All Angelology

The Gemara asks: Since they did not see the vision, what is the reason that they were frightened? The Gemara answers: Even though they did not see the vision, their guardian angels saw it, and therefore they sensed that there was something fearful there and they fled.

Ravina said: Learn from this incident that with regard to one who is frightened for no apparent reason, although he does not see anything menacing, his guardian angel sees it, and therefore he should take steps in order to escape the danger. The Gemara asks: What is his remedy? He should recite Shema, which will afford him protection. And if he is standing in a place of filth, where it is prohibited to recite verses from the Torah, he should distance himself four cubits from his current location in order to escape the danger. And if he is not able to do so, let him say the following incantation: The goat of the slaughterhouse is fatter than I am, and if a calamity must fall upon something, it should fall upon it.

שר של כל אדם למעלה

the snake came upon Eve, i.e., when it seduced her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, it infected her with moral contamination, and this contamination remained in all human beings. When the Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai, their contamination ceased, whereas gentiles did not stand at Mount Sinai, and their contamination never ceased. Rav Aḥa, the son of Rava, said to Rav Ashi: What about converts? How do you explain the cessation of their moral contamination? Rav Ashi said to him: Even though they themselves were not at Mount Sinai, their guardian angels were present, as it is written: “It is not with you alone that I make this covenant and this oath, but with he that stands here with us today before the Lord our God, and with he that is not here with us today” (Deuteronomy 29:13–14), and this includes converts.

The verse states: “And so it was, that when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand” (Esther 5:2). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Three ministering angels happened to join her at that time: One that raised up her neck, so that she could stand erect, free of shame; one that strung a cord of divine grace around her, endowing her with charm and beauty; and one that stretched the king’s scepter.

How much was it stretched? Rabbi Yirmeya said: The scepter was two cubits, and he made it twelve cubits. And some say that he made it sixteen cubits, and yet others say twenty-four cubits. It was taught in a baraita: He made it sixty cubits. And similarly you find with the arm of Pharaoh’s daughter, which she stretched out to take Moshe. And so too, you find with the teeth of the wicked, as it is written: “You have broken the teeth of the wicked” (Psalms 3:8), with regard to which Reish Lakish said: Do not read it as “You have broken [shibbarta],” but as: You have enlarged [sheribavta]. Rabba bar Oferan said in the name of Rabbi Elazar, who heard it from his teacher, who in turn heard it from his teacher: The scepter was stretched two hundred cubits.

The verse states: “And the king arose from the banquet of wine in his wrath and went into the palace garden” (Esther 7:7), and the next verse states: “Then the king returned out of the palace garden to the place of the wine drinking” (Esther 7:8). The Gemara comments: The verses here compare his returning to his arising: Just as his arising was in wrath, so too, his returning was in wrath. And why did he return in wrath? For when he went out he found ministering angels who appeared to him as people and they were uprooting trees from the garden, and he said to them: What are you doing? They said to him: Haman commanded us to do this.

The verse states: “And the king arose from the banquet of wine in his wrath and went into the palace garden” (Esther 7:7), and the next verse states: “Then the king returned out of the palace garden to the place of the wine drinking” (Esther 7:8). The Gemara comments: The verses here compare his returning to his arising: Just as his arising was in wrath, so too, his returning was in wrath. And why did he return in wrath? For when he went out he found ministering angels who appeared to him as people and they were uprooting trees from the garden, and he said to them: What are you doing? They said to him: Haman commanded us to do this.

And when he entered his house he saw that “Haman was falling upon the bed” (Esther 7:8). The Gemara asks: Why does it say “was falling” [nofel] in the present tense, implying that he was currently falling? It should have said “fell” [nafal] in the past tense. Rabbi Elazar said: This teaches that an angel came and pushed him down on it, and every time he would try to stand up, the angel would push him down again. Ahasuerus said: Woe unto me in the house and woe unto me outside, as the verse continues: “Then the king said: Will he even force the queen before me in the house?” (Esther 7:8).

The verse states: “And the king said to Esther the queen: The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the capital, and also the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition and it shall be granted to you; and what more do you request, and it shall be done” (Esther 9:12). Rabbi Abbahu said: This teaches that an angel came and slapped him on his mouth, so that he was unable to finish what he was saying; he started with a complaint about what the Jews were doing, but ended on an entirely different note.

When Rav Yosef reached this verse, he cried: “But there are those swept away without justice” (Proverbs 13:23). He said: Is there one who goes before his time and dies for no reason? The Gemara answers: Yes, like this incident of Rav Beivai bar Abaye, who would be frequented by the company of the Angel of Death and would see how people died at the hands of this angel. The Angel of Death said to his agent: Go and bring me, i.e., kill, Miriam the raiser, i.e., braider, of women’s hair. He went, but instead brought him Miriam, the raiser of babies.

And Moses said unto the children of Israel: “See, the Lord hath called by name Bezalel the son of Uri” (Exod. 35:30). May it please our masters to teach us: How far must a person go to eliminate mixed materials (shatnez)?¹A biblical injunction prohibiting the wearing of a garment made of wool and linen. The law also proscribes the planting of heterogeneous plants in the same field. R. Simeon the son of Yohai concluded from the verse Neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together (Lev. 19:19) that a man is prohibited from donning an outer garment of mixed material even though he puts it on over a hundred other garments. However, if he should put it on beneath his other garments, without the mixed material touching his body, he is permitted to do so, for it is said: Neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together. The words upon thee signify that it may not be worn as an outer garment but that it may be placed underneath (i.e. closer to the body). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: Keep My commandments and My statues. Why? Because the consequence of a good deed is another good deed, but the result of committing a sin is another sin. Ben Azzai stated that one good deed results in another good deed, and one sin produces another sin. R. Meir said: For every good deed a man performs, an angel is assigned to watch over him. If he does one good deed, one angel is assigned to him, and if he performs many good deeds, many angels are assigned to him, as it is said: For he will give His angels charge over thee (Ps. 91:11). Every time a man increases the number of good deeds he performs, he adds to his good name. You find that a man is known by three names: the name by which his father and mother call him, the name by which other men call him, and the one he earns for himself; the most important name is the one he earns for himself.²His good deeds are apparent to all.

And Jacob went out (Gen. 28:10). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Ps. 91:11). R. Meir said: If a man performs one precept, one angel is assigned to watch over him; if he performs two commandments, two angels guard him, and if he performs many precepts, many angels are assigned to watch over him, as it is said: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to guard thee. Why are they given charge over him? In order to protect him from demons, as is said: A thousand may fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand (ibid., v. 7). What is meant by may fall? It means that they will surrender to him, as it is said in the verse: And of Manasseh, also, there fell away some to David (I Chron. 12:20).

And ten thousand at thy right hand. R. Isaac propounded the following question: Why does the verse state ten thousand at thy right hand and only one thousand at thy left? Because, said he, the left hand does not require as many angels as the right, since the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is inscribed upon the tefillin (phylactery) which is wrapped around the left hand, as is said: And thou shalt bind them as a sign upon thy hand (Deut. 6:8). R. Hanina the son of R. Abahu explained: It is not written “will be at thy right hand” but may fall at thy right hand. That is so because the left hand, which is not stretched out as frequently in the performance of good deeds as the right hand, is capable of bringing about the downfall of only a thousand demons, while the right hand, which is constantly stretched out in the performance of good deeds, is able to bring about the fall of ten thousand demons. Therefore it is written: For he will give his angels charge over thee.

Don’t revile a king even among your intimates. Don’t revile a rich man even in your bedchamber; For a bird of the air may carry the utterance, And a winged creature may report the word.

And that which has wings. The angel who escorts you, as the matter is stated, “For He will command His angels on your behalf,”³⁴Tehillim 91:11. and according to its apparent meaning, “those who go back and forth;” [i.e.,] you should worry about every person, perhaps there are listeners, who will tell [the matter] to others.³⁵The Gemara in Maseches Bava Basra 4a states, that when Bava the son of Butta met with Hordos he applied this verse.

The baraita further states: And lest a person say, I have acted in secret; who will testify against me on the Day of Judgment? The tanna explains that the stones of a person’s house and the beams of a person’s house will testify against him, as it is stated: “For a stone shall cry out from the wall, and a beam out of the timber shall answer it” (Habakkuk 2:11). In the school of Rabbi Sheila they say: The two ministering angels who accompany a person will testify against him, as it is stated: “For He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (Psalms 91:11).

And the Sages say: A person’s soul shall itself testify against him, as it is stated: “Guard the doors of your mouth from she who lies in your bosom” (Micah 7:5). What thing lies in a person’s bosom? You must say it is his soul. Rabbi Zerika said: The two ministering angels who accompany him, i.e., each individual, they testify against him, as it is stated: “For He will command his angels over you, to guard you in all your ways” (Psalms 91:11). And the Sages say: A person’s limbs testify against him, as it is stated: “Therefore you are My witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God” (Isaiah 43:12), which indicates that each individual becomes his own witness and testifies against himself on the Day of Judgment.

Let us now return to the subject with which we began. Whenever a person performs a mitzvah an angel is formed from it which pleads continually on his behalf. Thus the Sages teach in Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Vayikra (32:6), “If a person did a single mitzvah, he is granted a single angel to protect him. If he did two mitzvos he is granted two angels. As it is written, ‘For He will appoint His angels on your behalf’ (Tehillim 91:11).” The expression “he is granted” indicates that from the mitzvos that the person performed these angels are fashioned to protect him from harm. Come and see an incident illustrating this principle. A certain pious man lived in a small village in which there were no books to be found with the exception of a single volume of the tractate Chagigah. All his life the pious man poured over this text. He lived to a ripe old age and then just before his death the tractate Chagigah appeared to him in the form of a woman. After his death this form went before him and brought him into Gan Eden.

The Gemara asks another question: One verse states: “Each one had six wings; with two it covered its face and with two it covered its feet, and with two it flew” (Isaiah 6:2), and another verse states: “And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings” (Ezekiel 1:6). The Gemara answers: This is not difficult, as here, when the verse states they each had six wings, it is referring to the time when the Temple is standing, while there, where four wings are described, it is referring to the time when the Temple is not standing, for it is as if the number of the wings of the animals were diminished so that they now have only four.

(1) In the year that King Uzziah died, I beheld my Lord seated on a high and lofty throne; and the skirts of His robe filled the Temple. (2) Seraphs stood in attendance on Him. Each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his legs, and with two he would fly. (3) And one would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy! The LORD of Hosts! His presence fills all the earth!” (4) The doorposts would shake at the sound of the one who called, and the House kept filling with smoke. (5) I cried, “Woe is me; I am lost! For I am a man of unclean lips And I live among a people Of unclean lips; Yet my own eyes have beheld The King LORD of Hosts.” (6) Then one of the seraphs flew over to me with a live coal, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. (7) He touched it to my lips and declared, “Now that this has touched your lips, Your guilt shall depart And your sin be purged away.” (8) Then I heard the voice of my Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me.” (9) And He said, “Go, say to that people: ‘Hear, indeed, but do not understand; See, indeed, but do not grasp.’ (10) Dull that people’s mind, Stop its ears, And seal its eyes— Lest, seeing with its eyes And hearing with its ears, It also grasp with its mind, And repent and save itself.” (11) I asked, “How long, my Lord?” And He replied: “Till towns lie waste without inhabitants And houses without people, And the ground lies waste and desolate— (12) For the LORD will banish the population— And deserted sites are many In the midst of the land. (13) “But while a tenth part yet remains in it, it shall repent. It shall be ravaged like the terebinth and the oak, of which stumps are left even when they are felled: its stump shall be a holy seed.”

(1) In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. (2) On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— (3) the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, by the Chebar Canal, in the land of the Chaldeans. And the hand of the LORD came upon him there. (4) 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. (5) In the center of it were also the figures of four creatures. And this was their appearance: They had the figures of human beings. (6) However, each had four faces, and each of them had four wings; (7) the legs of each were [fused into] a single rigid leg, and the feet of each were like a single calf’s hoof; and their sparkle was like the luster of burnished bronze. (8) They had human hands below their wings. The four of them had their faces and their wings on their four sides. (9) Each one’s wings touched those of the other. They did not turn when they moved; each could move in the direction of any of its faces. (10) Each of them had a human face [at the front]; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right; each of the four had the face of an ox on the left; and each of the four had the face of an eagle [at the back]. (11) Such were their faces. As for their wings, they were separated: above, each had two touching those of the others, while the other two covered its body. (12) And each could move in the direction of any of its faces; they went wherever the spirit impelled them to go, without turning when they moved. (13) Such then was the appearance of the creatures. With them was something that looked like burning coals of fire. This fire, suggestive of torches, kept moving about among the creatures; the fire had a radiance, and lightning issued from the fire. (14) Dashing to and fro [among] the creatures was something that looked like flares. (15) As I gazed on the creatures, I saw one wheel on the ground next to each of the four-faced creatures. (16) As for the appearance and structure of the wheels, they gleamed like beryl. All four had the same form; the appearance and structure of each was as of two wheels cutting through each other. (17) And when they moved, each could move in the direction of any of its four quarters; they did not veer when they moved. (18) Their rims were tall and frightening, for the rims of all four were covered all over with eyes. (19) And when the creatures moved forward, the wheels moved at their sides; and when the creatures were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne too. (20) Wherever the spirit impelled them to go, they went—wherever the spirit impelled them—and the wheels were borne alongside them; for the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels. (21) When those moved, these moved; and when those stood still, these stood still; and when those were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne alongside them—for the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels. (22) Above the heads of the creatures was a form: an expanse, with an awe-inspiring gleam as of crystal, was spread out above their heads. (23) Under the expanse, each had one pair of wings extended toward those of the others; and each had another pair covering its body. (24) When they moved, I could hear the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the sound of Shaddai, a tumult like the din of an army. When they stood still, they would let their wings droop. (25) From above the expanse over their heads came a sound. When they stood still, they would let their wings droop. (26) Above the expanse over their heads was the semblance of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and on top, upon this semblance of a throne, there was the semblance of a human form. (27) From what appeared as his loins up, I saw a gleam as of amber—what looked like a fire encased in a frame; and from what appeared as his loins down, I saw what looked like fire. There was a radiance all about him. (28) Like the appearance of the bow which shines in the clouds on a day of rain, such was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. That was the appearance of the semblance of the Presence of the LORD. When I beheld it, I flung myself down on my face. And I heard the voice of someone speaking.

(1) And He said to me, “O mortal, stand up on your feet that I may speak to you.” (2) As He spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard what was being spoken to me. (3) He said to me, “O mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, that nation of rebels, who have rebelled against Me.—They as well as their fathers have defied Me to this very day; (4) for the sons are brazen of face and stubborn of heart. I send you to them, and you shall say to them: ‘Thus said the Lord GOD’— (5) whether they listen or not, for they are a rebellious breed—that they may know that there was a prophet among them. (6) “And you, mortal, do not fear them and do not fear their words, though thistles and thorns press against you, and you sit upon scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed; (7) but speak My words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. (8) “And you, mortal, heed what I say to you: Do not be rebellious like that rebellious breed. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” (9) As I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, holding a written scroll. (10) He unrolled it before me, and it was inscribed on both the front and the back; on it were written lamentations, dirges, and woes.

(1) He said to me, “Mortal, eat what is offered you; eat this scroll, and go speak to the House of Israel.” (2) So I opened my mouth, and He gave me this scroll to eat, (3) as He said to me, “Mortal, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll that I give you.” I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey to me. (4) Then He said to me, “Mortal, go to the House of Israel and repeat My very words to them. (5) For you are sent, not to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult language, but to the House of Israel— (6) not to the many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose talk you cannot understand. If I sent you to them, they would listen to you. (7) But the House of Israel will refuse to listen to you, for they refuse to listen to Me; for the whole House of Israel are brazen of forehead and stubborn of heart. (8) But I will make your face as hard as theirs, and your forehead as brazen as theirs. (9) I will make your forehead like adamant, harder than flint. Do not fear them, and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed.” (10) Then He said to me: “Mortal, listen with your ears and receive into your mind all the words that I speak to you. (11) Go to your people, the exile community, and speak to them. Say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD—whether they listen or not.” (12) Then a spirit carried me away, and behind me I heard a great roaring sound: “Blessed is the Presence of the LORD, in His place,” (13) with the sound of the wings of the creatures beating against one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them—a great roaring sound. (14) A spirit seized me and carried me away. I went in bitterness, in the fury of my spirit, while the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. (15) And I came to the exile community that dwelt in Tel Abib by the Chebar Canal, and I remained where they dwelt. And for seven days I sat there stunned among them. (16) After those seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: (17) “O mortal, I appoint you watchman for the House of Israel; and when you hear a word from My mouth, you must warn them for Me. (18) If I say to a wicked man, ‘You shall die,’ and you do not warn him—you do not speak to warn the wicked man of his wicked course in order to save his life—he, the wicked man, shall die for his iniquity, but I will require a reckoning for his blood from you. (19) But if you do warn the wicked man, and he does not turn back from his wickedness and his wicked course, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your own life. (20) Again, if a righteous man abandons his righteousness and does wrong, when I put a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sins; the righteous deeds that he did shall not be remembered; but because you did not warn him, I will require a reckoning for his blood from you. (21) If, however, you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he, the righteous, does not sin, he shall live because he took warning, and you will have saved your own life.” (22) Then the hand of the LORD came upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out to the valley, and there I will speak with you.” (23) I arose and went out to the valley, and there stood the Presence of the LORD, like the Presence that I had seen at the Chebar Canal; and I flung myself down on my face. (24) And a spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet. And He spoke to me, and said to me: “Go, shut yourself up in your house. (25) As for you, O mortal, cords have been placed upon you, and you have been bound with them, and you shall not go out among them. (26) And I will make your tongue cleave to your palate, and you shall be dumb; you shall not be a reprover to them, for they are a rebellious breed. (27) But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD!’ He who listens will listen, and he who does not will not—for they are a rebellious breed.”

Rav Ḥisda said that Mar Ukva said: One who prays on Shabbat evening and recites vaykhullu, the two ministering angels who accompany the person at all times place their hands on his head and say to him: “And your iniquity has passed, and your sin has been atoned” (Isaiah 6:7). It was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda says: Two ministering angels accompany a person on Shabbat evening from the synagogue to his home, one good angel and one evil angel. And when he reaches his home and finds a lamp burning and a table set and his bed made, the good angel says: May it be Your will that it shall be like this for another Shabbat. And the evil angel answers against his will: Amen. And if the person’s home is not prepared for Shabbat in that manner, the evil angel says: May it be Your will that it shall be so for another Shabbat, and the good angel answers against his will: Amen.

(1) THE CREATION ON THE SECOND DAY
ON the second day the Holy One, blessed be He, created the firmament, the angels, fire for flesh and blood, and the fire of Gehinnom. Were not heaven and earth created on the first day, as it is said, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1)? Which firmament was created on the second day? Rabbi Eliezer said: || It was the firmament which is above the heads of the four Chajjôth (living creatures), (as it is said), "And over the head of the Chajjôth there was the likeness of a firmament, like the colour of the terrible crystal" (Ezek. 1:22). What is the meaning of (the expression), "like the colour of the terrible crystal"? It means like precious stones and pearls; it illuminates all the heavens like a lamp which is illuminating the whole house and like the sun which is shining with maximum intensity at noonday, as it is said, "The light dwelleth with him" (Dan. 2:22); and like this in the future will the righteous shed light, as it is said, "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament" (Dan. 12:3). Were it not for that firmament the world would be engulfed by the waters above it and below it; but (the firmament) divides the waters (above) from the waters (below), as it is said, "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, (and let it divide the waters from the waters)" (Gen. 1:6), it illuminates between the waters above and the waters below.

(2) (As for) the angels created on the second day, when they are sent (as messengers) by His word they are changed into winds, and when they minister before Him they are changed into fire, as it is said, "Who maketh his angels winds; his ministers a flaming fire" (Ps. 104:4).

(3) Four classes of ministering angels minister and utter praise before the Holy One, blessed be He: the first camp (led by) Michael on His right, the second camp (led by) Gabriel on His left, the third camp || (led by) Uriel before Him, and the fourth camp (led by) Raphael behind Him; and the Shekhinah of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the centre. He is sitting on a throne high and exalted. His throne is high and suspended above in the air. The appearance of His Glory is like the colour of amber. And the adornment of a crown is on His head, and the Ineffable Name is upon His forehead. One half (of His glory) is fire the other half is hail, at His right hand is life and at His left is death. He has a sceptre of fire in His hand and a veil is spread before Him, and His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, and the seven angels, which were created first, minister before Him within the veil, and this (veil) is called Pargod. His footstool is like fire and hail. Fire is flashing continually around His throne, righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne. And the likeness of His throne is like a sapphire throne with four legs, and the four holy Chajjôth are fixed to each leg, each one has four faces and each one has four wings, as it is said, "And every one had four faces and four wings" (Ezek. 1:6), and these (Chajjôth) are the Cherubim.

(4) When He || speaks towards the west He speaks between the two Cherubim with the face of the ox, when He speaks towards the north He speaks between the two Cherubim with the face of an eagle.

(5) Over against them are the Ophanim (Wheels) and the Whirling Wheels of the Chariot, and when He looketh upon the earth His chariots are upon the Ophanim, and owing to the noise caused by the whirling wheels of the Chariot—lightnings and thunder go forth into the world. When He dwells in heaven He rideth upon a swift cloud. When He hastens He flies upon the wings of the wind, as it is said, "And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, he flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind" (Ps. 18:10).

(6) The Chajjôth stand next to the throne of His glory and they do not know the place of His glory. The Chajjôth stand in awe and dread, in fear and trembling, and from the perspiration of their faces a river of fire arises and goes forth before Him, as it is said, "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him…"(Dan. 7:10). And the wings of Gallizur the angel, who stands next to the Chajjôth, (are spread forth) so that the fire which consumes the fire of the angels should not burn (them). Two Seraphim stand, one on His right and one on His left, each one has six wings, with twain they cover their face so as not to behold the presence of the Shekhinah, with twain they cover their feet so that they should not be seen before the presence of the Shekhinah, || so that the standing of the foot of the calf might be forgotten. With twain do they fly, praising and reverencing, and they sanctify. One answers and another calls, one calls and another answers, and they say, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa. 6:3).

(7) The Chajjôth stand at the side of the throne of His glory and they do not know the place of His glory; they respond and say in every place where His glory is, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place" (Ezek. 3:12). Israel, a nation unique on the earth, declares daily the unity of His great Name, saying, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one" (Deut. 6:4). He answers His people Israel and says to them, I am the Lord your God who has delivered you from every trouble.

The Gemara relates: The Sages said about Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai that he did not neglect Bible; Mishna; Gemara; halakhot and aggadot; minutiae of the Torah and minutiae of the scribes; the hermeneutical principles of the Torah with regard to a fortiori inferences and verbal analogies; the calculation of the calendrical seasons; and numerology [gimmatreyaot]. In addition, he did not neglect esoteric matters, including the conversation of ministering angels; the conversation of demons, and the conversation of palm trees; parables of launderers, which are folk tales that can be used to explain the Torah; parables of foxes; and more generally, a great matter and a small matter.

Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha said: Suriel, the heavenly ministering angel of the Divine Presence, told me three things from on high: Do not take your cloak in the morning from the hand of your servant and wear it; do not ritually wash your hands from one who has not ritually washed his own hands; and only return a cup of asparagus to the one who gave it to you. Why is this? Because a band of demons and some say a band of angels of destruction lie in wait for a person and say: When will a person encounter one of these circumstances and be captured?

They said in heaven: Who is the revealer of secrets in the world? They said in response: It is Elijah. Elijah was brought to heaven, whereupon he was beaten with sixty fiery lashes. Elijah came back down to earth disguised as a bear of fire. He came among the congregation and distracted them from their prayers, preventing Rabbi Ḥiyya from reciting the phrase: Who revives the dead.

Rabbi Elazar said: At the time when a righteous individual departs from the world, three contingents of ministering angels go out toward him. One says to him: Enter in peace; and one says to him: Each one that walks in his uprightness; and one says to him: He enters in peace, they rest in their beds. At the time when a wicked person perishes from the world, three contingents of angels of destruction go out toward him. One says to him: “There is no peace, says the Lord concerning the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22); and one says to him: “You shall lie down in sorrow” (Isaiah 50:11); and one says to him: “Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised” (Ezekiel 32:19).

Rabbi Elazar said: At the time when a righteous individual departs from the world, three contingents of ministering angels go out toward him. One says to him: Enter in peace; and one says to him: Each one that walks in his uprightness; and one says to him: He enters in peace, they rest in their beds. At the time when a wicked person perishes from the world, three contingents of angels of destruction go out toward him. One says to him: “There is no peace, says the Lord concerning the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22); and one says to him: “You shall lie down in sorrow” (Isaiah 50:11); and one says to him: “Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised” (Ezekiel 32:19).

§ It is taught in a baraita: The following was said about Binyamin the righteous, who was appointed supervisor over the charity fund. Once, a woman came before him during years of drought and said to him: My master, sustain me. He said to her: I swear by the Temple service that there is nothing left in the charity fund. She said to him: My master, if you do not sustain me, a woman and her seven sons will die. He arose and sustained her with his own funds. After some time, he fell deathly ill. The ministering angels said to the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You said that anyone who preserves a single life in Israel is regarded as if he has preserved an entire world. Should then Binyamin the righteous, who saved a woman and her seven sons, die after these few years, still in his youth? They immediately tore up his sentence. A Sage taught: They added twenty-two years to his life.

Apropos Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Gemara notes: In certain respects, the latter three were greater than Daniel, and in certain respects, Daniel was greater than the latter three. They were greater than he, as they were prophets and he was not a prophet. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were designated to transmit their visions of God to the Jewish people, but Daniel was not designated to share his visions with others. And he was greater than they, as he saw this vision, and they did not see this vision. The Gemara asks: And since they did not see the vision, what is the reason that they were frightened? The Gemara answers: Although they did not see the vision, their guardian angels saw it, and they were overcome with fear and fled. Ravina said: Conclude from it that in the case of this person who becomes frightened with no apparent cause, although he does not see what causes his fear, his guardian angel sees it. What is his remedy? Let him leap four cubits from his current location to distance himself from the perceived danger. Alternatively, let him recite Shema, which will afford him protection. And if he is standing in a place of filth, where it is prohibited to recite verses from the Torah, let him say this formula: The goat of the slaughterhouse is fatter than I, and let the demon harm the goat instead.

They sent a messenger from heaven after him to take his soul up to the heavenly academy, but the Angel of Death was unable to approach Rabba bar Naḥmani, as his mouth did not cease from his Torah study. In the meantime, a wind blew and howled between the branches. Rabba bar Naḥmani thought that the noise was due to an infantry battalion [gunda] about to capture him. He said: Let that man, i.e., me, die and not be given over to the hands of the government. The Angel of Death was therefore able to take his soul.

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to Levi: Show me Persians, i.e., describe a typical Persian to me. Levi said to him: They are similar to the legions of the house of David. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Ḥabbarin, Persian priests. Levi said to him: They are similar to angels of destruction. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Ishmaelites. Levi said to him: They are similar to demons of an outhouse. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Torah scholars of Babylonia. Levi said to him: They are similar to ministering angels.

Rabba said: I have seen this angel in charge of water, Ridya, in the form of a calf whose lips were parted, standing between the lower waters of the deep and the upper waters of the deep. To the upper waters of the deep, he said: Distill your water and let it rain. To the lower waters of the deep, he said: Let your water flow from below, as it is stated: “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove [tur] is heard in our land” (Song of Songs 2:12). The appearance of flowers in this verse alludes to the libations, as both the blooming of flowers and pouring of these libations are annual events. The time of the singing is referring to the singing of the Festival. Finally, the term tur in Aramaic can also mean an ox; in this context, it is interpreted as a reference to the angel Ridya.

The Gemara asks: Why do I need these instances of plural words? Why does the verse employ the plural at all when referring to God? The Gemara explains: This is in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yoḥanan, as Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not act unless He consults with the entourage of Above, i.e., the angels, as it is stated: “The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones” (Daniel 4:14).

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: From each and every utterance that emerged from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, the souls of the Jewish people left their bodies, as it is stated: “My soul departed when he spoke” (Song of Songs 5:6). And since their souls left their bodies from the first utterance, how did they receive the second utterance? Rather, God rained the dew upon them that, in the future, will revive the dead, and He revived them, as it is stated: “You, God, poured down a bountiful rain; when Your inheritance was weary You sustained it” (Psalms 68:10). And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: With each and every utterance that emerged from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, the Jewish people retreated in fear twelve mil, and the ministering angels walked them back toward the mountain, as it is stated: “The hosts of angels will scatter [yidodun]” (Psalms 68:13). Do not read the word as yidodun, meaning scattered; rather, read it as yedadun, they walked them.

Continuing the previous discussion, Rav Ketina said: When the Jewish people would ascend for one of the pilgrimage Festivals, the priests would roll up the curtain for them and show them the cherubs, which were clinging to one another, and say to them: See how you are beloved before God, like the love of a male and female. The two cherubs symbolize the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the Jewish people.

The Gemara asks: And is it really permitted to form images of those attendants concerning which it is impossible to reproduce their likeness? Isn’t it taught in a baraita that the verse: “You shall not make with Me gods of silver” (Exodus 20:19), comes to teach: You shall not make images of My attendants that serve before Me on high. Apparently, this includes the sun and the moon. Abaye said: This does not include the sun and the moon, as the Torah prohibited only the fashioning of an image of all four faces of the creatures of the Heavenly Chariot together (see Ezekiel, chapter 1). However, all other images, which are not the likeness of the ministering angels, are permitted. The Gemara raises a difficulty: However, if that is so, let the fashioning of an image of a human face [partzuf ] alone be permitted. Why, then, is it taught in a baraita: All faces are permitted for ornamental purposes, except for the face of a person? Rav Huna, son of Rav Idi, said: From a lecture of Abaye I heard that there is a different reason why one may not form an image of a human face, as the verse states: “You shall not make with Me [iti]” (Exodus 20:19). This can be read as: You shall not make Me [oti]. Since man is created in the image of God, it is prohibited to form an image of a human being. The Gemara asks: And is it permitted to form images of other attendants? Isn’t it taught in another baraita that the verse: “You shall not make with Me gods of silver” (Exodus 20:19), teaches that you shall not make images of My attendants that serve before Me on high, for example, ofanim and seraphim and the sacred ḥayyot and the ministering angels. Abaye said: The Torah prohibited only those attendants that are found in the upper Heaven, i.e., the supreme angels in the highest firmament, but not the celestial bodies, e.g., the sun and the moon, despite the fact that they too are located in heaven.

§ Rabbi Yoḥanan says: It is prohibited for a person to engage in intercourse by day. Rav Hamnuna says: What is the verse from which this is derived? As it is stated: “Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night on which it was said: Conceived is a man-child” (Job 3:3). It is derived from here that nighttime is meant for conception, but daytime is not meant for conception. Reish Lakish says that the proof is from here: “But he who despises his ways shall die” (Proverbs 19:16). One might see something unpleasing in his wife in the daylight and come to despise her. The Gemara asks: And how does Reish Lakish interpret this verse cited by Rabbi Yoḥanan? The Gemara answers that he requires that verse for that which Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa taught. As Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa interpreted that verse in the following manner: That angel that is appointed over conception is called: Night. And that angel takes the drop of semen from which a person will be formed and presents it before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and says before Him: Master of the Universe, what will be of this drop? Will the person fashioned from it be mighty or weak? Will he be clever or stupid? Will he be wealthy or poor? The Gemara notes: But this angel does not say: Will he be wicked or righteous? This is in accordance with a statement of Rabbi Ḥanina, as Rabbi Ḥanina said: Everything is in the hand of Heaven, except for fear of Heaven. People have free will to serve God or not, as it is stated: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you other than to fear the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 10:12). The fact that God asks of the Jewish people to fear Him indicates that it is a person’s choice to do so.

§ Apropos the war between the kings and Abraham mentioned above, the Gemara explains a verse: “And he pursued as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night [laila], he and his servants, and smote them” (Genesis 14:14–15). The term “by night” [laila] appears out of place in this verse. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: That angel that happened to come and assist Abraham in that war, Laila is his name, as it is stated: “And Laila said: A man-child is brought forth” (Job 3:3), indicating that there is an angel named Laila. And Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa says: God performed for him an act of night, i.e., the stars in heaven waged war on his behalf, as it is stated: “They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera” (Judges 5:20). Reish Lakish said: The statement of Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa, the smith, is preferable to the statement of the son of the smith, Rabbi Yoḥanan.

The Gemara cites a related story. Rabbi Ḥaggai said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: There was an incident involving a certain pious man who would dig pits, wells, and caves to collect water for passersby. Once his daughter was passing over a river for the purpose of marriage, and the river washed her away. And all the people came to console him, but he refused to accept their condolences. Rabbi Pineḥas ben Yair came to visit him to console him, but he refused to accept condolences even from Rabbi Pineḥas. Rabbi Pineḥas said to the people of that community: Is this your righteous man, who will not be consoled and accept God’s judgment? They said to him: Rabbi, he would perform such and such acts of righteousness, by supplying water, and yet such and such tragedy, the drowning of his daughter, occurred to him. Rabbi Pineḥas said: Is it possible that he honors his Creator with water, and yet his Creator strikes him with water? Immediately thereafter, a report spread throughout the city: The daughter of that righteous man has arrived, as she did not actually drown. Some say she grasped a branch and pulled herself out of the river, and some say an angel in the form of Rabbi Pineḥas ben Yair descended from heaven and rescued her.