Angels, Souls, Human Beings and the Giving of the Torah Pre-Shavuot Learning - 2020

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Moses ascended on High to receive the Torah, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, what is one born of a woman doing here among us? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: He came to receive the Torah. The angels said before Him: The Torah is a hidden treasure that was concealed by you 974 generations before the creation of the world, and you seek to give it to flesh and blood? As it is stated: “The word which He commanded to a thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8). Since the Torah, the word of God, was given to the twenty-sixth generation after Adam, the first man, the remaining 974 generations must have preceded the creation of the world. “What is man that You are mindful of him and the son of man that You think of him?” (Psalms 8:5). Rather, “God our Lord, how glorious is Your name in all the earth that Your majesty is placed above the heavens” (Psalms 8:2). The rightful place of God’s majesty, the Torah, is in the heavens. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Provide them with an answer as to why the Torah should be given to the people. Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, I am afraid lest they burn me with the breath of their mouths. God said to him: Grasp My throne of glory for strength and protection, and provide them with an answer. And from where is this derived? As it is stated: “He causes him to grasp the front of the throne, and spreads His cloud over it” (Job 26:9), and Rabbi Naḥum said: This verse teaches that God spread the radiance of His presence and His cloud over Moses. Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, the Torah that You are giving me, what is written in it? God said to him: “I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of Egypt from the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). Moses said to the angels: Did you descend to Egypt? Were you enslaved to Pharaoh? Why should the Torah be yours? Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? God said to him: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Moses said to the angels: Do you dwell among the nations who worship

(2) "The LORD is our Master, how mighty is Your Name in all the earth." Rav said: "We find three places where the angels prosecuted God; the creation of man, the tabernacle, and the giving of the Torah." Where do we find [this phenomenon] regarding man? When God wished to create man he consulted the angels as it says (Genesis 1:26) "Let Us make man." They began to say "What is man that you recall him?!" [God] replied " Tomorrow you'll see how smart he is." When He created man what did God do? He brought all animals before the angels and asked them the names of all the animals and they did not know. God said to them "Do you want to know the wisdom of Man? I will ask him and he will tell me what all their names." What did God do? He brought all the animals and birds before Adam as it says (ibid. 2:19) "And the LORD formed from the earth." Rabbi Acha said, Did it not already say (ibid. 1:25) "And God made the beasts of the land?" What does the word "and He formed" come to teach us? Rather there it says "and He made" i.e. created them and here it says יצר from the root that connotes convergence as in (Deuteronomy 20:19) "when you besiege a city. (Genesis 2:19) "And He came to Adam to see what to call them" Isn't God omniscient? Rather "to see" means "to show the angels Adam's wisdom [by showing what Adam would call them]," and Adam independently came up with the same name as God for each and every animal. Then God asked him, "And you, what is your name?" He replied, "it is appropriate to call me Adam because I was created from the earth (Adamah)." God asked, "And what's My name?" Adam replied "It is appropriate to call you the LORD because you are the Lord of the entire world." That is why He says (Isaiah 42:8) "I am the LORD, this is My name."

(10) the Name of the Almighty, the King, the Great, the Mighty, the awesome One; holy¹⁷Despite the attributes we use to describe Him, He remains holy—beyond our conception. is He. And they all take upon themselves the yoke¹⁸The yoke of Divine Sovereignty is borne willingly and joyfully by each creature as an emblem of his free service to God.—S.R. Hirsch of Divine sovereignty one from the other, and lovingly give leave to one another¹⁹They take care not to precede one another in their praise of God. On the contrary, each says to the other, “You begin, because you are greater and more worthy than I.”—Avos of R’ Nosson to sanctify their Former in a spirit of serenity with clear speech and pleasantness,²⁰The clear speech of the angels is the holy tongue (pure Hebrew).—Ya'avetz all exclaim Kedushah in unison, with awe, and reverently exclaim:

(11) Holy, holy, holy is Adonoy of Hosts, the fullness of all the earth is His glory.²¹Isaiah 6:3. Targum Yonoson paraphrases this verse: “Holy [is God] in the highest heights of heaven, the abode of His Divine Presence; holy upon earth, the work of His almighty power; holy [is He] forever and for all eternity.” The Talmud, (Masechcs Chulin 91b) refers to this verse as the “Sanctification of the Angels.” According to Avudraham and Ya'avetz; this Kedushah has been inserted here to refute those who maintain that God relinquished His control over the heavenly bodies, and they are now able to function independently. We are therefore told that all the heavenly hosts proclaim God's sanctification and dominion over all the universe.

(12) And the Ofanim²²Ofanim, Chayos haKodesh, and Serafim are various classes of Angels. Ofanim denotes animated wheels as conceived in association with the Heavenly throne. (Avudraham); Chayos are those angels who exist eternally (Ya'avetz; some angels exist only for short times for specific functions.) Serafim indicate “beings of fire.” and the holy Chayos, with a mighty sound rise toward the Serafim. Facing them, they offer praise and say,

(13) Blessed is the glory of Adonoy from His place.²³Ezekiel 3:12. According to the Kuzari, God's glory is a euphemism for God Himself. Thus the verse means, “Blessed is Adonoy from His place,” conveying this concept: God is more blessed (i.e., greater) than His place; He is not confined to any place. Another view set forth in the Kuzari is that “God's glory” includes the angels. His throne, His chariot, the firmament, and the spheres. These are called God's glory, similar to a king's retinue, which is his royal splendor.

(14) To the Blessed Almighty, they²⁴The angels. offer pleasant melodies; to the King, the Almighty, [Who is] living and enduring, they utter hymns and make praises heard. For He alone, exalted and holy is the Performer of mighty deeds, Maker of new things; Master of battles, Sower of acts of righteousness,²⁵Rabbi Pinchos ben Ya'ir was given two measures of barley for safekeeping. The owner forgot about it for a number of years. Rabbi Pinchos ben Ya'ir planted the barley seed, and each year replanted the previous year's harvest until it grew to be a substantial crop. After seven years, the owner returned to claim his two measures of barley and Rabbi Pinchos told him, “Come I will show you the great fortune you have accumulated.” God does the same with the good and righteous deeds of man. He sows each righteous deed, and when the person is ready to receive his reward, God returns the original righteous investment plus all the accumulated dividends.—Midrash Rabba, Deuteronomy 3:6 Causer of deliverance to sprout forth; Creator of cures. Awesome in praise, Master of wonders, He renews in His goodness, each day, continuously,²⁶Since the blessing began with the praise of God as the Former of light Who continually renews the creation, it concludes on the same note. the work of creation, as it is said: "[Give thanks to Him] Who makes the great luminaries," for His kindness is everlasting."²⁷Psalms 136:7. (and He fashioned the luminaries, bringing joy to the world He created) Shine a new light upon Zion,²⁸We pray that we will be worthy of enjoying the original light of creation, which God put aside for the righteous in the future world.—Ya'avetz and may we all soon be privileged to [enjoy] its brightness. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Former of the luminaries.²⁹When reciting this blessing, bear in mind that even though the heavenly spheres appear immense to us and we attach much importance to them because of the vital functions they perform, in the eyes of their Creator they are no greater than worms. On the contrary, His wisdom and providence are more acutely recognized in an ant or bee because, in spite of their minuteness, they are endowed with a complex of faculties and organs.—Kuzari