929/Daniel: Prayer & Mystery

(10) In the vision of my mind in bed, I looked and saw a holy Watcher coming down from heaven.... (14) This sentence is decreed by the Watchers; This verdict is commanded by the Holy Ones So that all creatures may know That the Most High is sovereign over the realm of man, And He gives it to whom He wishes And He may set over it even the lowest of men.’

(37) You, O king—king of kings, to whom the God of Heaven has given kingdom, power, might, and glory;

(9) As I looked on, Thrones were set in place, And the Ancient of Days took His seat. His garment was like white snow, And the hair of His head was like lamb’s wool. His throne was tongues of flame; Its wheels were blazing fire.

When the Sages who had been studying there took leave of the study hall of Rabbi Ami, and some say it was the study hall of Rabbi Ḥanina, they would say to him the following blessing: May you see your world, may you benefit from all of the good in the world, in your lifetime, and may your end be to life in the World-to-Come, and may your hope be sustained for many generations. May your heart meditate understanding, your mouth speak wisdom, and your tongue whisper with praise. May your eyelids look directly before you, your eyes shine in the light of Torah, and your face radiate like the brightness of the firmament. May your lips express knowledge, your kidneys rejoice in the upright, and your feet run to hear the words of the Ancient of Days, God (see Daniel 7).

(3) And the knowledgeable will be radiant like the bright expanse of sky, and those who lead the many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.

(1) and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

(11) When Daniel learned that it had been put in writing, he went to his house, in whose upper chamber he had had windows made facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt down, prayed, and made confession to his God, as he had always done. (12) Then those men came thronging in and found Daniel petitioning his God in supplication. (13) They then approached the king and reminded him of the royal ban: “Did you not put in writing a ban that whoever addresses a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, during the next thirty days, shall be thrown into a lions’ den?” The king said in reply, “The order stands firm, as a law of the Medes and Persians that may not be abrogated.”

(1) In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— (2) in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, consulted the books concerning the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD that had come to Jeremiah the prophet, were to be the term of Jerusalem’s desolation—seventy years. (3) I turned my face to the Lord God, devoting myself to prayer and supplication, in fasting, in sackcloth and ashes. (4) I prayed to the LORD my God, making confession thus: “O Lord, great and awesome God, who stays faithful to His covenant with those who love Him and keep His commandments! (5) We have sinned; we have gone astray; we have acted wickedly; we have been rebellious and have deviated from Your commandments and Your rules, (6) and have not obeyed Your servants the prophets who spoke in Your name to our kings, our officers, our fathers, and all the people of the land. (7) With You, O Lord, is the right, and the shame is on us to this very day, on the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all Israel, near and far, in all the lands where You have banished them, for the trespass they committed against You.

(10) For thus said GOD: When Babylon’s seventy years are over, I will take note of you, and I will fulfill to you My promise of favor—to bring you back to this place. (11) For I am mindful of the plans I have made concerning you—declares GOD—plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a hopeful future. (12) When you call Me, and come and pray to Me, I will give heed to you.

The Gemara comments: This interpretation that Rav Mattana said leans to, i.e., is consonant with, the exposition of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. As Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Why are the Sages of those generations called the members of the Great Assembly? It is because they returned the crown of the Holy One, Blessed be He, to its former glory. How so? Moses came and said in his prayer: “The great, the mighty, and the awesomeGod” (Deuteronomy 10:17). Jeremiah the prophet came and said: Gentiles, i.e., the minions of Nebuchadnezzar, are carousing in His sanctuary; where is His awesomeness? Therefore, he did not say awesome in his prayer: “The great God, the mighty Lord of Hosts, is His name” (Jeremiah 32:18). Daniel came and said: Gentiles are enslaving His children; where is His might? Therefore he did not say mighty in his prayer: “The great and awesome God” (Daniel 9:4). The members of the Great Assembly came and said: On the contrary, this is the might of His might, i.e., this is the fullest expression of it, that He conquers His inclination in that He exercises patience toward the wicked. God’s anger is flared by the gentile nations’ enslavement of His people, yet He expresses tremendous might by suppressing His anger and holding back from punishing them immediately. Therefore, it is still appropriate to refer to God as mighty. And these acts also express His awesomeness: Were it not for the awesomeness of the Holy One, Blessed be He, how could one people, i.e., the Jewish people, who are alone and hated by the gentile nations, survive among the nations?

(16) I heard a human voice from the middle of Ulai calling out, “Gabriel, make that man understand the vision.”

(13) However, the prince of the Persian kingdom opposed me for twenty-one days; now Michael, a prince of the first rank, has come to my aid, after I was detained there with the kings of Persia.

Just as the Holy One blessed be He created four directions and four banners corresponding to them, so, too, He surrounded His throne with four angels: Mikhael, Gavriel, Uriel, and Refael. Mikhael was to His right, corresponding to Reuben. Why is his name called Mikhael? When Israel crossed the sea, Moses broke out in song: “Who is like You [mikhamokha]” (Exodus 15:11). When he concluded the Torah, he said: “Yeshurun, there is none like God [ein kael]” (Deuteronomy 33:26). Mi khamokha, ein kael, that is Mikhael. Uriel to his left, corresponding to Dan that was in the north. Why is his name called Uriel? It is because of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings with which the Holy One blessed be He atones for it, and illuminates for Israel, as it is stated: “Arise, shine [ori], for your light has come [and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you]” (Isaiah 60:1). And David said: “The Lord is God [el], He has illuminated for us” (Psalms 118:27); that is Uriel. Likewise, it says: “Though I sit in darkness, the Lord is a light for me” (Micah 7:8). Gavriel before Him, corresponding to the kingdom of Judah, Moses, and Aaron, who were in the east. Why was his name called Gavriel? Regarding Judah, it is written: “For Judah prevailed [gavar] over his brothers” (I Chronicles 5:2), and regarding Moses, it is written: “He called to Moses” (Leviticus 1:1), and it is written: “He called his name Pele Yoetz El Gibor” (Isaiah 9:5). That is Gavriel. Refael, corresponding to Ephraim. Why was his name called Refael? It was in order to heal [lerapot] the breach of Yerovam, who emerged from Ephraim that is in the west. “God [el], please, heal [refa] her now” (Numbers 12:13).