In this sidra we learn in Devarim 18:15   A prophet shall arise among your brothers like me, you shall listen to him.  Hashem promises that we are to seek Him through the prophet.  The prophets told us G-d’s will. Additionally there is The Prophet that is exalted above Moshe- The Moshiach

Devarim 18:15? A prophet shall arise among your brothers like me, you shall listen to him.

The traditional pashat of this verse is that G-d will raise up prophets in the future and Moshe is the precursor to them and the model of all those to come. Moshe is the prophet of a stature that none have approached and none will ever approach his stature,  as it states, “Never again has there risen in Israel a prophet like Moshe, whom Hashem had know face to face.”(Devarim 34:10)  The model for a prophet that Moshe shows the future generations is that they must teach and uphold Torah as the standard.  Additionally, they may not add or subtract from the Torah and claim it is prophecy.  Moshe’s seal on the Torah is eternal and none may alter it even a little, whether prophet or king. The prophet is supposed to speak on Hashem’s behalf and Yisrael is sternly warned prior to this verse that they are not supposed to consult diviners, astrologers, necromancers etc, to learn the future or answers to understand events.(see 18:9-14)  This verse follows those instructions and sets prophets up as the intermediary between Hashem and Israel.  It is good for Israel to ask for intermediaries and it was because of the great fear of Hashem that they asked Moshe to speak to them instead of directly[1].”Because they feared Hashem, they were rewarded with prophets.”[2]

Like me.  This word is problematic because, we understand the pashat, as stated above and the verse below that states, “I will establish a prophet for them from among their brothers like you (kamocha) and I will put my words in his mouth…” (Devarim 18:18) How could a prophet be “like Moshe?”  This has given us much to ponder over the years and has given rise to the belief that there will be a prophet that will come in the future like Moshe and be called “The Prophet.”  We see this question posed to Yochanon HaMavdil in  Yochanon 1:21 

And they asked him, What, then? Are you Eliyahu? And he said, I am not. Are you The Prophet? And he answered, No.

Who is this prophet that we have been looking for? And how can he be “like Moshe”  if no one has or will rise in Israel a prophet like Moshe?[3]  There are answers and it will give a great credibility to our belief in Yeshua HaNavi.  The Prophet is Messiah. Why is this Prophet the Messiah and not like other prophets?  Because He is brought forth by the Ruach HaKodesh[4] and this is none other than Yinnon/Moshiach, according to Rashi,[5] where he quote Psalm 72:17

‘May His name endure forever, His name ‘Yinnon’ as long as the sun. May people bless themselves in Him, may all nations call Him happy.”

The Prophet is the Servant of Hashem and most commentators will agree that the Servant is the Moshiach.  Midrash Tanchuma on Toldot states the following

“Who art thou, O great Mountain? Before Zerubabel thou shalt become a plain’ (Zec.4:7). This refers to Messiah the Son of David. And why is he called ‘The Great’? – Because he is greater than the Patriarchs as it is written ‘Behold My servant shall deal wisely, He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high’ (Isa.52:13). He shall be more exalted than Abraham of whom it is said ‘I lift up my hand’ the same Hebrew word (“rum” – “harimoti”) (Gen.14:22). He shall be more extolled than Moses of whom it is said, ‘As the nursing father beareth the nursing child’ (same Hebrew word “nasa” – “yisa”) (Num.11:12). ‘And shall be very high,’ that is higher than the ministering angels, of whom it is said, ‘And as for their rims, they were so high’ (the word ‘rims’ also has the same sound as ‘high’ in Hebrew) (Eze.1:18)[6]

Ralbag (R. Levi ben Gershon) states it explicitly when commenting on the Midrash that the Prophet is Moshiach.

“A Prophet from your midst.’ In fact the Messiah is such a Prophet as it stated in the Midrash of the verse, ‘Behold My Servant shall prosper’(Is 52:13)  Moshe, by the miracles he did, brought a single nation to the worship of G-d, but the Moshiach will draw all nations to the worship of G-d.”[7]

The Messiah, brought by the Ruach HaKodesh has a level of prophecy above that of Moshe due to his status as being above Moshe.  The book of Ivrim (Hebrews) parallels the above Midrash shows us clearly that the Moshiach occupies a place above that of Moshe and angels.[8] Yeshua’s level of prophecy and attachment to Hashem was so high that they were coming directly from the Father so that he could say, 

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. (Yochanon 10:9-10)[9]

There is much to say about these matters in showing the exaltation of the Moshiach and His place within the Torah and our people’s history.  We should cling to Him because he established our place, as believers in Yeshua, to be set nearer to the Holy One, Blessed is He,  more than any rabbi, tzadik, or even Moshe himself.  This in no trivial matter and it should be considered as truth.  He gives the Ruach to us because he came from the Ruach and thus, is Giver of what he is.  Yeshua told us, 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” John 14:15-21(ESV)

On that important note, I must establish Moshe as a prominent figure beyond all but Moshiach.  Moshiach was prophesied and spoken about in the Torah and the Torah is the foundation of ALL our beliefs.  Moshe must be followed in order to follow Moshiach.  The goal of Torah is Moshiach (Rom 10:4) The Torah is Moshiach and if we make light of the writer and giver of the Torah (both of them) then we make light of Hashem Himself (G-d forbid!)  Let us endeavor to listen to the Prophet, the prophet, and ultimately Hashem, may His Name be exalted!

[1] See Ex 20:16-20; Dt 5:21-26;

[2] Sifri quoted by Rav HaGaon Avigor Miller

[3] Shelosh Asar Ikarim (the 13 principles of faith) perek 7

[4] Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel, Deu.18:15- this may be a good understanding of the passages in the Besora Tova concerning the birth of Moshiach by the Ruach HaKodesh.  See Matthew 1 and Luke 1 for more

[5] Rashi on Targum Yonaton ben Uzziel

[6] Samuel A. Berman, Midrash Tanhuma – yelammedenu, parasha Toldot 14, p.183).

[7] Adapted from:  Rachmiel Frydland, What the Rabbis know about Messiah, pg.22,

[8] See Hebrews 1:1-14 for being higher than angels and 3:1-5

[9] R. A. ben David, Moshe to Messiah; Parasha Devarim, p. 219

Writen by The Jewish Carpenter (דוד בן גבריאל)