I looked over jordan, and what did I see?
a band of evil angels, coming after me ...
which is, of course, an allusion to line 49 of (psalm 78 (here is an english version), which is probably most familiar from its citation in the Passover haggadah. The phrase is:
"a band of emissaries/messengers/angels of evil"
In context, this is part of the punishment of Egypt in the Exodus. But the line always was mysterious and evocative to me. Angels of evil! What could they be like? They are clearly bad news, yet still angels, in some sense of the word. Divine beings, with a task of conveying ... well, evil!
Recently, I've had reason to connect this to the phrase (from Torah, in fact,
Shmot/Exodus 23, verse 2 (again, here's an English version):
"don't follow a multitude into evil"
There is some sort of balance in these two phrases; the multitude off to do evil are presumably ordinary people, רבים though they may be -- yet, like the angels, they are in a group and they are performing a task. Maybe it's even a divine task! They present the opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah by not following them, when one has the chance. They are emissaries of evil -- they bring us a message, and give us a choice.
In fact, all of us are, wittingly or unwittingly, emissaries (of what?) to everyone around us. While we go about our own business, we are:
OK, flash forward a few thousand years. Our younger son's first grade class has a "siddur ceremony" at the end of the school year, at which each student receives his very own siddur (Siddur Meforash, which is an odd choice for our school, I think -- though I could quibble with its design and usefulness for children, I'm pleased that it at least has as much as it does.). Wait, what does this have to do with evil, or angels?
which is, of course, an allusion to line 49 of (psalm 78 (here is an english version), which is probably most familiar from its citation in the Passover haggadah. The phrase is:
מִשְׁלַחַת מַלְאֲכֵי רָעִים
"a band of emissaries/messengers/angels of evil"
In context, this is part of the punishment of Egypt in the Exodus. But the line always was mysterious and evocative to me. Angels of evil! What could they be like? They are clearly bad news, yet still angels, in some sense of the word. Divine beings, with a task of conveying ... well, evil!
Recently, I've had reason to connect this to the phrase (from Torah, in fact,
Shmot/Exodus 23, verse 2 (again, here's an English version):
לֹא תִהְיֶה אַחֲרֵי רַבִּים לְרָעֹת
"don't follow a multitude into evil"
There is some sort of balance in these two phrases; the multitude off to do evil are presumably ordinary people, רבים though they may be -- yet, like the angels, they are in a group and they are performing a task. Maybe it's even a divine task! They present the opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah by not following them, when one has the chance. They are emissaries of evil -- they bring us a message, and give us a choice.
In fact, all of us are, wittingly or unwittingly, emissaries (of what?) to everyone around us. While we go about our own business, we are:
- setting examples -- of rudeness, of kindness, of bravery, of cruelty
- causing others pain or pleasure
- providing opportunities for others treat us with virtue, or treat us in some other way
OK, flash forward a few thousand years. Our younger son's first grade class has a "siddur ceremony" at the end of the school year, at which each student receives his very own siddur (Siddur Meforash, which is an odd choice for our school, I think -- though I could quibble with its design and usefulness for children, I'm pleased that it at least has as much as it does.). Wait, what does this have to do with evil, or angels?
posted by Ted at 12:07 AM
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