Don’t think for a moment that the prophetic experience is at all static or pre-fit. In fact, it happens on many levels, encompasses different nuances and hues, and is colored by a number of phenomena.

For some prophetic experiences last long, while others are sudden then gone; some are overwhelming, others are of little effect; some touch upon universal cataclysm, others on local minutiae, etc. Yet despite the variables, the one common denominator is the surety the prophet senses that he’s in the midst of a prophetic experience.

There are other times, though, when someone experiences a low degree of communication loosely referred to as “Divine Inspiration” (which it really isn’t) or a “cryptic message”. When that happens, the recipient doesn’t so much sense revelation but rather a “hunch” or a “feeling” that this or that is true.

Just know that that a recipient of true Divine Inspiration (which is actually subordinate to real prophecy, it should be pointed out) would still-and-all know that he or she was experiencing the “real thing”, since it would be so clear and vivid.

This series is dedicated to the memory of Yitzchak Hehrsh ben Daniel, and Sarah Rivka bas Yaakov Dovid.

Copyright © 2003 by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and torah.org

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