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Samael the Defective Knife Who Could Not Find Moses

He asked the sea for Moses. He asked Gehinnom. He asked Sheol. Each place had heard the man and had never held him at all.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. He Asked the Sea
  2. Gehinnom Had Only Heard a Cry
  3. Dumah Guarded an Empty Court
  4. The Mortals Sent Him Off
Samael the Defective Knife Who Could Not Find Moses Click for full size

He Asked the Sea

Samael came looking for Moses and could not find him anywhere.

Moses was not hiding. He was not fighting. The places where Samael had the right to go were simply empty of that soul.

Samael thought first of the water. God had once told Moses to lift a rod and split the sea, so perhaps the man was still there, standing in the old miracle as if a road of dry ground could hide a soul.

He went to the sea. He stood over it and put the question into the water.

"Is Moses here?"

The sea said, "He is not here, and I have not seen him since the day he clove me into twelve parts and the twelve tribes passed through me."

Samael turned from the water. The sea had been cut once by that man and had never taken him back. There was no body in it now.

Gehinnom Had Only Heard a Cry

He went down into Gehinnom (גיהנם), the fires of judgment.

"Have you seen Moses, the son of Amram?"

Gehinnom said, "With my ears I have heard the cry, but I have not seen him."

He went to Sheol, and to Abaddon, and to Tit-ha-Yawen, the thick mud. To each he put the same question.

They answered, "Through Pharaoh, king of Egypt, we heard his call, but we have not seen him."

The knife was working. It just had nothing to cut. Samael serves. He is the edge God uses, and the cut is never clean. A defective knife leaves a carcass, meat that cannot be eaten because the slaughter was wrong. That is his work. He does not do it as a rebel. He does it as a tool with a flaw built into the blade. He went from water to fire with that blade still hungry.

Dumah Guarded an Empty Court

He went to the Court of the Dead, where the angel Dumah guards the souls of the deceased.

"Have you seen the son of Amram?"

Dumah said, "I heard the words of lamentation for him in heaven, but I have not seen him."

The other angels gave him the same answer. They told him to go ask the mortals, who might know where Moses had gone.

Heaven was already mourning. The body was not in the court Samael ran. Dumah keeps the dead. He had no Moses to keep. Samael stood in that empty court and asked again, as if a second asking could produce a body. Dumah did not give him one. The poison in Samael is the poison of death, and it is inside the work God gave him, not outside it. This time the work had been done by another hand, and the court knew it before he arrived.

The Mortals Sent Him Off

He went to the mortals.

"Where is Moses?"

They said, "Our teacher Moses is not like human beings. He is the peer of the angels of ministry. He ascended into heaven and dwelt there like an angel. He gathered the wind in his fists. God took his soul in the place of His sanctity. What claim do you have on the son of Amram?"

God had already buried him. God had taken the soul of Moses with a kiss, before Samael arrived at the boundary. The man had passed through a gate the defective knife did not guard. Those who go through Samael become carcasses, and a verse says those carcasses will arise. Moses had not gone through that cut. There was nothing on the block.

Samael serves. He did not get this one. God had kissed the man and closed the gate. Samael turned from the mortals with the same answer he had gotten from the sea, and from the fire, and from the mud, and from Dumah. Heard of. Never held. He went back with the defective knife still clean. The blade went home unused.

SamaelMosesGehennaSheolDemonsAngel Of DeathAfterlife
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From the tradition

Sources

3 sources

The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Tikkunei Zohar 118:1Tikkunei Zohar

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Sefaria-hosted English translation · CC-BY

Jewish mystical tradition has a powerful image for that: a defective knife.

The Tikkunei (spiritual repair) Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah and a companion to the better-known Zohar, speaks of this "defective knife" in connection with death and resurrection. But what does it mean?

The passage in Tikkunei Zohar 118 isn't just about any old dull blade. It says, "And not only that, but with a defective knife he slaughters them, and they are called ‘carcass’, ne-veilah, and about them it is stated: (Is. 26:19) … my corpses, ne-veilah will arise…" (Tikkunei Zohar). So,

This “defective knife,” the verse says, is Samael (the angel of death).

Now, Samael is a figure that appears in Jewish tradition, often associated with the angel of death or even a kind of dark force. The Tikkunei Zohar is pretty blunt: This defective knife is Samael – "another god." It's described as "the defect" of the "poison of death," the torn-one and the carcass. Heavy stuff. What does it mean to call Samael a “defective knife”? Well, a knife should be used for proper, even sacred purposes. But a defective one? It corrupts, it wounds unnecessarily, it creates ne-veilah – carrion, that which is unfit. It represents a perversion of divine power, a force that takes life in a way that isn’t sanctified or purposeful.

The verse from Isaiah (26:19), "..my corpses will arise..", offers a glimmer of hope amidst this grim imagery. It suggests that even those who have fallen victim to this “defective knife,” those who have become ne-veilah, are not beyond redemption. Even in death, there is the promise of resurrection, a rising up from the corruption.

The passage concludes, "And since they have been given into their hands, they have already received their punishment, and because of this:. my corpses will arise." So, if they have been given to Samael’s power, they have already received punishment for it.

Maybe it suggests that even the darkest forces ultimately serve a divine purpose, or that even the most flawed instruments can be part of a larger cosmic plan.

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Legends of the Jews 7:71Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

He's looking for Moses, but why? The legends don't always tell us everything directly, leaving room for interpretation. Perhaps he wants to thwart God's plan, maybe he wants to test Moses, or maybe something else is at play. Whatever the reason, his search is quite determined.

His first thought? "I know that God once said to Moses, 'Lift up thy rod and divide the sea,' so perhaps he is by the sea." It's a logical place to start. The parting of the Red Sea is one of Moses' most iconic miracles, evidence of his connection with the divine.

So, Samael (the angel of death) hastens to the sea and asks, "Is Moses here?"

The sea's response is wonderfully evocative: "He is not here, and I have not seen him since the day when he clove me into twelve parts, and with the twelve tribes passed through me." The sea, a powerful force of nature, acknowledges Moses' authority and the miracle he performed. It speaks of being "cloven into twelve parts," a direct reference to the twelve tribes of Israel passing through (Legends of the Jews). The sea isn't just water; it's a witness to history, a character in this grand drama.

Unsuccessful, Samael doesn't give up. He descends to Gehenna. Gehenna is a term often translated as Hell, a place of punishment and fire. He asks, "Hast thou seen Moses, the son of Amram?"

Even Gehenna, a place of suffering, acknowledges Moses' power. "With mine ears have I heard the cry, but I have not seen him." It's an intriguing statement. Gehenna hears Moses' voice, perhaps referring to the prayers and pleas of the Israelites, but it hasn't seen the man himself.

Still, Samael persists. He ventures even deeper, to Sheol (the underworld), Abaddon (a place of destruction), and Tit-ha-Yawen (a particularly dark corner, perhaps a gatekeeper of the abyss). To each, he poses the same question: "Have ye seen the son of Amram?"

The entities of the deepest darkness reply: "Through Pharaoh, king of Egypt, have we heard his call, but we have not seen him." Again, we encounter this indirect acknowledgement of Moses' presence. They heard his call through Pharaoh, hinting at the plagues and the struggle for liberation. They experienced the repercussions of Moses' actions, but they didn't see him directly.

What does this all mean? Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews provides us with these tantalizing glimpses into the unseen world, the world behind the stories we know so well. Samael's fruitless search highlights Moses' power, his pervasive influence, and his connection to both the divine and the earthly realms. Even the darkest corners of creation acknowledge his presence, even if they haven't seen him face-to-face.

So, the next time you read about Moses, remember this cosmic game of hide-and-seek. Remember the sea, Gehenna, and the denizens of the underworld. They're all part of the story, whispering in the background, reminding us that there's always more to discover in these ancient tales.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 7:85Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

It turns out, even Samael (the angel of death), often described as the chief of the demonic realm, the accuser, the adversary (and sometimes confused with Satan, though that's a whole other story!), has to do some serious detective work. This is a snippet from Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation of rabbinic lore by Louis Ginzberg, and it paints a fascinating picture.

So, Samael is on the hunt for none other than Moses, the son of Amram. Where does an angel start looking? Naturally, the "Court of the Dead." That's where Dumah hangs out. Dumah, is the angel who guards the souls of the deceased. Samael asks him point blank: "Hast thou seen the son of Amram?"

Dumah's reply is intriguing. "I heard the words of lamentation for him in heaven, but I have not seen him." Even in the celestial realms, there's a sense of mourning, of loss. But Moses himself? Still missing.

Undeterred, Samael presses on. He goes to the other angels, posing the same question: "Have ye seen the son of Amram?" And they give him the same answer as Dumah! But the angels aren’t completely unhelpful. They suggest that Samael try his luck with the mortals. Maybe, just maybe, they'll know something.

Now, this is where the story takes a beautiful turn. Samael approaches the mortals and asks, "Where is Moses?" Their response? Pure reverence. "Our teacher Moses is not like human beings," they declare. "He is the peer of the angels of ministry, for he ascended into heaven and dwelt in heaven like the angels." They go on, quoting (Proverbs 30:4), "'he hath gathered the wind in his fists' like an angel," evidence of Moses' immense power and connection to the Divine. And then, the kicker: "God took his soul to Himself in the place of His sanctity."

Wow.

What a powerful evidence of Moses' legacy! The mortals recognize that Moses has transcended earthly limitations. He is elevated, sanctified, beyond Samael's reach. "What connection then hast thou with the son of Amram?" they ask, essentially telling Samael he's out of his league.

What was Samael's agenda? Why was he so intent on finding Moses? And what does it say about Moses' character that even in death, he inspired such awe and devotion? Perhaps it's a reminder that true greatness isn't about power or dominion, but about the lasting impact we have on the world and the hearts of those we touch. And sometimes, that impact elevates us to a place where even the mightiest angels can't find us.

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