In a homily on Ps. 32.1
for the Day of Atonement Satan is described accusing Israel:
A Psalm of David.
Maschil. Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned. These words are to be
considered in the light of a verse from another Psalm: Thou hast forgiven
the iniquity of Thy people, Thou hast pardoned all their sins. Selah (Ps.
85.3). You find that Satan comes on the Day of Atonement to accuse Israel as he
specifies the iniquities of Israel, saying: Master of the universe, there are
adulterers among the nations of the earth; so, too, among Israel. There are
thieves among the nations of the earth; so, too, among Israel. But the Holy
One, blessed be He, specifies the just deeds of Israel. Then what does He do?
He suspends the beam of the scales and looks to see what the balance or
imbalance is between the iniquities and the just deeds. And as they are weighed—the
iniquities against the just deeds, these against those—the two pans of the scale
balance exactly. Thereupon Satan goes out to fetch more iniquities to put in
the pan of iniquities and bring it down. What does the Holy One, blessed be He,
takes the iniquities out of the pan and hides them under His royal purple. Then
Satan comes and finds no iniquity on the scales, as is said The iniquity of
Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none (Jer. 50.20). When
Satan sees there is no iniquity, he cries out before the Holy One, blessed be
He: Master of the universe, Thou hast carried away the iniquity of Thy people!
(Ps. 85.3). When David realized what God does, he said: How mercifully He
carries away iniquity, how mercifully He hides their sin! Thereupon David went
on to praise Israel as Happy is he whose transgression is carried away,
whose sin is hidden (Ps. 32.1). (Pesiq. Rabbati 45.2)
Here Satan acts as a
public prosecutor and advocator of the law, while God lists the merits of Israel.
As debts and credits are evenly balanced, Satan goes away to bring more
accusations. At this moment God takes away the transgressions of Israel and
hides them. Thus Satan does not succeed in accusing Israel. Satan adopts here
the role of the divine attribute of Justice, while God acts as the divine
attribute of Mercy. (Gottfried Reeg, “The Devil in Rabbinic Literature,” in Ida
Frōhlich and Erakki Koskenniemi, eds., Evil and the Devil [Library of
New Testament Studies 481; London: T&T Clark, 2013, 2019], 71-83, here, pp.
73-74)
