FROM BOOK FOUR, MYTHS OF HELL

 

256. THE UNFINISHED CORNER OF CREATION

 

All of Creation had been completed except for the north corner of the world. God began

to create it, but left it unfinished, saying, “Whoever declares himself to be God, let him

come and finish this corner, and then all shall know he is a god.” There, in that unfinished

corner, demons, winds, earthquakes, and evil spirits dwell, and from there they

come forth to the world, as it is said, From the north shall disaster break loose (Jer. 1:14).

When the Sabbath departs, great bands of evil spirits set out from there and roam the

world.

 

   Because of the cold north wind, the north was identified as the abode of evil spirits.

This myth explains why—because that part of creation is unfinished. Here God

makes a challenge to those who assert that they are divinities. The true test for a divinity

is the ability to create a world. So God left one corner of the world unfinished,

with the challenge that anyone who could finish it would indeed be a true god. Of

course, the clear implication is that such a creation would be impossible.

Rabbi Moshe Hayim Luzzatto offers a different perspective about unfinished creation:

“God began Creation but left it unfinished so that man could eventually bring it

to completion” (Adir ba-Marom).

   The Kotzker Rebbe said of this unfinished corner of creation: “One little corner—

God left one little corner in darkness so that we may hide in it!”

 

Sources:

Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 3 ; Midrash Konen in Beit ha-Midrash 2:30; Sefer ha- Zikhronot 1:7;

The Book of Jubilees 2:2; Zohar 1:14b; Siah Sarfei Kodesh; Or ha-Ganuz.

 

 

279. WHEN A MAN DIES

 

Two angels watch over a man at the moment of his death, and they know whether he has

ever been a thief, for even the stones and beams of his house witness against him, as it is said,

For a stone shall cry out from the wall, and a rafter shall answer it from the woodwork (Hab. 2:11).

   Then the soul of the man who has died is brought before the patriarchs and they say to

him, “My son, what have you done in the world from which you have come?”

If he answers, “I have bought fields and vineyards, and I have tilled them all my life,”

they say, “Fool that you have been! Have you not learned that The earth is the Lord’s and all

that it holds” (Ps. 24:1). Angels then take him away and hand him over to the avenging

angels, who thrust him into Gehenna.

   Then angels bring another before the patriarchs. They ask the same question, and if he

answers, “I gathered gold and silver,” they reply, “Fool, have you not read in the books of

the prophets, Silver is Mine and gold is Mine—says the Lord of Hosts (Hag. 2:8). Likewise, he

is turned over to the avenging angels.

   But when a scholar is brought before them, they ask the same question, and if he

answers, “I have devoted my life to the study of the Law,” the patriarchs say, “Let him

enter into peace” (Isa. 57:2), and God receives them with grace.

 

This account of what happens to those who die emphasizes the importance of the

study of Torah in the eyes of the patriarchs, who are said to serve as judges, and in the

eyes of God. The two angels who watch over a man at the time of his death are identified

as the Angel of Death and the Angel who counts a man’s days and years.

 

Sources:

Gan Eden ve-Gehennom in Beit ha-Midrash 5:48-49; Orhot Hayim.

 

 

304. HOW THE DEAD SEE THE DEAD

 

The day a person dies is the day of his judgment, when the soul parts from the body. A

person does not leave this world until he sees the Shekhinah, accompanied by three ministering

angels, who receive the soul of a righteous person. These angels examine a person’s

deeds, and insist that a person confess to all that the body has done with the soul in this

world. After this confession, the soul of a righteous person rejoices in its parting from

this world and looks forward with delight to the world to come. For when God takes the

souls of the righteous, He takes it with gentleness. But when He takes the souls of the

wicked, He does so through cruel angels, as it is said, Therefore a cruel angel shall be sent

against him (Prov. 17:11).

   After a man dies he can be seen by all the others who are dead. To each of them he

appears as they last saw him alive: some see him as a youth, others as an old man. For the

angel who guards the dead makes his soul assume these various forms so that all should

recognize him by seeing him just as they saw him in life.

   However, if a man is condemned to punishment in Gehenna, he is enveloped in smoke

and brimstone, so that none of those being punished can see the punishment of any

other. Thus none are put to shame, except for those who have put others to shame.

 

   This description of a man seeing the Shekhinah as he dies is based on Exodus 33:20:

No man shall see Me and live. The three angels who accompany the Shekhinah are identified

as the three angels who visited Abraham in Genesis 18:2.

    It is characteristic of Jewish myth to describe in great detail unknown realms, such

as heaven, hell, or what comes to pass when a person leaves this life. Here the dead

are said to see each other exactly as they appeared when they last saw each other

alive. This explanation of how the dead see and recognize each other solves the problem

of a person’s changing appearance by aging.

 

Sources:

Sifre on Deuteronomy 357; Midrash ha-Ne’elam in Zohar 1:98a; Sefer ha-Zikhronot 11:6.