Face-to-Face Encounter with God
User Profile Picture
ByEran Rosenberg

Imagine entering a dark room. To the best of your knowledge, it's an empty room. You walk slowly and quietly into the room. When your eyes get used to the darkness, you notice an unfamiliar figure sitting on a chair and waiting just for you…

You get closer and closer and trying to figure out who this figure might be…

After few seconds you realize that the figure in front of you is God.

(Idea: Dr. Ruth Calderon)

Biblical Figures Encounter God

Questions to ponder:

  1. How would you describe the encounter with God in your text?

  2. Who initiated the encounter?

  3. How is the person in the text in dialogue with God?

  4. How has the encounter with God changed the individual?

  5. How has the encounter with the person changed God?

Text Study in Hevrutah:

Text 1: Avraham tries to save the people of S’dom - Bereshit 18: 20-33

Text 2: Yaakov’s Dream - Bereshit 28: 10-17

Text 3: Yaakov wrestles with a divine being - Bereshit 32: 25-32

Text 4: Moshe at the Burning Bush: Shmot 3: 1-6, 10-11, 4:1-5, 10-17

Text 5: Moshe after the Sin of the Golden Calf: Shmot 32: 30-33 4: 7-11, 17-23

Rabbi Yishmael Ben Elisha at the Holy of Holies - Entire Text

ברכות ז׳ א

תניא אמר רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע פעם אחת נכנסתי להקטיר קטורת לפני ולפנים וראיתי אכתריאל יה ה׳ צבאות שהוא יושב על כסא רם ונשא ואמר לי ישמעאל בני ברכני אמרתי לו יהי רצון מלפניך שיכבשו רחמיך את כעסך ויגולו רחמיך על מדותיך ותתנהג עם בניך במדת הרחמים ותכנס להם לפנים משורת הדין ונענע לי בראשו וקמשמע לן שלא תהא ברכת הדיוט קלה בעיניך

Berakhot 7a

Similarly, it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense, and in a vision I saw Akatriel Ya, the Lord of Hosts, one of the names of God expressing His ultimate authority, seated upon a high and exalted throne (see Isaiah 6).
And He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me.
I said to Him the prayer that God prays: “May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger,
and may Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes,
and may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy,
and may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law.”
The Holy One, Blessed be He, nodded His head and accepted the blessing. This event teaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly.

What does hearing the text delivered this way tell you about the interaction and or relationship between Rabbi Yishmael Kohen Gadol and God?

The Holy of Holies in the Second Temple was an empty chamber. There was no ark or curtain or cherub (Bavli Yoma 21b). There was just the power of the place itself: the foundation stone of the world and the pulsing heart of the universe. Deep in the innermost chamber during the ancient rituals of Yom Kippur, the Holy One sits alone and longs for human blessing.

Dr. Ruth Calderon / Yishmael, My Son, Bless Me in A Bride for One Night

PART 1: ENTRANCE

תניא אמר רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע פעם אחת נכנסתי להקטיר קטורת לפני ולפנים וראיתי אכתריאל יה ה׳ צבאות שהוא יושב על כסא רם ונשא

Similarly, it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense, and in a vision I saw Akatriel Ya, the Lord of Hosts, one of the names of God expressing His ultimate authority, seated upon a high and exalted throne (see Isaiah 6).

ישעיהו ו׳:א׳-ג׳
(א) בִּשְׁנַת־מוֹת֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ עֻזִּיָּ֔הוּ וָאֶרְאֶ֧ה אֶת־אֲדֹנָ֛י יֹשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסֵּ֖א רָ֣ם וְנִשָּׂ֑א וְשׁוּלָ֖יו מְלֵאִ֥ים אֶת־הַהֵיכָֽל׃ (ב) שְׂרָפִ֨ים עֹמְדִ֤ים ׀ מִמַּ֙עַל֙ ל֔וֹ שֵׁ֧שׁ כְּנָפַ֛יִם שֵׁ֥שׁ כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאֶחָ֑ד בִּשְׁתַּ֣יִם ׀ יְכַסֶּ֣ה פָנָ֗יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֛יִם יְכַסֶּ֥ה רַגְלָ֖יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֥יִם יְעוֹפֵֽף׃ (ג) וְקָרָ֨א זֶ֤ה אֶל־זֶה֙ וְאָמַ֔ר קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת מְלֹ֥א כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃
Isaiah 6:1-3
(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!”

Questions: Entrance

Holy of Holies

  1. Rabbi Yishmael, like every other Kohen Gadol, entered the Holy of Holies only once a year, on Yom Kippur. How did he prepare for this important moment? What did he expect to do there? What did he expect to see there?

  2. What is the significance of the only act the Kohen Gadol does when he enters the Holy of Holies: offering incense?

  3. Look at Isaiah 6: 1-3. Why does Yishmael describe God’s throne in these words?

Classroom

  1. As teachers, how do you prepare to enter a classroom for the first time? How is it similar or different than entering the classroom later during the year? What do you do when what you see in the classroom isn’t what you expected to see?

  2. What “incense” do you bring to your classroom?

  3. Would you describe your goals in the classroom as sacred?

PART 2: BLESSING

ואמר לי ישמעאל בני ברכני אמרתי לו יהי רצון מלפניך שיכבשו רחמיך את כעסך ויגולו רחמיך על מדותיך ותתנהג עם בניך במדת הרחמים ותכנס להם לפנים משורת הדין

And He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me.
I said to Him the prayer that God prays: “May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger,
and may Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes,
and may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy,
and may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law.”

שבת פ״ט א

ואמר רבי יהושע בן לוי בשעה שעלה משה למרום מצאו להקדוש ברוך הוא שהיה קושר כתרים לאותיות אמר לו משה אין שלום בעירך אמר לפניו כלום יש עבד שנותן שלום לרבו אמר לו היה לך לעזרני מיד אמר לו ועתה יגדל נא כח ה׳ כאשר דברת.

Shabbat 89a

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, tying crowns to letters. On the tops of certain letters there are ornamental crownlets. Moses said nothing, and God said to him: Moses, is there no greeting in your city? Do people not greet each other in your city? He said before Him: Does a servant greet his master? That would be disrespectful. He said to him: At least you should have assisted Me and wished Me success in My work. Immediately he said to Him: “And now, may the power of the Lord be great as you have spoken” (Numbers 14:17).

Questions: Blessing

Holy of Holies

  1. Why did God call Yishmael “My Son”? How does framing the relationship in this way affect the conversation?

  2. Why did God ask Yishmael for a blessing? Does God depend on human blessing? (see Bavli Shabbat 89a: Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi)

  3. Yishmael chose to bless God with God’s own prayer. Why did he choose this blessing?

Classroom

  1. What do your students call you? Why did you decide to be addressed this way? Do you view your students as your “children”?

  2. What blessing do you give to your students when you enter the classroom?

  3. What blessing do your students give you?

PART 3: NODDING

ונענע לי בראשו וקמשמע לן שלא תהא ברכת הדיוט קלה בעיניך

The Holy One, Blessed be He, nodded His head and accepted the blessing. This event teaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly.

Questions: Nodding

Holy of Holies

  1. God nodded His head which probably signifies that God accepted the blessing. Is this the response you expected? Could there have been another response?

  2. How does God’s non-verbal response affect Yishmael? What was his feeling leaving the Holy of Holies?

  3. Is God’s response momentary or might it have a longer lasting affect (affecting future encounters)?

Classroom

  1. What are some of the non-verbal communications you have with your students? What kind of messages do you convey to them? What kind of messages do they convey to you?

  2. In what situations is non-verbal communication in your classroom more effective than verbal communication?

  3. How might gesture carry over from the individual moment to future encounters?

אֶת אֱלֹהַי רָאִיתִי בַּקָּפֶה

הוּא נִתְגַּלָה לִי בַּעֲשַׁן סִיגָרִיּוֹת.

נְכֵה-רוּחַ, מִסְתַּלֵּחַ וְרָפֶה

רָמַז לִי: "עוֹד אֶפְשָׁר לִחְיוֹת!"

הוּא לֹא הָיָה דוֹמֶה לַאֲהוּבִי:
קָרוֹב מִמֶּנּוּ, וְאֻמְלָל,
כְּצֵל שָׁקוּף שֶׁל אוֹר הַכּוֹכָבִים
הוּא לֹא מִלֵא אֶת הֶחָלָל.

לְאוֹר שְׁקִיעָה חִוֵּר וַאֲדַמְדַּם
כְּמִתְוַדֶּה עַל חֵטְא לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ,
יָרַד לְמַטָּה לְנַשֵּק רַגְלֵי אָדָם
וּלְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת סְלִיחָתוֹ.

לאה גולדברג, 'טבעות עשן', 1935 בתוך: שירים א, ספרית פועלים, 2003, עמ' 24

I saw my God in the café.

He was revealed in the cigarette smoke.

Depressed, sorry and slack

he hinted: “One can live still!”

He was nothing like the one I love:

nearer than he—and downcast,

like the transparent shadow of starlight

he did not fill the emptiness.

By the light of a pale and reddish dusk,

like one confessing his sins before death,

he knelt down to kiss man’s feet

and to beg his forgiveness.

Leah Goldberg, Selecetd Poety and Drama. Translated by Rachel Tzvia Black