"Now there was a day...and the Adversary came also among them"

5. Rabbi Elazar opened the discussion, saying: "Now there was a day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Hashem, and the Adversary came also among them" (Iyov 1:6). "Now there was a day," refers to Rosh Hashanah, the day that the Holy One, blessed be He, rises to judge the world. Similarly, "And it happened one day, that he came there" (II Melachim 4:11). That day was the holy day of Rosh Hashanah.

6. "And the sons of Elohim came." These are the appointed ministers whose mission in the world is to observe the actions of people. "To present themselves before Hashem," as it is written, "And all the hosts of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left" (I Melachim 22:19). But in the passage, "To present themselves before Hashem," I have found the love of the Holy One, blessed be He, toward Yisrael. These messengers who are appointed to observe the actions of people wander around IN THE WORLD and take all these actions, and on the day that Judgment rises to judge the world, they became accuses so they are DENOUNCING people. Come and behold, of all the nations in the world, THE MINISTERS stand to watch over the activities of Yisrael only, because they are the children of the Holy One, blessed be He.

7. When the actions of the children of Yisrael were found to be improper, the appointed messengers stand against these actions of Yisrael, and stand by Hashem. For when the children of Yisrael perform actions that are not good, they weaken, so to speak, the strength of the Holy One, blessed be He. When they perform good actions, they give might and power to the Holy One, blessed be He. Of this, it is written, "Give strength to Elohim" (Tehilim 68:35). How IS STRENGTH GIVEN? By good actions. Therefore, all the appointed ministers gathered by (lit. 'upon' - Why not write "upon," then, instead of "by?") Hashem on that day. 'Upon' Hashem most certainly, for they gathered TO BRING ACCUSATIONS upon Yisrael, WHICH AMOUNTS TO having gathered against Hashem TO WEAKEN HIS STRENGTH, SO TO SPEAK.

8. "The Adversary also came among them." The word "also" adds THE CHILDREN OF ELOHIM, because they all came to accuse Yisrael, and THE ADVERSARY also joined them because he was the greatest slanderer of them all. As soon as the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that they all came to accuse, immediately, "And Hashem said to the Adversary, 'From where do you come?'" (Iyov 1:7), SINCE HE WAS THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL. HE ASKS, Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, know where he came from SO THAT HE HAD TO ASK HIM? HE ANSWERS, Rather only to allow the matter to the wishes of the Satan, MEANING THAT WITH THESE WORDS HE GAVE HIM AN OPENING TO ACCUSE AS HE WISHES.

9. "And Hashem said to the Adversary... Then the Adversary answered Hashem and said, 'From going to and fro in the earth'" (Iyov 1:7). From here I learned that the settling of the earth is given over to Others Side, NAMELY THE SEVENTY NATIONS, except for the Land of Yisrael exclusively, WHICH IS SECURED IN HOLINESS FOR THE CHILDREN OF YISRAEL. THEREFORE, since he said, "From going to and fro in the earth," THE WORD "EARTH" IS UNSPECIFIED AND MEANS THE LAND OF YISRAEL. The Holy One, blessed be He, saw that the Satan wanted to slander Yisrael AND NOT JOB OR OTHERS WHO WERE CONSIDERED OF THE NATIONS WHO INHABIT THE OTHER LANDS. Immediately, "Hashem said to the Adversary, 'Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on earth...'" (Ibid. 8).

10. He saw THAT NOW WAS the opportune time to give THE SATAN a portion with which to be occupied, so he would be kept afar from Yisrael. They explained this to be similar to a shepherd who wanted to get his sheep across a river WHEN A WOLF CAME TO ATTACK THE SHEEP. WHAT DOES AN EXPERIENCED SHEPHERD DO? HE TAKES A BIG HE-GOAT AND GIVES IT TO THE WOLF, SAYING: LET HIM FIGHT WITH THE HE-GOAT UNTIL I LET MY SHEEP CROSS OVER THE RIVER AND THEN I WILL RETURN AND TAKE THIS ONE ALSO. THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, DID LIKEWISE. HE GAVE JOB TO THE ADVERSARY TO BE OCCUPIED WITH SO HE WOULD NOT ACCUSE YISRAEL. Immediately, the Satan busied himself with him and did not accuse Yisrael.

11. "And the Adversary answered Hashem and said, 'Is it for naught that Job fears Elohim?'" (Ibid. 9). It is not surprising that a servant, whose master does his desire, fears him. Remove Your supervision from him and You will see if he still fears You or not.

12. Come and behold, During a time of duress, when a portion is given to this Side with which to occupy itself, it goes away by following it entirely. Similarly, a he-goat is sacrificed on the first day of the month and on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). THIS IS THE SECRET MEANING OF GIVING A PORTION TO THE OTHER SIDE, WHICH IS GIVEN TO IT in order that it shall be occupied, and so leave Yisrael in their kingdom. The time had arrived to take this portion from the whole seed of Abraham FOR the Other Side, as was it is written, "Behold Milkah, she also has born...Utz his firstborn..." (Beresheet 22:21). JOB WAS IN THE LAND OF UTZ, MEANING THAT HE WAS OF THE FAMILY OF ABRAHAM.

13. Come and behold, When THE ADVERSARY said, "From going to and fro in the earth," he requested Hashem to execute Judgment on the children of Yisrael. THE UNSPECIFIED WORD "EARTH" REFERS TO THE LAND OF YISRAEL, because he had an accusation against Abraham and he claimed it from the Holy One, blessed be He. AND THAT WAS because justice was not performed against Isaac when he was offered on the altar, and he should not have exchanged the offering that he prepared on the altar for another, NAMELY THE RAM, as it is written, "And he should not exchange it" (Vayikra 27:10). Isaac was already on the altar. He was not consummated to be a sacrifice, yet no punishment was carried against him. He requested this from the Holy One, blessed be He, as he requested Justice for the selling of Joseph for many generations. Anything that THE SATAN requests, HE REQUESTS by means of Judgment.

14. After Isaac was saved and his offering exchanged, the Holy One, blessed be He, prepared this FOR the Accuser, NAMELY JOB, for his portion. AS IT IS WRITTEN, "Behold Milkah, she also has born...Utz his firstborn..." NAMELY JOB, WHO DWELT IN THE LAND OF UTZ. THIS WAS SAID IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BINDING OF ISAAC. Here, AT THE BIRTH OF UTZ, THE SATAN arrived to take for his portion from all the seed of Abraham, so he would not approach TO DAMAGE another side, NAMELY THE CHILDREN OF YISRAEL.

15. Everything is according to Justice. Just as JOB judged, so was he judged. Job was one of Pharaoh's advisers. When Pharaoh arose against Yisrael and wanted to kill them, JOB said to him, 'No, just take their money and rule over their bodies with hard labor, but do not kill them.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'I swear on your life that you shall be judged with the same punishment THAT YOU PRONOUNCED AGAINST THE CHILDREN OF YISRAEL. It is written, "But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh..." (Iyov 2:5). He HIMSELF was judged as he judged YISRAEL. Even though he feared the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, in all other things, AS IT IS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM, "AND HE FEARED ELOHIM," HE WAS NOT SPARED FROM JUDGMENT.

16. Come and behold, it is written, "Only spare his soul" (Ibid. 6). He was given permission to rule over his flesh. For this is the secret of the verse, "The End of all Flesh has come before Me" (Beresheet 6:13). And it was explained, "Has come before Me," assuredly MEANS THAT THE END OF ALL FLESH, WHICH IS THE SATAN THE DESTROYER, "HAS COME BEFORE ME" TO RECEIVE PERMISSION. This is WHAT IS CALLED 'the End of all Flesh' and not CALLED 'THE END OF ALL spirit.' They explained that it is the end that comes from the side of darkness, NAMELY FROM THE ASPECT OF THE JUDGMENTS OF THE MALE, as it is written, "He put an end to darkness, and searches out all perfection" (Iyov 28:3). "ALL PERFECTION" RESEMBLES "all flesh," for there is another end which is the "end of days (also: 'right')" (Daniel 12:13), WHICH IS IN HOLINESS. This one HERE is a different end from the left side, which is dark. Therefore, he received permission to afflict his bone and flesh.

17. "Although you did move Me against him, to destroy him without cause" (Iyov 2:3). HE ASKS, If so, then was he punished unlawfully, only because of the talk of the Accuser who provoked Him and turned Him. HE ANSWERS, Rather, everything was only done according to Justice, and Elihu did say to him, "For the work of a man shall He pay back to him, and according to his ways will He cause to befall every man" (Iyov 34:11). As we said, as he decreed against the children of Yisrael by Pharaoh, such was decreed against him.

18. Yet He said, "Although you did move Me against him, to destroy him without cause." THE EXPLANATION IS THAT it is not written, 'Although you did move Me to destroy him,' rather it says, "Although you did move Me against (or, in) him," which means in his mind. For he thinks that "you did move Me," as JOB said, "And shine upon the counsel of the wicked" (Iyov 10:3). Similarly, "Nevertheless they did flatter Him with their mouths, and they lied to Him with their tongues" (Tehilim 78:36), WHICH IS ALSO DIFFICULT, FOR IS IT POSSIBLE TO ENTICE THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE? It is not written, 'They did flatter Him with, and they lied to Him," but rather, "They did flatter him with their mouths." Only by their mouths it was so, that He was enticed, MEANING THAT THEY THOUGHT SO, BUT IN TRUTH IT WAS NOT SO.

19. Rabbi Aba said, This is all well, but so have I learned. We learned, "He goes up and accuses." HE ASKS, Can he accuse BEFORE THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING? HE ANSWERS, Yes, because he is an old foolish king, as it is written, "Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king" (Kohelet 4:13). SINCE HE IS A KING OVER PEOPLE, he can therefore accuse man. What is the reason? Because he is trusted over the actions of people. SINCE HE REIGNS OVER THEM, HE IS TRUSTED OVER THEIR ACTIONS.

20. Come and behold, THIS IS SO ONLY with judging an individual, but concerning the judging of the world, it is written, "And Hashem descended to see" (Beresheet 11:5), "I will go down and see" (Beresheet 18:21). He was not trusted, rather it was in the hands OF THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, alone because He did not want to destroy the world according to the word of the Accuser, whose desire is always to destroy. How do we know that? Because it is written, "He put an end to darkness, and searches out all perfection" (Iyov 28:3), MEANING that he searches to destroy everything. And this is the meaning of, "The End of all Flesh has come before Me" (Beresheet 6:13). THE ADVERSARY, WHO IS CALLED "THE END OF ALL FLESH," has certainly come to destroy.

21. Come and behold, "Now there was a day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Hashem" (Iyov 1:6), as explained THAT IT WAS ON ROSH HASHANAH. For on that day, two sides are before the world. All those who come before the Holy One, blessed be He, with repentance and good deeds, merit to be written on that side which is Life, which brings out the effects of life. And whoever is from its side is recorded for Life. All those who come with evil actions are written on the Other Side, which is Death. It is called 'death,' and in it death dwells, TO KILL PEOPLE.

22. On that day these two sides exist, Life and Death. Some are written to the side of Life, and some are written to the side of Death. Sometimes the world is in the middle, MEANING HALF DESERVING AND HALF GUILTY. If there is one righteous man to tip the balance in the world, they all stand and are written to Life, but if one wicked person ever balances the world, they are all written to Death.

23. The time that the world was in the middle, MEANING HALF GUILTY AND HALF MERITORIOUS, the Prosecutor wanted to accuse AND TO TIP THE WORLD TO THE SCALE OF GUILT. Immediately, it is written, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on earth..." (Iyov 1:8). As soon as he was set apart, the Accuser immediately attacked him. Therefore, we learn that a person should not remove himself from the community so that he will not be noted apart, and he will not be accused from above.

24. It is written by the Shunamit woman, "And she said, 'I dwell among my own people,'" (II Melachim 4:13) MEANING she does not want to be set apart from the public. I dwell among my people to this day, and I will be known among my people as one whole above. Since Job was known above and was distinguished, the Accuser immediately attacked him and said, "Does Job fear Elohim for naught?" The reason he fears You and has fortified himself WITH GOOD DEEDS is not for naught; "Have You not made a hedge about him..." (Iyov 1:10). However, take away from him all this good that You did for him, and You will immediately see if "he will curse You to Your face" (Ibid. 11). He will leave You and cleave to the Other Side. For he eats at Your table at present; remove Your table from him and we will see whose he is, and to which side he will cleave.

25. Immediately "Hashem said to the Adversary, 'Behold, all that he has is in your power,'" (Ibid. 12) to show that the fear of Job for the Holy One, blessed be He, was to guard his wealth. From here, we learn that all those who fear the Holy One, blessed be He, because of their wealth or their children, do not have proper fear. Therefore, the Accuser accused and said, "Is it for naught that Job fears Elohim. Behold you have made a hedge about him...You have blessed the works of his hands." Therefore, he fears You. Then he was granted permission to persecute him and show that Job did not serve Hashem out of love.

26. As soon as he was tested, he left the path and did not retain his integrity. It is written, "In all this, Job did not sin with his lips" (Iyov 2:10), but he did sin in his will. Afterwards, he sinned in everything; AS IT IS WRITTEN THAT HE SAID, "THE EARTH IS GIVEN INTO THE HAND OF WICKED..." (IYOV 9:24) AND SIMILARLY, RABA SAID, "JOB ABUSED IN TORRENTS..." LOOK THERE.

27. One may question why no person was tested EXCEPT JOB? Indeed, it is written, "Hashem tries the righteous..." (Tehilim 11:5). Therefore, Job was ALSO tried. Even though he did not retain his strength as he should have, he did not leave the domain of his Master to join the Other Side.

28. HE ASKS, How long was his test? HE ANSWERS, The duration of the dominion of the Other Side is twelve months. As we learned, the punishment of the wicked in Gehenom lasts twelve months. Since he did not join the Other Side, it is written, "So Hashem blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning" (Iyov 42:12).

29. Rabbi Shimon said, Job's was not a test from the Holy One, blessed be He, like the test of the other Righteous men, because it is not written, 'And the Elohim tested Job,' as in, "Elohim did test Abraham" (Beresheet 22:1). Abraham offered his only son to the Holy One, blessed be He, with his own hand. But Job gave nothing, and did not give anything to the Holy One, blessed be He.

30. He was not told about the test AS ABRAHAM WAS, because it was revealed before Him that he would not be able to withstand it properly. It was instead given over to the Accuser. And it was done through the Judgment of the Holy One, blessed be He, BECAUSE HE BROUGHT THE HEAVY LABOR ON THE CHILDREN OF YISRAEL IN EGYPT. The Holy One, blessed be He, aroused this Judgment by the Accuser, as it is written, "Have you considered my servant Job?" (Iyov 1:8)

31. He opened the discussion, saying: "And in process of time it came to pass (lit. 'at the end of days;' Heb. yamim) that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground" (Beresheet 4:3). It is written "the end of yamim" and not 'the end of right (Heb. yamin). "THE END OF DAYS" IS THE OTHER SIDE AND THE END OF RIGHT IS HOLINESS, since he rejected 'the end of right' but came near 'the end of days.' And we explained, THAT IT IS WRITTEN, "But go you your way till the end be" (Daniel 12:13), and Daniel said, "To which end" - if to "the end of right" or to "the end of days?" The HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, said to him, "to the end of right," WHICH IS IN HOLINESS. This is what David feared and said, "Hashem, make me know my end, and the measure of my days, what it is" (Tehilim 39:4), MEANING either "the end of days" or "the end of right." And here is it written, "At the end of days," WHICH PERTAINS TO THE OTHER SIDE and not 'the end of right,' WHICH IS IN HOLINESS. Therefore his offering was not accepted, because it was from the Other Side.

32. Come and behold, "And Abel, he also brought..." (Beresheet 4:4). HE ASKS, What is the meaning of "also?" HE ANSWERS, "Also" is to add one to the other, MEANING THAT HE ALSO BROUGHT SOME TO THE OTHER SIDE, LIKE CAIN. However, his offering was entirely to the Holy One, blessed be He, NAMELY, the main part of the offering was to the Holy One, blessed be He. But he gave a portion to the Other Side, as it is written, "and of the fat parts thereof" (Ibid.)-WHICH MEANS THAT THE MAIN PART OF THE OFFERING, NAMELY THE FAT PARTS, WAS OFFERED TO HASHEM, AND HE GAVE THE INFERIOR PART TO THE OTHER SIDE. But Cain made the main part of the offering for the end of days, which is the secret of the Other Side, and only gave a portion to the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore, it was not accepted.

33. Of Job it is written, "And his sons used to go and feast...and they used to call for their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of feasting were gone about..." (Iyov 1:4-5). At the feast, the Accuser was present every day, but he could not overcome him. How do we know? Because it is written, "Have You not made a hedge about him, and about his house..." (Ibid. 10). But he never gave a part TO THE OTHER SIDE, because it is written, "And offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all" (Ibid. 5). The burnt offering rises high up and does not give a part to the Other Side. Had he given him a part, THE ADVERSARY would not have been able to overcome him afterwards; and everything that the Satan took from him was his BECAUSE HE DID NOT GIVE THE SATAN A PART OF HIS OFFERINGS.

34. One may ask why the Holy One, blessed be He, did harm to him, BECAUSE HE DID NOT GIVE A PORTION TO THE SATAN. HE ANSWERS, Had he given a part TO THE OTHER SIDE, it would have cleared the way OF HOLINESS, BECAUSE THE OTHER SIDE would have gone from the Temple. Then, the Holy Side would have ascended high up. Because he did not do so, the Holy One, blessed be He, demanded justice from him.

35. Come and behold, In the same way that he separated and did not combine good and evil - IN THAT HE DID NOT GIVE A PART TO THE OTHER SIDE SO AS TO PURIFY HOLINESS, AS MENTIONED EARLIER - He judged him, first giving him good and afterwards bad; then, He again established him in goodness. This is proper for a person, to know good and know evil, and to return himself to good. This is the secret of the Faith, WHICH IS THE NUKVA. Come and behold, Job was one of the servants of Pharaoh, as indicated by the verse, "He that feared the word of Hashem among the servants of Pharaoh" (Shemot 9:20).