(16) Then GOD said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy of Israel’s elders of whom you have experience as elders and officers of the people, and bring them to the Tent of Meeting and let them take their place there with you. (17) I will come down and speak with you there, and I will draw upon the spirit that is on you and put it upon them; they shall share the burden of the people with you, and you shall not bear it alone.

(24) Moses went out and reported GOD’s words to the people. He gathered seventy of the people’s elders and stationed them around the Tent. (25) Then, after coming down in a cloud and speaking to him, GOD drew upon the spirit that was on him and put it upon the seventy elders. And when the spirit rested upon them, they spoke in ecstasy, but did not continue. (26) Two of the men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in camp; yet the spirit rested upon them—they were among those recorded, but they had not gone out to the Tent—and they spoke in ecstasy in the camp. (27) An assistant ran out and told Moses, saying, “Eldad and Medad are acting the prophet in the camp!” (28) And Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ attendant from his youth, spoke up and said, “My lord Moses, restrain them!” (29) But Moses said to him, “Are you wrought up on my account? Would that all GOD’s people were prophets, that GOD inspired them!” (30) Moses then reentered the camp together with the elders of Israel.

(2) (Ibid. 26) "And there remained two men in the camp": Some say: They (i.e., their ballots) remained in the ballot box. When the Holy One Blessed be He told Moses to select seventy elders, Moses asked himself: What am I to do? I must select six from each (of the tribes) and five from two tribes. Which tribe will consent to only five? Moses did as follows: He took seventy ballots and wrote on them "elder," and two blank ballots and mixed them (with the others) in the ballot box, and he said to them: Come and take your ballots. Whoever came up with a ballot marked "zaken," was told by Moses: "The L-rd has already selected you," and whoever came up with a blank ballot was told by Moses: It is the will of Heaven — what can I do? Similarly, (Bamidbar 3:96) "And (for) the redemption (money) of the two hundred and seventy-three of the first-born of the children of Israel over and above the (number of the) Levites, etc." Moses said what am I to do now? Each one (of the Israelite first-born) will say: A Levite has redeemed me! Moses did as follows: He took (22,000) ballots and wrote upon them "Levite," and (273) ballots and wrote upon them "five shekels," placed them in a ballot box and said to them: Come and take your ballots. Whoever came up with a ballot marked "Levite" was told by Moses: "You have already been redeemed," and whoever came up with a ballot marked "five shekalim" was told by Moses: "Go and give your redemption money (to the Cohanim). R. Shimon says (on Bamidbar 11:26): "They (Eldad and Medad) remained in the camp, for when they saw Moses selecting elders, they said: We are not deserving of this honor, saying which, they went and hid themselves — whereupon the L-rd said to them: You lowered yourselves; I will exalt you above all the others: Of the seventy elders it is written (Ibid. 25) "And they prophesied — but (after that day), they prophesied no more," whereas of Eldad and Medad it is written (Ibid. 27) "They are prophesying in the camp" — until the day of their death. And what were they saying? "Moses will die and Joshua will bring Israel to Eretz Yisrael."

(1) (Bamidbar 11:27) "And the youth ran and he told Moses": Some say that this is Joshua, as in (Shemot 33:11) "And his (Moses') attendant, Joshua the son of Nun, a youth." R. Shimon says: It is written (Bamidbar, Ibid. 28) "And Joshua the son of Nun the servant of Moses from his youth responded": The first one, then, (i.e., "the youth") is not Joshua. (Ibid.) "My lord, Moses, kela'em": He said: My master, end them from the world, men who utter this evil report (that Moses will die). Rebbi says: (He said) Confine them in chains and collars, as in (Jeremiah 37:18) "… that you have put me into the prison house" ("beth hakeleh"). (Ibid. 29) "And Moses said to him: Are you zealous for my sake?" He said to him: Joshua, am I zealous for your sake? Would that you were a prophet like me (i.e., that your prophecy be directly from the L-rd), and that all of Israel be like you (in that regard) — (Ibid.) "Would that all the L-rd's people were prophets (by direct inspiration, and not by [indirect] "increase of spirit," viz. Ibid. 25). (Ibid. 30) "And Moses retired into (his tent in) the camp, he and the elders of Israel." We are hereby taught that He did not bring the calamity upon them until there entered (his tent) all of the righteous in the camp.

§ Apropos the appointment of the Elders by Moses, the Gemara discusses additional aspects of that event. There were seventy-two candidates for Elder but only seventy were needed. They were chosen by lots with their names put into a box. The Sages taught: The verse states: “And there remained two men in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad, and the spirit rested upon them, and they were among those who were written but who did not go out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp” (Numbers 11:26). Where did they remain? Some say this means they, i.e., their names, remained excluded from those selected from the lots in the box.The baraita explains: At the time that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: “Gather for Me seventy men of the Elders of Israel” (Numbers 11:16), Moses said: How shall I do it? If I select six from each and every tribe, there will be a total of seventy-two, which will be two extra. But if I select five from each and every tribe, there will be a total of sixty, lacking ten. And if I select six from this tribe and five from that tribe, I will bring about envy between the tribes, as those with fewer representatives will resent the others. What did he do? He selected six from every tribe and he brought seventy-two slips [pitakin]. On seventy of them he wrote: Elder, and he left two of them blank. He mixed them and placed them in the box. He then said to the seventy-two chosen candidates: Come and draw your slips. Everyone whose hand drew up a slip that said: Elder, he said to him: Heaven has already sanctified you. And everyone whose hand drew up a blank slip, he said to him: The Omnipresent does not desire you; what can I do for you?The Gemara comments: You can say something similar to this to explain the verse about the redemption of the firstborn by the Levites: “Take the Levites in place of all of the firstborn of the children of Israel…and as for the redemption of the 273 of the firstborn of the children of Israel who are in excess over the number of the Levites…you shall take five shekels per head” (Numbers 3:45–47). It can be explained that Moses said: How shall I do this for the Jews? If I say to one of the firstborns: Give me money for your redemption and you may leave, as you are among the 273 extra firstborns, he will say to me: A Levite already redeemed me; what is the reason you think that I am among those who were not redeemed? What did he do? He brought 22,000 slips (see Numbers 3:39), and he wrote on them: Levite, and on 273 additional ones he wrote: Five shekels. He mixed them up and placed them in a box. He said to them: Draw your slips. Everyone whose hand drew up a slip that said: Levite, he said to him: A Levite already redeemed you. Everyone whose hand drew up a slip that said: Five shekels, he said to him: Pay your redemption money and you may leave.Rabbi Shimon says: Eldad and Medad remained in the camp, as they did not want to come to the lottery for the Elders. At the time that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Gather for me seventy Elders, Eldad and Medad said: We are not fitting for that level of greatness; we are not worthy of being appointed among the Elders. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Since you have made yourselves humble, I will add greatness to your greatness. And what is the greatness that he added to them? It was that all of the prophets, meaning the other Elders, who were given prophecy, prophesied for a time and then stopped prophesying, but they prophesied and did not stop.Apropos Eldad and Medad being prophets, the Gemara asks: And what prophecy did they prophesy? They said: Moses will die, and Joshua will bring the Jewish people into Eretz Yisrael. Abba Ḥanin says in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: They prophesied about the matter of the quail that came afterward (Numbers 11:31–33), saying: Arise quail, arise quail, and then the quail came. Rav Naḥman says: They were prophesying about the matter of Gog and Magog, as it is stated with regard to Gog and Magog: “So says the Lord God: Are you the one of whom I spoke in ancient days, through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years [shanim] that I would bring you against them?” (Ezekiel 38:17). Do not read it as: “Years [shanim]”; rather, read it as: Two [shenayim]. And who are the two prophets who prophesied the same prophecy at the same time? You must say: Eldad and Medad.The Master says: The baraita said: All of the prophets prophesied and then stopped, but Eldad and Medad prophesied and did not stop. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that the other prophets stopped prophesying? If we say it is from that which is written about them: “And they prophesied but they did so no more [velo yasafu]” (Numbers 11:25), that is difficult: But if that is so, then concerning that which is stated in relation to the giving of the Torah: “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly…with a great voice, and it went on no more [velo yasaf]” (Deuteronomy 5:19), so too shall it be understood that the great voice did not continue? Rather, the intention there is that it did not stop, interpreting the word yasafu as related to sof, meaning: End. Consequently, with regard to the seventy Elders as well, the word can be interpreted to mean that they did not stop prophesying. Rather, the proof is as follows: It is written here with regard to the seventy Elders: “They prophesied” (Numbers 11:25), and it is written there: “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp” (Numbers 11:27), from which it can be derived that they were continuously prophesying.With regard to the content of Eldad and Medad’s prophecy, the Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who says their prophecy was that Moses will die, this is the reason for that which is written there: “And Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of Moses from his youth, answered and said: My master Moses, imprison them” (Numbers 11:28), as their prophecy appeared to be a rebellion against Moses. But according to the one who says those other two opinions with regard to the content of the prophecy, according to which their prophecy had no connection to Moses, what is the reason that Joshua said: “My master Moses, imprison them”? The Gemara answers: He said this because it is not proper conduct for them to prophesy publicly in close proximity to Moses, as by doing so they are like a student who teaches a halakha in his teacher’s presence, which is inappropriate. The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who says those other two opinions, this is the reason for that which is written: “And Moses said to him: Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all of the Lord’s people were prophets” (Numbers 11:29). But according to the one who says that Eldad and Medad prophesied that Moses will die and Joshua will bring Israel into the land, would it have been satisfactory to Moses that all of the people of God would utter similar prophecies? The Gemara answers: They did not conclude it before him. Moses was not aware of what they had said, but only that they were prophesying. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of: “Imprison them [kela’em]”? The Gemara answers: Joshua said to him: Place responsibility for the needs of the public upon them, so that they will be occupied like the other Elders of Israel and they will cease [kalin] prophesying, on their own. Due to the burden of public responsibility they would not be able to be prophets.

(1) וישארו שני אנשים BUT THERE REMAINED TWO MEN [IN THE CAMP] — i. e. two of them that had been selected. They remained, in the camp because they said, “We are not worthy of this distinction” (Sifrei Bamidbar 95:2). (2) והמה בכתובים [BUT THERE REMAINED TWO MEN IN THE CAMP] … AND THEY WERE AMONGST THEM THAT WERE WRITTEN — i.e. they were amongst those of them (of the people) who had been selected to constitute the Sanhedrion. For all these were written down, mentioned expressly by their names, but the requisite number was chosen by lot, because the calculation gives for twelve tribes, six elders for each tribe, with the exception of two tribes to each of which there would belong only five elders. Moses said, “No tribe will listen to me to have one elder less for his tribe!” What did he do? He took seventy-two tablets and wrote on seventy of them the word “Elder” and on two he left the surface blank. He then selected six men of each tribe so that there were altogether 72. He said to them, “Draw your tablets from the urn”. He in whose hand there came up a tablet bearing the inscription “Elder” was set apart as a member of the Sanhedrion, whilst to him in whose hand there came up a blank tablet, he said, “The Omnipresent does not require you” (Sifrei Bamidbar 95:2; Sanhedrin 17a). (1) וירץ הנער THERE RAN THE LAD — There are some who say that it was Gershom, the son of Moses (Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 12). (1) כלאם — (This is taken as the equivalent of כַּלֵּם, “destroy them”, “make an end of them”; cf. Rashi on Exodus 17:9) — He meant: cast upon them the responsibility for public affairs and they will of themselves soon come to an end (through the worry and anxiety this entails). — Another explanation is: that the word means put them into prison (כלא). He said this because they were prophesying, “Moses will die and Joshua will bring Israel into the Land” (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 96; Sanhedrin 17a). (1) המקנא אתה לי means, “art thou envying where I should envy”. (2) לי — the word לי meaning the same as בשבילי, “for my sake”. Wherever an expression of the root קנא is used it implies that a person sets his heart on the matter, whether it be to take vengeance or to help; — emportement in O. F. (English = zeal) — he holds the thickest (heaviest) part of the load (i.e. he takes the responsibility for carrying out a matter).

(1) AND THEY WERE OF THEM THAT WERE RECORDED. At first. (2) BUT HAD NOT GONE OUT. From the camp of Israel to the tent of meeting. (1) AND THERE RAN A YOUNG MAN. The word na’ar (young man) has the definite article prefixed to it because it refers to the young man who, aside from Joshua, was known to serve Moses. For Joshua’s service was not the usual service rendered by young men. (1) FROM HIS YOUTH UP. Some say that the meaning of mi-bechurav (from his youth up) is, from his youth. It means that he did not speak as an elder speaks. Others connect mi-bechurav (from his youth up) to mesharet mosheh (the minister of Moses); this means the one who served Moses from the time of his youth. However, this is incorrect, for this event occurred in the second year. In my opinion, the word mi-bechurav means from the chosen. It means that he was one of those chosen to serve Moses, for there were others with him. Note that the word bachur (youth, or chosen) sometimes changes in the plural and sometimes does not. The same applies to the word saris (officer). It is also possible that they belong to two different paradigms. (2) SHUT THEM IN. The lamed of kela’em (shut them in) is vocalized with a pattach because a guttural follows it. (1) [ART THOU JEALOUS.] The heh of ha-mekanne (art thou jealous) is vocalized with a pattach. However, it should have been vocalized with a sheva and a pattach. It was so vocalized because the mem has a sheva na beneath it and two sheva nas are never joined together. (2) [WOULD THAT.] Mi yitten (would that) is an expression of desire here. It is like saying, who will grant me this request and desire?

(1) MY LORD MOSES, ‘K’LA’EIM’ (SHUT THEM IN). The meaning of this is that Moses had told the people the words of G-d, that He would take of the spirit which was upon him and put it upon those that will stand with him in the Tent of Meeting. Now those that did not go to the Tent [i.e., Eldad and Medad who had also been designated for that honor], and yet held themselves to be among those upon whom Moses’ spirit had been put [by prophesying in the camp, as Eldad and Medad did], were as rebels against Moses’ words. Therefore Joshua said to Moses, “Shut them in, for perhaps it is a lying spirit in their mouths, or it is an evil spirit that terrifies them, and thus they must be put in a prison like a man that is mad, and maketh himself like a prophet.” But Moses in his humility answered: “Would that all the people of the Eternal were prophets, that the Eternal would give His spirit upon them! — for G-d put His spirit directly upon them without taking of the spirit which was upon me, and would that this would happen to all the people.”
However, from the words of our Rabbis it appears that the custom in Israel was that no one would prophesy about future events in the presence of a prophet who is greater than him, but they would follow him as his disciples, and these were the sons of the prophets. Thus the Rabbis have said in Tractate Sanhedrin [with reference to the prophecy of Eldad and Medad]: “We can well understand according to that Sage who said that [Eldad and Medad prophesied that] ‘Moses will die [before entering the Land],’ that Joshua therefore said, My lord Moses, shut them in [since he wished to save Moses from grief]. But according to the Sage who said that [they prophesied] about the quails [that they would come from the sea], why should they be shut in [and not prophesy]? It is because the case resembled that of a pupil who renders a decision in the presence of his master.” Similarly [this was the reason why they were forbidden to prophesy] according to the Sage who says that they prophesied about Gog and Magog. And the Rabbis have mentioned a similar case in Tractate Megillah in the matter of Deborah. But Moses said that he, being the master, foregoes the honor due to him [and the law is that a Rabbi is able to renounce the honor due to him], and he desires and is happy [that they prophesy]. And I have seen that the Targum Yerushalmi rendered: “k’la’eim — withhold from them the Holy Spirit.” The Targum thus understood the word k’la’eim to be like the expressions: Behold, ‘lo echla’ (I did not refrain) my lips;‘lo thichla’ (Thou wilt not withhold) Thy compassions from me.
Now the reason for this matter is that Joshua thought that [Eldad and Medad] were prophesying because they were of them that were recorded [among the prescribed number of seventy men that were to join Moses], because the spirit of Moses was transmitted to all that were recorded, for he intended that all [seventy of them should become prophets]. Therefore Joshua said to Moses: “It is not fitting that they [Eldad and Medad] should prophesy in the camp, since they did not fulfill the word of G-d who commanded: and thou [Moses] shalt bring them unto the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with thee, and thus it might appear that not all of them prophesied through His putting of the spirit which was upon you [on them]. It is therefore fitting for my lord to direct your mind towards the spirit of G-d [which is upon you] and to bring it [completely] back to you, so that it should not be taken from you except for those who stand before you in accordance with the word of G-d. For it was because you intended at first that all who were recorded [should be prophets] that some of your glory came upon them, and if you will now intend to withdraw it from them, it will come to rest only upon those who stand before you in accordance with the word of G-d.” But Moses answered [Joshua by saying] that he should not be zealous for his sake, for he wishes that they prophesy whether in his presence or outside it, since G-d had put His spirit upon them — either by transmission from Moses or [directly from G-d] without such a transmission.

(1) אדוני משה כלאם!, he thought that the reason why these two men had not come to the tent of Meeting was because they wanted to demonstrate that they could prophesy without being within the spiritual sphere and physical presence of Moses. (1) כי יתן יהוה את רוחו עליהם, without any spiritual radiation emanating from me.

(1) .וישארו שני אנשים, there were two men in addition to the seventy men. (Moses had put 72 pieces of parchment in an urn, 6 for each tribe, of which two bore no inscription so that the men drawing those would know they were not part of the seventy elders). In other words: “they were redundant.” (2) שם האחד אלדד ושם השני מידד, “one of these two men was called Eldod, and the other was called Meydod.” The seventy elders were never mentioned by name whereas these two men who at first glance appeared as rejects, were named. The reason is that the prophetic spirit bestowed on the seventy elders ceased when Moses died, whereas the prophetic powers granted to these men survived Moses, as their prophetic powers was not a branch of Moses’ holy spirit. G-d Himself had said that He would give some of Moses’ spirit to these 70 elders (verse 17) The two named men received their prophetic spirit from G-d directly, as stated in our verse with the words: ותנח עליהם הרוח, “and the spirit rested upon them.” (3) ותנח עליהם הרוח, although these men had not been chosen to become part of the seventy elders, seeing that they were fit to have been elders and they did not feel humbled or rejected by not being chosen, they were rewarded by being given greater and longer lasting prophetic insights that the seventy whose parchment had read: “elder.” (4) והמה בכתובים, “they were amongst the seventy who had not drawn blanks.” According to Rashi this means that they had been included in the seventy two parchments on 70 of which Moses had written the word: “elder” and two of which he had left blank. If you were to ask that this method would have resulted in a great deal of jealousy by the ones who had not drawn a parchment with the word “elder,” it is therefore more reasonable to suppose that those who took parchments out of the urn early on would argue that they had a better chance not to draw a blank as 70 out of 72 were not blanks. Each one pushed in order not to be one of the last two whose chance of drawing a blank was so much greater. This was faulty reasoning, as the chance that the blanks would be drawn by the “early birds” was just as great as the reverse, and in fact, as soon as the blanks had been drawn the remaining candidates already knew for certain that they could not draw a blank. [It is therefore more likely that the Torah wishes us to know that in order to avoid jealousy, these two men decided to withdraw out of humility, so that the other 70 could all become elders. Ed.] They accomplished this by not showing up at the entrance to the Tabernacle as the men who drew parchments with the word: “elder” had been told to do. (5) ולא יצאו האהלה, “but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle’s entrance;” they had not left the general camp to follow the other elders to the Tabernacle with their colleagues. (6) ויתנבאו במחנה, ‘they prophesied inside the camp of the Israelites. Concerning what subject did these two men make prophetic announcements? They prophesied concerning the eventual war against Gog, and concerning the prophet Ezekiel. We find a hint of the subject of their prophecies in Ezekiel 38,17: כה אמר יהוה האתה הוא אשר דברתי בימים קדמונים ביד הנביאים שנים, “you are the one I spoke of in ancient times through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those years about you and about Gog;” instead of reading the word שנים to mean: ”years,” understand it to mean: “שניים, two.” (1) מבחוריו, “from his early youth.” We find this word having this meaning also in Kohelet 12,1: בימי בחורתיך, “in the days of your youth.”An alternate interpretation of this word: “from amongst the choicest to serve Moses,” for there were others with him. (Ibn Ezra) (2) אדוני משה כלאם, “my lord Moses lock them up!” Joshua wanted these two men put under house arrest so that their prophecies would not become public. The other seventy men who had also displayed prophetic insights had done so only in the relative privacy of the sacred precincts of the Tabernacle which was out of bounds to the people at large. They had done so only in the presence of Moses. (verse 16) Eldod and Meydod had not asked for permission to prophesy publicly, and had prophesied outside the sacred precincts. (1) וכי יתן כל עם יהוה נביאים, “would that all the Lord’s people were prophets!” Moses did not care if they would prophesy in the camp or only in the sacred precincts around the Tabernacle, as long as they would make his task easier to accomplish. (2) כי יתן יהוה את רוחו עליהם, “as long as G-d directly would bestow His holy spirit upon them!” He wanted them to receive holy spirit from G-d directly, not only as a part of the holy spirit that had been bestowed upon him. He realised that the seventy men had received only part of the Holy spirit that he had been endowed with, and that this Holy spirit would vanish as soon as he would die. He therefore prayed that they would receive permanent Holy spirit.

(29) Moshe said to him, “Are you vengeful for me? Would (that) it be that all Adonoy’s people were prophets, that Adonoy would give His Spirit upon them.”

(26) But two men had remained in the camp; the name of the one Eldad, and the name of the second Medad, the sons of Elizaphan bar Parnak, whom Jokebed the daughter of Levi bare to him when Amram her husband had put her away; and to whom she had been espoused before she gave birth to Mosheh. And the Spirit of prophecy resting upon them, Eldad prophe­sied, and said: Behold, Mosheh shall be gathered from the world; and Jehoshua bar Nun, the minister of the camps, will be established after him, and will lead the people of the house of Israel into the land of Kenaan, and make it their inheritance. Medad prophesied, and said: Behold, quails come up from the sea, and cover all the camp of Israel; but they will be to the people (a cause of) an offence. And both of them prophesied together, and said: Behold, a king will arise from the land of Magog, at the end of the days, and will assemble kings crowned with crowns, and captains wearing armour, and him will all nations obey. And they will set battle in array in the land of Israel against the children of the captivity; but already is it provided that in the hour of distresses all of them shall perish by the burning blast of the flame that cometh forth from beneath the Throne of Glory; and their carcases shall fall upon the mountains of the land of Israel, and the wild beasts of the field and the fowls of the sky shall come and consume their dead bodies. And afterward will all the dead of Israel live (again), and be feasted from the ox which hath been set apart for them from the beginning, and they shall receive the reward of their works. And they were of the elders who stood in the registers among them; but they had not gone forth to the tabernacle, but had hidden to escape from the dignity; yet they prophesied in the camp. (27) And a certain young man ran, and told to Mosheh, and said: Eldad and Medad are prophesying thus in the camp. (28) And Jehoshua bar Nun, the minister of Mosheh, answered and said: Ribboni Mosheh, pray for mercy before the Lord, that the Spirit of prophecy may be withheld from them. (29) But Mosheh said to him, Because they prophesy concerning me that I am to be gathered from the world, and that thou art to minister after me, art thou jealous for my sake? I would that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that He would bestow the Spirit of prophecy upon them.

(1)“Are you jealous for my sake, etc.” Joshua, because he was young in days, held onto the trait of jealousy, as it is written, And Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant from his youth, answered. Due to being one of his young men, he said this, whereas if he had been an elder, advanced in days, he would not have been concerned about two companions having authority together. And therefore they said (Bava Batra 75a): “The face of Moses was like the face of the sun, and Joshua like the moon.” For just as the moon complained and said, “It is impossible for two kings to use one crown,” so too Joshua complained and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying. But Moses was like the sun that did not complain at all; thus Moses said, Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets. (2)And he said, “Would that the Lord might place His spirit upon them.” The Akeidah [commentary] explained: It’s obvious that if they were to receive from the spirit that is upon me, I would not be jealous of them, because a person is jealous of everyone except his son and his student (Sanhedrin 105b). Rather, even if the Lord were to place His spirit upon them directly and they would not be my students, nonetheless I would not be jealous of them. And some say that he [Moses] was being precise, because specifically when the Lord places His spirit upon them, it is possible that all the people of the Lord would be prophets, but if He were to emanate upon them from the spirit that is upon me, it would be impossible for all of them to be prophets. Because that which is emanated must resemble the emanator in every way, and our Sages said (Nedarim 38a) that the Divine Presence rests only upon one who is strong, wise, wealthy, and humble, and all these were in Moses. They meant by this that since all these qualities were in Moses, therefore it is necessary that whoever receives emanation from him must resemble him in every way, and this is impossible for all of Israel to be equal in all these four attributes. For if so, what makes one person greater than another? But if the Lord places His spirit upon them without an intermediary, then there is no need for all of them to be equal in these four attributes, and one cannot say that they must resemble Him, as it were, for how can anyone be compared to Him? Therefore it is said, if the Lord places His spirit upon them.

(23) The second: He [should] accustom himself to internalize the love of people into his heart - and even the evildoers - as if they were his brothers, and even more than this; until he fixes the love of all people into his heart. And he [should] even love the evildoers in his heart and say, "Who will give that they all be righteous penitents, and all be great ones and desirable to the Omnipresent," like the statement of the trusted friend of all of Israel. He stated (Numbers 11:29), "and who will give that all of the people of the Lord be prophets, etc?" And with what (how) will he love [them]? When he mentions in his thought the good [qualities] that they have and covers their blemish, and he not gaze at their scabs but rather at the good traits that they have. And he [should] say in his heart, "If this disgusting poor man was a man of much money, how happy I would be with his friendship - as I am with the friendship of x. And behold, if they would dress this one with nice clothes like x, behold there is no difference between them. If so, why [should] he lack honor in my eyes? And behold, in the eyes of God, he is more important than I - as he is stricken and downtrodden with poverty and afflictions, and [so] cleaned of iniquity. And why would I hate one that the Holy One, blessed be He, loves?" And through this, his heart will turn to the side of the good and accustom himself to think about all the good traits that we mentioned.

(1)After that,I will pour out My spirit on all flesh;Your sons and daughters shall prophesy;Your elders shall dream dreams,And your youths shall see visions.(2)I will even pour out My spiritUpon male and female slaves in those days.