Who Presides Over the Dead in Judaism? His Name Is Dumah.

And what you need to know in case you ever encounter him.

Got a question for Philologos? Ask him directly at philologos@mosaicmagazine.com.

Irwin Rosenthal writes:

In an English translation of the Yiddish author Sholem Asch’s one-act drama The Sinner, a character says of a dead man who is about to be buried:
Let him be sure that he remembers his own name when the angel Domai asks it.
A note at the bottom of the page explains: “The angel’s request must be answered with a passage from the Psalms, which a sinner cannot remember.” Certainly, this sinner can’t. I can’t even remember who the angel Domai is. Neither can Google. Can you help?

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Got a question for Philologos? Ask him directly at philologos@mosaicmagazine.com.

Irwin Rosenthal writes:

In an English translation of the Yiddish author Sholem Asch’s one-act drama The Sinner, a character says of a dead man who is about to be buried:
Let him be sure that he remembers his own name when the angel Domai asks it.
A note at the bottom of the page explains: “The angel’s request must be answered with a passage from the Psalms, which a sinner cannot remember.” Certainly, this sinner can’t. I can’t even remember who the angel Domai is. Neither can Google. Can you help?

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