Shoftim. A sage is greater than a prophet.

In Shoftim, Moses speaks about the great institutions of Judaism.

Courts, judges, officers, kings, priests, Levites and prophets.

In the case of the prophet Moses says in the name of God,

I will raise up a prophet for them from among their own people like

yourself. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak them to them all that I command him.

The phrase, a prophet like yourself, cannot be meant literally. In the quality and clarity of his

communications with God, Moses was unique.

It was unique in the miracles he performed. Most importantly, only he was authorized to proclaim

Torah. He was Israel's sole legislator. The king and Sanhedrim both had powers to make

temporary enactments for the sake of social order. Prophets were given the authority to command specific time-bound acts,

but no one could add to or subtract from the 613 commandments given by God through Moses.

This is, therefore, how the Rumbum explains our passage.

Why is it said in the Terai will raise up a prophet for them from among their own people like yourself?

He will come not to establish a religion but command them to keep the words of the Torah,

warning the people not to transgress them, as the last of them said,

remember the Torah of Moses, my servant.

In other words, the prophets who followed Moses, from Elijah to Malachi, were not revolutionaries. They didn't intend to create something

new, but to restore something old. Their task was to recall people to the mission, Moses taught

them, to stay faithful to God and create a just and compassionate society.

Eventually, during or after the Second Temple period, most of these institutions came to an end.

There were no kings because Israel had no sovereignty.

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