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With divine inspiration a very holy man or woman connects to G-d, but it is not a form of direct communication with or from G-d. These first two levels fall under the heading of רֽוּחַ הַקּֽוֹדֶשׁ / ruaḥ hakodesh -- often mistranslated as "holy spirit" (translated it would be a spirit of the holiness), but it means divinely inspired by G-d.
G-d is not speaking to them with a message they are to relay to the then living generation (which is the definition of prophecy). Instead these holy people speak in their own words, inspired by Him. A person so inspired is still their own person and physically is not impacted in any way. All prophets except for Moses had prophetic visions or dreams: "I make Myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream." (Bamidbar / Numbers 12:6). A prophet receiving prophecy is physically impacted by it (with the exception of Moses). Experiencing prophecy was physically exhausting: their limbs would tremble, they became weak and would lose control of their senses. In this state they would receive prophecy and they would immediately comprehend its meaning: "And a great, dark dread fell over him." (B'reshit / Genesis 15:12). The Rambam lists eleven levels of prophecy -- and the first two are not really prophecy at all, but are rather stepping stones to prophecy. This is what we refer to as being divinely inspired by G-d. The Orthodox Union puts it this way: "However, while they are all degrees of prophecy, not all of these levels necessarily qualified one to be considered a prophet. The lowest two are merely steps on the way to attaining that status.... Imagine a person who goes to medical school and earns an MD but he does not go on have a residency or take his medical board exams. Such a person is a "doctor" but not a doctor.) Just as a prophet could receive more than one form of prophecy during their tenures, they could also receive prophecies on different levels... "The first degree of prophecy is the divine inspiration that a person might receive encouraging him in some noble endeavor. This influence is called "ruach Elohim," "the spirit of G-d." When it comes to people affected by this phenomenon, Scripture commonly uses such expressions as "the spirit of G-d rested on so-and-so," or "G-d was with so-and-so." The Judges, who led the nation before any kings of Israel were anointed, typically enjoyed this level of divine attention. (See, for example, Judges 2:18, 11:29, 14:19, et al.)... "David, Solomon and Daniel belong in the category of people motivated by ruach hakodesh rather than among such full-fledged prophets as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel..." So when David wrote the psalms he was speaking from his heart, his thoughts, his words. He was not prophesying. When Solomon wrote of wisdom he wrote from his heart, his thoughts, his wisdom, his words... In one of my favorite books, The Guide for the Perplexed the Rambam (Maimonides) discusses eleven levels of prophecy, the first two of which are not actually prophecy but are divine inspiration, men who have a spirit of holiness. These first two levels are holy men and women inspired by G-d, but their words are their own. Sometimes people so inspired are referred to as prophets, even though they may not rise to that level. The Rambam opined: "When such a person is occasionally called prophet, the term is used in a wider sense, and is applied to him because he is almost a prophet." With divine inspiration a person gets which encourages him towards a noble end This influence is called "רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים / ru'ah Elohim" -- a spirit from G-d. A prophet must not only receive a message directly from G-d, the message must be for the then living generation and the prophet communicates the message to them. For a person with a spirit of holiness they are driven to perform noble deeds, it may have no message or communication to others. The Rambam writes: "The first degree of prophecy consists in the divine assistance which is given to a person, and induces and encourages him to do something good and grand, e.g., to deliver a congregation of good men from the hands of evildoers; to save one noble person, or to bring happiness to a large number of people; he finds in himself the cause that moves and urges him to this deed." This brings us to the second level -- where the person is also divinely inspired, but this person is overcome with an urge to communicate the message to the people of his generation. This second level may contain visions which are to be given to the living generation -- but the person who has them may not readily understand the meaning (prophets always know the meaning -- it is very clear to them). The Rambam: "The second degree is this: A person feels as if something came upon him, and as if he had received a new power that encourages him to speak. He treats of science, or composes hymns, exhorts his fellow-men, discusses political and theological problems; all this he does while awake, and in the full possession of his senses." There is, however, a difference between the visions experienced by prophets in a dream or vision and those connected with the ru'ah hakodesh -- divine inspiration. A prophet immediately knows (upon regaining his or her senses) that what happened was prophecy. A person who has a vision (as did Daniel) inspired by the holy does not have this realization: "My spirit-I, Daniel-became troubled within its sheath, and the visions of my mind terrified me." Daniel 7:15. The third degree is the lowest level of actual prophecy...
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