Tehillim 7 – Moshe Rabbeinu Against Five Evil Angels

Tehillim 7 – Moshe Rabbeinu Against Five Evil Angels

 Tehillim 7:7 ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ בְּאַפֶּ֗ךָ הִ֭נָּשֵׂא בְּעַבְר֣וֹת צוֹרְרָ֑י וְע֥וּרָה אֵ֝לַ֗י מִשְׁפָּ֥ט צִוִּֽיתָ - “Kuma A-donai be’apecha, hinase be’avrot tzorerai, ve’urah elai mishpat tzivita” - (Arise, O L-rd, in Your anger; rise up in fury against my enemies and awaken for me the retribution You have ordained). It is stated in Shemot, in the parashah of “Ki Tisa”: “And Moshe turned and began to descend.” Moshe descended the mountain backwards, facing G-d, and we do the same when reciting the 18 blessings—we step backward, as though we see G-d standing before us. The “Yalkut Shimoni” states: “When Moshe wished to descend from the mountain, five evil angels came toward him, seeking to destroy him. He was frightened and clung to the Throne of the Almighty.” G-d protected him and spread His cloud over him. From this we see how terrible this sin—the sin of the golden calf—was: before the Jews sinned, Moshe could ascend to heaven, and no one hindered him; but after Israel’s sin, he was frightened of the five angels. They were called Af, Ketzel, Mashbit, Mashchit, and Chemah. As soon as Moshe recalled the patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, three of the evil angels disappeared, leaving only two: Af (anger) and Chemah (fury). Moshe said to G-d: “Take one angel upon Yourself, and I will deal with the other myself, for it is written: ‘Arise, O L-rd, in Your anger; rise up in fury against my enemies and awaken for me the retribution You have ordained.’” - “Kuma A-donai be’apecha” - (Arise, O L-rd, in Your anger (be-apecha - באפך)—stand against the angel whose name was Af. (“Yalkut Shimoni” on “Ki Tisa”)