Sanhedrin 11a
סנהדרין י״א א — ד"ה תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן
Sanhedrin 11a:7
The sugya discusses the cessation of prophecy and the continued appearance of exceptional spiritual perception among later sages. It is a useful rabbinic parallel for Rav Kook’s claim that prophetic qualities can persist after prophecy’s formal disappearance.
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מִשֶּׁמֵּתוּ נְבִיאִים הָאַחֲרוֹנִים חַגַּי זְכַרְיָה וּמַלְאָכִי, נִסְתַּלְּקָה רוּחַ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל. וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן הָיוּ מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁין בְּבַת קוֹל. פַּעַם אַחַת הָיוּ מְסוּבִּין בַּעֲלִיַּית בֵּית גּוּרְיָה בִּירִיחוֹ, וְנִתְּנָה עֲלֵיהֶם בַּת קוֹל מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם: יֵשׁ כָּאן אֶחָד שֶׁרָאוּי שֶׁתִּשְׁרֶה עָלָיו שְׁכִינָה כְּמֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵין דּוֹרוֹ זַכַּאי לְכָךְ. נָתְנוּ חֲכָמִים אֶת עֵינֵיהֶם בְּהִלֵּל הַזָּקֵן. וּכְשֶׁמֵּת, אָמְרוּ עָלָיו: הִי חָסִיד, הִי עָנָיו, תַּלְמִידוֹ שֶׁל עֶזְרָא. שׁוּב פַּעַם אַחַת הָיוּ מְסוּבִּין בַּעֲלִיָּה בְּיַבְנֶה, וְנִתְּנָה עֲלֵיהֶם בַּת קוֹל מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם: יֵשׁ כָּאן אֶחָד שֶׁרָאוּי שֶׁתִּשְׁרֶה עָלָיו שְׁכִינָה, אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵין דּוֹרוֹ זַכַּאי לְכָךְ. נָתְנוּ חֲכָמִים אֶת עֵינֵיהֶם בִּשְׁמוּאֵל הַקָּטָן. וּכְשֶׁמֵּת, אָמְרוּ עָלָיו: הִי חָסִיד, הִי עָנָיו, תַּלְמִידוֹ שֶׁל הִלֵּל. אַף הוּא אָמַר בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתוֹ: שִׁמְעוֹן וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל לְחַרְבָּא, וְחַבְרוֹהִי לִקְטָלָא, וּשְׁאָר עַמָּא לְבִיזָּא, וְעָקָן סַגִּיאָן עֲתִידָן לְמֵיתֵי עַל עָלְמָא.
§ Since Shmuel HaKatan and his great piety were mentioned, the Gemara now relates several incidents that shed additional light on his personality. The Sages taught: After the last of the prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, died, the Divine Spirit of prophetic revelation departed from the Jewish people. But nevertheless, they were still utilizing a Divine Voice, which they heard as a kind of echo of prophecy. One time, a group of Sages were reclining in the loft of the house of Gurya in Jericho, and a Divine Voice was bestowed upon them from Heaven, saying: There is one here who is fit for the Divine Presence to rest upon him as it rested upon Moses our teacher, but his generation is not deserving of this distinction. The Sages set their eyes upon Hillel the Elder, trusting that he was the one indicated by the Divine Voice. And when he died, the Sages said about him: Alas, the pious man, alas, the humble man, a disciple of Ezra. The baraita continues: Another time, a group of Sages were reclining in the loft in Yavne, and a Divine Voice was bestowed upon them from Heaven, saying: There is one here who is fit for the Divine Presence to rest upon him in prophecy, but his generation is not deserving of this distinction. The Sages set their eyes upon Shmuel HaKatan. And when he died, the Sages said about him: Alas, the pious man, alas, the humble man, a disciple of Hillel. Additionally, he said at the time of his death, under the influence of the Divine Spirit: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the Nasi of the Great Sanhedrin, and Rabbi Yishmael, the High Priest, will die by the sword, and their friends will die by other executions, and the rest of the nation will be despoiled, and great troubles will ultimately come upon the world.