Monday, November 23, 2020

Satan and the Day of Atonement in Rabbinical Interpretations of Psalm 32

 

 

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)