S1, E10 The Holy Tongue, Prayer and Prophecy

What is the essence of lashon hakodesh? Why is it inextricably linked with prophecy and prayer? Chazal hint that perfect knowledge depends on words. With the correct words for things, we have proper mental representation and accurate knowledge: we know what the world really is like from Hashem's perspective, and we can affect it through word, through prayer. That is the holy tongue of the prophets who gave us images of reality. The 70 languages, on the other hand, are 70 ways to misrepresent reality.  With true word came prophecy and the power of prayer; when the era of the true word ended prophecy ceased, and even prayer would have no longer been possible if the last remaining prophets wouldn't have founded a new way of relating to Hashem for the post-prophetic era, beyond word and beyond mental representation.  For this episode's sources, click here Please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening! You can email Rabbi Burton with questions or comments at [email protected]