reverence for, lvii
as role models, lviii
souls of, 163, 391
as sukkah guests, 299
summoning of, 371–72
Temple’s destruction, 427
Torah study, 190, 194, 507
Tzohar possession, 85, 87
well dug by, 387
patriarchy, justification for, 433
Paul (Christian mythology), 509
peace, treasury of, 166, 185
Penuel, 359
Peretz, I. L., 180
periods of Jewish religion, lxxv persecution of Jews, 280
personification: of Anger and Fury, 376
of darkness, 107
of earth, 95
of Gehenna, 237, 239
of God, 20, 35, 37, 76, 90, 296, 305, 335
of heavens, 95
of Israel, 305
of Jerusalem, 47, 420
of moon and sun, 112–13
of mountains, 258–59
of Sabbath, lvi, 309, 312–13, 317, 318
of Shekhinah, 46, 62, 313
of stars, 187
of sun, 191
of Throne of Glory, 5
of Torah, liv–lv, lvi, 249, 256–57, 305
of water, 95, 105
of Wisdom, 45–46, 100
of Zion, 47
Pharaoh, 29–30, 372, 375, 379, 382–83, 385–86
Philo: on angels, 160
on beginning of time, 74
on conception of Isaac, lxvii
on Creation, li, 73, 80, 93, 95, 99, 250
on creation of Wisdom, 135
on Enoch, 157
on God’s existence, 11
on Heavenly Man, lii, 15, 124–26
on heavenly music, 188–89
on Isaac’s birth, 336
on Logos, 120
on Moses, 388
on primordial light, lxxxv (n. 152)
on Sabbath as bride of Israel, 312–13
as source of myths, xxxvi; on Temples, 417
on three types of men, 126
on universe as God’s temple, 417
on Wisdom’s relationship to God, 46
phoenix, 148–49
physical manifestation of God, 42
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, lxxi, 300, 505
pillars: of clouds, 391–92
of existence, 397
of fire, 319, 338, 339, 391, 418, 511
of hashmal, 94
of salt, 466, 467
of Seth’s descendants, 444
Tower of Babel as a pillar of Heaven, 464
of the world, 96
Pilti (sorcerer), 372
Pinhas of Koretz, 202
Pishon (river), 401
piyyut, 315, 526
The Place (ha-Makom), 26, 62, 186, 339, 363
Place of Swallowing, 103
plagues, lxxi, 468
planets: in Gehenna, 291
at God’s right hand, 523
reprimanded by God, 522
suspended in firmament, 104
Plato, lxxx (n. 38), 99, 138
Pleiades constellation, 16, 456
Plotinus, 119
Poland, 461
polarities in mythology, lxxv, 462
polemical myths, 129–30, 206, 369
polytheistic mythology, xliii–xliv, 26
poor of Israel, 421
Poseidon (Greek mythology), lxvi, 255
possession by spirits, 228–29. See also dybbuks
potter, God as, 150–51
prayers: angel of prayers (see Sandalphon); crown of prayers, lv, 6, 28, 34, 197, 198, 261, 262, 309, 413
of God, xlvi, 34–36, 37, 39
God’s instruction of Moses, 313
heavenly creatures’ leading of, 160
Holy Word and, lv
of Israel’s poor, 421
of Jacob, 356
Kaddish (prayer of the dead), lxviii, lxix–lxx
Kavvanah (intention), xlix, 278
ladder of, 490–91
as means of purification, 174
originating in Land of Israel, lviii, 407
origins of Havdalah, 319
power of, 232
prayer shawls, 82–83
repairing Shekhinah, 58–59
for Sabbath, 309
sacred time, lvi
of the Shema, 278
for sinners, 232, 242
at Western Wall, 322
priests: Adam as first High Priest, 101, 443
entrance of Holy of Holies, 293–94, 404
garments of, 443
as God-born, 126
importance of protocols, 469–70
Jacob as, 362
in Jacob’s dream, 356
physical requirements, 362
of the Temple, 19
Temple construction, 420–21
primary myths, xxxiii, 527
primogeniture, 352
primordial beings (Adoil and Arkhas), 88–89
primordial light (or ha-ganuz): Adam’s body of light, 130
angels created from, 85
of Creation, lxxii–lxxiii, lxxxv (n. 152), 73, 83, 85, 122, 256
first Sabbath, 314
of God’s garment, 82
Holy Spirit from, 18
identified with sefirah of Hesed, lxxxv (n. 153)
intensity of, 83, 84
light of the Torah and, 250
tablets made of, 266
visible to Tzaddikim, 429;
Wisdom as, 100
withdrawal of, 318
in World to Come, 320
primordial man (Adam Kadmon), 15–16, 118
princes: building Temple walls, 420
celestial, 205–6, 214
Prince of Darkness, 107, 232
prior worlds, destroyed, xlvi, 23, 71–72, 79, 82, 123, 124, 253, 436
prison, God’s, 214
produce of the fields, 289
Prometheus (Greek mythology), lxvi, lxxxiv (n. 135), 132, 137, 457
Promised Land, 297
property rights, 449
prophecy and prophets: Abraham as, 331
of first Eve, 142
as God-born, 126
Holy Spirit and, 18, 19, 20
at Ingathering of the Exiles, 519
light of, 89–90
Moses as, 372–73, 375
rebuilding of Temple, 358
of the sages, 18
sent by Wisdom, 45
of the Tzaddik, 19
psychological issues, 230
Ptolemy, 46
punishment: of angels, 455, 456, 457, 459–60, 466
avenging angels, liii, liv, lxx, lxxxi (n. 57), 30, 169, 229, 231, 234, 236, 239–40, 241
Cain’s precedent, 452–53
Dumah’s role in, 214
duration of punishment, 233, 242
exile as, lx; in Gehenna, lxi, lxxxi (n. 57), 199, 231, 232, 233–35, 236–37, 238, 241, 242, 308
of Korah and followers, 235
souls wandering in exile (galut), 236
Tower of Babel, 464–65
purgatory, liii
purification practices, 174, 306
Pyrrha (Greek mythology), lxvi
Qatina, Rav, 102
Qingu (slain leader of enemy gods), 133
Queen Dolphina of France, 495
Queen of Demons, lxxvi
Queen of Heaven, lxiii
Queen of Sheba, 56, 222, 223
questioning, 9, 79–80, 91
qvittel (written petitions to God), lix
Rabbah bar Avuha, 317
Rabbah bar Bar Hannah: dead of exiled Israel, 471–72
geese for World to Come, 508
hearing God’s regret over exile, 427
journey to Mount Sinai, 39
journey to the stars, 181
Leviathan, 146
punishment of Korah, 235
re’em encounter, 148
sighting of Hurmin, 222, 223
Wheel of Heaven, 194–95, 235
&nb
sp; Ziz, 147
Rabbah bar Nachmani, 193, 194
Rabbah bar Shila, 34
Rabbinic traditions: contradictions in, xliv
feminine identity of God, lxxxi (n. 74)
interpretation of Torah, 271, 272–73
Isaiah’s vision, 3
souls of the righteous, lii
texts of, xxxv
rabbis. See also specific rabbis such as
Luria, Isaac: negative view of women, 141, 447
overruling God, 67–68, 138
responsibilities of, 19, 67–68
Rabinowitz of Radomsk, Shlomo, 57, 335
Rachel: burial site, lvii, 344
coming of the Messiah and, 516–17
death of, 355
defense of Israel, 429, 515
inconsolable weeping of, 515
mourning of, 420, 489
palace of, 191; Shekhinah’s parallel with, 57
as source of souls, 335
stolen idols, 354–55
as sukkah guest, 299
Rachel (slave in Egypt), 382
Radweriel (Keeper of the book of Records), 198–99
Rahab (Angel of the Sea), li, lxvi, 38, 106–7, 116, 146, 253, 255
Rahatiel (angel), 187
rain: angel of, 205
Israel’s protection from, 392
key of, 22
Ridya the Prince of Rain, 116
in sixth heaven, 185
from the upper waters, 104
water libation ritual, 298
rainbow: as covenant, 79, 87, 500
creation of, 77, 78–79
Ma’aseh Merkavah discussions, 184
of Messiah, 500
of Shekhinah, 187–88
sleeping in the universe, 77–78
raki’a (Firmament), 105, 185
ram: creation of, 77, 150
ram’s horns (shofar), lxvii, lxx, 150, 198, 293, 294, 296–97, 298, 503
sacrifices of, 337–38, 341, 410
Ramak (Moshe Cordovero), 65, 391–92
Ramban (Nachmanides), liii, lviii, 75, 133, 460, 526
Raphael (Angel of Healing): at the crystal palace, 192
healing Adam, 253
healing Jacob, 362
Lilith’s vulnerability to, 217
myth development, liii; on Shemhazai and Azazel, 457, 459
at Throne of Glory, 116
Rashbam (Samuel ben Meir), lxxiv, 223
Rashi: on creation of light, lxxii, lxxiv
on creation of stars, 112
on God’s appearance, xlvii
on God’s appearance at Mount Sinai, 263
on God’s appearance to Abraham, 331
on God’s appearance to elders, 34
on God’s escort of Israel from Egypt, 41
on Guf, 166
on Jacob’s immortality, 370
on manna, 480
on Moses’ aura, 390
mythic narratives of, 526
Torah study, 190
on Tzohar, 86
Ra (sun god), 76, 446
Rava, 127, 279
ravens, 73, 462–63
Rav, 298
Raziel (Angel of Secrets), lxvi, 85, 253–55, 269, 290, 437
Raziel ha-Malakh (claims to be The Book of Raziel), 254
Rebecca: birthright issue, 351, 352, 353, 437
burial site, lvii, 344, 504, 505
holiness of, 343
Isaac and, 342
at Mount Moriah, 349
palace of, 191
sons of, 349, 350
as sukkah guest, 299
Tzohar possession, 86
Recanati, Menahem, liv, 335 612
redemption: descent of heavenly
Jerusalem, 419
descent of heavenly Temple, 418
exile and, lxi, 473
by Israel’s own effort, 512
in messianic era, 501
Oedipal Joshua myth, 394
Pangs of the Messiah, 499–500
secret of the Redeemer, 378–79
suffering of the Messiah, 483, 489, 491
of Ten Lost Tribes, 474
time of redemption, 365
war in Heaven and on earth preceding, 488
Red Sea: God’s appearance at, xlvii;
Jacob present for parting of, 370
Lilith in residence at, lxxvi
Moses parting, 104
passage through, 73, 382–86
Passover’s recollection of passage, lxxi
Serah bat Asher at, 377, 379, 380
Song of Songs given at, 277–78
as test of faith, lxxxiv (n. 144), 229, 383
widow of Safed, 229
re’em (horned mythological creature), 148
Refaim (giants), 461
reincarnation. See gilgul renewal of the kingdom, key of, 23
renewal of the world, 151, 184, 292, 293, 320
repentance (teshuvah): of Adam and Eve, 438, 440
Adam on power of, lxxxii (n. 92)
creation of, 74–75
during Days of Awe, 290, 294
of evildoers, 209
exile and, lx
Ezekiel on, 502–3
forgiveness of sins, 290, 313, 394
of God, 296, 323
God’s regret about moon, 323
hermaphrodite allegory, 139
knots in string of God, 292
of Messiah, 485
power of, 438
of souls in Gehenna, 235
tikkun of angels, 202
Vital’s role in encouraging, 204, 205
reshit (the beginning), 46
Resh Lakish, 166
resurrection: of criminal, 27, 182
criteria for messianic era, 485, 496, 520
Esau’s rejection of, 350
from Gehenna, 523
by Holy Spirit, 519
of Isaac, lxvii, 171–72, 342
of Israel, 502–6
key of, 22
in messianic era, 501, 502–6
of murdered victim, 92
new myth among Hasidim, lxxxiii (n. 110)
power of YHVH, 27
revival of souls compared to, 312
Sabbath resurrection of dead, 242
Treasury of Dew, 166, 185, 259, 261, 504
Reuben, 352
Re’uveni, David, 98
Ribash (Isaac ben Sheshet Parfat), xlvii Riblah, 474
Ridya (Prince of Rain), 116
right of ligature, 353
Rigyon (River of Fire; nehar di-nur): angels created from, 115
angels destroyed in, 158–59, 196, 261
Gallizur’s use of coals from, 199
myth development, lii
righteous protected from, 316
sun rising from, 103
surrounding the crystal palace, 192
Riminov, Rabbi of, lxxiv, 33, 123, 495–96, 497
rituals and myth, xliv, lxviii–lxxi, lxxxiv (n. 145), 297, 300
River Gihon, 215, 253, 291, 440
rivers: Abraham’s passage through, 340
diamonds in, 436
of fire (Rigyon; nehar di-nur), lii, 103, 115, 158–59, 192, 196, 199, 261, 316
of Garden of Eden, 401
in Gehenna, 234
given to Moses, 388
from God’s tears, 37
in Heaven, 234
Leviathan’s rule over, 145
from messianic spring, 514
from perspiration of hayyot, 158, 159
running into the sea, 103
from Throne of Glory, 4
River Yabbok, 360–61, 364, 367
Rivkind, Yitzhak, 475
robe of glory, 29
Rokeach, Shalom (Belzer Rebbe), 496
Rome, 226, 273, 361, 492, 520
Rome (Cain’s descendant), 448
Rosenbaum, Thane, 281
Rosenberg, Yudel, 280, 282–83
Rosh ha-Shanah (New Year): Adam’s soul, 162
Ba’al Shem’s ascent on, 209
determined by earthly court, 68
first Sabbath, 314
God’s review of all creatures, 21
Isaac conceived on, 336
judgment on, 300
link to Creation, lv
origins of, 291
renewal of the world, 292, 293
shofar sounded on, 297
Tashlikh (shaking pockets), lxx
as time of judgment, 289, 290, 292, 293, 294
in Tishrei, 292
Rosh Hodesh, 296, 323, 489
ruah (breath or spirit), 311, 396
Ruah Elohim (breath of God), 20
Ruah ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit): in Abraham, 331
descent of heavenly Temple, 413
described, 18–20
hidden prior to Temple destruction, 425
Holy Breath as, 279
in Messiah’s yeshivah, 519
as name of God, 26
Rudolf II (Emperor), 371
Ruth the Moabite, 487
Sabbath Queen. See also Shekhinah: blessed status of the Sabbath, 317
development of myth, 313
honoring, 318
intercourse on Friday night, 308
Kabbalat Shabbat (greeting the Sabbath Queen), xlix, lvi, 309, 310
neshamah yeterah, 63, 167, 319
Rabbi Abraham’s vision, 64
Shekhinah as, xlviii, lxix
Sabbath (Shabbat): Adam saved from Gehenna, 136
adornment of, 308
angels of, 315, 317
blessings of, 308
cosmic Sabbath, 307
creation of, 76, 99, 306–7
eating fish on, 146
End of Days as eternal Sabbath, 501
first Sabbath, 101, 314
Gehenna’s cessation of punishment’s on, liv, 214, 236, 237, 238, 242, 308, 312
as God’s daughter, 312–13
God’s keeping of, 314
God’s visualization of, xlvi
Great Sabbath, 320–21
Havdalah (conclusion of Sab-bath), lxix, 101, 137, 311, 319;
Kabbalat Shabbat (greeting the Sabbath Queen), xlix, lvi, 309, 310
keeping of the Sabbath, 314–15
manna for, 480
meal of, 312, 316
neshamah yeterah (second soul), xlviii–xlix, xlix, lxix, 63, 167, 310–11, 317, 319
personification of, lvi, 309, 312–13, 317, 318
pilgrimages to Jerusalem on, 505
princess of, 308–9
rebellion of waters, 106
renewal of the world due to, 293
ritual and myth of, xliv, lvi, lxviii–lxix
River of Fire’s day of rest, 159
Sabbath Bride, 309–10
sacred light, lxxiii
Sambatyon river, 475–76
Shekhinah’s association with, xlviii, lvi, 315
song of, 317, 318
spice of, 316–17, 319, 514–15
in World to Come (Olam ha-Ba), 314
Sabbatical years, 485
sacrifices to God: Aaron’s sons, 469–70
Akedah (binding of Isaac), lii, lxvii, 19, 44, 150, 171–72, 297, 329, 337–42, 343, 384–85, 429
atonement sought by God, 323
of Cain and Abel, 446
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