Prophecy as Israel's Mouth
במדרש הצור תמים פעלו שלא הניח פתחון פה לאוה"ע כו' העמיד להם נביאים
The Midrash expounds on the verse "The Rock, His work is perfect" (Devarim 32:4) — that Hashem left the nations of the world no opening to complain, etc., for He set up prophets for them as well.
The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash teaching that Hashem gave the nations prophets too, so they could raise no complaint that they were denied the chance for greatness.
הענין היא כי הנבואה הוא להוציא הכח אל הפועל בדיבור כי הנביא הוא בכלל פיהן של ישראל
The matter is this: prophecy serves to bring out the inner potential into actuality through speech, for the prophet is, as it were, included among 'the mouth of Bnei Yisrael.'
He explains that prophecy is the act of drawing inner spiritual potential out into the open through speech, and the prophet fills the role of the 'mouth' of Bnei Yisrael.
וכמו בפרט כל איש ע"י הפה מוציא הכח הפנימי שהוא עיקר האדם לנפש חי רוח ממללא
Just as in the individual, a person draws forth through his mouth the inner power that is the essence of man — making him "a living soul," a speaking spirit — so too the prophet draws forth the inner power of the whole.
He draws a parallel to the individual person, whose mouth and power of speech express the inner soul that is his very essence.
כמו כן בכלל הנביא הוא פיהן של בנ"י
In the same way, regarding the collective, the prophet is the mouth of Bnei Yisrael.
Just as speech expresses the individual's inner self, the prophet expresses the inner self of the entire nation.
לכן תלוי כח הנביא בעבודת כלל בנ"י כדכ' נביא מקרבך כו' יקום לך
Therefore the power of the prophet depends upon the avodah of the entire Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "A prophet from your midst... Hashem will raise up for you" (Devarim 18:15).
Because of this, the prophet's power is generated by the avodah of all of Bnei Yisrael, which the verse hints at by saying the prophet arises 'from your midst.'
ויותר ממה שבנ"י צריכין אל הנביא צריך הנביא להם
And even more than Bnei Yisrael need the prophet, the prophet needs them.
There is a mutual dependence, but the prophet depends on the people even more than they depend on him.
והוא כלל הצריך לפרט ופרט הצריך לכלל
This is the principle of the whole requiring the part, and the part requiring the whole.
This reflects the deeper principle that the collective whole and the individual parts each need one another.
ולכן הנביאים הם עדות על הכלל
And therefore the prophets are a testimony concerning the whole — the collective of Bnei Yisrael.
Because the prophet draws his power from the whole nation, his very existence testifies to the spiritual greatness embedded in the collective.
והאומות אינם מוכנים אל הנבואה לכן נתן להם הקב"ה בלעם שהי' כלי להנביאה אך בעבור כי אינם מוכנים לזה לא עלתה הנביאות בידו לטוב
The nations, however, are not fit vessels for prophecy; therefore Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave them Bilam, who was a vessel for prophecy — yet since they are not prepared for it, the prophecy did not turn out for the good in his hands.
The nations cannot truly receive prophecy; Bilam was given to them as a would-be prophet, but because they were unworthy, his prophecy went sour rather than serving the good.
וכמו כן נוכל לומר מה שניטל מאתנו הנבואה
And in the same way we may explain that which has been taken from us, namely prophecy.
The Sfas Emes now applies this idea to our own era, in which prophecy has been removed from us.
הגם כי בעונותינו הוא
Although it is because of our sins,
He acknowledges that on one level prophecy was taken because of our sins.
אבל הוא ג"כ עדות על בנ"י שלא יאמרו אוה"ע ע"י שקרבנו והעמיד לנו נביאים נמשכנו אחריו
nevertheless it is also a testimony concerning Bnei Yisrael — so that the nations of the world should not be able to say that it was only because Hashem drew us close and set up prophets for us that we were drawn after Him.
But on a deeper level, its absence is itself a testimony to the genuineness of Bnei Yisrael's faith, refuting any claim that we serve Hashem only because we were given prophets.
לכן נלקח מאתנו הנבואה ואעפ"כ בנ"י מתחזקים באמונתו ית' ועוסקין במצותיו להודיע כי הפנימיות נמצא בבנ"י הגם שאין לנו נביאים להוציא הפעולה מן הכח אל הפועל כמ"ש אותותינו לא ראינו אין עוד נביא ולא אתנו יודע עד מה
Therefore prophecy was taken from us, and even so Bnei Yisrael strengthen themselves in their emunah in Hashem, may He be blessed, and occupy themselves with His mitzvos — to make known that the inner essence is found within Bnei Yisrael, even though we have no prophets to bring the deed out from potential into actuality, as it is written, "We have not seen our signs; there is no longer any prophet, nor anyone among us who knows how long" (Tehillim 74:9).
Even without prophets to draw out our inner spiritual potential, Bnei Yisrael cling to emunah and mitzvos, proving that the inner essence lives within them regardless.
כי הדעת גנוז בפומא כמ"ש בזוה"ק
For daas — true knowledge — is hidden within the mouth, as is stated in the Zohar HaKadosh.
He cites the Zohar that daas, true inner knowledge, lies hidden within the power of the mouth and speech.
וכמו שבפרט כן הוא ע"י הפה בתורה ותפלה זוכין לדעת
And just as in the individual it is through the mouth, in Torah and tefillah, that one merits daas,
For the individual, this daas is unlocked through speaking words of Torah and tefillah.
כמו כן כשהיו הנביאים הי' מתגלה הדעת בכלל בנ"י
so too, when the prophets existed, daas was revealed within the collective of Bnei Yisrael.
On the national scale, the prophets were the means by which this hidden daas became revealed among all of Bnei Yisrael.
לכן ג"כ ביום ש"ק כתיב לדעת כי אני ה'
Therefore, likewise, regarding the day of Shabbos Kodesh it is written, "that you may know that I am Hashem" (Shemos 31:13).
He then connects this to Shabbos, where the Torah uses the language of 'knowing' that Hashem is our G-d.
כי כמו שהנביא הוא פיהן של ישראל כמו כן יש בזמן השבת קודש שנק' סהדותא ונפתח בו הפה ומתגלה הדעת:
For just as the prophet is the mouth of Bnei Yisrael, so too there is within the time of Shabbos Kodesh, which is called 'a testimony,' a quality whereby the mouth is opened and daas is revealed.
Just as the prophet opens the nation's 'mouth' to reveal daas, Shabbos Kodesh — called a 'testimony' — likewise opens the mouth and reveals that same hidden daas, serving as our channel of revelation in the absence of prophecy.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that prophecy is the means by which the inner spiritual essence of Bnei Yisrael is drawn out into the open through speech, with the prophet serving as the 'mouth' of the entire nation. Because the prophet's power is generated by the avodah of the whole people, his existence testifies to the latent greatness of the collective — a greatness the nations lacked, which is why Bilam's prophecy turned out for ill rather than good. He then teaches that even in our own era, when prophecy has been removed because of our sins, its very absence is a testimony to Bnei Yisrael, proving that we cling to emunah and mitzvos out of genuine inner devotion and not merely because prophets drew us close. The inner daas that prophecy once revealed for the whole nation is the same daas that the individual unlocks through Torah and tefillah, for daas lies hidden within the power of speech. Finally, Shabbos Kodesh — itself called 'a testimony' — opens the mouth and reveals this hidden daas, serving as Bnei Yisrael's channel of revelation now that we no longer have prophets.