Everything Is from Heaven, So Where Do False Prophets Come From?

Hello Rabbi, I wanted to ask, since everything that happens in the world is Hashem's will, how can we explain the fact that false prophets like Jesus and Muhammad arose, who established and spread a deceptive doctrine in the world? Was this also Hashem's will? Thank you, Zaki.

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Hello and blessings Zaki, and thank you for your question. Everything that happens in the world is Hashem's will, and you ask about false prophets like Jesus and Muhammad, whether they too came from Hashem's will.

To answer this question, we must remember that Hashem gave free choice to humans, and although Hashem does everything for the good, sometimes a person harms themselves or others, and permission for this was granted from Heaven, because this world is a test. This means people like Jesus and Muhammad could deceive contrary to the Torah's intent, since Hashem gave them the choice to do harm, as well as the choice for the mistaken to err.

Until here is the plain level, but in the deeper matter, we know that everything is directed from Heaven — even the choice to harm or do good, as the Sages said: "They bring merit through the meritorious, and liability through the guilty" (Bava Batra 119b).

The righteous desire to do good, therefore Hashem provides them with deeds of kindness, whereas the wicked who want to harm their friend, Hashem brings upon them the friend who needs to receive this harm from Heaven. Obviously, the thief does not have to steal, but when he chooses to do so, Hashem provides someone who was meant to lose money. It is important to understand that no person in the world has to be a messenger to do harm, and as long as a person lives, they have the power to correct their actions and fully repent. Hashem only directs the choice of the wicked to the appropriate place. In fact, we are all messengers in this world, we just choose whether to be good messengers or bad ones. Therefore, great righteous people have always forgiven everyone so that no harm would come to a sinner by their hand, as we pray: "That no person will be punished because of me."

The Torah tells us about messengers who came to harm the people of Israel, and Hashem directed their actions for the good. Pharaoh chose to enslave Israel and rebel against Hashem, so Hashem hardened his heart further to show the people of Israel the greatness of the miracles of the Exodus. Thus, Hashem said to Moses (Exodus 7:3): "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt," and Hashem explicitly tells us the reason for this (Exodus 11:9): "And Hashem said to Moses, Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."

The Book of Esther teaches us how Haman acted as a messenger to harm Israel, with the intention that his evil would turn to good, and the people of Israel would strengthen in faith. Even messengers who come to do harm stem from the plan Hashem set in creation, but this does not mean they were good or that their actions were good.

In fact, the Torah tells us to beware of false prophets - and reveals to us that Hashem allows them to deceive the world to test our faith (Deuteronomy 13:2): "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and let us worship them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. Hashem your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul."

It is interesting to note that Jesus indeed engaged in sorcery, while Muhammad claimed to have dreamed in a cave. It seems that the two most famous false prophets in history were predicted by the Torah over 3300 years ago. Their purpose was to test our faith, to see how much we trust the Torah we received at Sinai. Nevertheless, Maimonides adds a very interesting point on this matter, arguing that although Jesus and Muhammad caused great harm to the people of Israel, Hashem actually intended that in this way all idol worshipers in the world would be exposed to the fundamentals and concepts of our holy Torah, such as the expectation for the true Messiah at the end of days, as Maimonides wrote in the Laws of Kings (end of Chapter 11): "And is there a greater stumbling block than this: all the prophets spoke of the Messiah as the redeemer of Israel and as their savior who would gather their exiles and strengthen his commandments, while this (Jesus) caused the destruction of Israel by the sword, their dispersion and humiliation, changing the Torah, and leading most of the world astray to serve a god other than Hashem... but the thoughts of the Creator of the world, no man has the power to comprehend, for our ways are not His ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts. And all these doings of Jesus the Nazarene, and that Ishmaelite who arose after him, are only paving the way for the King Messiah, to correct the entire world to serve Hashem together, as it is said, 'For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Hashem, to serve him with one consent.' How so: already the entire world is filled with the words of the Messiah, and with the words of the Torah and the commandments, and these matters have spread to distant islands, and to many peoples of uncircumcised hearts... and when the true King Messiah will stand up and succeed, exalted and uplifted, they will all immediately return and know that their fathers inherited lies, and their prophets and fathers led them astray."