Why Did Prophecies Stop?

Q: In biblical times we had many prophets. Then at some point they disappeared. Why?

A: Because Rabbi Akiva’s disciples’ spiritual downfall from the level of “Love thy neighbour as thyself” caused the entire Jewish people to fall and led to the ruin of the Temple. From that moment on, the connection between the spiritual world and ours ceased to exist and, as Baal HaSulam says, “an iron wall has been erected between Israel and Kabbalah.”

However, all this describes falling from the level of the 2ndTemple (MochinDeNeshama). Before that, there was the ruin of the 1stTemple, a fall from the level of MochinDeHaya. At that time, all prophets vanished, since a prophet’s level is Haya if he says “I saw,” and Neshama if he says, “I heard.”

In addition, to be able to interpret a prophecy, one must be on a certain level of spiritual attainment. A prophet is not a fortune teller who tells you your future. Rather, he explains to you what essential corrections you can make, even without seeing them. And if you can’t make any corrections, then a prophet will not appear. That is why they disappeared.