Kemuel (Camael, Shemuel, Seraphiel)

ARCHON , chief of the SERAPHIM and one of the 10 sephi- rot of the Kabbalistic TREE OF LIFE . In rabbinic lore of the ninth century, Kemuel guards the gate to HEAVEN . When MOSES reaches the top of Mount Sinai to receive the law from God, he sees a cloud floating there and steps inside it. He is at once in the presence of a great light similar to that of the burning bush. The cloud bears him up to heaven, and he loses track of time. The cloud stops at the gate of the FIRMAMENT and he gets out. The angel Kemuel, who guards the gate, admon- ishes him for trying to enter heaven. Moses tells the angel he has come to receive the Torah, and the gate opens instantly. Seeing that it is God’s will, Kemuel allows Moses to come through. The angels, who were not happy to see the creation of humanity, likewise are not happy to see the Torah passed into human hands. As an archon, Kemuel stands at the windows of heaven. He mediates the prayers of Israel with the princes of the seventh heaven. In the Revelation of Moses, Kemuel is the leader of 12,000 ANGELS OF DESTRUCTION .