The mystical story of Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha and the heavenly revelation of the divine decree.
The Roman emperor poses a troubling question to the Sages of Israel: "If your Torah is a Torah of truth, why has no one ever paid the price for the sale of Joseph? The Torah says: 'He who steals a man and sells him... shall die.' Where is the justice?" This seemingly simple question hides a profound mystery that leads us to the heavens, where Rabbi Ishmael discovers the true reason for the heavenly decree.
The Roman emperor was looking for a pretext to persecute the Sages of Israel. He approached them with a seemingly legitimate question, feigning interest in the study of the Torah.
The emperor continues his argument with impeccable logic:
The Sages of Israel hear this question and realize: "We have a big problem here. This gentile is right in his argument, at least on the surface."
But they also understand that this accusation is falling upon them from heaven as a divine decree. They then decide to verify if there is truth in this matter.
The Sages turn to Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha, who was then High Priest and one of the first Tannaim. They tell him: "Go and ask above if this is true. Is this decree a real decree, or are we simply being persecuted now?"
There is a Midrash called "Eleh Ezkerah" which tells this story in a more organized manner. It is on the basis of this Midrash that the lament of the Ten Martyrs of the Kingdom, which we recite on the 9th of Av, was composed.
Arriving at the sixth heaven, Rabbi Ishmael meets the archangel Gabriel who asks him: "Why have you come up here? What are you doing here?"
Gabriel answers him: "Ishmael, my son, by your life! I have heard from behind the Curtain that ten Sages of Israel will be delivered to death by the hand of the wicked kingdom. This is the decree."
Rabbi Ishmael asks: "Why? What is the reason?"
Gabriel replies: "Because of the sale of Joseph, whom his brothers sold."
The emperor thought he was inventing something new, but he was merely an instrument, a channel to transmit this decree that had already been pronounced by the Holy One, Blessed be He.
For the attribute of justice accuses every day before the Throne of Glory: "Have You not written a single letter in vain in Your Torah? The tribes who sold Joseph have not yet been punished, neither they nor their descendants."
The Midrash continues: Rabbi Ishmael was walking in the firmament here and there. Since he was already up there, he took a tour. He took the opportunity to see what was there.
He saw an altar close to the Throne of Glory. He asked Gabriel: "What is this?"
Gabriel replied: "An altar."
Rabbi Ishmael asked: "And what do you sacrifice on it every day? Do you have bulls and rams up there? Do you have fire up there? Why do you need this altar?"
Gabriel answered: "The souls of the righteous. We sacrifice them on it every day."
Rabbi Ishmael asked: "And who is the priest? Who sacrifices them?"
Gabriel replied: "Michael, the Great Prince" - that is, Michael, the Prince of Israel.
Every day, the souls of the righteous are sacrificed on the altar adjacent to the Throne of Glory to atone for the people of Israel, day after day.
A question arises: why ten martyrs of the kingdom? How many were they at the sale? There were nine. Benjamin had stayed at home, Joseph was in the pit and did not participate in the sale since he was the one being sold, and Reuben had gone to see what was happening.
They took advantage of Reuben's absence. So how many were there in total? Nine. So why ten martyrs of the kingdom?
The answer is profound: to judge the brothers, they formed a court and sentenced him to death as in a capital court. Instead, they sold him. For this, ten people are needed to form a court.
So someone had to be added to the count. They added the Holy One, Blessed be He with them to the count. That is, the Holy One, Blessed be He, also participated in the sale of Joseph.
Why? Because there was already a decree that the people of Israel had to go down to Egypt. He arranged this in the form of the sale of Joseph. It could not be done otherwise.
Who is the tenth who comes to atone for the Holy One, Blessed be He? Rabbi Akiva.
Rabbi Akiva is the tenth, the one who corresponds to the Holy One, Blessed be He. The Zohar explains that each of the ten martyrs of the kingdom corresponds to one of the tribes and to the Holy One, Blessed be He. Rabbi Akiva represents the atonement for the Holy One, Blessed be He.
Now, I want us to dwell on the greatness of this Tanna. There is another story about him that we encounter in the tractate Berakhot, and on which a song has even been composed.
He teaches: "Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha said..." He himself recounts this matter.
He had prepared himself to perform the service, knowing that he had to enter, say a short prayer, and leave. Otherwise, a foreign thought might lead him astray...
That is, the Shekhinah... he sees her now and she speaks to him. Surprise! He doesn't even imagine that such a thing could happen.
Imagine, each of you, even if you were the High Priest... A High Priest enters, and suddenly the Holy One, Blessed be He, addresses him and says: "Bless Me."
Any normal person, what would they have done? First, they would have fainted. Then... the Holy One, Blessed be He, is asking? "Bless Me." Me, bless the Holy One, Blessed be He?
I came here to ask for a blessing for all the people of Israel. But he is not troubled.
Listen carefully to the blessing - we say it every day in the morning prayer in the sacrifices:
"May it be Your will that Your mercy may suppress Your anger, and that Your mercy may be revealed upon Your attributes, and that You may deal with Your children with the attribute of mercy, and that You may enter for them beyond the strict letter of the law."
And the Gemara concludes: "And He nodded His head to me" - thank you very much for this blessing.
As Rashi explains: "He nodded his head like one who says Amen." Exactly as when the Holy One, Blessed be He, says Amen. Amen and Amen. If the Holy One, Blessed be He, says Amen...
If the Holy One, Blessed be He, is always happy, it means that He will only want to do good for us. So what is our role on the other side? We must be good children.
And if we are good children, we give no reason for the Holy One, Blessed be He, to be angry with us, and by this we do good to Him. And this is what we literally say: "To unify the Holy One, Blessed be He... to please one's Creator" - this is the blessing.
We... all our work here is to please the Creator.
Why do we please the Holy One, Blessed be He? Then abundance descends upon us - blessing and success and health and complete redemption with the help of G-d, speedily in our days.
Amen!
The story of the Ten Martyrs of the Kingdom teaches us that divine justice is sometimes fulfilled across generations. But it also reveals that our role is to create harmony between Heaven and Earth.
When we act with righteousness, we allow the Holy One, Blessed be He, to be in joy, and this divine joy is reflected upon us through the abundance of His blessings.
๐ Sources for this Study:
Midrash "Eleh Ezkerah" โข Tractate Berakhot โข Zohar โข Traditional Oral Teachings
Translated from the oral teaching in Hebrew