According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Ginzberg, in the last heaven, Moses witnesses something truly awe-inspiring – and a little terrifying. He sees two massive angels, Af (Anger) and Hemah (Wrath). Can you picture them? Each one is five hundred parasangs tall – a parasang is an ancient unit of distance, so we're talking HUGE! They're forged from chains of black and red fire, created at the very beginning to carry out God's will.
Moses, understandably, is shaken. But luckily, Metatron, the angel who guides him, steps in. "Moses, Moses, thou favorite of God, fear not, and be not terrified," Metatron reassures him. And just like that, Moses finds his calm again. It’s comforting to think even Moses needed a little reassurance sometimes, isn't it?
But the journey isn't over. There’s another angel in the seventh heaven, unlike any other. This one has a frightening appearance. Picture this: it would take five hundred years to travel a distance equal to his height. And from head to toe, he’s covered in glaring eyes, so intense that anyone who looks at him falls prostrate. Who is this imposing figure?
Metatron identifies him: "This one is Samael, who takes the soul away from man." Samael, often associated with the Angel of Death.
"Whither goes he now?" Moses asks. Metatron explains that Samael is on his way "to fetch the soul of Job the pious."
Think about that for a moment. Even righteous Job, a man who suffered immensely yet remained faithful, faced this moment. It's a stark reminder of our own mortality.
Overcome by the sight and the knowledge of Samael's mission, Moses does the only thing he can: he prays. "O may it be Thy will, my God and the God of my fathers, not to let me fall into the hands of this angel."
It’s a simple, heartfelt plea. A prayer for mercy, a prayer for divine protection. And perhaps, it's a prayer we can all relate to, a yearning for comfort in the face of the unknown.
What does this encounter tell us about the nature of the heavens, and perhaps even more importantly, about ourselves? Is it a reminder of divine power, the inevitability of death, or the importance of faith? Or maybe, it's all of the above.