The Daily Moment of Divine Anger: Timing, Restraint, and Repentance (Berakhot 7a)

This sugya explores how divine anger operates—its timing, intensity, and theological implications—and connects it to human emotional dynamics, repentance, and moral conduct. It begins with a teaching from R' Yoḥanan in the name of R' Yosei: just as God told Moses to wait until His wrath had passed before interceding after the sin of the Golden Calf (Exodus 33:14), so too, one should not try to placate a person in the heat of their anger.

This becomes a launching point for a broader discussion: Does God really get angry? The Talmud affirms He does—citing Psalms 7:12—and even quantifies it.¹ His wrath flares up for a mere rega, a sliver of time lasting precisely 1/58,888th of an hour. Only Balaam, the biblical anti-prophet, had the clairvoyance to time that moment, exploiting it to curse—though in his final attempt, God withheld anger altogether, and the curse failed (Micah 6:5, Numbers 23:8).

Anecdotes and signs are offered to identify that moment, including the observation of a rooster’s pale crest (Abaye), and a failed attempt by R' Yehoshua ben Levi to use it to curse a heretic—interrupted, providentially, by sleep. His takeaway: divine mercy overrides retribution, even when technically justified (Psalms 145:9, Proverbs 17:26).

The sugya then turns inward. R' Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish emphasize that internal remorse is more transformative than any punishment. Quoting Hosea and Proverbs, they argue that a single pang of guilt can pierce deeper than lashes.

Outline

Intro

The Passage - The Daily Moment of Divine Anger: Timing, Restraint, and Repentance (Berakhot 7a)

1. R' Yoḥanan citing R' Yosei - Do not try to placate a person (or God) during their moment of anger; wait until it passes - Exodus 33:14

2. Baraita - God gets angry daily - Psalms 7:12

3. God's anger lasts a fraction of a second (1/58,888 of an hour)

4. Balaam alone could identify that exact moment of God’s anger - Numbers 24:16

5. R' Elazar - God told Israel: I did not get angry during Balaam’s days, so his curses failed - Micah 6:5

6. Balaam told Balak that God was not angry, so he could not curse - Numbers 23:8

7. R' Avin/Avina - A "moment" (רגע - ‘rega’) lasts only as long as the word itself takes to say

8. Biblical Prooftext that God's anger lasts only a "rega" - Psalms 30:6; Isaiah 26:20

9. Abaye - God’s daily anger occurs during the first three hours of the day, when a rooster turns pale and stands on one foot

10. Anecdote of R' Yehoshua ben Levi - Tried to use this daily moment of divine anger to harmfully curse a heretic

    1. He fell asleep; by inference - it's not proper to curse - Psalms 145:9; Proverbs 17:26

11. R' Meir - God becomes angry when kings worship the sun at sunrise

12. R' Yoḥanan citing R' Yosei - Internal remorse is more effective than external punishment - Hosea 2:9

13. Reish Lakish - Internal rebuke better than 100 lashes - Proverbs 17:10

Appendix - The duration of a “moment“ [‘rega’] (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1:1)

1. R’ Yehuda HaNasi - There are 4 watches each during daytime and nighttime

2. The relative durations of “Hour” (שעה), “Period” (עונה), “time” (עת), and “moment” (rega)

3. R’ Berekhiah citing R’ Ḥelbo - the duration of a “moment“ (‘rega’) is time to say it

4. Rabbis - the duration of a “moment“ (‘rega’) is the blink of an eye (הרף עין)

5. Shmuel - the duration of a “moment“ (‘rega’) is 1/56,848 of an hour

The Passage

Berakhot.7a.5-22²

R' Yoḥanan citing R' Yosei - Do not try to placate a person (or God) during their moment of anger; wait until it passes - Exodus 33:14

ואמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי יוסי:

מנין שאין מרצין לו לאדם בשעת כעסו?

דכתיב:

״פני ילכו

והנחתי לך״.

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה:

המתן לי

עד שיעברו פנים של זעם

ואניח לך.

And R' Yoḥanan said in the name of R' Yosei:

From where is it derived that one must not placate a person while he is in the throes of his anger,³ rather he should mollify him after he has calmed down?

As it is written, when following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses requested that the Shekhina rest upon Israel as it had previously, God said to him:

“My face will go,

and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).

R' Yoḥanan explained:

God said to Moses:

Wait

until My “face of wrath (זעם)” will pass

and I will grant your request.

One must wait for a person’s anger to pass as well.

Baraita - God gets angry daily - Psalms 7:12

ומי איכא רתחא קמיה דקודשא בריך הוא?

אין,

דתניא

״ואל זועם בכל יום״

The Talmud asks: And is there anger before God? Can we speak of God using terms like anger?

The Talmud answers: Yes,

as it was taught in a baraita, God becomes angry,

as it is stated: “God vindicates the righteous, God is furious every day” (Psalms 7:12).

God's anger lasts a fraction of a second (1/58,888 of an hour)

וכמה זעמו?

רגע.

וכמה רגע?

אחד מחמשת רבוא ושמונת אלפים ושמנה מאות ושמנים ושמנה בשעה,

וזו היא רגע.

How much time does His anger last?

God’s anger lasts a moment (רגע)

And how long is a moment?

1/58,888 of an hour⁴

that is a moment.

Balaam alone could identify that exact moment of God’s anger - Numbers 24:16

ואין כל בריה יכולה לכוין אותה שעה,

חוץ מבלעם הרשע,

דכתיב ביה: ״ויודע דעת עליון״.

השתא דעת בהמתו לא הוה ידע,

דעת עליון הוה ידע?!

אלא, מלמד ש:

היה יודע לכוין אותה שעה שהקדוש ברוך הוא כועס בה.

The Talmud adds: And no creature can precisely determine that moment when God becomes angry,

except for Balaam the wicked,

about whom it is written: “He who knows the knowledge (דעת) of the Most High”⁵ (Numbers 24:16).

This should not be understood to mean that Balaam was a full-fledged prophet.

Now, clearly, Balaam did not know the mind of his animal;

and could he know the mind of God?!

If he could not understand the rebuke of his donkey,⁶ he was certainly unable to understand the mind of God.

Rather, this verse from Numbers teaches that

Balaam was able to precisely determine the hour that God is angry.

At that moment, Balaam would utter his curse and, through God’s anger, it would be fulfilled.

R' Elazar - God told Israel: I did not get angry during Balaam’s days, so his curses failed - Micah 6:5

והיינו דאמר להו נביא לישראל:

״עמי

זכר נא מה יעץ בלק מלך מואב וגו׳״.

מאי ״למען דעת צדקות ה׳״?

אמר רבי אלעזר:

אמר להם הקדוש ברוך הוא לישראל:

דעו כמה צדקות עשיתי עמכם

שלא כעסתי בימי בלעם הרשע,

שאלמלי כעסתי —

לא נשתייר משונאיהם של ישראל שריד ופליט.

And that is what the prophet said to Israel:

“My nation,

remember what Balak king of Moab advised, and how Balaam, son of Beor, responded; from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteous acts of YHWH” (Micah 6:5).

What is meant by the statement: “So that you may know the righteous acts of YHWH”?

R' Elazar said that

God said to Israel:

Know how many acts of kindness I performed on your behalf,

that I did not become angry during the days of Balaam the wicked,

for had I become angry,

there would have been no remnant or survivor remaining among the enemies of Israel, a euphemism for Israel itself.

Instead, God restrained His anger and Balaam’s curse went unfulfilled.

Balaam told Balak that God was not angry, so he could not curse - Numbers 23:8

והיינו דקאמר ליה בלעם לבלק:

״מה אקב, לא קבה אל

ומה אזעם, לא זעם ה׳״,

מלמד ש:

כל אותן הימים --

לא זעם.

And that is what Balaam said to Balak:

“How can I curse whom God has not cursed (קבה)?

And how can I be wrathful at whom YHWH has not been wrathful (זעם)?” (Numbers 23:8).

This verse teaches that

all those days,

God was not angry.

R' Avin/Avina - A "moment" (רגע - ‘rega’) lasts only as long as the word itself takes to say

וכמה זעמו?

רגע.

וכמה רגע?

אמר רבי אבין

ואיתימא רבי אבינא:

רגע כמימריה.

And how long does His anger last?

God’s anger lasts a moment.

And how long is a moment?

R' Avin,

and some say R' Avina, said:

A moment lasts as long as it takes to say it [rega].

Biblical Prooftext that God's anger lasts only a "rega" - Psalms 30:6; Isaiah 26:20

ומנא לן דרגע רתח?

שנאמר:

״כי רגע באפו

חיים ברצונו״.

ואי בעית אימא מהכא:

״חבי כמעט רגע

עד יעבר זעם״.

From where do we derive that God is only angry for a moment?

As it is stated:

“His anger is but for a moment,

His favor, for a lifetime” (Psalms 30:6).

And if you wish, say instead, from here, as it is stated:

“Hide yourself for a brief moment,

until the anger passes” (Isaiah 26:20),

meaning that God’s anger passes in a mere moment.

Abaye - God’s daily anger occurs during the first three hours of the day, when a rooster turns pale and stands on one foot

ואימת רתח?

אמר אביי:

בהנך תלת שעי קמייתא

כי חיורא כרבלתא דתרנגולא

וקאי אחד כרעא

[…]

The Talmud asks: When is God, angry?

Abaye said:

God’s anger is revealed through animals.

During the first three hours of the day,⁷

when the sun whitens the crest (כרבלתא) of the rooster

and it stands on one leg.

When it appears that its life has left him and he suddenly turns white, that is when God is angry.⁸

[…]

Anecdote of R' Yehoshua ben Levi - Tried to use this daily moment of divine anger to harmfully curse a heretic

ההוא מינא דהוה בשבבותיה דרבי יהושע בן לוי,

הוה קא מצער ליה טובא בקראי.

יומא חד

שקל תרנגולא,

ואוקמיה בין כרעיה דערסא,

ועיין ביה,

סבר:

כי מטא ההיא שעתא --

אלטייה.

The Talmud relates: A certain heretic who was in R' Yehoshua ben Levi’s neighborhood

would upset him by incessantly challenging the legitimacy of verses.

One day,

R' Yehoshua ben Levi took a rooster

and placed it between the legs of the bed upon which he sat

and looked at it.

He thought:

When the moment of God’s anger arrives --

I will curse him and be rid of him.

He fell asleep; by inference - it's not proper to curse - Psalms 145:9; Proverbs 17:26

כי מטא ההיא שעתא —

ניים.

אמר:

שמע מינה:

לאו אורח ארעא למעבד הכי.

• ״ורחמיו על כל מעשיו״ כתיב.

• וכתיב: ״גם ענוש לצדיק לא טוב״.

When the moment of God’s anger arrived --

R' Yehoshua ben Levi slept.

When he woke up, he said to himself:

Conclude from the fact that I nodded off that

it is not proper conduct to do so, to curse people, even if they are wicked.

• “His mercy is over all His creations” (Psalms 145:9) is written even with regard to sinners.

• Moreover, it is inappropriate to cause the punishment of another, as it is written: “Punishment, even for the righteous, is not good” (Proverbs 17:26), even for a righteous person, it is improper to punish another.

R' Meir - God becomes angry when kings worship the sun at sunrise

תנא,

משמיה דרבי מאיר:

בשעה שהחמה זורחת,

וכל מלכי מזרח ומערב מניחים כתריהם בראשיהם

ומשתחוים לחמה,

מיד כועס הקדוש ברוך הוא.

Explaining the cause of God’s anger, it is taught

in the name of R' Meir:

When the sun rises

and all the kings of the East and the West⁹ place their crowns on their heads

and bow down to the sun,

God immediately grows angry.

Since this occurs in the early hours every day, God becomes angry at His world at that moment every day.

R' Yoḥanan citing R' Yosei - Internal remorse is more effective than external punishment - Hosea 2:9

ואמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי יוסי:

טובה מרדות אחת בלבו של אדם

יותר מכמה מלקיות.

שנאמר:

״ורדפה את מאהביה וגו׳

ואמרה:

אלכה ואשובה אל אישי הראשון

כי טוב לי אז מעתה״.

And R' Yoḥanan said in the name of R' Yosei:

A single regret¹⁰ or pang of guilt in one’s heart is preferable

to many lashes (מלקיות) administered by others that cause only physical pain,

as it is stated:

“And she chases her lovers, but she does not overtake them; she seeks them, but she will not find them;

and she will say:

‘I will go and return to my first husband;

for it was better for me then than now’” (Hosea 2:9).

Remorse is more effective than any externally imposed punishment listed in the verses that follow (Hosea 2:11–19).

Reish Lakish - Internal rebuke better than 100 lashes - Proverbs 17:10

וריש לקיש אמר:

יותר ממאה מלקיות,

שנאמר:

״תחת גערה במבין

מהכות כסיל מאה״.

And Reish Lakish said that

in the Bible, it seems that such remorse is preferable to one hundred lashes,

as it is stated:

“A rebuke enters deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred lashes to a fool” (Proverbs 17:10).

Appendix - The duration of a “moment“ [‘rega’] (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1:1)

Jerusalem_Talmud_Berakhot.1.1.26

R’ Yehuda HaNasi - There are 4 watches each during daytime and nighttime

רבי אומר:

• ארבע אשמורות ביום

• וארבע אשמורות בלילה

R’ [Yehuda HaNasi] said:

• There are 4 watches during daytime

• and 4 at nighttime.

The relative durations of “Hour” (שעה), “Period” (עונה), “time” (עת), and “moment” (רגע)

(See footnote.)¹¹

1. העונה

   1. אחד מעשרים וארבעה לשעה.

2. העת

   1. אחד מעשרים וארבעה לעונה.

3. הרגע

   1. אחד מעשרים וארבעה לעת

1. The “period” (עונה)

   1. is 1/24th of an “hour” (שעה)

2. The “time” (עת)

   1. is 1/24th of a “period”

3. The “moment” (רגע)

   1. is 1/24th of a “time”

R’ Berekhiah citing R’ Ḥelbo - the duration of a “moment“ (‘rega’) is time to say it

כמה הוא הרגע?

רבי ברכיה, בשם רבי חלבו אמר:

כדי לאומרו

How much is a “moment”?

R’ Berekhiah in the name of R’ Ḥelbo said:

as long as one needs to pronounce it.

Rabbis - the duration of a “moment“ (‘rega’) is the blink of an eye (הרף עין)

ורבנן אמרין:

הרגע —

כהרף עין

The Rabbis say:

the “moment” —

is like the blink of an eye (הרף עין)

Shmuel - the duration of a “moment“ (‘rega’) is 1/56,848 of an hour

תני שמואל:

הרגע —

אחד מחמשת ריבוא וששת אלפים ושמונה מאות וארבעים ושמונה לשעה

Samuel did formulate:

the “moment” —

is 1/56,848 of an hour.

1. Compare Wikipedia, “Anthropopathism“:

Anthropopathism (from Greek ἄνθρωπος anthropos, "human" and πάθος pathos, "suffering") is the attribution of human emotions, or the ascription of human feelings or passions to a non-human being, generally to a deity.

On the broader theme, see my “Some Notes on the Anthropomorphization of God in the Talmud“.

2. Notably, much of this sugya is roughly paralleled in Avodah Zarah 4a-b (Avodah_Zarah.4a.18-4b.10).

3. אין מרצין לו לאדם בשעת כעסו.

This aphorism appears in Mishnah tractate Avot, see my “Tannaitic Aphorisms (Avot 4:15-22)“, section “R' Shimon ben Elazar - Don’t attempt comfort or confrontation at emotionally charged times (4:18)“, list item #1.

4. This is around 1/16 of a second; 61 milliseconds.

To put this in perspective, that's faster than the blink of an eye, which takes about 100-150 milliseconds.

There are various textual variants here in manuscripts and parallels.

Compare the parallel sugya to ours in Yerushalmi, that I quote in the appendix at the end of this piece, “Appendix - The duration of a “moment“ [‘rega’] (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1:1)“.

And see ed. Guggenheimer’s extensive note there (footnote 93; I made stylistic adjustments for readability, especially splitting into additional paragraphs and bullet points and added commas to large numbers):

Of this part there exist three Yerushalmi sources

• [the Talmud here,

• Midrash Eicha Rabbati on 2:19.

• Midrash Samuel 3(1)],

all of which have an identical text and the definition of the number of moments in an hour

• by R’ [Yehuda HaNasi] as […] 13,824 (E.B. i.e. 13,824 “moments”; i.e. 1/13,824 hour; see my calculation of this in the footnote on that section in the appendix, section “The relative durations of “Hour” (שעה), “Period” (עונה), “time” (עת), and “moment” (רגע)“]

• by Samuel as 56,848,

• and by others either as

  • the time needed to say the word

  • or as the blinking of an eye.

In Babylonian sources (Berakhot 7a, Avodah Zarah 4a) the numbers are quoted anonymously and are given as

• 58,888 (printed editions),

• 56,880 (Munich manuscript),

• 56,800 (Koronel manuscript) in Berakhot

• and 53,848 (printed editions),

• 56,884 (R. Ḥananel),

• 56,888 (Munich manuscript) in Abodah zarah.

In Sefer Agadot Hatalmud the reading is 5,845.

The opinion that a moment is the length of time needed to pronounce the word is attributed in the Bavli to R’ Avin (who might be identical with Ravin […])

Only the numbers given in the Yerushalmi tradition are composites of simple numbers; Samuel’s number is 16 × 11 × 17 × 19, whereas the Babylonian numbers have no decomposition into small factors.

5. עליון - Elyon - “the High/Highest”.

6. Referring to Balaam’s tense back-and-forth conversation with his donkey in Numbers 22:21-31. The Talmud explicitly clarifies this in the parallel sugya in Avodah Zarah 4a-b (see earlier footnote), adding additional background to that episode, Avodah_Zarah.4b.2:

מאי ״דעת בהמתו לא הוה ידע״?

בעידנא דחזו ליה דהוה רכיב אחמריה,

אמרו ליה: מאי טעמא לא רכבתא אסוסיא?

אמר להו: ברטיבא שדאי ליה.

מיד: ״ותאמר האתון הלא אנכי אתנך״,

אמר לה: לטעינא בעלמא

What is meant by the claim that Balaam did not know the mind of his animal?

When they saw that Balaam was riding on his donkey,

they said to him: What is the reason that you do not ride upon a horse, which is more fitting for you?

Balaam said to them: I am riding on a donkey because I left my horse in a meadow (רטיבא) to graze.

Immediately: “And the donkey said to Balaam: Am not I your donkey?” (Numbers 22:30), i.e., the donkey you always use.

Balaam said to it: For carrying burdens only, not for riding.

See my recent piece, that a donkey is considered a low-status draft animal, as compared with other draft animals, such as the horse.

Balaam’s talking donkey is often referenced in Talmudic literature; see some of the sources cited in Hebrew Wikipedia, “אתונו של בלעם“, section “אתונו של בלעם בדברי חז"ל“.

7. In modern terms, the first three hours of the day is roughly 6am to 9am. Compare also later in the sugya, section “R' Meir - God becomes angry when kings worship the sun at sunrise“.

8. The Talmud here glosses, Berakhot.7a.17-18:

כל שעתא ושעתא נמי קאי הכי?

• כל שעתא —

  • אית ביה שורייקי סומקי,

• בההיא שעתא —

  • לית ביה שורייקי סומקי

The Talmud asks: The rooster also stands that way every hour. What kind of sign is this?

The Talmud answers: The difference is that

• every other hour when the rooster stands in that way,

  • there are red streaks in his crest.

• But when God is angry,

  • there are no red streaks in his crest.

9. כל מלכי מזרח ומערב.

Meaning, when pagan kings worship the sun.

This expression (“kings of east and west”) is a “merism”, see Wikipedia, “Merism“:

Merism […] is a rhetorical device (or figure of speech) in which a combination of two contrasting parts of the whole refer to the whole.

For example, in order to say that someone "searched everywhere", one could use the merism "searched high and low".

10. מרדות - “chastisement”, i.e. remorse.

On this unusual word (unrelated—or only distantly related—to the Hebrew word for “rebellion” - marad - מרד, see Jastrow (modernized):

מרדות I

feminine (רדה I)

chastisement, punishment.

• Berakhot 7a: "טובה מרדות אחת וכולי" - "one chastisement in the heart of man (self-reproach) is better than many lashes."

• Genesis Rabbah section 23, beginning: "כולן לשון מרדות הן" - "all (those names) have the meaning of chastisement" […]

• Exodus Rabbah section 42: (play on רד, Exodus 32:7) "מרדות הם צריכים" - "they need chastisement."

• Exodus Rabbah section 1: "כל המונע בנו מן המרדות" - "he who refrains from punishing his son" […]

Plural: מרדיות

• Tanhuma Metzora (ed. Buber): "אין המרדות הללו משלי וכולי" […] - "these punishments do not come to you by mistake […]

11. Calculating this step by step, working through the hierarchy of these time units:

Given:

• 1 period (עונה) = 1/24 hour (שעה)

• 1 time (עת) = 1/24 period

• 1 moment (רגע) = 1/24 time

Step 1: Express each unit in terms of hours

• 1 period = 1/24 hour

• 1 time = 1/24 × 1/24 hour = 1/576 hour

• 1 moment = 1/24 × 1/576 hour = 1/13,824 hour

Step 2: Convert to familiar time units

Since 1 hour = 3,600 seconds:

• 1 moment = 3,600/13,824 seconds = 25/96 seconds ≈ 0.26 seconds

Step 3: Summary of all units

• 1 hour = 60 minutes

• 1 period = 2.5 minutes (150 seconds)

• 1 time = 6.25 seconds

• 1 moment = 25/96 seconds ≈ 0.26 seconds

So:

• 1 hour = 24 periods = 24 × 24 times = 24 × 24 × 24 moments = 13,824 moments

So a "moment" (רגע) in this system equals approximately 0.26 seconds.