Aza and Azael, "falling down, but having his eyes open"

416. He opened the discussion with the verse: "What is man, that You are mindful of him..." (Tehilim 8:5). It was explained that the ministers said this at the time when it was the Holy One, blessed be He, wish to create man. THEN He called many groups of the ministering angels and sat them in His presence. He told them, 'I wish to create man,' and they said, "Nevertheless man abides not in honor..." (Tehilim 49:13). The Holy One, blessed be He, extended His finger and put them in fire. He had other classes sit in His presence. He said to them, 'I wish to create man.' They replied, "What is man, that You are mindful of him?" What are the functions of this man? He replied to them' I WISH TO CREATE MAN, who will be in Our image, and whose wisdom will be above your wisdom.'

417. As soon as Adam was created and sinned, and left His presence with his verdict, Aza and Azael approached. They said to Him, We have a redress to complain about to You. Here is the man that You created and he sinned against You. He replied to them, 'If you would have been with them, you would have been worse than him.' What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He threw them down from heaven from their level of holiness.

418. Rabbi Shimon said, Now I will return to your question, what Bilaam was saying, "falling down, but having his eyes open." If we say that this was not so, BUT RATHER he praised himself, how would the Holy One, blessed be He, write a lie in the Torah? If it was true, how could the wicked one boast of the highest level, above all the prophets of the Faith? In addition, doesn't higher holiness dwell only on a place that is appropriate for it, AND NOT ON THIS DEFILED MAN?

419. Now, Let me return to the former subject. After the throwing down OF AZA AND AZAEL from their holy level by the Holy One, blessed be He, they whored after the women of the world and misled the world. Here we need to observe, as we find written: "Who makes the winds His messengers..." (Tehilim 104:4). Here, these angels were messengers. How could they exist on the earth? HE REPLIES: Just come and see. All the angels above exist, and can only exist by the higher light that illuminates for them and sustains them. If that light of the above is cut off from them, they cannot exist. Most certainly, these ANGELS, which the Holy One, blessed be He, threw down, and from whom He removed that high light, their glow changed. CONSEQUENTLY, when they fell and were under the dominance of the atmosphere, they transformed to another level.

420. Come and see the manna that came down for Yisrael in the wilderness. That manna was from the celestial dew that filtered down from the most concealed Atik, THAT IS, KETER. When it came down, its light was illuminating throughout the worlds and from it was sustained and fed the field of apple trees, THAT IS MALCHUT, and the higher angels. When the manna came down and the air of the world affected it, it gelled and its glow changed. It was not glowing any more, only as it says, "And the manna was like coriander seed ..." (Bemidbar 11:7). The atmosphere had even more of an effect on the angels THAT WERE THROWN DOWN BY THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE. As soon as they descended, they were transformed from that earlier level in which they were.

421. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He saw that they, AZA AND AZAEL, were misleading the world. He bound them with chains of iron in the dark mountains. Where are they situated? In the valley of the mountains. He placed Aza there and threw darkness in his face, because when the Holy One, blessed be He, bound them, he strengthened himself to provoke anger to the higher. AS A RESULT, the Holy One, blessed be He, dropped him down to his neck and threw darkness in his face. He placed Azael, who did not strengthen himself, next to Aza and illuminated the darkness for him.

422. People that know the location OF AZA AND AZAEL visit them. They teach people witchcraft, enchantments and divinations. These dark mountains are referred to as the mountains of old. What is the reason? Because the darkness preceded the light. That is why the dark mountains are called "Mountains of old." Laban and Bilaam learned witchcraft from them and that is what Bilaam said, "Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of old" (Bemidbar 23:7).

423. Come and see that Bilaam used to praise himself from this location, and said, "The saying of him who hears the words of El..." (Bemidbar 24:16). Aza and Azael used to tell people about these higher matters which they knew earlier WHEN THEY WERE above IN HEAVEN. They used to relate information from the holy world where they were. That is what it says, "Who hears the words of El." It is not written: 'who hears the voice of El,' but rather, "the words of El." These are the speeches and stories that AZA AND AZAEL used to relate of Him, OF EL, SIMILAR TO someone who comes from listening to a discourse IN A SEMINAR. They ask him, Where did you come from? He says, From listening to the speeches of the Holy King. The same is the meaning of: "who hears the words of El" and "knows the knowledge of the most High" (Ibid.) that he knew the times when Judgment impends on the world and focuses on that time with his witchcraft.

424. "Who sees the vision of Shadai" (Ibid.). What is "the vision of Shadai?" These are "falling down" and "having his eyes open," which refer to Aza and Azael. "Falling down" is Aza. WHY WAS HE CALLED "FALLING?" That is because the Holy One, blessed be He, stuck him into the depths of darkness where he stays with it up to his neck, as we mentioned, and darkness gets hurled into his face. That is why he is referred to by "falling down," because he fell from heaven and next he fell once more into the depths of darkness. Azael is "having his eyes open," because he was not covered with darkness, because he neither provoked nor angered like the one before, MEANING AZA. Bilaam referred to them by the words, "the vision of Shadai," which are "falling down" and "having his eyes open."

425. During that time, there was nobody in the world who was with them, AZA AND AZAEL, except for him, BILAAM, who would daily shut himself with them in those mountains. That is why it says, "Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of old," surely from "the mountains of old," WHICH ARE THE MOUNTAINS OF THE DARKNESS, AS MENTIONED, and not from the land of the people of the east (also: 'of old').

426. Rabbi Shimon said, How many times I have said this and the friends do not observe that the Holy One, blessed be He, allows His Shechinah to dwell only in a holy place, a place that is fit to rest on. That is how the Holy One, blessed be He, proclaims and says, "There must not be found among you anyone that makes his son or his daughter to pass..." (Devarim 18:10). And he, BILAAM, comes to mix among them. Praised is the lot of Yisrael that the Holy One, blessed be He, sanctified them to dwell among them. That is the meaning of: "For Hashem, your Elohim walks in the midst of your camp..." (Devarim 23:15). Because He walks in the midst of your camp, it is written, "Therefore shall your camp be holy" (Ibid.), and, "And be holy ..." (Vayikra 20:7). It is also written, "Defile not yourselves in any of these things..." (Vayikra 18:24), and, "and therefore I abhorred them..." (Vayikra 20:23), because I cannot come near to them and they cause Me to dwell without. Praised is Yisrael's lot and praised is the holy faithful prophets' lot. They are sanctified and they have a part to benefit in the higher holiness.