Job 25:2 declares, "Dominion and awe are with Him. He makes peace in His high places." Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bereshit 13:2 reads this as a window into the celestial pecking order — and discovers that even the angels quarrel.

R. Jacob's identifications

R. Jacob of Kefar Hanin decoded the verse's two key terms. "Dominion" (hamshel) refers to Michael, the archangel of mercy and Israel's defender. "Awe" (fachad) refers to Gabriel, the archangel of strength and judgment. Two contrasting powers, both in the heavenly court.

Michael stands for dominion because he governs Israel's protection. Gabriel stands for awe because his missions — destroying Sodom (Genesis 19), announcing prophecy to Daniel (Daniel 8:16) — inspire fear.

The heavenly rivalry

But the next phrase is the one the rabbis lingered over. "He makes peace in His high places." Peace among whom? Among the angels themselves.

R. Jacob draws the startling conclusion: "Even the heavenly beings need peace." The angels are not automatically harmonious. They have egos. They have rivalries. And God has to intervene.

The rising constellations

To make the point concrete, the midrash turns to the zodiac. When the constellations rise each month — Taurus, Gemini, and the rest — each claims primacy.

"Taurus says: I am first, and does not see what is in front of him." Meaning: Taurus, rising, thinks itself the lead sign. It cannot see that Aries is already higher. Then Gemini rises and makes the same boast. Each constellation, in turn, insists on being first, blind to the one already ahead.

"Ergo, it says: The heavenly beings need peace."

Why this teaching matters

The midrash is poking at human pride by demonstrating the same flaw in the celestial realm. If even the angels — even the signs of the zodiac — can get tangled up in rivalries over who rises first, what hope does an ordinary person have of avoiding it? The answer is not despair. The answer is peace.

God "makes peace in His high places" because rivalry is endemic even where it seems impossible. The <a href='/categories/midrash-rabbah.html'>midrashic tradition</a> repeats this teaching in Numbers Rabbah 12:8 and Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1:3, where it is linked to the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:26) — "May the Lord lift up His face toward you and grant you peace." The same peace that holds Michael and Gabriel in place holds families, communities, and nations in place.

The liturgical echo

The final line of the Kaddish prayer, recited by mourners and at the end of worship services, invokes this exact image: Oseh shalom bim'romav — "He who makes peace in His high places." Every mourner, every worshipper, every time, is asking the God who reconciles the archangels to reconcile the human hearts standing below.

The takeaway: even angels compete. Peace is not the absence of ego. It is the presence of a God willing to step in and hold the contestants apart long enough for blessing to flow.