Midrash su Ezechiele 9:2

“And did not remember His footstool [hadom raglav],” Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He does not remember that blood [hadam] that was between the legs of the elder, as it is stated: “Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised on the flesh of his foreskin” (Genesis 17:24). Rabbi Yudan said: [This is analogous] to a king who seized his enemies and killed them, and the residents of his province were dipping their feet in the blood of his enemies. One time, they provoked him and he expelled them from his palace. They said: ‘The king does not remember to our credit that blood in which we dipped our feet, the blood of his enemies.’ So too, Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You do not remember to our credit that blood that was in Egypt, as it is stated: “You shall take from the blood and you shall place it on the doorposts and on the lintel”’ (Exodus 12:7).
Alternatively, “and did not remember His footstool,” footstool is nothing other than the Temple. That is what is written: “Exalt the Lord our God and prostrate yourselves to His footstool; He is holy” (Psalms 99:5). “On the day of His wrath,” Rabbi Aḥa said: The wrath of the Holy One blessed be He was one day. Had Israel repented, they would have moderated it.
“He called in my ears with a loud voice, saying: Those appointed over the city, approach, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand” (Ezekiel 9:1). Until when is the sin of the calf in existence?¹²Until when will Israel be punished for the sin of the Golden Calf? Rabbi Berekhya, and some say Rabbi Neḥemya ben Elazar, [said]: Until the calves of Yerovam ben Nevat.¹³Until Yerovam constructed his calves (see I Kings 12:28). That is what is written: “When I will heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim and the evildoing of Samaria will be revealed” (Hosea 7:1). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I came to heal Israel of the sin of the calf, and the evils of Samaria were revealed.’ Rabbi Yishmael bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Until the destruction of the Temple, as it is written: “Those appointed over the city [pekudot] approach, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand” (Ezekiel 9:1), and it is written: “And on the day of My reckoning, I will reckon [pakadti] their sin upon them” (Exodus 32:34).
It is written: “And behold, six men were coming from the way of the Upper Gate, which faces northward, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand, and one man in their midst was clad in linen, with a scribe's inkwell at his waist. They came and they stood beside the bronze altar” (Ezekiel 9:2). It says six here, but were there not five decrees? As it is written: “And to those He said in my earshot: Pass through the city behind him and smite; let your eye not pity and do not have compassion” (Ezekiel 9:5). And it is written: “Slay utterly the elderly, the youth, the young woman and the child, and the women” (Ezekiel 9:6).¹⁴The men referred to in Ezekiel 9:2 are angels of destruction, yet there are only five groups of people mentioned in the verse as slated for destruction, so five angels should have sufficed. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He spoke to the most severe angel in their midst, this is Gavriel, as it is stated: “And one man in their midst was clad in linen, with a scribe's inkwell at his waist” (Ezekiel 9:2).¹⁵This angel was one of the six, but it did not actually carry out the destruction.
That angel served in three capacities: Scribe, executioner, and a High Priest. A scribe as it is written: “With a scribe's inkwell at his waist.” An executioner, as it is stated: “He destroyed them, delivered them to slaughter.” (Isaiah 34:2).¹⁶The verse ascribes this destruction and slaughter to “rage [ketzef],” which is identified as Gavriel (see Shabbat 55a). This destruction took place at a different time than that described in Ezekiel chap. 9. High Priest, as it is stated: “And one man in their midst was clad in linen,” and it is written regarding a priest: “He shall don a sacred linen tunic” (Leviticus 16:4).
“Each with his weapon of destruction [mapatzo] in his hand” (Ezekiel 9:1), his weapons, his razing equipment, and his equipment for causing exile. His weapons, “each with his weapon of destruction in his hand,” his razing equipment, “As he renders all the altar stones like shattered limestone” (Isaiah 27:9), his equipment for causing exile, as it is written: “You are a weapon of destruction [mapetz]¹⁷This word is related to the word lehafitz, which connotes scattering and dispersal. for Me, weapons of war” (Jeremiah 51:20).
And it is written: “They came and they stood beside the bronze altar” (Ezekiel 9:2). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Until the place of its boundary.¹⁸The altar in the courtyard of the Temple was stone, not bronze (see Shabbat 55a and Rashi ad loc.), but it served the same functions as the bronze altar in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. One of its functions was to serve as a boundary beyond which non-priests were not permitted to go. The angels described in this verse were also not permitted to go past this demarcation point. The Rabbis say: They stand and call attention the sins of Aḥaz, in whose regard it is written: “The bronze altar will be for me to visit” (II Kings 16:15). What is to visit [levaker]? Rabbi Pinḥas said: He disqualified it and rendered it blemished,¹⁹It was as though all the animals sacrificed on it were blemished. just as it says: “The priest shall not deem impure [yevaker]” (Leviticus 13:36). “The Lord said to him [elav]: Pass through the midst of the city…Jerusalem” (Ezekiel 9:4). Elo is written.²⁰The word elav is written without a yod, such that it can be read elo, which means his powerful one. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: to the most severe angel among them, .
“You shall set a mark [tav] [upon the foreheads of the men…]” (Ezekiel 9:4). Rav Naḥman said: These are the people who fulfilled the Torah from alef through tav.²¹The tav was made on the foreheads of the righteous. The Rabbis say: [It connoted] disintegration and dissolution.²²The tav was made on the heads of the wicked. Rav said: A tav was placed because it connotes either side: Desolation, desolation [tihi] and live, live [teḥi].²³A tav was marked on the foreheads of both the righteous and the wicked, but it connoted different things for different people. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The merit of their ancestors has concluded [tama].
Rabbi Hoshaya sent [a message] to Rabbi Simon, saying: ‘Since you are situated in the household of the Exilarch, why do you not rebuke them?’ He said to him: ‘If only we may be among those of whom it is written, “[the men] that sigh and that cry [for all the abominations that are done in its midst”’ (Ezekiel 9:4).²⁴It is enough for us to be pained at the sin of others, even if we do not rebuke them, and then we will be like those mentioned in the verse in Ezekiel, who were marked for life while the sinners were marked for death. He said to him: ‘But was it not from them that the calamity began? As it is written: “And to those He said in my earshot: [Pass through the city behind him and smite; let your eye not pity and do not have compassion]”’ (Ezekiel 9:5).
Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One blessed be He never associates His name with evil, but rather with good. That is what is written [in this verse]. And to those God said in my earshot is not written here, but rather: “And to those He said in my earshot: Pass through the city behind him and smite; let your eye not pity and do not have compassion.”²⁵The verse uses the pronoun rather than explicitly mentioning God so that His name not be directly associated with destruction. “The elderly, the youth and the maiden, the children and the women you shall kill for destruction, but do not approach any man upon whom is the sign; begin from My Temple” (Ezekiel 9:6). How is it so?²⁶The verse states that the angels were not to kill any man with a sign, indicating that the righteous would be spared, but then states that the destruction was to begin at the Temple, where there were presumably righteous individuals. At that moment, prosecution sprung before the Throne of Glory. It said before Him: ‘Master of the universe: Which of them was killed for the sake of Your name? Which of them had his brain pierced for the sake of Your name? Which of them gave his life for the sake of Your name?’²⁷The heavenly prosecutor argued that the people had not suffered in God’s name and therefore were not really righteous. He said: ‘They do not warrant a writ of condemnation.’ Rabbi Aivu said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Let My Temple be destroyed but let no hand touch the righteous.’²⁸The righteous were to be spared but the Temple itself was to be destroyed . Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: It and they warrant a writ of condemnation.²⁹According to this view, God accepted the argument of the prosecutor and ruled that both the Temple and the righteous would be destroyed.
Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Abba [said] in the name of Rabbi Abba:³⁰The reference is to two different scholars by the name of Rabbi Abba. The Holy One blessed be He never said a positive statement and recanted, but here He recanted. That is what is written: “Begin with My Temple” (Ezekiel 9:6). Do not read it as My Temple [mikdashi], but rather as My holy ones [mekudashai]: “Begin with My holy ones.” Immediately, what is written: “It was as they were smiting, and I remained and I fell upon my face, and I cried out and said: Alas, Lord God, are You destroying the entire remnant of Israel?” (Ezekiel 9:8). “Remnant” is nothing other than the righteous; therefore he comes and says: “The Lord demolished and had no compassion.”

Said Rabbi Aqibha: these are the 22 letters with which the Torah was given to the tribes of Israel, and they were inscribed in a fiery pen upon the awesome and terrific crown of the Holy Blessed One, and when the Holy Blessed One sought to create the world, immediately they all came down and stood before the Holy Blessed One. This one said before Him, "Through me create the world!" and that one said before Him, "Through me create the world!" First entered ת before the Holy Blessed One and said before Him: "Master of the world! You should make Your world through me, for through me You give Torah to Israel by the hand of Moshe, as is written (Deut. 33:4) 'Torah¹beginning with a ת Moshe commanded us' etc." The Holy Blessed One responded and said to it, "No." It said "why?" He said to it: "Since I will in the future use you as a mark on the foreheads of the men moaning and groaning, the mark of the ת to destroy them from the world to come, as is said (Ezekiel 9:4) 'And the LORD said to me, pass among the city and mark a ת upon the foreheads of the men moaning and groaning for all their abominations they have made among them.'" And what does "mark a ת" mean? It teachers that in the time when the Holy Blessed One set a judgement upon Jerusalem to destroy it, He called to the angel of death and said to the angel, "Start going over Jerusalem and choose within it the righteous and wicked. Every righteous one within it, write a ת of ink on his forehead, the ת of letting them live²the Hebrew word תחיה begins with a ת that they will be let live. And every wicked one within it, write a ת of blood on their forehead, the ת of letting them die.³the Hebrew word תמות begins with a ת. What distinguishes the ת from all the other letters? To teach you that the Torah saves humanity from all kinds of danger. At that very moment the attribute of Justice stood before the Holy Blessed One and said, "Master of the world! Even the righteous within it, write on their forehead a ת of blood, the ת of letting them die, so as to destroy all the wicked." Responded the Holy Blessed One and said to it, "Why?" It responded before Him: "Since you did not rebuke your children with words of rebuke, nor tell them not to sin or do ugly things, things that are not decent, things that are not appropriate to do." Responded the Holy Blessed One and said to it, "It is clearly known before Me that if they had been rebuked they would not have heard it." The attribute of Justice responded and said before Him, "Master of the world! Even though they were not recipients of it, they still had to be rebuked." Immediately the Holy Blessed One was silent and counted all the righteous who were in that generation in Jerusalem as wicked. At that time, six wounding angels were sent against Jerusalem, and the people inside it wounded it, as is written (Ezekiel 9:2) "And behold, six men came by the upper gate that faces northwards, and each had a weapon in his hand, and one among them was wearing linen and a writing case at his waist, and they came in and stood by the bronze altar." And what differs north from all the directions? It teaches that all evil spirits only every come from the north, as is written (Jeremiah 1:14) "And he said to me, from the north will evil break upon the inhabitants of the land!" And these are the six men who were sent against Jerusalem: anger and rage and wrath and destruction and annihilation and extermination, and each one had a double-edged sword in is hand, as written, "each had a weapon in his hand." And as soon as the ת heard this matter from the Holy Blessed One, it immediately left from before His presence with a disappointed soul.

(Lev. 13:2), “When anyone has on the skin of his flesh.” This text is related (to Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness. [This verse is] to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not delight in convicting a person, as stated (in Ezek. 33:11), “As I live, says the Lord, it is not My delight for the wicked to die.” In what does He delight? In vindicating (rt.: tsdq) His people. Thus it is stated (in Is. 42:21), “The Lord was delighted because of His [servant's] vindication (tsdq)…,”⁴⁰This is the interpretation of the midrash and of the new JPS translation. [i.e.] because of His people's vindication (tsdq)] and not [their] conviction. So also you find that in the case of the first Adam, when he created him, He set him in the Garden of Eden. Then He gave him a command and said to him, “Eat this, but do not eat from this, for (according to Gen. 2:17) ‘on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.’” [When] he transgressed, he brought a sentence⁴¹Gk.: apophasis. upon himself. [And then] the Sabbath came, and He acquitted him.⁴²Heb.: pinnahu. This word means “removed him” as well as “acquitted him.” In other words, Adam’s acquittal meant that his sentence was reduced from death to removal from the Garden. So M. Pss. 92:3. He began to talk with him [about] whether he would repent. It is so stated (in Gen. 3:9), “The Lord God called unto Adam and said, ‘Where are you?’” [This means, “What is your state?”] The Lord can only mean the quality of mercy, as stated (in Exod. 34:6), “The Lord, the Lord is a merciful and gracious God.” For him He had the quality of mercy precede the quality of strict justice. Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness,” in that He does not delight in convicting a person. He began to talk with him, as stated (in Gen. 3:11-12), “Who told you that you were naked? Then the man said, ‘The woman….’” He left Adam alone and began to talk with the woman, as stated (in vs. 13), “Then the Lord God said to the woman….” But when He came to the serpent He did not talk with him. Instead He immediately gave him a sentence, as stated (in vss. 14–15), “So the Lord God said unto the serpent, ‘Because you have done this …. I will put enmity between you [and the woman]….’” [Then] He returned to the woman and said to her (in vs. 16), “I will greatly multiply your pain in pregnancy.” And when He returned to the man, He did not convict him. Rather He intimated to him that he should repent. Where is it shown? R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Levi, “When He said to him (in vs. 19), ‘By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread, [until you return …].’ ‘You return’ can only be mean repentance, since it is stated (in Hos. 14:2), ‘Return O Israel, to the Lord your God, as you have stumbled in your iniquity.’” When [Adam] did not repent, He expelled him from the Garden of Eden, as stated [(in Gen. 3:24), “And He drove out the man.” Ergo I would say (in Ps. 5:5), “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness.” What is the meaning of (ibid., cont.), “evil may not abide with You.” R. Tanhuma bar Hanila'i in the name of R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Johanan, “Before the Holy One, blessed be He, stand only angels of peace and angels of mercy, but the angels of wrath are far from Him. It is so stated (in Numb. 14:15), ‘the Lord, of long patience.’ Do we not already know that He is of long patience? But rather what is the meaning of He is ‘of long patience?’ That the angels of wrath are far from Him, as stated (in Is. 13:5), ‘They come from a far land from the end of the heavens, even the Lord and the weapons of his wrath.’” Another interpretation (of Ps. 5:5, cont.), “evil may not abide with You”: R. Johanan said, “If you do not pursue evil, evil will not pursue you, nor will it dwell with you. Ergo, (Ps. 5:5, cont.), ‘evil may not abide with You,’ as ‘abide with You,’ can only mean dwelling, as stated (Exodus 2:48), ‘And if a stranger dwells with you.’” Another interpretation (of Ps. 5:5, cont.), “evil may not abide with You”: R. Eleazar ben Pedat said in the name of R. Johanan, “The name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not mentioned in connection with evil but only in connection with good.” You know that it is so. When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the light and the darkness and gave them names, [Scripture] mentioned His name in connection with the light but did not mention His name in connection with the darkness.⁴³Gen. R. 1:6. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 1:5), “And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.” Behold, it mentioned His name with the light; but when it comes to the dark it doesn’t say, “and God called the darkness night,” but “He called [the darkness] night.” So also you find that, when He created Adam and Eve, [Scripture] mentioned His name in connection with them, as stated (in Gen. 1:28), “Then God blessed them…”; but when He cursed them, it did not mention His name in connection with them. [Thus it is stated] (in Gen. 3:16-17), “And unto the woman He said […]. And unto Adam He said.” Now if you say [that] behold, [Scripture] mentioned [His name] in connection with the serpent when He cursed him, since it is written (in Gen. 3:14), “So the Lord God said unto the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, more cursed shall you be’”; the sages have taught thus: The Holy One, blessed be He, has mentioned His name in connection with three things, even though they stood for evil: In connection with the inciter, i.e., the serpent, since he incited the woman and said (in Gen. 3:5), “’For God knows that on the day that you eat from it, your eyes shall be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,’ like Him. Just like He created His world, you [two] will be able to create worlds like Him. [But He doesn’t want this,] as every artisan hates his fellow [artisan].” So because he incited her and spoke slander, [Scripture] mentions His name in connection with [the serpent]. In connection with one who transgresses the words of the sages, as is stated (in Jer. 11:3), “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Cursed is the one who does not heed the words of this covenant.’” In connection with one who puts his trust in flesh and blood, as stated (in Jer. 17:5), “Thus says the Lord, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in a human being, who makes flesh his strength and whose heart turns from the Lord.’”
So also you find in the case of Noah, [that Scripture used (God’s) name] when he blessed his sons, as stated (in Gen. 9:26), “And he said, ‘blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem…;’” but when he cursed Canaan, [Scripture did not mention the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, in connection with him], as stated (in vs. 25), “And he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan….’” So also you find in the case of Elisha the prophet, that when the king of Aram came to fight against Israel, he consulted with his servants and made pits [to trap] them. He said, “When Israel comes to fight against us, they will fall into the pits,” as stated (in II Kings 6:8-9), “When the king of Aram was fighting against Israel, [he consulted with his servants, saying, ‘My camp shall be in such and such a place.’ But the man of God sent unto the king of Israel [saying], ‘Take care [not to pass this place, because the Aramaeans are camping there.]’” So the Holy One, blessed be He, does nothing (according to Amos 3:7) without having revealed His purpose unto His servants the prophets. When Israel passed by once and twice without falling in, the king of Aram took notice and said to his servants (in II Kings 6:11), “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” His servants said to him (in vs. 12-14), “’[It is because] Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words which you speak in your bedroom.’ So he said, ‘Go and see [where he is, so that I can send and seize him,’ and it was told to him, saying, ‘Behold he is in Dothan.’ Then he sent horses and chariots and a heavy force there.” Immediately Elisha’s youth rose and saw that horses, riders and a force encircled the city. Immediately he cried out (in vss. 15-16), “and said [unto him], ‘Alas, my Lord, what shall we do?’ Then he said, ‘Fear not, for there are more with us than with them.’” Immediately Elisha prayed and mentioned the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in vs. 17), “Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, please open his eyes and let him see’; so the Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw, and there was the hill full of fiery horses and chariots round about Elisha!” Immediately Elisha arose and cursed the Aramaeans (in vs. 18), and he said, “’Please smite this nation with a blinding light’; so He smote them with a blinding light according to the word of Elisha.” Now [Scripture] did not mention the name, but when [Elisha] prayed over them again for their eyes to be opened, he said (in vs. 20), “O Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see.” Ergo, the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is mentioned in connection with good, but not with evil. So also you find that when the prophet saw the four chariots that were compared to the four kingdoms (that would rule over Israel), [it states (in Zech. 6:1),] “and I lifted my eyes, and behold, four chariots were coming out between the two mountains….” But when it spoke about the redemption, [it states (in Zech. 2:3),] “Then the Lord showed me four smiths.” So also you find that when the five angels of destruction came to destroy Jerusalem, as stated (in Ezek. 9:2), “And here were six persons coming by way of the upper gate [which faces north, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand]”; Gabriel was sent with them, as it is written (in Ezek. 10:2), “Then He spoke unto the person clothed in linen and said, ‘Go in among the wheelwork.’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel, “Fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city,” as it is written (in Ezek. 10:2), “Then He spoke unto the person clothed in linen and said, ‘Go in among the wheelwork [under the cherub, and fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city].’”⁴⁴Cf. below, Lev. 8:5. Gabriel came and stood at the wheel. The cherub said to him, “What do you desire?” He said to him, “Thus and so has the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded me.” He said to him, “Take [them].” He said to him, “You put them in my hand.” Immediately (according to Ezek. 10:7), “Then the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim [unto the fire that was among the cherubim…].” R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon ben Johay, “If the coals had not been cooled off [while passing] from the hand of a cherub to the hand of Gabriel, there would not have remained of the enemies of Israel (a euphemism, meaning Israel) a [single] survivor or refugee.”⁴⁵Yoma 77a. For more details, see Lam. R. 1:13 (41). So the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to do what was evil, not by Himself, but through an angel. In the age to come, however, He will do what is good by Himself, as stated (in Ezek. 36:25), “I will sprinkle pure water upon you….” Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not abide with You.” What is the meaning of (Ps. 5:5) “and evil may not abide with You?” [It is] that [Scripture] does not cause the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, to rest upon evil, except for two [evil] sayings upon which the Holy One, blessed be He, did cause His name to rest. These are the following: (The first one is Dan. 9:14:) “So the Lord watched over evil and brought it upon us, because the Lord our God is righteous.” Was it because the Lord our God is righteous (tsaddik), that He brought the evil? It is simply that the Holy One, blessed be He, was charitable (tzekekah) to us when He first brought about the exile to Babylon of Jeconiah before the exile of Tsidikiyah. And what was charitable? That He first brought about the exile of Jeconiah to Babylon along with the artisans, the smiths, and all the valiant men. Now [those] descended to Babylon and they established a [framework] for Torah [study]. For if it had not happened like that, the Torah would have been forgotten in the exile. It is simply that those who believed in the words of Jeremiah went forth with the Torah. [They included (according to II Kings 24:16)] “a thousand artisans and smiths.” What is the meaning of “artisans (hrsh)?”⁴⁶Git. 88a; Sanh. 38a; Yalqut Shim‘oni, Dan., 1066. When they opened with words of Torah, all [present] became as those who are (deaf-)mute (hrsh). [And what is the meaning of] “smiths (rt.: sgr)?” After they closed (rt.: sgr) it, there was no one in all Israel who was able to open it. Ergo (in Dan. 9:14), “because the Lord our God is righteous.” So He acted justly during that exile in that He watched over it, and He still performed a great kindness for Israel [with reference to that exile]. How? In [the month of] Tebet they were scheduled to go into exile from Jerusalem, for so does [Scripture] say (in Ezek. 24:1-2), “[Then the word of the Lord came unto me in the ninth year of the tenth month on the tenth day of the month, saying,] ‘Son of man, write down the name of the day, [this very day;] on this very day [the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem].’” What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He said, “If they go forth now in the cold, they will die.” What did He do for them? He waited for them and sent them into exile during the summer. This is what the prophet says (in Jer. 8:13), “I will utterly gather them, says the Lord.” "Gather" ('sp) can only mean "exile," since it is stated (in Micah 2:12), “I will gather Jacob, all of you.” Hence, this too was a great kindness. Now, the second [evil saying associated with the name of the Holy One, blessed be He] is (Ezek. 9:4:) “And the Lord said unto him, ‘Pass through the midst of the city, [through the midst of Jerusalem and mark (the letter) taw⁴⁷The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. For various interpretations of its meaning, see the parallel version in Shab. 55a. on the foreheads of those people who moan and groan over all the abominations] ….’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel, “Go and write an ink taw upon the foreheads of the righteous, so that the angels of destruction will have no dominion over them. Then upon the foreheads of the wicked write a blood taw so that the angels of destruction will have dominion over them.” [The] prosecution⁴⁸Gk.: kategoria, i.e., “accusation,” “charge.” Here the concept is hypostatized as a separate being. came in before the Holy One, blessed be He, [and said to him], “Master of the world, how do the former differ from the latter?” He said to it, “The former are completely righteous, and the latter are completely wicked.” It said to Him, “It was in their power to protest, but they did not protest.” He said to it, “It was revealed and known to Me that, if they had protested, [the sinners] would not have accepted their [protest].” It said to Him, “Master of the world, if it was revealed and known in front of You, was if revealed in front of them? Hence they should have protested against them and demeaned themselves for the sanctification of Your name and take beatings from Israel upon themselves, just as the prophets endured [them].” So look at how many woes Jeremiah suffered from Israel; also Isaiah, of whom it is written (in Is. 50:6), “I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to the tearers of hair.” And [so with] the rest of the prophets. Immediately (in Ezek. 9:6) He spoke again to the angels of destruction, “[Kill off] old folk, youth ….” This also was a kindness, in that the Holy One, blessed be He, mitigated His wrath [by striking out] against Jerusalem, as stated (in Lam. 4:11), “The Lord has completed (klh) His wrath.” For if He had not done so, all Israel would have received a verdict of destruction (klyh). Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “and evil may not abide with You,” because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not cause His name to rest upon evil. So also even in the case of the wicked of Israel, He allotted them glory and did not mention them for evil. When He came to the offerings, He said to Moses (in Lev. 1:2), “Speak unto the Children of Israel and say unto them, ‘When one of you presents an offering to the Lord,’” [i.e.] “from Israel” and not from the idolaters. However, when He came to mention leprosy spots, He said (in Lev. 13:2), “When anyone has,” only saying “anyone.” Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “and evil may not abide with you.”