RABBI ISHMAEL.
"Rabbi Ishmael Ben Elisha said, Once, I entered into the Holy of Holies
[as High Priest] to burn incense, when I saw Aktriel [the Divine Crown]
Jah, Lord of Hosts, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, who said
unto me, 'Ishmael, my son, bless me.' I answered, 'May it please Thee to
make Thy compassion prevail over Thine anger; may it be revealed above
Thy other attributes; mayest Thou deal with Thy children according to
it, and not according to the strict measure of judgment.' It seemed to
me that He bowed His head, as though to answer Amen to my blessing."--
Talmud (Beraehoth, I. f. 6. b.)
THE Rabbi Ishmael, with the woe and sin
Of the world heavy upon him, entering in
The Holy of Holies, saw an awful Face
With terrible splendor filling all the place.
"O Ishmael Ben Elisha!" said a voice,
"What seekest thou? What blessing is thy choice?"
And, knowing that he stood before the Lord,
Within the shadow of the cherubim,
Wide-winged between the blinding light and him,
He bowed himself, and uttered not a word,
But in the silence of his soul was prayer
"O Thou Eternal! I am one of all,
And nothing ask that others may not share.
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