The tradition that Jacob, alone among the patriarchs, will attend the great feast that takes place in the messianic era, grows out of the verse Jacob shall exult, Israel will rejoice (Ps. 14:7). In Midrash Tehillim on this verse from Psalms this point is emphatically made: “It is not written here, ‘Abraham shall exult, Isaac shall rejoice,’ but Jacob will exult, Israel will rejoice.” For more on Jacob’s presence at this feast, see the note to “The Messianic Banquet,” p. 508.
Sources:
B. Hullin 91b; Genesis Rabbah 68:12, 78:3, 79:8, 98:3; Leviticus Rabbah 36:4; Numbers Rabbah 4:1; Hekhalot Rabbati 9; Midrash Tehillim 7:2, 14:7, 31:7, 78:6; Midrash Tanhuma, Toledot 11; B. Bava Metzia 84a; Targum Neophyti, Fragment Targum (Ms. P) Genesis 28:12; Sefer ha-Komah, Oxford Ms. 1791, 58-70; Zohar 1:68a, 1:72a, 2:241a; Sodei Razayya 16d.
Studies:
Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Hermeneutics by Elliot R. Wolfson.
Parables in Midrash: Narrative and Exegesis in Rabbinic Literature by David Stern
In Potiphar’s House: The Interpretative Life of Biblical Texts by James Kugel.
Traditions of the Bible by James Kugel.
“Graven Image” by Shamma Friedman.
“The Body as Image of God in Rabbinic Literature” by Alon Goshen Gottstein.
472. THE IMAGE OF JACOB CAST DOWN FROM HEAVEN
Just before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the people grew desperate, for they knew that they had angered God, and that God would no longer protect them. “Please, God,” they prayed, “If You cannot forgive us, forgive us for the merits of our ancestors.”
God replied: “You think, O Israel, that you may freely anger Me, because the image of Jacob is engraved on My Throne of Glory? Here, have it, it is thrown in your face!” And God cast down the glory of Israel from heaven, as it is said, Has cast down from heaven to earth the majesty of Israel (Lam. 2:1).
In its immediate context, this myth of the image of Jacob being cast down from heaven is meant to demonstrate God’s irrevocable resolve to destroy the Temple in Jerusalem. At the same time, the underlying message of this myth clearly appears to be in opposition to the treatment of Jacob as a divine figure, making this a polemical myth. A parallel purpose is served by the myth in which Elisha ben Abuyah sees the angel Metatron seated on a throne in heaven and concludes that there are two powers in heaven. Both of these myths can be seen as representing the rabbinic reaction to those who they feel have carried their obsession with Jacob and Enoch too far. See “A Vision of Metatron,” p. 174.
Another hint of rabbinic ambiguity about Jacob can be found in Genesis Rabbah 68:12, which interprets the ascending and descending of the angels in Genesis 28:12 in a highly ambiguous fashion. “Ascending and descending” are taken to mean that some of the angels were exalting him and others degrading, maligning, and accusing him. Since the views attributed to the angels are often a projection of rabbinic attitudes, here there is a subtle acknowledgement that some rabbis viewed Jacob—and, by association, the veneration of him—positively, while others maligned him, as in this myth of Jacob’s image being cast down from heaven.
Although the myth might be seen as one of despair, it also serves to protect the people of Israel, for otherwise the biblical verse Has cast down from heaven to earth the majesty of Israel (Lam. 2:1) could be understood as being a complete rejection of the people of Israel. But Jacob’s name is also Israel, and this interpretation narrows the implications of the verse. In fact, this narrowing is confirmed in Lamentations Rabbah 2:7, which, commenting on the verse He has ravaged Jacob like flaming fire, consuming on all sides (Lam. 2:3), says: “When punishment comes into the world, Jacob alone experiences it.”
There may also be a polemic here about the fall of Lucifer, which is found in 2 Enoch (29:4-6): “But one from the order of archangels deviated, together with the division that was under his authority. He thought up the impossible idea, that he might place his throne higher than the clouds which are above the earth, and that he might become equal to My power. And I hurled him out from the height, together with his angels. And he was flying around in the air, ceaselessly, above the Bottomless.”
If this myth about Jacob’s image being cast down from heaven was indeed a polemic, then Jacob is compared to an evil, fallen angel. This suggests the intensity of the opposition to the veneration of Jacob. Recognition of this conflict is suggested in Genesis Rabbah 68:12, where it is said that among the angels who ascended and descended, some exalted Jacob and others were degrading toward him, dancing, leaping, and maligning him.
Sources:
Lamentations Rabbah 2:2; Pesikta Rabbati 27:2; Hekhalot Rabbati 9.
Studies:
The Doctrine of Merits in Old Rabbinical Literature by A. Marmorstein, pp. 101-102.
Parables in Midrash: Narrative and Exegesis in Rabbinic Literature by David Stern, pp. 109-114.
“The Image of Jacob Engraved upon the Throne: Further Reflection on the Esoteric Doctrine of the German Pietists” by Elliot R. Wolfson, pp. 1-62, 111-187.
473. THE DEATH OF JACOB
Jacob lay on his deathbed. The twelve tribes of Israel were gathered together surrounding his golden bed. Jacob said to his sons, “Purify yourself from uncleanliness, and I will tell you what will take place at the End of Days—the rewards of the righteous, the punishments of the wicked, and the happiness of Eden.” But as soon as the Glory of the Shekhinah was revealed, the time in which King Messiah was destined to come was hidden from him, and the secrets could not be revealed.
Here Jacob on his deathbed is about to reveal to his sons the secret God told him about when the End of Days would take place. But as soon as he glimpsed the presence of the Shekhinah, his knowledge vanished.
Sources:
Targum Pseudo-Yonathan on Genesis 49:1; B. Pesahim 56a; Genesis Rabbah 98:2.
474. JACOB NEVER DIED
Everyone thought that Jacob had died. He had given his sons his final blessings, and it appeared that his soul had taken leave of this world. In fact, he was embalmed and buried. But even though it appeared that he had died, Jacob was actually alive. Nor did he die after that. Indeed, Jacob never died.
It is said that some of those at Jacob’s funeral saw his eyes open once or twice, but they thought their own eyes had deceived them. Indeed, Jacob was present during the Exodus from Egypt, and he witnessed the crossing of the Red Sea and the drowning of Pharaoh’s soldiers who chased after them. That is the meaning of the verse Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea (Exod 14:30).
Likewise, Jacob witnessed the giving of the Torah, the ascent of Elijah, and Daniel’s encounter with Bel. So too did he see the Temple built, destroyed, and rebuilt.
Still others say that God’s promise to Jacob, I will deliver you from far away, your folk from their land of captivity (Jer. 30:10), meant that Jacob lives on in his seed, especially in those who make their home in the Holy Land. After all, Jacob was also Israel, and as long as the children of Israel still exist, Jacob will never die.
One of the primary mythic motifs in Judaism concerns heroic figures who never die. Elijah’s ascent in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11) seems to have set this theme in motion. Others who are portrayed as having never died include Enoch, who walked with God, and he was no more; for God took him (Gen. 5:24). This ambiguous statement, rather than the expected, “and he died,” gave birth to a rich tradition about Enoch in which he was said to have been taken up into heaven and (in some versions) transformed into the angel Metatron.
In addition, Abraham, Moses, and King David are often subjects of rabbinic legends and folktales about appearances after their deaths. Although the deaths of all of them are clearly stated in the Bible, there are also some doubts associated with these accounts. Thus it says about Moses, And no one knows of his burial place to this day (Deut. 34:6). Likewise, there is considerable doubt that King David is buried in his tomb on Mount Zion.
The tradition that Jacob never died m
ay derive from the memorable reply that Jacob’s sons made to Joseph, when he asked them “How is your aged father of whom you spoke? Is he still in good health?” They replied, “He is yet alive”( Gen. 43:27-28). This phrase is often quoted as evidence that Jacob never died.
Rashi offers another clue for Jacob’s immortality in his interpretation of Genesis 49:33, Breathing his last, he was gathered to his people. Rashi comments: “But ‘dying’ is not said of him since the word used was ‘vayigva,’ ‘expired,’ rather than ‘vayamot,’ ‘dying.’ Our rabbis of blessed memory said that this implies that ‘our father Jacob did not die.’” Here Rashi quotes B. Ta’anit 5b, where Rabbi Yitzhak says, in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: “Ya’akov Avinu lo met—Our father Jacob did not die.”
Further, Jacob’s immortality seems to be understood as linked to the people of Israel—thus, as long as the people Israel thrive, Jacob is assured of immortality. This identification of the people Israel with Jacob is made explicit in Jeremiah 30:10: “Therefore fear not, O Jacob My servant,” said Yahweh. “Neither be dismayed, O Israel, For, lo, I will save you from afar.”
Yet, while the immortality of Abraham, Moses, and King David is the subject of many legends and tales, Jacob’s immortality exists more as an assertion than as the subject of a legendary narrative. Rather, it seems to be part of the divinization of Jacob, with immortality being one of the required characteristics of a divine figure.
In Likutei Moharan 1:47 Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav interprets allegorically the statement in B. Ta’anit 5b that Jacob never died. Rabbi Nachman links Jacob to the holiness of the Land of Israel, which symbolizes eternal life. Therefore, Jacob did not really die, but lives eternally.
Sources:
Genesis Rabbah 56:10, 69:17; Sifre on Deuteronomy 352; B. Ta’anit 5b; Rashi on Gen. 50:1; B. Sota 13b; Likutei Moharan 1:47.
Studies:
“Jacob Our Father Never Died” by Marc Bregman. Lecture given at the Textual Reasoning Conference, Drew University, 1997, in preparation for publication.
475. SUMMONING THE PATRIARCHS
During the reign of Emperor Rudolf II, there lived among the Jews of Prague the great Rabbi Judah Loew, who was well versed in all of the mysteries and was a great master of the kabbalah. Now it happened that the emperor heard of Rabbi Loew’s reputation and sent for him with a strange request: he wanted the rabbi to invoke the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the sons of Jacob, to summon them from their graves. Rabbi Loew was appalled at this request, but when the emperor threatened the well-being of the Jews of Prague if he did not comply, Rabbi Loew agreed to attempt to do as he had asked. The rabbi warned the emperor, however, that under no circumstances must he laugh at what he saw, and the emperor promised that he would not.
So it was that the day and place were fixed, and when Rabbi Loew and the emperor were alone in a secluded room of the castle, Rabbi Loew pronounced the spell that summoned the patriarchs and the sons of Jacob. And to the great amazement of the emperor, they appeared one after the other in their true form, and the emperor was amazed at the size and power of each of them, which far exceeded those of men in his own time. But when Naphtali, the son of Jacob, leaped with great ease over ears of corn and stalks of flax in the vision, the emperor could not contain himself and began to laugh. Suddenly the apparitions vanished and the ceiling of that room began to descend and was on the verge of crushing the emperor when Rabbi Loew succeeded in making it halt with the help of another spell. And it is told that the fallen ceiling can still be seen today in that room, which is kept locked.
Numerous tales concerning Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague are to be found. The most famous of these concerns the creation of the golem, the man made out of clay, with which Rabbi Loew was said to have protected the Jewish community of Prague from a series of blood libels. But there are many other tales recounting the marvels of the Maharal, as Rabbi Loew was known. Many of these concern his use of powers deriving from his knowledge of the Jewish mystical tradition, known as kabbalah. Only the purest and most eminent sages were considered capable of engaging in kabbalistic studies, and a great many stories are told of those who lost their sanity or even their lives by undertaking such studies without the proper background or preparation. Here the king is saved from destruction only because the pious Rabbi Loew is able to prevent the ceiling from collapsing. The magic of being able to invoke the presence of the patriarchs reflects the midrashic principle that the past is alive and that all generations exist at the same time. The collapsing of the room in which the vision of the
patriarchs takes place echoes the famous talmudic legend of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and other rabbis, who disagreed about a point of the Law. See “The Rabbis Overrule God,” p. 67.
Another, probably earlier, version of the summoning of a patriarch is found in Ma’aseh Nissim. This describes how Rabbi Lezer, a master of the Name, who lived in Worms, invoked King David’s general Joab. Joab turned out to be of such great size that every step he took caused the house to shake and terrified the young men who observed the invocation, so they begged the rabbi to make him disappear, which he did. So frivolous was this use of the Ineffable Name, that in the version recounted in “Summoning the Patriarchs” it is the emperor who makes the demand, rather than the young Jewish students.
Sources:
Sippurim: Prager Sammlung jüdischer Legenden in neuer Auswahl und Bearbeitung. Version of L. Weisel.
476. THE BIRTH OF MOSES
Now Amram, the father of Moses, was a doctor able to cure everyone in Egypt. So great and exalted was he that he served Pharaoh himself, with the help of God. But there was a sorcerer, whose name was Pilti, who had read in the Book of Signs. From reading there he had learned of the coming birth of the child Moses, who would set free his people, the Jews, from oppression, while the kingdom of Egypt would suffer. This sorcerer reported to Pharaoh that he had seen the star of Israel ascending, while the destruction of Pharaoh’s kingdom was growing near. And when Pharaoh heard this, he grew afraid, and he asked the sorcerer to tell him more of what he had seen. Then Pilti reported that he had seen the Apostle of the Jews cast into the sea, and he had also seen the people Israel cast into the sea, and the waters of the sea were parted by him who had not yet been born.
Now when Pharaoh heard this he was filled with anger for forty days, and since the child had not yet been born, he commanded that the men of Israel be prevented from approaching their wives, lest the child be conceived. Even Amram was forbidden to return to his wife, and was forced to remain within the palace. But Pharaoh could not stand against the will of the Lord. One night a meeting was arranged between Amram and his wife, Jochebed, and from this meeting the child was begotten in the womb of his mother.
Then the sorcerer Pilti returned to Pharaoh and told him that he had seen signs that the child had been conceived, despite the command of Pharaoh, for a star had revealed the child’s future. Pharaoh grew angry and made a decree that every son born to the Hebrews should be cast into the Nile, but that every daughter should be permitted to live. However the midwives feared the God of Israel, and secretly let the male children live. Therefore the people multiplied in number, and Pharaoh set himself against the Hebrews, who were growing powerful.
Now when the time came for a daughter of Israel to give birth, she would go into the wilderness. If the child was a daughter, she would return with the girl child. But if it were a son, he was left in the wilderness, where God protected him, and suckled him with honey out of the rocks. And when the child had grown, he would return to his father’s house. And all of these children had complete faith and trust in God, and never forgot how they were preserved. Then God remembered the covenant He had made with the pious, and in the seventh month the great prophet Moses was born. And God told the Hosts of Heaven that he had been born for whose sake God had created the world out of nothingness.
All the stars did obeisance to the infant Moses, for his light was the source of theirs. And it was known among all t
he children of Israel that the prophet of the Lord had been born, the select of all creation. The master of signs had come, the master of covenants, the master of prayer, he who was to receive the holiest of all laws, the prophet of all generations.
Here is a mythical birth of Moses from Sefer ha-Yashar, an unusual midrashic text that presents alternate versions of most of the primary biblical episodes. That the birth of Moses is prophesied based on an ascending star has a distinct echo of the birth of Jesus, and also echoes the midrashic account of the birth of Abraham, which may well draw on Christian sources.
As presented here, the birth of Moses fulfills God’s promise to the children of Israel that a redeemer would be born. This is described as a universal event, involving all the stars, who bow down to the infant Moses. In fact, the kind of birth described in this myth strongly implies a kind of messianic role for Moses, who serves as a model for the concept of the Messiah. This shows that there was a Jewish tradition beyond that of the Samaritans in which Moses was viewed as a figure of messianic proportions beyond even the role of the redeemer that the Bible attributes to him.
Sources:
Sefer ha-Yashar 67.
477. AN ARK IN THE BULRUSHES
Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, “Every boy that is born you shall throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
A certain man of the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw how beautiful he was, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him and caulked it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. And his sister stationed herself at a distance, to learn what would befall him.
Tree of Souls Page 82