The legends certainly suggest it. Take Ezra, for example. He wasn't just a scribe, not just a leader bringing the Torah back to life after the Babylonian exile. He was, according to the tales, something more. He had a relationship with the celestial realm that was… well, let's just say uniquely intimate.
Imagine Ezra, burdened by the suffering of Israel and the seeming success of other nations, pouring his heart out in prayer. Can you picture the scene? And then, in response, the angel Uriel appears! Not in a blinding flash of light, perhaps, but in a way that Ezra could perceive and understand. Uriel explains that everything, even evil, has its time, just as the dead have their appointed time in Sheol, the netherworld.
But Ezra, a man of deep conviction, wasn't satisfied with a simple answer. He pressed further, questioning, seeking deeper understanding. And in response to his persistence, he received not one, but seven prophetic visions! Think of them as glimpses into the unfolding tapestry of history, from the very beginning to Ezra's own time, and even beyond. Uriel, acting as interpreter, helped Ezra decode these visions, revealing secrets of the past and prophecies of the future.
The climax of this divine encounter came with the seventh vision. Here, the story takes a familiar turn. Like Moses before him, Ezra heard a voice speaking from a thorn bush. This voice, resonating with echoes of Sinai, commanded him to guard the secrets he had been shown. As we read in the apocryphal book of 4 Ezra (also known as 2 Esdras), this echoed a similar instruction given to Moses: "These words shalt thou publish, those shalt thou keep secret" (4 Ezra 14:6). Some things are meant to be shared, others are meant to be held close, pondered in the heart.
Then came the announcement of Ezra’s impending departure from this world. But Ezra, ever the devoted servant, had one last request. He begged God to let the Ruach HaKodesh, the holy spirit, descend upon him before he died. Why? So he could record everything that had happened since creation, everything laid out in the Torah and beyond, and guide future generations onto the path that leads to God. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, he wanted to leave a complete and accessible record for all of humanity.
What a powerful image! Ezra, facing his own mortality, thinking not of himself, but of how he could best serve his people and preserve the divine wisdom for generations to come. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? What secrets are we holding close? And what wisdom are we called to share with the world?