Bat Kol

(lit. "daughter of a voice," meaning "an echo"). Term generally used in talmudic literature for a heavenly voice which issues forth with Divine pronouncements. It is regarded as being spoken by an angel, especially Gabriel. The bat kol speaks succinctly and its message is often derived from a biblical text. According to tradition, a bat kol announced that God Himself would bury Moses, and another announced Moses' death. When the prophet Samuel declared that he had never taken a single thing belonging to another person, a bat kol corroborated his statement. In a classic confrontation with R. Eliezar, the sages refused to accept his position, although R. Eliezer caused various rules of nature to be broken. Finally, R. Eliezer called upon heaven to intercede, and a bat kol issued forth, stating that the law was in accordance with R. Eliezer. The sages, however, rejected even the bat kol, explaining that the Torah "is not in heaven." Once it was given to man, only man has jurisdiction over the Torah and even a bat kol is disregarded (BM 59b). The Talmud goes on to mention that a certain rabbi met the prophet Elijah, who told him that God's reaction had been to exclaim jokingly, "My children have vanquished Me! My children have vanquished Me!"

---