Rebbetzin Chava Kuperman
After the destruction of the 1st Temple and during the early years of the 2nd Temple, the era of prophecy gradually draws to a close. At this time, the Supreme Jewish Court is established, comprising 120 Sages.
They are called the people (or men) of the Great Assembly. Some of them are prophets.
Before this point in history, and afterward, 70 sages usually sat on the chief Jewish court, in accordance with the Creator's will. (The Almighty told Moses: “Gather 70 sages for yourself.”)
And now, suddenly, 120! Why? Because a different era is beginning in the history of the Jewish people—an era when there will no longer be a Temple or prophecy, and most Jews will be living in diaspora communities. This required thorough preparation.
The Men of the Great Assembly write down the words of the prayers that will henceforth be recited in place of sacrifices in the Temple (until then, each Jew prayed however they wished). In addition, the Assembly “seals” the Tanakh—that is, determines what will be included in it and what will not.
On what basis do the Sages make these decisions?
We mentioned a little earlier that there are prophets among them. At this time, these prophets are entrusted with a special mission. They must determine which prophecies of the past should be preserved for future generations.
From the Exodus from Egypt until the time we are discussing, there were one million two hundred thousand prophets among our people, both men and women. Now it is necessary to determine what role their prophecies will play throughout the ages.
Only those prophecies that will remain relevant to subsequent generations are included in the Tanakh by the Great Assembly.
As a result of this extensive, difficult work, carrying great responsibility, 48 men and 7 women are selected from among all the earlier prophets. But by no means do all the prophecies they uttered carry equal “weight.” Some of the “chosen” prophets uttered many prophecies throughout their lives, yet were privileged to have only one or two of them be significant. What should be done with such prophecies?
For example, there was a prophet named Beeri. In his time, he shared many prophecies with the people, but only two very brief ones met the requirements formulated by the Great Assembly. What should be done with them? After all, they are not enough to make a separate book! A solution is found. These two prophecies are incorporated into the Book of Isaiah. And we know exactly where in the Book of Isaiah the quotations from the prophet Beeri appear.
Another option: 12 people are selected from among the prophets of the past, 12 “minor prophets,” whose brief prophecies are included in a collection—a single book called “Trei Asar,” Aramaic for “twelve.”
The lives of these twelve prophets fall chronologically into different periods of Jewish history. The collection opens with the Book of Hosea.
Let us briefly note here (we will discuss this in greater detail later) that the end of Hosea's prophecy is read on the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. “Return, O Israel...” the prophet calls out. In Hebrew, “repentance” and “return” share the same root.
Hosea is from the tribe of Reuben. Reuben is considered the first to have followed the path of self-correction. His descendant Hosea is the first to speak of teshuvah in his prophecy.
To be continued