After the Torah reading, we recite a passage from the Prophets. This is called the haftarah, meaning “completion,” implying that their reading of the Torah is not complete until it is linked to a corresponding reading from the prophets.
We should not underestimate the significance of this. One might imagine that the Torah, assumed to be the literal word of G-d, needed nothing to “complete” it. In fact, it’s hard to imagine what could complete it! The rabbis, however, felt it important to not put Torah on such a high pedestal. Of course, they adored and respected it. But they also asserted that G-d’s revelations were conveyed by a human being. And more astounding still, they asserted that the people of Israel as a whole were the bearers of the revelation. And most astounding of all, they asserted that G-d’s revelations do not cease, and that human beings can be the truthful conveyers of those revelations even when those revelations involve human judgment and interpretation, rather than simply transmitting the clearly spoken divine word.
These daring rabbinic assertions underlie the blessing that introduces the haftarah:
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, king of the universe, who has chosen good prophets, and loved their words, spoken in truth. Blessed are You, Lord, who chooses the Torah, and Moses his servant, and Israel His people, and prophets of truth and righteousness.”
The Torah carries with it its own authority. And Moses, as the revered Teacher, had an authority commensurate with his intimate contact with both G-d and Torah. But it would be a poor revelation indeed if it were limited to abstract statements without concrete manifestation—and that’s where the people of Israel come into the picture. We, through the sanctity of our lives, are intended to be living proof of the truth and righteousness of G-d and Torah (note to self: How’m I doin’?).
And even the prophets, who don’t have the same clear understand that Moses had, but who seek truth and righteousness, and to perceive the hand of G-d in our everyday affairs—even they carry authority. And whether they are reporting a specific revelation from G-d (“And the Lord said to me…”) or are merely reporting on historical events.