R. Jose then discoursed on the verse: “The Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth Up” (I Sam. 2, 6). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘raises a difficulty. Can it be said that the Lord killeth, seeing that this name is the elixir of life to all? We have, however, to ask how He kills. You might think it is by merely departing from a man, because so long as He is with him all the Accusers of the world cannot harm him, but so soon as He leaves him they at once have power over him and he dies. This, however, is not the real meaning.
Who is it really that the Lord kills? It is that influence of the evil “other side”. So soon as the influence of the evil side sees the splendour of the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, it dies straightway and cannot survive an instant. And so soon as that influence of the “other side” dies, at once God “brings to life”. Whom does He bring to life? The influence of the spirit of holiness which comes from the side of holiness. All this the Holy One, blessed be He, does at one and the same time. As for the words “He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up”, this means that He takes that spirit of holiness down to Sheol and there baptizes it to purify it, after which it ascends to its rightful place in the Garden of Eden.
Now, Companions, at the time when I departed from the world, my spirit left me and slept for a little while till God revived me, my body being dead. When my son uttered those words, his soul flew away and met my soul as it was coming up from its purification to a certain place where its sentence was pronounced, and they gave me twenty-two years of life for the sake of the tears and words of my son. From this time forward I must occupy myself only with what I have seen, and not with the affairs of this world, since God desires that naught of what I have seen should be forgotten by me.
פָּתַח רִבִּי יוֹסֵי וְאָמַר, (שמואל א ב׳:ו׳) יְיָ מֵמִית וּמְחַיֶּה מוֹרִיד שְׁאוֹל וַיָּעַל. הַאי קְרָא אִית לְאִסְתַּכְּלָא בֵּיהּ, וְכִי יְיָ מֵמִית, וְהָא שְׁמָא דָּא סַמָא דְּחַיִּין אִיהוּ לְכֹלָּא. וּמִלָּה דָּא דְּמוֹתָא, לָא שַׁרְיָא בֵּיהּ, וּבְכָל אֲתָר שְׁמָא דָּא יָהִיב חַיִּין לְכָל עָלְמָא, מַהוּ יְיָ מֵמִית, חַשְׁבִין בְּנֵי נָשָׁא דְּאִיהוּ קָטִיל לְכָל בְּנֵי נָשָׁא. אֶלָּא יְיָ מֵמִית וַדַּאי דְּאִיהוּ עָלֵיהּ, לָא יַכְלִין כָּל מְקַטְרְגִין דְּעָלְמָא לְנַזְקָא לֵיהּ, בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּאִסְתָּלִיק מִנֵּיהּ, מִיָּד כָּל מְקַטְרְגִין יַכְלִין לֵיהּ, וּמִית בַּר נָשׁ. לָאו הָכִי.
R. Jose then discoursed on the verse: “The Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth Up” (I Sam. 2, 6). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘raises a difficulty. Can it be said that the Lord killeth, seeing that this name is the elixir of life to all? We have, however, to ask how He kills. You might think it is by merely departing from a man, because so long as He is with him all the Accusers of the world cannot harm him, but so soon as He leaves him they at once have power over him and he dies. This, however, is not the real meaning.
אֶלָּא יְיָ מֵמִית, לְמַאן מֵמִית. לְהַהוּא מְשִׁיכוּ דְּסִטְרָא אַחֲרָא בִּישָׁא. כֵּיוָן דִּמְשִׁיכוּ דְּסִטְרָא בִּישָׁא, חָמֵי לֵיהּ לְזִיו יְקָרֵיהּ דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, מִיַּד מִית. וְלֵית לֵיהּ קִיוּמָא אֲפִילּוּ רִגְעָא חֲדָא. כֵּיוָן דְּהַהוּא מְשִׁיכוּ דִּסְטָר אַחֲרָא מִית וְאִתְעֲבָר מִן עָלְמָא, מִיַּד מְחַיֶּה. לְמַאן מְחַיֶּה. לְהַהוּא מְשִׁיכוּ דְּרוּחַ קֻדְשָׁא, דְּאָתֵי מִסִּטְרָא דִּקְדוּשָּׁה, מְחַיֶּה לֵיהּ, וְאוֹקִים לֵיהּ בְּקִיּוּמָא שְׁלִים. כֹּלָּא עָבִיד קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא בְּזִמְנָא חֲדָא. וּמַה דְּאָמַר מוֹרִיד שְׁאוֹל וַיָּעַל. מוֹרִיד לְהַהוּא רוּחַ קַדִּישָׁא לִשְׁאוֹל, וְעָבִיד לֵיהּ תַּמָּן טְבִילָה, לְאִתְּדַכָּאָה, וּמִיַּד סָלִיק לֵיהּ, (לשאול, לאתדנא תמן, ומיד סליק ליה ועביד ליה תמן טבילה) וְעָאל לַאֲתָר דְּאִצְטְרִיךְ בְּגַן עֵדֶן.
Who is it really that the Lord kills? It is that influence of the evil “other side”. So soon as the influence of the evil side sees the splendour of the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, it dies straightway and cannot survive an instant. And so soon as that influence of the “other side” dies, at once God “brings to life”. Whom does He bring to life? The influence of the spirit of holiness which comes from the side of holiness. All this the Holy One, blessed be He, does at one and the same time. As for the words “He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up”, this means that He takes that spirit of holiness down to Sheol and there baptizes it to purify it, after which it ascends to its rightful place in the Garden of Eden.
וַאֲנָא, חַבְרַיָּיא, בְּהַהִוא שַׁעֲתָא דְּאִסְתְּלַקְנָא מֵעָלְמָא, רוּחָא דִּילִי אִסְתְּלַּק וְדָמַךְ מִיַּד, עַד שַׁעֲתָא זְעֵירָא דְּאַחְיָיא לִי קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, וְגוּפָא הֲוָה מִית. בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּפָתַח בְּרִי בְּאִינּוּן מִלִּין, כְּדֵין פַּרְחָה נִשְׁמָתֵיהּ (נ"א נשמתי), וְאִעֲרָעָת בְּנִשְׁמְתָא דִּילִי, דְּהֲוָה סַלְּקָא מִגּוֹ דַּכְיוּ וּמִגּוֹ טְבִילָה, וְעָאלַת בַּאֲתָר דְּעָאלָת, וְתַמָּן אִתְּדָּן דִּינָהָא, וְאִתְיְיהִיבוּ לִי עֶשְׂרִין וּתְרֵין שְׁנִין דְּחַיִּין, בְּגִין דִּמְעִין וּמִלִּין דִּבְרִי, מִכָּאן וּלְהָלְאָה, אִית לִי לְאִשְׁתַּדְּלָא בְּמַה דַּחֲמֵינָא, דְּהָא לֵית לִי לְאִשְׁתַּדְּלָא בְּמִלִּין דְּהַאי עָלְמָא. כֵּיוָן דַּחֲמֵינָא מַה דַּחֲמֵינָא, וּבָעֵי קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא דְּלָא יִתְאַבִיד וְיִתְנְשֵׁי מִנַּאי כְּלוּם.
Now, Companions, at the time when I departed from the world, my spirit left me and slept for a little while till God revived me, my body being dead. When my son uttered those words, his soul flew away and met my soul as it was coming up from its purification to a certain place where its sentence was pronounced, and they gave me twenty-two years of life for the sake of the tears and words of my son. From this time forward I must occupy myself only with what I have seen, and not with the affairs of this world, since God desires that naught of what I have seen should be forgotten by me.