Bamidbar Rabbah (12:03) R. Simeon b. Yohai further
said: The Holy One, blessed be He, gave Israel at Sinai a weapon upon which the
Ineffable Name was written. Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night
(Ps. XCI, 5), namely of Igrath, daughter of Mahalath, and her chariot, and of
any of the demons who hold sway at night. Nor of the arrow that flieth by day
(ib.). R. Berekiah explained that there is a kind of demon who flies through
the air like a bird, and darts like an arrow. What will deliver you from him?
The act of sending away the mother bird from a nest when you wish to take the
young; for in accordance with this it is written above, ‘He will deliver thee
from the snare of the fowler’ and ‘snare’ cannot but allude to a bird; as is
borne out by the context which says,
Will a bird fall in a snare upon the earth? (Amos III, 5). Now it
says, If a bird's nest chance to be before
thee... thou shalt in any wtse let the dam go... that it may be well with thee
(Deut. XXII, 6 f.).3 Of the pestilence that walketh in darkness (Ps. XCI, 6)
implies that if a man's deeds are in the dark the pestilence gains mastery over
him. In a like strain it says, Before
Him goeth the pestilence, and fiery bolts go forth at his feet (Hab. III, 5).
So here too it says, Of the pestilence that walketh in the darkness. Nor of
t/ze destruction (keteb) that wasteth at noonday (Ps. Ioc. cit.). Our Rabbis explain
that ‘keteb’ is a demon. And why was he called keteb’?’ R. Abba son of Kahana
said: Because he breaks into the daily studies from the beginning of four hours
of the day to the end of nine.8. Levi said: Because he robs pupils of their
noonday lessons from the end of four hours to the beginning of nine hours. He
holds sway neither in the shade nor in the sun but between the shade and the
sun. His head is like that of a calf and a horn grows out from the centre of
his forehead, and he rolls like a pitcher. R. Huna, in the name of R. Joseph,
said: ‘Keteb meriri’ is in form covered with scales, hairy all over, and full
of eyes. And, said R. Simeon b. Lakish, he has one eye set in his heart, and
anyone who sees him can never survive, whether it be man or beast. Anyone who
sees him drops down dead. ‘Meriri’ holds sway during the period between the
seventeenth of Tammuz and the ninth of Ab. Hezekiah saw him and dropped down on
his face and died. R. Phinehas the priest said: It is related that one saw him
and was stricken with epilepsy They reported that Judah b. R. Samuel saw him
and did not drop down. Nevertheless, it is reported that he died. R. Abbahu was
once sitting and studying in a certain synagogue in Caesarea. He noticed one
man pursuing another having in his hand a rod with which he wished to strike
the other He [R. Abbahu] saw that a demon also followed after the same man
having in his hand an iron rod. R. Abbahu went out and followed the pursuing
man and said to him: ' Do not strike him, lest he die! ' Said the other:
‘Master! Can he die by this?’ He answered: ‘There is a demon following behind
you, and he has an iron rod in his hand. If you strike him with this and he
strikes him with that he will die.’ R. Johanan used to tell teachers of
Scripture and of Mishnah not to lift the strap against the children on these
days. R. Samuel b. R. Isaac used to tell teachers of Scripture and of Mishnah
to dismiss the children after four hours on these days. A thousand shall at thy
side, and ten thousand at thy right hand (Ps. XCI,7) tefillin, it is written,
‘A thousand shall fall at thy side’; for a thousand angels have been placed
there to protect him. Of the right hand, however, which has control over many
commandments, it says, ‘ Ten thousand at thy right hand’; myriads of angels are
charged with the care of it R. Hanina
son of R. Abbahu expounded- The text does not read, ‘Shall be delivered unto
thee but ‘Shall fall’, as much as to say: If a thousand demons come against thee,
they will fall at the side which has charge of one commandment, and if a myriad
demons come, they will fall at the side which is in charge of many
commandments. It is the usual practice in this world that if a person is
entrusted to the care of a thousand men it is his duty to feed them. Why?
Because they are assigned to him for the purpose of protecting him. The Holy
One, blessed be He, however, assigns to a man a thousand angels to be on his
left side and ten thousand on his right for his w elfare and for the purpose of
protecting him, yet He shall not come nigh thee (ib.) with the request that you
should feed them. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold (ib. 8) thy
prosperity, And see the recompense of the wicked (ib.); you will see how the
Holy One, blessed be He, will requite the wicked for their deeds. For Thou, O
Lord, art my refuge; Thou hast made the most high Thy habitation (ib. 9). R.
Hanina expounded: Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Thou givest the
Torah to us here below, but causest Thy Shechinah to abide on high.’ Thus the
meaning of the text, ' For Thou, O Lord, art my refuge ' is, ' Thou hast given
us Thy Torah’; and ‘Hast made the most high Thy habitation ’ means, ‘But Thou
hast made Thy abode in the high heavens.’ There shall no evil befall thee (ib.
1O). This accords with the text, There shall be no mischief befall the
righteous (Prov. XII, 21). Neither shall any plague come nighthy tent (Ps. loc.
cit.). R. Johanan expounded: Before the Tabernacle had been erected the demons
were wont to vex mankind in this world. From the moment when the Tabernacle was
erected, and the Shechinah took up its residence here below, the demons were
exterminated from the world. Thus the text, ‘Neither shall any plague come nigh
thy tent’ alludes to the Tent of Meeting. Said R. Simeon b. Lakish: What need
for you to trouble with the book of Psalms? Surely, there is nothing wanting in
the original1 context, which reads The Lord bless thee, and keep thee (Num. VI,
24), i.e. from the demons. When would that be? IT CAME TO PASS ON THE DAY THAT
MOSES HAD MADE AN END (KALLOTH) OF SETTING UP THE TABERNACLE. What is the
signification of KALLOTH? It denotes that the demons were exterminated (kallu)
from the world.
