for this purpose, even if some of those acts contravene points of law.


###### Gevia Kesef 22:4
[Gevia Kesef 22:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:4)

ויותר נפלא מזה להוראת שעה גם שכיבת הצדדים. די ברגע אחד. גם ירמיה שטמן האזור בפרת. ומי יודע אם הלך בקצת פרת. גם הושע מה פלא אם שכב פעם אחת עם אישה זונה לקיים להמון אמונת המשל הנבואי למען הציל העם כולו. אולי ישמעו ויחדלו. והמשל הנקרא לכללם כי דרך הנביאים | לעשות מעשים לתת רושם בנפשות הרואים.

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
Further remarkable acts of this kind, performed as temporary decrees, include Ezekiel’s lying on his sides (for 390 days),²⁶ even though it would have sufficed to act thus for one moment; also the act of Jeremiah in hiding the girdle in the river Perath²⁷ II:46, that Jeremiah could never have done this, for that prophet never left the land of Israel to go to Babylon. Maimonides’ conclusion was that the entire event should be understood as happening in a vision. Kaspi here asserts that it is possible that Jeremiah went to that river to perform this act, even though the journey itself is not recorded. for who knows, he might have waded partway into the Perath river; as well as the act of Hosea²⁸ —for there would be no wonder if on one occasion he lay with a harlot in order to achieve the acceptance by the masses of the prophetic metaphor, for the purpose of saving the entire people, (and in the hope) that they might hear and desist. Together these instances illustrate the principle that prophets cus-155a tomarily | do things to make an impression upon the observers.²⁹ (AK II 133, AK I 153), Kaspi asserts that the prophet deliberately makes himself an object of derision—indeed Kaspi considered this kind of behavior to be one of the distinguishing marks of the prophet, as opposed to the more conventional behavior of philosophers and scholars (AK I 52). All this is in direct opposition to Maimonides, in the *Guide* II:46, who says that “God is too exalted that He should turn His prophets into a laughing stock and a mockery for fools by ordering them to carry out crazy actions.” It is also a possibility that Kaspi’s treatment at the hands of his contemporaries led him to see the prophets as being derided and mocked at. On this aspect of Kaspi’s life, and its effect on his thought, see above Chapter 1.

footnotes:
²⁶ 26. Ezek. 4:4-12.
²⁷ 27. Jer. 13:5. The reference is to Maimonides’ comment, in the Guide
²⁸ 28. Hos. 1:2-3. This too is taken by Maimonides to have occurred in a vision.
²⁹ 29. In the ’Adnei Kesef


###### Gevia Kesef 22:5
[Gevia Kesef 22:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:5)

והעד הנאמן אחיה השילוני שקרע השמלה ליב׳ קרעים. והנה היה יכול לומר לו הנבואה זולת קריעת הבגד, אבל זה הפלגת חוק הנביאים לחזק דמיון השומעים. וכן הנביא אשר סבל מרות בנפשו ופצוע כדי לתת רושם בנפש אחאב.

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
Reliable evidence of this is provided by Ahijah the Shilonite, who tore that garment into twelve strips.³⁰ Now he could have communicated the prophetic message without tearing a garment. It was, however, precisely this prophetic method (that would be undertaken) to reinforce the impact on the imagination of the hearer. So too the prophet suffered emotional bitterness and injury in order to make an impression on Ahab.³¹

footnotes:
³⁰ 30. I Kings 11:30.
³¹ 31. I Kings 17.


###### Gevia Kesef 22:6
[Gevia Kesef 22:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:6)

ולכן נביאי השקר היו מדמים לזה כמו צדקיה בן כנענה שעשה לו קרני ברזל בהקיץ, וכן ירמיה הנביא האמת עשה לו מוסרות ומוטות ונתנם על צוארו.

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
And the false prophets imitated these things, such as the act of Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah in making iron horns for himself when awake,³² (and imitated) Jeremiah the true prophet, who also made himself bands and bars and put them on his neck.³³

footnotes:
³² 32. II Chron. 18:10.
³³ 33. Jer. 27:2.


###### Gevia Kesef 22:7
[Gevia Kesef 22:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:7)

וכל זה בהקיץ אף אצל המורה. והעד כי חנניה שברם. ובפרט כתוב ביחזקאל שיעשה כמה מעשים לעיני כל ישראל, וכי הש׳ אמרו לו ״על מה אתה עושה״ והוא ישיב להם למשל ודמיון ״כי כן תעשו אתם כי תחרב ירושלים.״

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
That this took place while he was awake, even according to Maimonides, is proven by Hananiah, who broke them.³⁴ This is especially true of what is written in Ezekiel, where he was to do certain things before all Israel, and the Lord was to say to him “What doest thou,”³⁵ so that Ezekiel could answer by way of parable and analogy, “You should do the same thing, for Jerusalem is to be destroyed.”

footnotes:
³⁴ 34. Jer. 28:10.
³⁵ 35. Ezek. 12:9 ff.


###### Gevia Kesef 22:8
[Gevia Kesef 22:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:8)

לכן תמה אני מן המורה מכמה ענינים שאמר שלא היו מעולם בהקיץ. וכוונתי בכל מה שזכר שהנביא נצטוה בחלום לעשותם בהקיץ, והוא ר״ל הנביא, קיים זה בהקיץ.

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
For this reason I question Maimonides in several instances where he said that they never occurred when the prophet was awake. It is my intention to say that whenever a prophet was commanded in a dream to do something when awake, he—i.e., the prophet—did that when he was awake.³⁶

footnotes:
³⁶ 36. Other instances of a similar nature are discussed by Kaspi earlier in chap. XIII, above p. 216.


###### Gevia Kesef 22:9
[Gevia Kesef 22:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gevia%20Kesef/r/22:9)

אבל בלי ספק יש כמה דברים אשר לא עשאם הנביא בהקיץ אך לא היו רק בחלום, אבל לא היו בהקיץ לעול כמו משל כרם ישעיהו, ונשר יחזקאל, שהם כמו משלי הפילוסופיא במשלם החומר לשעוה, ורבים כן. אמנם הדיוק והכונה לברור מין ומין. ובכלל כי בזה עיון מופלג.

**Trans. by Basil Herring, New York, Ktav, 1982:**
There were, however, without any doubt instances where the prophet did not do those things when awake, for they only occurred as part of a dream, but never when awake, such as Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard,³⁷ and the eagle of Ezeliek,³⁸ which are to be compared to philosophic parables that compare matter to wax, and many others that are similar.³⁹ What must be undertaken with precision is to distinguish the one kind (of prophetic dream) from the other—and for this, great study is required.

footnotes:
³⁷ 37. Isa. 5.
³⁸ 38. Ezek. 17.
³⁹ 39. He means that such parables do not describe any particular actions performed by the prophets—they are merely explanatory and discursive.