Angels and Demons in Early Modern Musar Literature: A Big Data Analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article studies three influential musar works from the early modern period: Reshit ḥokhma, Shevet musar, and Kav hayashar. The author reveals that Kav hayashar uses angelological terms with far greater intensity than the others. This phenomenon portrays a different understanding of moral behavior vis-à-vis the goals of repair and improvement. Kav hayashr’s approach identified a layer of almost technical activity in religious service: satisfying the memunim (appointed ones) and pacifying or deceiving the forces of destruction. He thus establishes more objective levels of religious service and neutralizes many of the mechanisms of Divine mercy and compassion. Accordingly, the expectations of the moral journey set very high standards. In such a discourse, God’s immanent presence and providence is more dominant and noticeable specifically in a narrower spectrum; specifically in places that are softer and more moderate, ruling in man’s favor, although these are limited in terms of quantity and extent.