According to Siddur Sha’ar Shamayim, Tzadkiel is the name of the good angel, and the evil angel is Samael, the Evil One. In the present story, Hayim Vital invokes the angel, which he must view in a mirror, as is customary, as divine beings cannot be seen face to face. The angel confirms that heaven regards him as a Tzaddik, but urges him to use his powers to cause others to repent, suggesting that Vital’s failure to do so has caused the soul of the Ari, his master, to keep his distance after death. Note that this tale emphasizes the almost messianic role in which Hayim Vital viewed himself while acknowledging some failure on his part to inspire others to repent.
Sources:
Sefer ha-Hezyonot 1:23; Shivhei Rabbi Hayim Vital p. 66; Siddur Sha’ar Shamayim.
248. THE ANGEL OF RAIN
The Angel of Rain encompasses all miracles. Resembling an ox whose lip has been split open, this angel stands between the Deep and the Deep. That is the meaning of Deep calls to deep (Ps. 42:8). The Angel of Rain stands between these two Deeps and brings about miracles both above and below.
The concept of the Deep, tehom, first appears in Genesis 1:2: Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the Deep. According to Exodus Rabbah 5:9, there are upper miracles, which correspond to the Upper Deep, and lower miracles, which correspond to the Lower Deep. Just as rain fertilizes the earth and makes it possible for things to grow, so the Angel of Rain facilitates miracles above and below.
The Angel of Rain is referred to as B’ree in Job 26:7.
Sources:
B. Ta’anit 25b; Likutei Moharan 7:1.
249. GOD CHANGES THE ROLES OF THE ANGELS
Before the enemy came, Jeremiah warned the people to repent so they would not have to go into exile. But the people said, “If the enemy comes, what can they do to us? By invoking the aid of one of the celestial princes we can surround the city with a wall of water, and by invoking the aid of another, we can surround it with a wall of fire, while another angel will surround it with a wall of iron.”
Hearing this, God said, “They would avail themselves of My angelic host.” So God changed the roles of the angels, setting the angel who had dominion over water to have dominion over fire, and the one who had dominion over fire to have dominion over iron. So that when the names of the angels were invoked, they did not respond, for they had been removed from control of those elements.
This myth expands on the verses: He has brought low in dishonor the kingdom and its leaders (Lam. 2:2) and So I profaned the holy princes (Isa. 43:28). Here the princes are understood to refer to the celestial princes, especially those that are in charge of elements such as fire and water. This should be regarded as a polemical myth, opposing the use of (and dependence on) the invocation of the names of angels to accomplish magical goals. For other examples of polemic myths, see “Adam the Last and First,” p. 129 and “Jacob’s Image Cast Out of Heaven,” p. 368. For one of the best examples of a polemic myth see “The Homunculus of Maimonides,” p. 284.
Sources:
Lamentations Rabbah 2:5.
250. THE CREATION OF THE ANGEL OF DEATH
Some say that the only thing created on the first day of creation was the Angel of Death. How do we know this? By the word “darkness” in the verse Darkness was over the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). But others say that when God created the world, there was no Angel of Death.
So when was the Angel of Death created? Some say it was at the time of the sin of Adam and Eve, for the serpent was the Angel of Death, and it caused death for the entire world. But others say that the Angel of Death did not come into being until Cain slew Abel, for until then no one had died, and there was no need for such an angel. Then God transformed Cain into the Angel of Death, as punishment for having slain his brother, and that is how the Angel of Death came into being.
Cain served as the Angel of Death for one hundred and thirty years, wandering and roaming about, accursed. After the death of Cain, Lamech took his place as the Angel of Death.
This myth attempts to determine when the Angel of Death was created based on the appropriate biblical episode. Because the serpent in the Garden of Eden led Adam and Eve into a sin that brought about mortality, it is identified in the Zohar as the Angel of Death. (Zohar 1:35b also identifies the serpent as Satan and as the Yetzer ha-Ra, the Evil Impulse that entices a person to sin and afterward rises up before the heavenly court to accuse the sinner.) Likewise, because Cain was the first murderer, Midrash Tanhuma identifies him as becoming transformed into the Angel of Death. Cain’s descendent, Lamech, who was said to have accidentally slain Cain, is also identified as one who took on the mantle of the Angel of Death. See “The Death of Cain,” p. 451.
Sources:
B. Avodah Zarah 22b; Genesis Rabbah 21:5; Exodus Rabbah 30:3, 38:2; Numbers Rabbah 23:13; Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu, Bereshit 11; Zohar 1:35b; Me’am Lo’ez Bereshit 1:5.
251. RABBI JOSHUA BEN LEVI AND THE ANGEL OF DEATH
When the time came for Rabbi Joshua ben Levi to die, God told the Angel of Death to go to him and grant any request he might make. When the Angel of Death revealed himself to him, Rabbi Joshua said, “Show me my place in the Garden of Eden.” The Angel of Death agreed to take him there, but Rabbi Joshua said, “Give me your sword. I am afraid you may frighten me or kill me on the way.” So the Angel of Death gave him his sword.
When they arrived at the Garden of Eden, they sat on the wall of the Garden of Eden and the angel showed him his place there. Suddenly Rabbi Joshua jumped down from the wall into the Garden of Eden, taking the angel’s sword with him. The angel demanded that he give the sword back, but Rabbi Joshua swore that he would not. At that moment a heavenly voice went forth and said, “Give him back his sword. Otherwise he cannot perform his duty.” So Rabbi Joshua gave the sword back.
This is a very famous talmudic legend about Rabbi Joshua ben Levi. Because he was so pious, God directed the Angel of Death to treat him with special consideration, so when Rabbi Joshua asked to see his heavenly reward, the angel took him to the Garden of Eden. Rabbi Joshua then tricked the angel by jumping into the Garden (thus entering the World to Come without dying) and stealing the angel’s sword, without which he would be unable to perform his assigned task of slaying the living when their time comes to take leave of this world. Rabbi Joshua’s behavior may seem childish, but his intention—to spare the living the pain of death—can certainly be seen to be admirable. By entering the Garden of Eden in this manner, Rabbi Joshua becomes one of the few people in rabbinic literature who were said to have entered Paradise alive.
Derekh Eretz Zuta 1 lists nine who were said to enter Paradise alive. The list includes Enoch, Elijah, the Messiah, Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, Hiram, king of Tyre, Ebed Melech, the Ethiopian, Jaabez, the son of Rabbi Yehudah ha-Nagid, Bitiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, and Serah bat Asher. Note that this list does not include Moses, who is said to have ascended into heaven alive, Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, or the four sages who were said to have entered Paradise, Rabbi Akiba, Shimon ben Azzai, Shimon ben Zoma, and Aher (Elisha ben Abuyah). See “The Ascent of Moses,” p. 261 and “The Four Who Entered Paradise,” p. 173.
Gershon Winkler reports hearing a version of the story of Rabbi Joshua and the Angel of Death in which Rabbi Joshua made the angel promise never to show his terrifying face—said to be full of eyes (B. AZ 20b)—when coming to take a soul, and only then did he return the angel’s sword.
See “The Messiah in Hell,” p. 241, which describes Rabbi Joshua ben Levi’s subsequent visit to Gehenna after his visit to Paradise.
Sources:
B. Ketubot 77b; B. Avodah Zarah 20b; IFA 3643, where the rabbi is Hanina ben Dosa instead of Joshua ben Levi; oral version recorded by Gershon Winkler.
252. RABBI LOEW AND THE ANGEL OF DEATH
One night, not long before the Holy Days were to begin, Rabbi Loew glimpsed a light in the synagogue across the way, and he wondered who might be there at that hour. He left his house, and as he approached th
e synagogue he saw through the window a strange figure standing at the pulpit. The closer Rabbi Loew came, the more sinister did the figure seem, and suddenly Rabbi Loew realized who it was—the Angel of Death—and at the same time he came close enough to see the angel sharpening a knife over a long scroll on which many names were written. Rabbi Loew was pierced with terror and resisted a powerful impulse to run away. But a moment later he became calm and self-possessed, and he knew what he had to do. As silently as possible he opened the door of the synagogue and came up behind the dreaded angel. All at once he snatched the long list out of the angel’s hands, tearing it away from him, and ran from the synagogue to his home, where he threw the list into the flames and watched until every scrap of it had burned to ashes.
Now the plague had begun to spread in the city, and that was the list of victims the Angel of Death had come to take in one fell swoop. Now only those on the piece of the list left in his hands fell victim to him; all the rest were spared. But among those on the list was Rabbi Loew, and it was he, above all, whom the deadly angel was determined to capture.
Rabbi Loew, who could read the lines of the future, knew that the angel would try to snatch him to seek revenge. But Rabbi Loew used his powers to avoid the angel, much as King David had done, studying Torah day and night. For the Angel of Death is forbidden to take a man while he is engaged in the study of Torah. Yet even so, the angel found a ruse by which to capture him. He hid in a rose of great beauty that grew in the garden of Rabbi Loew’s grandson. One day the boy picked the rose as a gift for his grandfather, and as he held it in his hands to present to Rabbi Loew, the rabbi perceived the presence of the dark angel, hidden in the rose. Then he did not hesitate, but accepted the gift from his grandson, for he knew that if he did not, the boy’s life would be endangered. But no sooner did Rabbi Loew take it in his hand than the Angel of Death struck him like a serpent and snatched his soul.
The most famous tale of an encounter with the Angel of Death is that of King David, found in the Talmud. Here David learns that he is fated to die on a Sabbath. Knowing that the Angel of Death is forbidden to snatch a man while he is studying, David spends every Sabbath immersed in study. In frustration the Angel of Death creates a ruse by shaking a tree outside his study, and when David goes out to investigate, the angel snatches his life (B. Shab. 30a-b). A common theme found in folklore is that of the snake hidden in a rose, who bites the one who picks it. Such a theme is found in “The Princess and the Rose” in the medieval collection Sefer Sha’ashuim.
Another key legend of an encounter with the Angel of Death is found in the pseudepigraphal text The Testament of Abraham. Here the Angel of Death disguises himself as a young man of mild appearance, but reveals his true appearance when Abraham demands it. The description of its terrible face is one of the most horrible to be found anywhere. It is such a face that overwhelms the father and mother in “The Bridegroom and the Angel of Death” in Hibbur ha-Ma’asiyot ve-ha-Midrashot ve-ha-Aggadot. In this story, the next of kin of the bridegroom all offer to take his place to spare him being snatched by the Angel of Death, until the moment of truth, when all back out, except for the bride, who so impresses God with her willingness to die that both bride and bridegroom are spared. See “The Bridegroom and the Angel of Death” in Gabriel’s Palace, pp. 162-164.
A major study of the legends of the Angel of Death was undertaken by Haim Schwarzbaum in the last years of his life. Professor Dov Noy tells the story that he once asked Schwarzbaum why it was taking him so long to finish his book on the Angel of Death. Schwarzbaum replied that he believed the Angel of Death would prefer to take him after he had finished the book, and that is why he was taking his time. Unfortunately, he died before the book was completed.
Sources:
Die Legenden der Juden; Die Wundermanner im Judischen Volk.
253. THE HEAVENLY COURT
God does nothing without consulting the Heavenly Court, as it is said, This sentence is decreed by the Watchers; this verdict is commanded by the Holy Ones (Dan. 4:14). Nor does a day pass when God does not pass a new law in the Heavenly Court. For every day God creates new rules and regulations for the guidance of humankind.
It is not clear who are the members of the Heavenly Court. They may be identified with the Council of Souls. See “The Council of Souls,” p. 160. Psalm 89:7-8 depicts God as the head of a council of other gods, which may be the origin of the heavenly court. The heavenly court may also be identified, through the verse from Daniel 4:14, with the Watchers. The identities of all three groups, the Heavenly Court, the Council of Souls and the Watchers seem to intersect and blur. However, in the pseudepigraphic Enoch literature the Watchers are identified with a group of rebellious angels. According to Rabbi Hayim of Volozhin, the judges of the heavenly court are the Tzaddikim of their generation, since angels cannot understand how a person can sin (Etz ha-Hayim 150).
Sources:
B. Sanhedrin 38a; Etz ha-Hayim 150.
254. THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN
When Manasseh reigned as king over Jerusalem, he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Chron. 33:6). But when Manasseh was carried away to Babylon bound in fetters, he humbled himself before the Lord and prayed to Him.
Now all the ministering angels went and closed the windows of heaven, so that the prayer of Manasseh should not reach God.
God replied, “If I do not accept him as a penitent, I shall lock the door before all who would repent.” Then what did God do? He made an opening through the heavens under His Throne of Glory and heard Manasseh’s supplication and received his entreaty, and brought him back to Jerusalem.
This myth emphasizes the power of repentance, even for those who have committed terrible sins. The mythical imagery found here is quite amazing—God makes an opening in heaven, reaches down and picks Manasseh up and carries him from Babylon to Jerusalem.
A similarly surprising tradition about repentance is found concerning Cain. An encounter is reported in Genesis Rabbah 22:13 between Adam and Cain many years after Cain was punished. “How did your case go?” Adam asked. “I repented and am reconciled,” replied Cain. Hearing this, Adam struck his face, crying, “So great is the power of repentance, and I did not know!” Then he arose and exclaimed, It is a good thing to make confession unto the Lord (Ps. 92:1).
Sources:
Y. Sanhedrin 10:2.
255. THE BA’AL SHEM TOV ASCENDS ON HIGH
On Rosh ha-Shanah of 5507 [1746] the Ba’al Shem Tov made an adjuration, pronounced a holy name, and ascended on high. In the vision that followed, he saw wondrous things that he had never seen before, and he learned things that words cannot express.
First he reached the Garden of Eden, where the souls of the righteous pass on their way to Paradise. There he saw many souls, some known to him and some unknown, and he discovered that it was a special time of grace. Many wicked people had repented, and their sins had been forgiven. It was wondrous for him to see how many were accepted as penitents. They were in a state of great rapture, and were about to ascend on high.
All of them entreated the Ba’al Shem Tov to ascend with them, to be their guide, and because of their great joy, he resolved to ascend together with them. But he knew there were great dangers involved in ascending into the highest heavens, so he called upon his teacher, the prophet Ahijah, to accompany him. All of them entered the column in the Garden of Eden that serves as a path to Paradise and began their ascent.
As they journeyed on high, the Ba’al Shem Tov led those souls through the hidden palaces of heaven, one after another. All the mysteries of heaven are concealed in those palaces, as well as all the treasuries of heaven.
The Ba’al Shem Tov rose from rung to rung until he reached the palace of the Messiah in the highest heaven. There the Messiah teaches Torah with all the sages and saints and the Seven Shepherds. They greeted him with such great rejoicing that he was afraid that his soul had taken leave of the world, but they assured him that the time had not come for his sou
l to depart from his body. At last he asked the Messiah, “When will my Master come?” And the Messiah replied, “When your teachings are known in the world, and others are capable of ascending on high like you.”
This account, from a famous letter attributed to the Ba’al Shem Tov (ca. 1700-1760), describes a heavenly ascent on Rosh ha-Shanah 5507 (September 1746). Rosh ha-Shanah, the New Year, is the traditional Day of Judgment when God decides people’s fate. See “The Book of Life and the Book of Death,” p. 289.
This letter was said to have been written by the Ba’al Shem Tov to his brother-inlaw, Rabbi Abraham Gershon of Kittov, when the latter was in the Land of Israel. It is one of the only examples of writings by the Ba’al Shem Tov. In Ben Porat Yosef, where the letter was first published, the author, Rabbi Yakov Yosef of Polnoye (1704-1784), stated that the Ba’al Shem Tov gave him the letter to deliver to his brother-in-law, Rabbi Gershon. But Rabbi Yakov Yosef was unable to make the journey to the Holy Land, and therefore the letter remained with him. This indicates the authenticity of the letter.
One of the Ushpizin, as the Seven Shepherds are known, is said to visit a righteous man’s sukkah on each of the nights of Sukkot—if properly invited. There are varying lists of the identities of the Seven Shepherds. According to Micah 5:4 and B. Sukkah 52b, they are Adam, Seth, Methuselah, David, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. According to the Zohar (3:103b-104a), they are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, together with Moses, Aaron, and Joseph, plus King David. The Ba’al Shem Tov does not specify the names of the Seven Shepherds he encounters, but they are likely to be the list of those found in the Zohar, where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron and Joseph each represent one of the sefirot from Hesed to Yesod. See “The Seven Shepherds,” p. 299.
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