For another narrative of a heavenly ascent by the Ba’al Shem Tov, see “Unlocking the Gates of Heaven” in Gabriel’s Palace, pp. 205-207.
Sources:
Ben Porat Yosef; Sefer ha-Hasidut, pp. 73-77; Mikhtavim me-ha Besht ve-Talmidav; Sefer Margaliot. The Besht’s letter with notes by M. S. Bauminger is found on pp. 153-74.
Studies:
Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Baal Shem Tov by Moshe Rosman, pp. 97-113.
Jewish Mystical Testimonies, edited by Louis Jacobs, pp. 182-191.
BOOK FOUR
MYTHS OF HELL
As soon as one of the wicked dies, his soul is joined with the river of fire, and goes down to Gehenna with it.
Sha’ar ha-Gemul 79a
Moses ben Nachman
256. THE UNFINISHED CORNER OF CREATION
All of Creation had been completed except for the north corner of the world. God began to create it, but left it unfinished, saying, “Whoever declares himself to be God, let him come and finish this corner, and then all shall know he is a god.” There, in that unfinished corner, demons, winds, earthquakes, and evil spirits dwell, and from there they come forth to the world, as it is said, From the north shall disaster break loose (Jer. 1:14). When the Sabbath departs, great bands of evil spirits set out from there and roam the world.
Because of the cold north wind, the north was identified as the abode of evil spirits. This myth explains why—because that part of creation is unfinished. Here God makes a challenge to those who assert that they are divinities. The true test for a divinity is the ability to create a world. So God left one corner of the world unfinished, with the challenge that anyone who could finish it would indeed be a true god. Of course, the clear implication is that such a creation would be impossible.
Rabbi Moshe Hayim Luzzatto offers a different perspective about unfinished creation: “God began Creation but left it unfinished so that man could eventually bring it to completion” (Adir ba-Marom).
The Kotzker Rebbe said of this unfinished corner of creation: “One little corner—God left one little corner in darkness so that we may hide in it!”
Sources:
Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 3; Midrash Konen in Beit ha-Midrash 2:30;Sefer ha- Zikhronot 1:7; The Book of Jubilees 2:2; Zohar 1:14b; Siah Sarfei Kodesh; Or ha-Ganuz.
257. THE DARKNESS THAT EXISTED BEFORE CREATION
What happened to the darkness that existed before the creation of the world? Some say it is hidden in the seventh compartment of Gehenna. That compartment contains six nations of the world, but they cannot see each other on account of the darkness. The heretic Elisha ben Abuyah is said to reside there.
The description of darkness found in Genesis, the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep (Gen. 1:2), is quite ambiguous. Instead of stating that God created the darkness, the text seems to be saying that the darkness already existed—it was already upon the face of the deep. What is unclear is the meaning of darkness: whether it is to be understood as an absence of light, in the way that “unformed and void” suggests an absence. Or is darkness to be understood as a physical element, such as light? One possible answer to this question is given by Isaiah, who quotes God as saying, “I form light and create darkness” (Isa. 45:7). Here the difference depends on the word yotzer, “forming,” and borei, “creating.” The key here is that what God only forms, not creates, must have pre-existed. That, ultimately, may be the meaning of darkness was upon the face of the deep—the darkness was already there, a pre-existing element. This suggests a Gnostic view of the Creation, in which the Creator is something less than a supreme divinity. For another text with such Gnostic undertones, see “Light from the Temple,” p. 411.
Sources:
Sefer ha-Zikhronot 11:11.
258. THE BANISHMENT OF DUMAH
The angel Dumah was the celestial Prince of Egypt. When Moses said that God would exercise judgment against the gods of Egypt, Dumah ran away four hundred parasangs. Then God said to him: “It is My decree!” And at that moment Dumah’s power and dominion were taken away from him, and he was banished to the lower regions and appointed over the realms of Gehenna and the angels of destruction. Thus he serves as judge of all the souls of the wicked.
Dumah sees to it that the wicked are punished every day of the week, except for the Sabbath, when they are released. But at the close of the Sabbath Dumah casts their souls back into Gehenna, and their punishments begin anew.
This myth is clearly intended to parallel that of the fall of Lucifer. Just as Lucifer was an angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven, so here the angel Dumah rebels upon learning that God planned to defeat Egypt, since Dumah is the celestial prince of Egypt. And just as Lucifer is identified with the Devil and said to rule in hell, so too is Dumah assigned to rule over Gehenna, Jewish hell. Other sources identify the prince of Gehenna as Arsiel. Midrash ha-Ne’elam in Zohar Hadash 25a-b describes Arsiel as standing before the souls of the righteous to prevent them from praying for the wicked before God. He demands that they also be placed under his dominion so that he can take them down to the netherworld, as it is said, Let me have the souls (Gen. 14:21).
Although Lucifer’s fall is rooted in Jewish sources, the myth was primarily taken up in Christian lore, and the myths of Lucifer and the Devil became merged into one. See “The Fall of Lucifer,” p. 108.
Concerning the release of wicked souls on the Sabbath, see “Sabbath in Gehenna,” p. 238. For more on the angel Dumah, see “The Punishments of Gehenna,” p. 236. Because of his role as the angel in charge of Gehenna, Dumah is sometimes misidentified as the Angel of Death.
Sources:
Zohar, Exodus 2:8a; Pesikta Rabbati 23:8.
259. GOD’S PRISON
There is a dreadful abyss at the end of heaven and earth where there is no firmament of the heavens above, and no earth beneath it. Columns of heavenly fire fill the abyss, the smell of sulphur is everywhere, and around it there is a wasteland without water; with no birds to be seen.
This place is God’s prison for rebellious stars and fallen angels. In it are seven stars burning like great mountains as they roll over the fire of the abyss. Because they did not come forth at their appointed times, God has bound them in that place for ten thousand years.
There, too, are imprisoned the fallen angels who deceived mankind into making sacrifices to demons as if they were gods, and those who went astray with the daughters of men and defiled them.
This bleak abyss, a kind of protohell, holds seven stars that transgressed God’s command to come forth, as well as fallen angels who have been imprisoned. This is one of the places shown to Enoch in 1 Enoch. For more on the mythic account of the fallen angels see “The Watchers,” p. 457.
Sources:
1 Enoch 17:9-16, 67:4-7.
260. ADAM AND THE DEMONS
After the expulsion from Eden, Adam was so filled with grief that he separated from his wife, Eve, for one hundred and thirty years. What did Adam do for so long? Some say that he repented for a hundred and thirty years by standing in the River Gihon until the waters reached up to his neck, and he fasted until his body became as wrinkled as seaweed.
Others say that female demons swarmed around Adam and inflamed him, until they succeeded in seducing him. In this way Adam begot mutant demons, both male and female, who were half human and half-demonic. At the same time, male demons were inflamed by Eve and seduced by her, and she too gave birth to a great many demons.
Some say it was Lilith, Adam’s first wife, who found him alone and lay down by his side, and thus were begotten myriads of demons, spirits, and imps. Others say it was not Lilith, but her sister, Na’amah, who found Adam there.
When God saw how Adam had turned away from Eve, He put desire for her back into Adam’s heart. And when, at last, Adam and Eve were reunited, she bore Seth, who, unlike Cain, was the very image of Adam, as it is said, When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he begot
a son in his likeness after his image, and he named him Seth (Gen. 5:3).
This strange legend about Adam being seduced by female demons, and Eve seducing male ones grows out of the biblical verse When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he begot a son in his likeness after his image, and he named him Seth (Gen. 5:3). Since the statement of the birth of Seth follows the mention of 130 years, the rabbis assumed that Adam must have withdrawn from Eve for that long.
Various explanations are given for Adam’s separation from Eve. Some attribute it to their expulsion from Eden and Adam’s realization that death had been decreed against the world on his account, while other sources link it to Adam’s grief over the death of Abel.
There are also contradictory myths explaining what happened to Adam during the 130 years. One tells us that Adam repented by standing in the River Gihon, and the other assumes that his sexual desire was as great as ever, making him vulnerable to female demons, while male demons impregnated Eve. The demons that Adam and Eve give birth to are called mazikim. These mazikim and their demonic consorts account for the proliferation of demons. The Zohar (3:76b) attributes heavenly beauty to the daughters of Adam who were conceived in this way. The reference to Seth being in the image of Adam, and some texts say, the seed of Adam, while Cain was not, refers to the midrash that attributes Cain’s conception to intercourse between Eve and the serpent, making Cain the son of the serpent. See “The Seed of Cain,” p. 448.
This myth about Adam echoes the Greek myth of Tantalus, who was punished for his crimes by having to stand in a river up to his neck. There he is consumed by hunger and thirst. There is a nearby tree, with a branch he could reach, that bears every kind of fruit. But if he reaches for it, it pulls away. Likewise, he tries to drink from the river, but as soon as he reaches for it, the water subsides. From this punishment comes the term “tantalize.” Note that the Greek myth focuses the torment on food and water, while the Jewish myth focuses on sexual issues. See Greek Myths by Robert Graves, 108d.
Sources:
B. Eruvin 18b; Genesis Rabbah 20:11, 22:11, 24:6; Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 20; Midrash Tanhuma, Bereshit 26; Sefer ha-Zikhronot 13:1; Zohar 1:19b, 1:55a, 3:76b; Ein Gor Sheyne Tkhine.
Studies:
The Hebrew Goddess by Raphael Patai.
Jewish Magic and Superstition by Joshua Tractenberg.
261. ADAM AND LILITH
When God created Adam and saw that he was alone, He created a woman from dust, like him, and named her Lilith. But when God brought her to Adam, they immediately began to fight. Adam wanted her to lie beneath him, but Lilith insisted that he lie below her. When Lilith saw that they would never agree, she uttered God’s Name and flew into the air and fled from Adam. Then Adam prayed to his Creator, saying, “Master of the Universe, the woman you gave me has already left me.” So God called upon three angels, Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof, to bring her back. God said, “Go and fetch Lilith. If she agrees to go back, fine. If not, bring her back by force.”
The angels left at once and caught up with Lilith, who was living in a cave by the Red Sea, in the place where Pharaoh’s army would drown. They seized her and said, “Your maker has commanded you to return to your husband at once. If you agree to come with us, fine; if not, we’ll drown one hundred of your demonic offspring every day.”
Lilith said, “Go ahead. But don’t you know that I was created to strangle newborn infants, boys before the eighth day and girls before the twentieth? Let’s make a deal. Whenever I see your names on an amulet, I will have no power over that infant.” When the angels saw that was the best they would get from her, they agreed, so long as one hundred of her demon children perished every day.
That is why one hundred of Lilith’s demon offspring perish daily, and that is why the names of the three angels are written on the amulets hung above the beds of newborn children. And when Lilith sees the names of the angels, she remembers her oath, and she leaves those children alone.
The haunting legend of Lilith finds its source in the rabbinic commentary on the biblical passage Male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27). It appeared to the rabbis that this passage contradicted the sequential creation of Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:21-22). Therefore they attempted to resolve this contradiction by saying that Male and female He created them referred to Adam’s first wife, whom they named Lilith, while Eve, who was created later, was Adam’s second wife. They chose the name Lilith from Isaiah 34:14, where Lilith is mentioned (Yea, Lilith shall repose there), in what is believed to be a reference to a Babylonian night demoness.
Even though Lilith seems to leap fully formed out of a line in the Bible, it is likely that the legend was already told among the Jewish people, and that the rabbis sought out a text to attach it to. In any case, the mythological figure of Lilith almost certainly finds its origin in other cultures of the Ancient Near East. Lilith’s role as a seducer of men is likely to have been based on the Babylonian night demon Lilitu, a succubus who seduces men in their sleep, while Lilith’s role as a child slayer may well derive from the Babylonian demon Lamashtu. It is interesting to note that the roles of Lilitu and Lamashtu became blurred together, and Lilith took on the roles of both seducer and child slayer.
Having brought a powerful figure such as Lilith into being, the rabbis felt compelled to recount her entire history. In this case, the legend began to grow quite extensive. The first complete version of it is found in Alpha Beta de-Ben Sira, dating from the ninth century in North Africa, the primary source of the myth.
Here Adam and Lilith are described as having been created at the same time, and having fought over everything from the first. They had a final confrontation over the question of the missionary position. Adam insisted on it; Lilith refused, preferring the opposite, with the female dominant. When they couldn’t agree, Lilith pronounced the secret Name of God, the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, which has remarkable supernatural powers, and flew out of the Garden of Eden and landed on the shore of the Red Sea. There Lilith took up residence in a nearby cave and took for lovers all the demons who lived there, while Adam, left alone, complained to God that his woman had left him. God sent the three angels to command Lilith to return. She refused, and they threatened to kill 100 of her demon offspring daily. Lilith still refused to return; she was never very maternal.
When Lilith offers a compromise, the myth takes a strange turn. She tells the angels that she was created to strangle children, boys before the eighth day and girls before the twentieth. But if a woman carried an amulet with the words “Out Lilith!” on it, along with the names of the angels, she would leave that woman and her children alone. What is really occurring is that another myth is being fused to the first, while the issue of Lilith’s return to Adam is simply dropped. This second myth concerns Lilith’s role as a child-destroying witch. Indeed, it is possible that a myth concerning another demoness has been incorporated into that of Lilith. In all likelihood, we can identify this demoness as Obyzouth, who is invoked by King Solomon in the first century text The Testament of Solomon. The king commands her to describe herself, and Obyzouth tells how she seeks to strangle children. Furthermore, she reveals that she can be thwarted by the angel Raphael and by women who write her name on an amulet, for then she will flee from them to the other world. What appears to be taking place is that the demoness Lilith, who up to this point had been concerned with issues of independence and sexuality, here takes on a new aspect from Obyzouth, that of the child-destroying witch, by a process of mythic absorption. Why did this happen? Probably because Lilith became such a dominant mythic figure that she absorbed the roles of the lesser known demoness. This likely occurred very early, between the first and third centuries, and Lilith has played a powerful dual role ever since in Jewish folklore and superstition. See “The Night Demoness,” p. 223.
So it is that Lilith is regarded both as a witch determined to strangle children and as the incarnation of lust. In her role as a witch, Lilith’s actions provided an explanation for the terrible plague
of infant mortality. Use of amulets against Lilith was widespread and is still considered necessary in some ultra-Orthodox Jewish circles. Only a generation ago grandmothers often tied red ribbons on a child’s bed. These ribbons symbolically represented the amulet against Lilith and served the same purpose.
The text of this amulet against Lilith is taken from Sefer Raziel. The amulet against Lilith has been found in archeological digs dating back 1,500 years. The traditional use of such amulets against Lilith was widespread, and visitors to the ultra-Orthodox Mea She’arim section of Jerusalem will even today find protective amulets against Lilith available for purchase. Both the text and even the primitive drawings on the ancient amulet are still in use. See “A Spell to Banish Lilith,” p. 218, for the text.
Sources:
Alpha Beta de-Ben Sira 5.
Studies:
Rabbinic Fantasies: Imaginative Narratives from Classical Hebrew Literature, edited by David Stern and Mark Mirsky.
The Hebrew Goddess by Raphael Patai, pp. 221-254.
“Notes on the Testament of Solomon” by H. M. Jackson.
262. LILITH RISES FROM THE DEEP
From the crevice of the deep there came a certain evil female spirit whose name was Lilith. She had been condemned to imprisonment deep beneath the waves. But God’s anger at the time of the Fall was so great that God decided to let Lilith go. So the dark Lilith, also known as the First Eve, was set free. She hides during the day in caves and other dark places. But at night she is free to roam the world.
Tree of Souls Page 54