Rabbi Ishmael

High-priestly Tanna cast by the Hekhalot literature as its favorite narrator: it is Ishmael who ascends in 3 Enoch and is adopted by Metatron, Ishmael who transcribes Nehunya ben ha-Kanah's palace protocols. In rabbinic memory, a voice of moderation ("the Torah speaks in human language") — which may be why the visionary texts chose him: the sober witness makes the wild report credible.