The first several aliyos of Parshas Shoftim address various official functionaries within K'lal Yisroel: the Sanhedrin, then the Melech, the Kohanim and Levi'im, followed by the Navi.

It is surprising that the Navi is featured last, for Nevi'im were often the foremost leaders of K'lal Yisroel, whose authority actually superseded that of Melachim, as we find with Shmuel Ha-Navi, whose stature enabled him to reprimand Shaul Ha-Melech, and who was responsible for Shaul and Dovid becoming kings. In fact, the Melech must be appointed by a Navi and the Sanhedrin, and Moshe Rabbeinu himself led the nation solely as a Navi before acquiring his other titles. As such, why does Parshas Shoftim feature the Navi last? One would think that the Navi's incredible authority would merit his being listed before the other positions in our parshah.

The simple answer is that a Navi does not really have an official public role. There are no special halachos pertaining to a Navi's official position; Nevi'im do not have any unique rights or different treatment in society; the involvement of Nevi'im in K'lal Yisroel has never been fixed and permanent, despite each Navi's greatness. (The halachos about defying a Navi and becoming a Navi Sheker relate to Nevu'ah, prophecy, and are not based on any formal status of the Navi as a person; such formal status is largely nonexistent, as the title “Navi” is descriptive and pragmatic, rather than inherent.) Thus, to answer our question, the lack of any official characteristics of the Navi's position and role would appear to be the reason that the Torah does not list him before the Sanhedrin, the Melech, and so forth.

However, upon closer examination, it seems that there may be more going on here with regard to the Navi. When the Torah introduces the concept of future Nevi'im, it states:

"There shall not be found among you someone who offers his children to Molech, nor a diviner, a soothsayer, an omen teller, nor one who practices witchcraft...for this is all an abomination to Hashem...You must be wholehearted with Hashem your God. For these nations which you drive out hearken to omen tellers and diviners, but Hashem your God has not permitted this to you. A Navi from your midst, from your brethren, like me, shall Hashem your God provide for you; you shall listen to him. In accordance with all that you requested from Hashem your God at Chorev, on the day of assemblage (when the Torah was given), saying, 'I cannot continue to hear the voice of Hashem my God, and this great fire I can no longer see, lest I die', and Hashem said to me, 'They have spoken well (to request that Moshe rather than Hashem recite the rest of the Aseres Ha-Dibros to them): I will provide them with a Navi from their brethren, like you, and I will place My words in his mouth, and he will speak unto the people all that I command him...' " (Devarim 18:10-19)

Of particular note in the above-quoted pesukim is that the source for the appointment of future Nevi'im is B'nei Yisroel's request that Moshe rather than Hashem relate the balance of the Aseres Ha-Dibros, whereupon Hashem committed to provide Nevi'im for the people just like He provided Moshe Rabbeinu as a Navi for them. Why does the Torah feature this historical context for the provision of future Nevi'im? How does the fact that Hashem committed to provide future Nevi'im when B'nei Yisroel requested that they hear the rest of the Aseres Ha-Dibros from Moshe relate to the role of the Navi as introduced in Parshas Shoftim?

A simplistic and superficial reading of the above-quoted pesukim may lead one to believe that their main intent is to instruct that rather than seeking predictions about the future from illegitimate sources, such as sorcery and divination, one must seek futuristic predictions only from Nevi'im. In other words, one might believe that the primary lesson from these verses in Parshas Shoftim is that the Navi is the only "kosher" venue for obtaining predictions about the future, rather than the impure and illegitimate predictors of the heathens.

In truth, however, these pesukim send a radically different message. In addition to the command to be wholehearted with Hashem, and His condemnation of the sorcery, divination and witchcraft of the heathens, thereby placing K'lal Yisroel on a totally different operational plane (and thus not merely indicating that instead of resorting to illegitimate forms of prophecy, one should use a Navi for futuristic predictions), by relating the basis for future Nevi'im back to B'nei Yisroel's request of Hashem at Sinai that Moshe convey the Divine Word to the people and be a conduit for the Revelation, the Torah establishes that the fundamental function of a Navi is to connect the people with Hashem's Word and Presence, as did Moshe at Sinai. The primary mandate of a Navi is not prediction of the future; rather, a Navi's main role is to be a conduit for revelation of the Shechinah and God's command, and in this capacity is the Navi likewise, as a secondary function, able to convey futuristic prophecies. Connection of B'nei Yisroel to the Ribono shel Olam and bringing His Presence and command to the people are the core functions of the Navi, in perpetuation of Moshe's role at Mattan Torah. This is why the precedent for future Nevi'im is rooted in the original Sinaitic Revelation and why the Torah specifically invokes that event as the basis for the role of the Navi throughout history. (See Ramban on Devarim 18:16, where he writes concerning the above pesukim serving as the source for nevu'ah as rooted at Sinai, "...and you will believe in the future Nevi'im, as you believe in me (Moshe), for thus did you request that the words of Hashem be with you..." The Ramban stresses that the significance of a Navi is that through the Navi, the words of Hashem are with the people, as elucidated above.)

The greatness of the Navi is his role as a conduit between the Shechinah and B'nei Yisroel, so that Hashem's Presence is always sensed in our midst, as it was at Sinai. This quality of the Navi cannot be quantified and is other-worldly. This is why, on a deeper level, the Navi is excluded from a normative place in our parshah’s list of those with official leadership  positions in Jewish society, such as the Shofet and the Melech, for the Navi operates in a different realm and on a wholly dissimilar plane.

Let us, through our Torah learning and tefillah, continue the mission of the Nevi'im of keeping a live, conscious connection with the Shechinah. As critical and incumbent upon us as Torah observance and the accoutrements of proper Jewish life are, we must always maintain an organic awareness of the Shechinah, of being in Hashem's presence, of His closeness and immanence; in the absence of a Beis Ha-Mikdash and Nevi'im, the particular methods to achieve these goals are focused Torah learning and heartfelt tefillah.