For three transgressions of Israel,
For four, I will not revoke it:
Because they have sold for silver
Those whose cause was just,
And the needy for a pair of sandals.
(11) And I raised up prophets from among your sons
And nazirites from among your youths.
Is that not so, O people of Israel?
—says the LORD. (12) But you made the nazirites drink wine
And ordered the prophets not to prophesy.
Who can but fear?
My Lord GOD has spoken,
Who can but prophesy?
(1) A lion has roared; who will not fear?— Just as one cannot ignore a lion's roar, so the prophets cannot ignore the command to prophesy]
We are told that prophecy is more than a calling - it is innate. Without getting into the muddle-fuddle of determinism, free will, hashgacha pratit etc. - what happens when we ignore our nature, not just our calling?
(כא) שָׂנֵ֥אתִי מָאַ֖סְתִּי חַגֵּיכֶ֑ם וְלֹ֥א אָרִ֖יחַ בְּעַצְּרֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ ... (כג) הָסֵ֥ר מֵעָלַ֖י הֲמ֣וֹן שִׁרֶ֑יךָ וְזִמְרַ֥ת נְבָלֶ֖יךָ לֹ֥א אֶשְׁמָֽע׃ (כד) וְיִגַּ֥ל כַּמַּ֖יִם מִשְׁפָּ֑ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה כְּנַ֥חַל אֵיתָֽן׃
(21) I loathe, I spurn your festivals,
I am not appeased by your solemn assemblies ... (23) Spare Me the sound of your hymns,
And let Me not hear the music of your lutes. (24) But let justice well up like water,
Righteousness like an unfailing stream.
Compare: '"We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream" (I Have A Dream)
Mufasa's Ghost : Simba, you have forgotten me.
Adult Simba : No. How could I?
Mufasa's Ghost : You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of life.
Adult Simba : How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be.
Mufasa's Ghost : Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are.
Adult Simba : No! Please! Don't leave me!
Mufasa's Ghost : Remember.
Adult Simba : Father!
Mufasa's Ghost : Remember.
Adult Simba : Don't leave me.
Mufasa's Ghost : Remember.
This seems like terrible advice - impractical for a coup against scar. But it is good advice for Simba: remember, you are a L I O N. You have sharp claws, big teeth. Use your gifts, take initiative.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
(Hamlet - Polonius)
(Yes, the same Polonius that spies on everyone and then gets stabbed for doing so.)
So clearly, people should be true to their nature, which we believe to be good. We can't just tell them to be false to their nature, and we also can't just always tell them to be true to their nature - this is abstract. How do we remedy this?
Who Can Resist the Beauty of the Light - Zelda [emphasis added]
I bore my anger to show to the light,
seeking comfort in its beauty,
but I was not worthy in its eyes,
I was not worthy in its eyes.
“Why is your life dark?” it said.
“You are not in the depths of the pit.
This must be a lack of love.”
And I shook.
I shook and wept.
(א) וַיִּרְגַּ֣ז הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ וַיַּ֛עַל עַל־עֲלִיַּ֥ת הַשַּׁ֖עַר וַיֵּ֑בְךְּ וְכֹ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר בְּלֶכְתּ֗וֹ בְּנִ֤י אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ בְּנִ֣י בְנִ֣י אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם מִֽי־יִתֵּ֤ן מוּתִי֙ אֲנִ֣י תַחְתֶּ֔יךָ אַבְשָׁל֖וֹם בְּנִ֥י בְנִֽי׃
(1) The king was shaken. He went up to the upper chamber of the gateway and wept, moaning these words as he went, “My son Absalom! O my son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
(א) דִּבְרֵ֣י עָמ֔וֹס אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה בַנֹּקְדִ֖ים מִתְּק֑וֹעַ אֲשֶׁר֩ חָזָ֨ה עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל בִּימֵ֣י ׀ עֻזִּיָּ֣ה מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֗ה וּבִימֵ֞י יָרׇבְעָ֤ם בֶּן־יוֹאָשׁ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל שְׁנָתַ֖יִם לִפְנֵ֥י הָרָֽעַשׁ׃
(ח) הַ֤עַל זֹאת֙ לֹא־תִרְגַּ֣ז הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאָבַ֖ל כׇּל־יוֹשֵׁ֣ב בָּ֑הּ וְעָלְתָ֤ה כָאֹר֙ כֻּלָּ֔הּ וְנִגְרְשָׁ֥ה (ונשקה) [וְנִשְׁקְעָ֖ה] כִּיא֥וֹר מִצְרָֽיִם׃ {פ}
And all that dwell on it mourn?
Shall it not all rise like the Nile
And surge and subside like the Nile of Egypt?
“When we reach our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change.”
It is times of rupture, of challenge to our nature, that reveal our gifts. These times need not be awful - a nation can be challenged by prosperity - but the 'shaking' strips the soul, allowing us to understand our self - a self that cannot be lied to or about, evaded or subverted, but that possesses tremendous qualities.