The Angel Metatron
Moshe Ben-Chaim
Jessie: Would love for you to figure this out! My aunt asked me what a “pulsa denura” is. The ritual is kabbalistic and sounds like voodoo. So leave that aside. But it's based on a gemara (Chagiga 15a):
Acher entered the Pardes and “cut down the plantlings” (i.e. he became corrupt). He saw the angel “Metatron” who received permission to sit and write the merits of Israel. Acher said, “We have a tradition that there is no sitting, competition, no backside, and not tiredness (among the heavenly beings) — perhaps there are two gods!” (Since Metatron was in fact sitting) They took out Metatron and lashed him with 60 pulses of fire (“pulsa denura”) and said to him, “You should have stood up when you saw him (an earthly being)!” They gave him permission to erase the merits of Acher (because of his blasphemy).
My questions:
Of course, if Acher sees that it is a vision and [thus]metaphorical, why would he ask that question?
What is the metaphor and what does it mean?
Who is Metatron; what idea does he stand for?
What about Acher seeing Metatron “sit and write the merits of Israel” caused Acher’s question?
What was Metatron’s error; why should he have “stood?”
Does “60 pulses of fire” mean anything other than that Metatron did something wrong, or is there a deeper metaphor?
Rabbi: Metatron is an angel. As you know, an angel is a natural force, which God created to carry out His will in the universe. Thus, each angel controls a specific law, like Michael who controls snow and Gabriel who controls fire (Meharsha ibid). A prime example is found in Exodus just prior to the Jews’ entrance into the Reed Sea: “And the angel of God that went before the Jewish camp traveled, and it went behind them; and the pillar of cloud that went before them traveled and stood behind them (Exod. 14:19).” There is no redundancy. This verse teaches a fundamental: there are two entities: 1) the metaphysical angel, and 2) the physical entity (here, a cloud) over which God places the angel as a supervisor. God controls nature through an angel, charging the angel over a specific sphere of nature; here, the specific task of repositioning the cloud to protect the Jews from the approaching Egyptian army. Thus, angels themselves are not physical, but they control physical phenomena. This explains why this verse describes the angel traveling, and then again, the cloud traveling. We are taught that the angel controls the cloud. And angels only control the sphere of laws determined by God.
Over which sphere of natural law does Metatron control? What are the clues?
Sitting as opposed to standing[1] refers to one who is relaxed vs. one who must comply, showing respect by standing. So something about Metatron did not “comply” as do all other angels. Maharsha quotes the Navi, “God sat, the angels stood.” But Metatron is the exception...he “sat” too, like God. What does non-compliance mean?
The Rabbis also teach that Metatron is named after God, meaning there is a “close tie” between this angel and God. Another explanation is not that he sat, but that he too wrote the merits of Israel.
What is meant by “Metatron should have stood before Acher?”
You are correct; what was Metatron’s error expressed as it received 60 pulses of fire?” Why “fire”? (60 fire pulses seems to mean as you suggested, Metatron required correction.)
My understanding is that Acher “entering the garden” refers to his attempt to ponder metaphysics, i.e., how God runs human affairs. Remember, he is the same Acher who saw a son climb a ladder to send away the mother bird at his father’s request; both acts (honoring a parent and sending the mother bird) are to result in longevity as the Torah states. Yet, the lad fell off the ladder and died. This distressed Acher, as in this case, he found a conflict between the Torah and reality.
In this case, Acher was confronted with one of God’s angels, Metatron. He was sitting, unlike all other angels who must stand before God. What does “standing before God” mean? It refers to unequivocal compliance with God’s will. Angels control natural forces by their very design. They immediately execute God’s will, as if they are standing at attention and in full compliance in all their missions. But these are “individual” forces of nature, like fire and snow. These elements, as all elements, have strict designs and laws to which they are eternally bound, as if standing before their Creator. However, aside from individual discreet laws…there is the whole of all natural laws we call “nature.” In its myriad of laws and systems, man will at times become victim to unfortunate circumstance. Hurricane Sandy pummeled the eastern US 3 years back. Rain, high tides and wind, independently, do not typically cause problems. But the combination was devastating during that super-storm. Man will then accuse nature — the aggregate of these laws — like Acher accused Metatron. Man will cry of injustice.
I believe Metatron is “nature.” Acher viewed nature as sitting, as if it were a second deity, a second force functioning outside of God’s system of Reward & Punishment. It didn’t “stand” before God means Acher didn’t see nature as perfectly inline with the merits of the Jews. Just like the son died and should have been secure from harm, Acher viewed the current state of the Jews as unjustly afflicted by natural law…as if another power determined the Jews’ fate. In this sense, Metatron too “writes” the merits of Israel. “Writing merits” can refer to that which “causes” one’s merits/demerits. Thus, a faulty conclusion derived from natural order earns one his demerits in accepting a fallacy.
This is stressed by Metatron “not standing” for Acher. Meaning, Acher too sensed a chasm between his sense of personal justice, and what nature meted out to him. Nature should have stood for him, i.e., Acher should have experienced God’s attentiveness, as if nature “stood” for him. Acher concluded: there must be another deity, as God cannot be unjust. Acher’s error was his limited understanding. He viewed isolated verses and events, assuming he knew all considerations, and based on his knowledge, the world should comply with his views.
What is the idea that Metatron was punished? Why with fire? Well, fire is the one element that destroys nature. Now, the idea of nature (Metatron) requiring a punishment means nature was not inline with man’s view of God’s providence. Nature, at times, makes man question God’s justice. That is, there are times that although one is just, he will suffer through natural order. An intelligent man will accept that a sudden downpour can ruin his expensive suit, but he won’t suggest this is God’s punishment. Rather, it is natural law, from which he did not take proper precaution to avoid. It was self-inflicted.
Maimonides says the misfortune of righteous people is also due to their interruption of contemplation on God (full text in note 2 below). To the onlooker, like Acher, this is unjust. Nature giving this “poor reflection” of God’s justice is called “Metatron receiving 60 pulses of fire.”
The medrash concludes that Metatron punished Acher by removing his merits. This means that Acher was subjected to natural laws that afflicted him, thereby reinforcing his false view of a second deity and eliminating his merits in the process. One’s false views of God, such as Acher’s ditheism (two deities) forfeit one’s merits and the afterlife.
Jessie: If they gave him permission to erase Acher’’ merits because Acher had a distorted view, so now Acher is punished by being subject to the laws of nature. But wasn’t Metatron wrong in giving Acher a false view of reality?
Rabbi: Yes, Metatron/nature gives an impression, but man is incorrect to jump to conclusions based on natural order alone. This is the very message of “tzaddik v’ra lo; the righteous who suffer.” Meaning, don’t cry injustice, for there is more than meets the eye.
Jessie: If nature gave a false idea that it runs itself, contrary to justice, how do the pulses of fire correct that?
Rabbi: I don’t know. I must think further.
Related article: http://www.mesora.org/angelspunished.html
[1] Haftorah of Yisro; Isaiah 6
[2] “If man frees his thoughts from worldly matters, obtains a knowledge of God in the right way, and rejoices in that knowledge, it is impossible that any kind of evil should befall him while he is with God, and God with him. When he does not meditate on God, when he is separated from God, then God is also separated from him; then he is exposed to any evil that might befall him; for it is only that intellectual link with God that secures the presence of Providence and protection from evil accidents.Hence it may occur that the perfect man is at times not happy,whilst no evil befalls those who are imperfect; in these cases what happens to them is due to chance (Guide, book iii, chap. li).”