The Warsaw School of Prophecy

(35) A certain man, from bnei haneviim, said to another, at the word of the LORD, “Strike me”; but the man refused to strike him. (36) He said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the LORD, a lion will strike you dead as soon as you leave me.” And when he left, a lion came upon him and killed him. (37) Then he met another man and said, “Come, strike me.” So the man struck him and wounded him.

They said to Hillel: Our teacher, if one forgot and did not bring a knife on the eve of Shabbat and cannot slaughter his Paschal lamb, what is the law? He said to them: I once heard this halakha from my teachers but I have forgotten it. But leave it to the Jewish people; if they are not prophets to whom God has revealed His secrets, they are the sons of prophets, and will certainly do the right thing on their own. The next day, on Shabbat that was the eve of Passover, one whose Paschal offering was a lamb took the knife and stuck it in its wool; and one whose Paschal offering was a goat, which does not have wool, stuck it between its horns. Hillel saw the incident and remembered the halakha that he had once learned and said: This is the tradition I received from the mouths of Shemaya and Avtalyon!

I am sure that if you have read our [earlier] writings and put them into practice, you will grow wings and rise higher and higher, pure thoughts will arise in your heart and mind to read more... [but without preparation, there are potential dangers].

You want to transcend the confines of your body? We have already spoken about the words of the Talmud: "If they are not prophets, surely they are children of prophets (bnei neviim)!" The meaning here is obviously not that their fathers were prophets. Because could it be so, that someone whose father's father etc. was a prophet would have inspiration to know something that Hillel did not? And would Hillel be so sure in them, that he would not even try to conjure up an argument, but just had simple faith in the people?

However, we see in the Bible that the minor nameless prophets were also called bnei neviim, and this phrase is translated as 'the students of the prophets'. Not only students, but they would also prophesy sometimes themselves, as we see. The reason they were called bnei and not 'students' is [that it refers to their lifestyle too]... This is how Hillel could be absolutely sure that they would act correctly.

One who speaks about God's greatness is like one who tells a story about a great light somewhere far away. But one who sings about God's greatness is like one who brings that light from there to here. For the vision of the bnei neviim has been aroused in this person, and she can reveal some of it through her songs... This is not the whole meaning of prophecy, but it is an aspect of the spirit of the bnei neviim that is potentially in every Jew, that we are speaking about here...

The [divine] sparks are hidden, and trapped beneath the intellect. A spark of a 'new song' can bring forth light and the vision of bnei neviim into this world, revealing prophecy, as we have said. But this is extremely hard for our generation, and in the diaspora.