Heavenly Politics: Gabriel, Dubiel, and the Persian Tax Regime (Yoma 77a)
This Talmudic passage recounts a celestial conflict involving the archangels Gabriel, the guardian angel of the Jews, and Dubiel,1 the guardian angel of the Persians.
Outline
Gabriel, the guardian angel of the Jews, is punished
Dubiel, the guardian angel of the Persians, temporarily replaces Gabriel
Gabriel appeals by comparing Daniel with non-Jewish wise men
Gabriel is restored to his position; tries to retrieve the tax decree from Dubiel
Differing accounts of what exactly happened with the paper of the tax decree
The passage
Gabriel, the guardian angel of the Jews, is punished
R' Yoḥanan narrates (based on homiletically reading a biblical verse) that Gabriel was punished with 60 blows of fire (פולסי דנורא) for failing to execute a divine mission correctly.
Gabriel either deviated from the instructions or reported too explicitly on his task related to destruction, violating the principle that angels should only subtly hint at the outcomes of such missions.
אמר רבי יוחנן:
באותה שעה,
הוציאו לגבריאל מאחורי הפרגוד,
ומחיוהו שיתין פולסי דנורא.
אמרו ליה:
אי לא עבדת — לא עבדת,
אי עבדת — אמאי לא עבדת כדפקדוך?
ועוד: דעבדת, לית לך אין משיבין על הקלקלה?
R' Yoḥanan said:
At that moment,
they cast out Gabriel from behind the curtain [pargod], where the inner angels reside,
and they struck him with sixty blows [pulsei] of fire.
They said to him:
If you did not do it, you did not do it;
if you did do it, why did you not do it according to what you were commanded but deviated from what you were instructed to do?
Moreover, after you already did it, do you not have knowledge of the principle: One should not deliver a report about destruction? If one is sent on a mission of destruction, he should not deliver a detailed report of its success but should only hint at it.
Dubiel, the guardian angel of the Persians, temporarily replaces Gabriel
As a result, Dubiel, the ministering angel of the Persians, temporarily replaces Gabriel and serves for 21 days. During his tenure, Dubiel is given authority over 21 kings and control of the seaport of Mashhig.2
Exercising this power, Dubiel decrees that the Jews and their sages must pay head tax (כרגא) to the Persians, and his directives are promptly recorded as he requests.
אייתוה לדוביאל שרא דפרסאי ואוקמוה בחריקיה, ושמש עשרים ואחד יום.
[...]
יהבו ליה עשרין וחד מלכי ופרוותא דמשהיג.
אמר: כתיבו לי לישראל באכרגא.
כתבו ליה.
כתיבו לי רבנן באכרגא.
כתבו ליה.
They then brought Dubiel, the ministering angel of the Persians and put him in the place of [baḥarikei] Gabriel and he served for twenty-one days.
[...]
Corresponding to those twenty-one days, they gave him, the ministering angel of Persia, twenty-one kings who ruled and the seaport of Mashhig.
The ministering angel of the Persians said: Write for me that the Jews must pay taxes [akarga] to the Persians.
They wrote it for him as he asked.
He said: Write for me that the Sages must pay taxes.
They wrote this for him.
Gabriel appeals by comparing Daniel with non-Jewish wise men
When the time came to finalize the tax decrees against the Jews and their sages, Gabriel objected, but his concerns were initially ignored. He then appealed by comparing Daniel with all other nations' wise men, asserting Daniel's superior virtue.
בעידנא דבעו למיחתם, עמד גבריאל מאחורי הפרגוד ואמר:
[...]
ולא השגיחו עליו.
אמר לפניו: רבונו של עולם! אם יהיו כל חכמי אומות העולם בכף מאזנים, ודניאל איש חמודות בכף שניה, לא נמצא מכריע את כולם?!
When they wanted to sign the documents, Gabriel stood from behind the curtain and said:
[...]
They did not listen to Gabriel.
He said before Him: Master of the Universe, if all the wise men of other nations were placed on one side of the scale, and Daniel the beloved man were on the other side, would he not outweigh them?!
Gabriel is restored to his position; tries to retrieve the tax decree from Dubiel
As a result, God commanded the other angels to restore Gabriel to his position. Upon returning, Gabriel attempted to retrieve the tax decree from Dubiel, the Persian angel, but Dubiel swallowed the document.
אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: מי הוא זה שמלמד זכות על בני?
אמרו לפניו: רבונו של עולם, גבריאל.
אמר להם: יבא.
[...]
אמר להו: ליעול.
אעיילוהו.
אתא,
אשכחיה לדוביאל, דנקט ליה לאיגרתיה בידיה,
בעא למרמא מיניה,
בלעה.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Who is the one who teaches the virtue of My children?
They said to Him: Master of the Universe, it is Gabriel.
[...]
God then said to the other angels: Let him ascend.
They brought him up.
He came and found Dubiel the ministering angel of the Persians holding the letter in his hand.
Gabriel wanted to take the letter from him,
but Dubiel swallowed it.
Differing accounts of what exactly happened with the paper of the tax decree
There are differing accounts: some say the decree was written but not signed, while others believe it was signed but the signature was erased when Dubiel, the ministering angel of the Persians, swallowed the document.
This led to inconsistent enforcement of the tax decree in Persia, resulting in some Jews paying taxes and others not.
Additionally, Gabriel vehemently opposed the rule of the Greeks over the Jews, but his protests were ignored.
איכא דאמרי: מיכתב הוה כתיבא, מיחתם לא הוה חתימא.
איכא דאמרי: אף מיחתם נמי הוה חתימא, כדבלעה, מחיק לה מיניה.
היינו דבמלכותא דפרס, איכא דיהיב כרגא ואיכא דלא יהיב כרגא
[...]
עוי עוי,
וליכא דאשגח ביה.
Some say the letter was written, but it was not signed.
Some say it was also signed, but when he swallowed it, the signature was erased.
The Gemara comments: This is why, in the kingdom of Persia, there are those who pay taxes and there are those who do not pay taxes, as the decree was not finalized.
[...]
Gabriel screamed and screamed that the kings of Greece should not rule over the Jews,
but no one listened to him.
Can be translated “bear angel”; Persians are symbolized as bears in the Talmud.