But as soon as Israel sinned through the golden calf, twice as many destroying angels descended and snatched those crowns away.
It is deduced that the angels know the secret of first doing and then listening because of the verse, Bless the Lord, O His angels, mighty creatures who do His bidding, ever hearkening to His bidding; bless the Lord, all His hosts, His servants who do His will (Ps. 103:20). Here, they first fulfill, then hearken.
In Likutei Moharan 1:22 Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav interprets “do” to refer to the Revealed Torah (or Written Torah) and “listen” to refer to the Hidden Torah (or Oral Torah).
Sources:
B. Shabbat 88a.
348. THE PRINCE OF THE TORAH
After the return to Zion, the people set about rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. But they soon discovered that because of the effort required to rebuild the Temple, they no longer had time to study Torah, as God required of them. For God said, “You are to occupy yourselves with My Chosen House, and discussion of the Torah is never to leave your lips.” Yet it seemed impossible to do both at the same time.
When the builders complained to God about this, God first chastised them for not having studied more when they were in exile, depriving Him of hearing words of Torah from their lips. But then God informed the angels that He intended to reveal the secret of the Sar ha-Torah to the builders. With this secret, it was possible to acquire knowledge of the Torah and its secrets in a short time, without fear of forgetting them.
When the angels heard this, they pleaded with God not to reveal this secret. “Do not make flesh and blood equal to us. Let them labor in the Torah as they have for generations. If You reveal this secret to Your children, the small will be like the great, the fool like the wise man.”
But God dismissed the opinion of the angels and God Himself descended into the Temple as it was being built. When the builders saw the Throne of Glory hovering above the altar, with the King of the World on it, they fell upon their faces. Then God said, “My children, why are you prostrating yourselves? Rise and sit before My throne the way you sit in an academy, and learn the secret of how to lift up the paths of your mind to gaze into the Torah.” Thus did God reveal to the builders the secret of how to call upon the Sar ha-Torah, the Prince of the Torah.
This secret was first revealed to Moses, who used it to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. Knowledge of this secret makes it possible to bring the Prince of the Torah down from on high by magical means, by the use of holy names, in order to reveal how to acquire vast knowledge of the Torah. After that the builders were able to busy themselves with building the Temple, and nonetheless the Torah did not depart from their lips.
Rabbi Ishmael said of these builders: “Our fathers refused to set one stone on another in the Lord’s temple until they convinced the King of the World and his servants to reveal to them the secret of the Torah.”
Sar ha-Torah is the Prince of the Torah, who is the Angel of the Torah. The angel’s name is Yefefiah. The tradition concerning this angel states that when invoked, the angel reveals the secret of how to learn the Torah in one sitting. There is a series of accounts about those who invoked the Sar ha-Torah. But the primary myth concerns the inability of the builders of the Second Temple in Jerusalem to find time to study Torah. Here God Himself descends into the newly built Temple and reveals the secret of the Sar ha-Torah. The builders invoke the angel, rapidly learn the Torah, and this provides a reward both for God, Who revels in their study, and for themselves.
In the text of Sar ha-Torah, God makes an assertion about those desiring ever more extensive teachings of the Torah: “I know what you want. You desire a great deal of Torah and much Talmud and many oral traditions. You crave My many secrets.” Normally, it takes a lifetime of study to master the extensive traditions linked to the Torah, but through the miracle of the secret of the Prince of the Torah, it becomes possible to master this intricate study in a single sitting. This must have been a common fantasy among the students of the Torah.
Sources:
Sar ha-Torah in Hekhalot Rabbati, #281-306; Hekhalot Zutartei.
Studies:
The Faces of the Chariot by David J. Halperin, pp. 376-386, 427-446. The Ancient Jewish Mysticism by Joseph Dan, pp. 139-167.
“‘Like the Ministering Angels’: Ritual and Purity in Early Jewish Mysticism and Magic” by Michael Swartz.
349. STUDYING THE TORAH
It is said about Rabbi Yonathan ben Uziel that when he was engaged in Torah study, every bird that flew over him was immediately burned up.
When Rabbi Eleazar ben Arakh studied the Torah, fire descended from heaven and surrounded him. Angels danced as at a wedding party, and trees burst into song.
Once, when Ben Azzai was studying Torah, there was a flame surrounding him. They asked: “Are you perhaps engaged in the study of the Mysteries of the Chariot?” He replied: “No, I am but finding in the Torah parallels to the Prophets, and in the Prophets parallels to the Aggadah. And the words of the Torah are joyful even as they were on the day they were given at Sinai, and they were originally given in fire, as it is said, The mountain was ablaze with flames” (Deut. 4:11).
So too is a tale told of a devout man who died and appeared to his wife in a dream. His hair and beard were all lit up like a great torch. His wife realized that he had been welcomed as a saint on high, and she said, “What have you done to be worthy of this?” He told her, “I tried to speak only of matters of the Torah, for God watches over those who devote themselves to Torah and speak as little as possible about anything else.”
Thus it is said that when one is properly engaged in Torah, those words of Torah ascend on high, and they are hidden away in the Garden of Eden. And when God enters the Garden to delight in the righteous, those words are brought before Him, and He gazes at them and rejoices.
While the subject that Rabbi Yonathan ben Uziel was studying is not given, both Rabbi Eleazar ben Arakh and Ben Azzai are linked to study of Ma’aseh Merkavah, the Mysteries of the Chariot. There is a considerable number of stories about rabbis who have miraculous experiences linked to study of these mysteries.
Sources:
Y. Hagigah 2:1; B. Hagigah 14b; B. Sukkah 28a; Leviticus Rabbah 16:4; Genizah fragment from Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai; Kav ha-Yashar chap. 12; Zohar 1:243a.
Studies:
The Faces of the Chariot by David J. Halperin.
350. THE BOY WHO READ THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL
There once was a certain child of exceptional understanding who read the Book of Ezekiel in his teacher’s house. He contemplated the meaning of the word hashmal. He comprehended the true meaning of the word hashmal in the passage, I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the north—a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance; and in the center of it, in the center of the fire, a gleam as of amber (hashmal) (Ezek. 1:4). At that instant a fire went forth and consumed him.
This is a talmudic warning tale about the dangers of studying mystical texts, especially the Book of Ezekiel. It highlights the mystery of the term hashmal in Ezekiel 1:4 and underscores that the dangers of mystical study particularly apply to children.
Sources:
B. Hagigah 13a.
Studies:
Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition by Gershom Scholem. The Faces of the Chariot by David J. Halperin.
351. THE TWO TORAHS
There are two Torahs: the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. It is said that God dictated the Torah to Moses during the day, and at night He explained it to him. These explanations constitute the Oral Torah.
Moses wanted to write down the whole Torah, but God told him that only certain parts could be written down, while other parts had to remain oral.
All of the Torah had to be revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai so that no one could claim that only a part of the Torah had been given at the outset. But due to the immensity of all that Moses had to remember, at first he had less than total recall. Ho
wever, as his body became more and more subordinate to his soul over the forty days and nights, Moses became capable of absorbing all of the Oral Torah without forgetting any part of it.
Midrash Tehillim explains that Moses knew it was day when God instructed him in the Written Law, and he knew it was night when God instructed him in the Oral Law.
Rabban Gamliel was asked: “How many Torahs were given to Israel?” He answered, “Two, one in the mouth and one in writing.”
In Avot de-Rabbi Natan 15, a tale is recounted of a man who came separately to Shammai and Hillel and asked how many Torahs there were. Each of them replied, “Two, one written and one oral.” The man said he was prepared to accept the written Torah but not the oral one. Shammai rebuked the man. Hillel sat him down and explained that even as he had accepted that the aleph of the alphabet was aleph and that the bet was bet, so he had to accept both the written and oral Torahs in good faith.
In Likutei Moharan, Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav explains that in each generation there are new revelations of the Torah. Some of these should be written down, while others should only be taught orally. To this day, there are teachers of the Torah who limit some of their esoteric teachings to oral explanations that are not supposed to be written down.
Jacob Neusner uses the term “Dual Torah” instead of “the two Torahs,” and this usage has become widely accepted.
Sources:
B. Shabbat 31a;Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 46; Avot de-Rabbi Natan 15; Rabbi Moshe Alshekh on Exodus 31:18; Sifre on Deuteronomy 351; Midrash Tehillim 19:7; Y. Peah 2:4;Midrash ha-Gadol, Deuteronomy 764; Likutei Moharan 2:28.
Studies:
“From Theosophy to Midrash: Lurianic Exegesis and the Garden of Eden” by Shaul Magid.
352. THE GIVING OF THE SONG OF SONGS
Some say that the Song of Songs was given at the Red Sea at the time that the waters parted, at the time the heavens opened and all the secrets of heaven were revealed. Then, it is said, a maidservant saw at the sea things that were not seen by the prophet Ezekiel. It is also said that the whole world existed for the day on which the Song of Songs was given.
Others say that the Song of Songs was given on Mount Sinai, together with the Torah, and that God Himself, not King Solomon, is the true author, and it was God who gave it to His people.
Defending the inclusion of the Song of Songs in the Bible, Rabbi Akiba said, “All the books of the Bible are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.” Here the Song of Songs is described as being revealed in a revelation at the Red Sea that is parallel to that at Mount Sinai. In each case heaven opened and its secrets in the form of the Torah or here, the Song of Songs, were revealed. Note that the parting of the
Red Sea is the second most important revelation in Jewish history, the first being the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. This directly implies that the Song of Songs is the holiest book of the Bible after the Torah.
The alternate version presents the Song of Songs as even holier, in that it is said to have been given along with the Torah at Mount Sinai, and disputes the tradition that King Solomon was its author by stating that the true author was none other than God Himself. Both versions of this myth emphasize the unimaginable holiness of the Song of Songs and counter any resistance to it as merely a collection of erotic love poems.
Sources:
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:11.
353. THE ORIGIN OF THE SHEMA
When the hour drew near for Jacob to take leave of this world, he called his sons together and said to them, “Do you have any doubts that God spoke and the world came into being?” They replied, “Hear, O Israel, our father. Just as you have no doubts that God spoke and the world came into being, so too do we have no doubts. Surely, The Lord, our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). That is why it is still said, to this day, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” And that is how the prayer of the Shema was created.
This legendary explanation for the origin of the Shema builds on the fact that “Israel” refers both to Jacob, who became Israel, and to the people Israel. Usually “Hear, O Israel” is understood to refer to the people Israel, but since Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, the opening phrase of the Shema, “Hear, O Israel” can be understood to be directed to the patriarch Jacob/Israel as well as to the people Israel. Since his sons add “our father,” there can be no question that they are directing their words to Jacob. This same kind of double reference for “Israel” is found in Genesis 49:2: Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel, your father.
In the version of the origin of the Shema found in Deuteronomy Rabbah, Jacob’s concern is that his sons not be idol worshippers. So he called all his sons to his bed and said, “Hear your father, Israel, and worship God, whom your father worships.” They answered, “Hear, O Israel, our father, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Both versions draw on the double meaning of Israel both as Jacob and as the people of Israel.
The first verse of the Shema, from Deuteronomy 6:4, reads: Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Ehad, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” The Shema is the primary proclamation of belief in Judaism, an essential part of the daily prayer service. According to the Shulhan Arukh, the Code of Jewish Law, the first verse of the Shema is recited in a loud voice. It is the practice of Yemenite Jews to read the Shema out loud, in unison. This is based on the belief that God harkens to the Shema when it is read in unison. This tradition is based on Song of Songs Rabbah 8:13: “When Israel reads the Shema with proper kavanah (intention), in one voice, God and all the heavenly hosts hearken to their voice. But when the reading of the Shema is fragmented, God tells them to learn from the angels, who praise God in one voice and one melody.” Also, it is customary to cover one’s eyes when reciting the first verse of the Shema (Shulhan Arukh, Keriat Shema, 61:5). This custom can be traced to the talmudic sage, Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, who covered his face with his hand when he accepted the Yoke of Heaven (B. Ber. 13b).
Sources:
Sifre on Deuteronomy 31; Deuteronomy Rabbah 2:35.
Studies:
“The Shema and Its Rhetoric: The Case for the Shema Being More than Creation, Revelation and Redemption” by Reuven Kimelman.
The Shema: Spirituality and Law in Judaism by Norman Lamm.
354. THE HOLY BREATH
King David wrote the Psalms with divine inspiration—with the Holy Breath. This Holy Breath is still in the words of the Psalms. When a person recites the Psalms, his breath arouses the Holy Breath in these words. Therefore, when a person recites the Psalms, it is as if King David himself were chanting them.
This is a teaching of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav. The Holy Breath is the Ruah ha-Kodesh, which can also be translated as “the Holy Spirit.” (See “The Holy Spirit,” p.18). Ruah means both “breath” and “spirit.” Ruah ha-Kodesh is the source of divine inspiration, with which King David is said to have written the Psalms.
Sources:
Sihot ha-Ran 98.
355. RAVA CREATES A MAN
Rava said, “If the righteous wished, they could create a world.” So he created a man and sent him to Rabbi Zera. Rabbi Zera spoke to the man, but he did not answer. When Rabbi Zera realized that he must have been created by magic, he said, “Return to your dust.” And the golem dissolved into dust.
This is one of the earliest mythic versions of an attempt to create a human being, a golem. While lacking in detail, this talmudic tale implies that Rava has somehow used magical powers to create a man. Rabbi Zera, on the other hand, does not believe that such a creation is permitted, and he commands the golem to return to the dust.
From this account we learn that the golem was defective in that it could not communicate, which leads Rabbi Zera to conclude that the man is not real. Other versions of the golem myth mention that it cannot reproduce.
In the same section of tractate Sanhedrin there is an account of a three-year old calf created by Rav Haninah and Rav Oshaya. They were s
aid to study the Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Creation, every Sabbath eve, and using the knowledge they learned there they created the calf and ate it.
Sources:
B. Sanhedrin 65b.
Studies:
“The Magic of the Golem: The Early Development of the Golem Legend” by Peter Schäfer.
356. JEREMIAH CREATES A GOLEM
The prophet Jeremiah studied the Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Creation, on his own. Then a heavenly voice came forth and commanded, “Find a companion!” So Jeremiah began to study that book with his son, Sira. Together they submerged themselves in the Sefer Yetzirah for three years. At the end of three years, they set about combining the letters of the alphabet, and in this way they created a man on whose head was written YHVH Elohim emet—“The Lord God is Truth,” and there was a knife in his hand. All at once the being they had created erased the first letter of emet— truth, leaving only met—dead. Distraught, Jeremiah asked the man why he had done this. The man answered: “God created you in His image, but now that you have created a man, people will say, ‘These two are the only gods in the world.’” Jeremiah asked, “What can we do?” The man answered: “Pronounce the letters backward with which you created me.” So they did, and the being turned to ashes and dust.
There are a series of myths about the creation of the golem, a man made out of clay and brought to life drawing on the power of the Hebrew alphabet. Here the prophet Jeremiah is said to have created such a golem drawing on the mystical secrets found in the Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Creation, one of the earliest (some would say the earliest) kabbalistic texts. Here the being that Jeremiah and his son bring to life uncreates itself by erasing the first letter of emet—“Truth”—inscribed on its forehead, leaving met—“dead,” as the creature itself feels that its creation is wrong, since it attempts to duplicate God’s power in creating human beings. In most golem myths, the creature dies as soon as the aleph that is the first letter of emet is erased. Here, however, the golem tells them to pronounce the letters backward to undo the creation. This should be seen as an interim stage in the development of the golem myth, which culminates in the fully developed myth of the Golem of Prague.
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