This particular midrash, specifically on Psalm 117, tackles the idea of praising God, but it does so in a way you might not expect. It starts with Abraham, our patriarch, being thrown into a fiery furnace. Now, you might think God would immediately intervene, right? And indeed, the angel Gabriel wants to swoop down and save him.
But God says, hold on a minute! "I am alone in My world, and he is alone in his world," referencing Ezekiel 33:24, where it says "Abraham was one." The idea here is that God, the unique one, will save the unique one. "It is appropriate for the unique one to save the unique one," as the midrash puts it, citing Genesis 15:7, "I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans."
However, God assures Gabriel that he won't miss out on the action. He tells Gabriel that in the future, Abraham's descendants will also face fiery trials to sanctify God's name, and Gabriel will be the one to save them.
Fast forward to the story of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as they are known in the Christian Bible – thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship a golden idol. This is where things get really interesting.
Yurkemi, the prince of hail, steps up and offers to extinguish the furnace, but Gabriel has a better idea. He declares, "I am the prince of fire, I will go down and cool it from the outside and heat it from the inside, and I will perform a miracle within a miracle." That's pretty impressive, right? And that's exactly what God wants.
As the three men are in the furnace, they praise God. Hananiah says, "These praise the Lord, all the nations." Mishael adds, "All the peoples should laud Him." And Azariah concludes with, "For His kindness endures forever." In response, Gabriel proclaims, "And the truth of the Lord endures forever."
The midrash then pauses to examine the Hebrew word for truth, emeth (אמת). "What is 'and truth' [Hebrew: ve'emeth]?" it asks. It's a reference, Gabriel explains, to the promise God made to him back in the days of Abraham. "And truth of the Lord endures forever' - Hallelujah."
But there's more to emeth than meets the eye. The midrash points out that the three letters of emeth – aleph, mem, and tav – are the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This, the midrash argues, testifies to its truth, echoing Isaiah 44:6: "I am the first and I am the last."
So, what does this all mean? It's not just about surviving fiery trials. It's about faith, divine promises, and the enduring nature of truth. It's about how even in the face of impossible odds, praise and belief can bring about miracles. It’s about how the entire alphabet – the whole of creation, really – testifies to God's truth. And maybe, just maybe, it's about finding the "Gabriel" within ourselves, the part that's ready to perform a miracle within a miracle.