Why God's Name Is Never Joined to Evil - Noah, Elisha, Gabriel

And so too you find in the case of Noah, that when he blessed his sons, as it is said, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem" (Genesis 9:26); but when he cursed Canaan, [he did not mention the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, over him], as it is said, "And he said: Cursed be Canaan" (ibid. 9:25). And so too you find in the case of Elisha the prophet, when the king of Aram came to make war against Israel. He took counsel with his servants and made for them pitsim (that is, trenches). He said: When Israel comes to make war against us, they will fall into the trenches, as it is said, "Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel, and he took counsel with his servants, saying: In such and such a place shall be my encampment. And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, [saying]: Beware of passing by this place, for there the Arameans are coming down" (II Kings 6:8-9). "Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He has revealed His counsel to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). Since Israel passed by a first and a second time and did not fall, the king of Aram perceived it and said to his servants: Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel? His servants said to him: It is Elisha the prophet who is in Israel who tells the king of Israel the things that you speak in your bedchamber. And he said: Go and see [where he is] (II Kings 6:11-13). And he sent there horses and chariots (ibid. 6:14). Immediately he cried out and said: Alas, my master, how shall we act? And he said: Fear not, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them (ibid. 6:15-16). Immediately Elisha prayed to the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "And Elisha prayed and said: Lord, open his eyes, I pray, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the lad, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (ibid. 6:17). Immediately Elisha arose and cursed the Arameans, "And he said: Smite, I pray, this nation with blindness; and He smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha" (ibid. 6:18) — and he did not mention the Name. But when he turned back and prayed over them that their eyes be opened, he said, "Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see" (ibid. 6:20). Behold, the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not mentioned over evil. And so too you find when the angels of destruction came to destroy Jerusalem, as it is said, "And behold, six men were coming" (Ezekiel 9:2). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel: Fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city, as it is written, "And He said to the man clothed in linen" (Ezekiel 10:2). Gabriel came and stood beside the wheel. The cherub said to him: What do you wish? He said to him: Thus and so has the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded me. He said to him: Take. He said to him: You place it in my hand. "And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim" (ibid. 10:7). Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai: Had the coals not cooled from the hand of the cherub to the hand of Gabriel, there would not have remained of the enemies of Israel a survivor or a fugitive. And the Holy One, blessed be He, did not wish to do the evil by Himself, but rather by the hand of an angel; but in the time to come the good He will do by Himself, as it is said, "And I will sprinkle pure water upon you" (ibid. 36:25). Behold, "For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil shall not dwell with You" (Psalms 5:5).