The Cheruvim on the Cover of the Ark
(17) You shall make a cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. (18) Make two cheruvim of gold—make them of hammered work—at the two ends of the cover. (19) Make one cheruv at one end and the other cheruv at the other end; of one piece with the cover shall you make the cheruvim at its two ends. (20) The cheruvim shall have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. They shall confront each other, the faces of the cheruvim being turned toward the cover. (21) Place the cover on top of the Ark, after depositing inside the Ark the Pact that I will give you.
JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus, Nahum Sarna at 161 (commentary to verses 25:17-22)
[J]ust as the Ark may poetically be the footstool, the kapporet ["cover"] with its cherubim would support the invisible throne of God. This explains a frequently employed epithet of God as the One who is "enthroned on the Cherubim." It is also said that "He mounted a cherub and flew." The outstretched wings of the cherubim also signify flight and mobility....
[T]he biblical references, in assuming prior familiarity with the cherubim, suggest a connection with an existing tradition. Closest is the Akkadian term kuribu, a protective genius fashioned for the entrances of temples and palaces in Mesopotamia. These creatures are composites of human, animal, and avian features. Hybrids of this kind have turned up over a wide area of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean lands, including Canaan. Such representations are highly reminiscent of the description of the cherubim in Ezekiel 1:6-11 and 10:14-22. However, a comparison of the non-Israelite creatures with the cherubim of the Tabernacle and with Ezekiel 41:18-19 shows considerable variation in the artistic theme.
Whatever the original inspiration, the cherubim of the Tabernacle certainly communicate some concepts of God that are fundamental to the religion of Israel. As bearers of the celestial throne, they evoke belief in divine, transcendent sovereignty. Their permanent place above the Ark expresses God's immanence--His enduring presence in the covenanted community of Israel. Their outstretched wings represent the idea of consummate mobility, that is, of God omnipresence.
(23) In the Shrine he made two cheruvim of olive wood, each 10 cubits high. (24) [One] had a wing measuring 5 cubits and another wing measuring 5 cubits, so that the spread from wingtip to wingtip was 10 cubits; (25) and the wingspread of the other cheruv was also 10 cubits. The two cheruvim had the same measurements and proportions: (26) the height of the one cheruv was 10 cubits, and so was that of the other cheruv. (27) He placed the cheruvim inside the inner chamber. Since the wings of the cherubim were extended, a wing of the one touched one wall and a wing of the other touched the other wall, while their wings in the center of the chamber touched each other. (28) He overlaid the cheruvim with gold.
The Three Temples: On the Emergence of Jewish Mysticism, Rachel Elior at 29
The origins of the Merkavah concept lie in the Chariot Throne of the cherubim, whose divine pattern or prototype was shown to Moses in heaven and whose first representation in a cultic context is as 'two cherubim of gold', with outstretched wings, mounted on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant in the desert sanctuary. In the Holy of Holies (devir) of Solomon's Temple, two gold-plated cherubim shielded the cover of the Ark with their wings; their appearance revealed to David in a vision as a divine pattern, is described in the parallel passage in Chronicles, which explicitly links the cherubim with the heavenly Chariot Throne: "for the pattern of the chariot--the cherubim--those with outspread wings screening the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord....The divinely patterned chariot of the cherubim in the First Temple's Holy of Holies, the supposed throne of the Diety or site of his revelation in the Temple, did not survive the destruction, but lived on in mystical memory, which linked its cosmic prototype with its ritual meaning, and was perpetrated in prophetic and priestly traditions and in liturgical testimony. In these traditions, the very word merkavah became a symbolic concept expressive of the Holy of Holies and the Temple (the supernal Heikhalot and their angelic cult), and in the memory of its earthly archetype (the Temple and its Priests); its roots lay in numinous foundations of an ancient tradition that forged a bond between heaven and earth.
Panel from a Golden Shrine Found in the Tomb of Tutankhamun
Ivory from Samaria 9-8th B.C.E.
The Sanctuary (Heikhal) in the Temple
(6) The priests brought the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant to its place underneath the wings of the cherubim, in the Shrine of the House, in the Holy of Holies; (7) for the cheruvim had their wings spread out over the place of the Ark, so that the cheruvim shielded the Ark and its poles from above. (8) The poles projected so that the ends of the poles were visible in the sanctuary in front of the Shrine, but they could not be seen outside; and there they remain to this day. (9) There was nothing inside the Ark but the two tablets of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, when the LORD made [a covenant] with the Israelites after their departure from the land of Egypt. (10) When the priests came out of the sanctuary—for the cloud had filled the House of the LORD (11) and the priests were not able to remain and perform the service because of the cloud, for the Presence of the LORD filled the House of the LORD— (12) then Solomon declared: “The LORD has chosen To abide in a thick cloud: (13) I have now built for You A stately House, a place where You May dwell forever.”
אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל יוֹשֶׁבֶת בְּאֶמְצָעִיתוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, וִירוּשָׁלַיִם בְּאֶמְצָעִיתָהּ שֶׁל אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ בְּאֶמְצַע יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, וְהַהֵיכָל בְּאֶמְצַע בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, וְהָאֲרוֹן בְּאֶמְצַע הַהֵיכָל, וְאֶבֶן שְׁתִיָּה לִפְנֵי הָאֲרוֹן, שֶׁמִּמֶּנָּה נִשְׁתַּת הָעוֹלָם.
The Land of Israel sits at the center of the world; Jerusalem is in the center of the Land of Israel; the sanctuary is in the center of Jerusalem; the Temple building is in the center of the sanctuary; the ark is in the center of the Temple building; and the foundation stone, out of which the world was founded, is before the Temple building.
Temple, Shmuel Safrai, in Encyclopedia Judaica,(2nd ed.)
The Temple was not originally intended to serve as a place of prayer, but to house (or as an abode for) the ark of the Lord, symbol of the Covenant between the people and its God (1 Kings 8:11). Hence it was called "the House of the Lord," in the same way that one would speak of "the house of the king" or any ordinary domicile. As a tabernacle it was not necessary for it to be large. Its structure had to meet the requirements of a symbolic tabernacle of God and a repository for the sacred furniture and the offerings brought to God by His worshippers. As a place of divine worship the Temple was not judged by its size but by the splendor and massiveness of its construction,...The Temple was oblong is shape and composed three sections of equal width: a porch or hall (the vestibule, 'ulam), a main room for divine service heikhal (hekhal), and the "Holy of Holies" (devir).
Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypse, Martha Himmelfarb, at 14
In biblical Hebrew hekhal serves for both the king's palace and the temple. In relation to a god, temple and palace are two aspects of the same dwelling place. Thus even in those texts where the idea of temple dominates, the imagery associated with the royal palace never disappears.
The Vision of Ezekiel
(14) Each one had four faces: One was a cherub’s face, the second a human face, the third a lion’s face, and the fourth an eagle’s face. (15) The cheruvs ascended; those were the creatures that I had seen by the Chebar Canal. (16) Whenever the cheruvs went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cheruvs lifted their wings to ascend from the earth, the wheels did not roll away from their side. (17) When those stood still, these stood still; and when those ascended, these ascended with them, for the spirit of the creature was in them. (18) Then the Presence of the LORD left the platform of the House and stopped above the cheruvs. (19) And I saw the cheruvs lift their wings and rise from the earth, with the wheels beside them as they departed; and they stopped at the entrance of the eastern gate of the House of the LORD, with the Presence of the God of Israel above them. (20) They were the same creatures that I had seen below the God of Israel at the Chebar Canal; so now I knew that they were cheruvs. (21) Each one had four faces and each had four wings, with the form of human hands under the wings. (22) As for the form of their faces, they were the very faces that I had seen by the Chebar Canal—their appearance and their features—and each could move in the direction of any of its faces.
Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypse, Martha Himmelfarb, at 11-13
Ezekiel's visions of the chariot throne mark the beginning of a trend to dissociate God's heavenly abode from the temple in Jerusalem. A century and a half before Ezekiel, the prophet Isaiah saw his vision of God seated on his throne, surrounded by the heavenly host, in the Jerusalem temple. For Isaiah the temple was truly God's earthly home, the place where heaven and earth come together....If for Isaiah in the mid-eighth century the temple was the natural place to encounter God, by the beginning of the sixth century Ezekiel has come to understand the temple as so defiled that it was no longer a fit resting place for the glory of God....For Ezekiel it is God himself who commands the destruction, ordering angels to begin the job that the Babylonians finish (Ezek. 9:3-8). the temple's doom is God's fitting reaction to the terrible pollution Ezekiel perceives. Thus even before the destruction God has abandoned the temple for a chariot. His return to a fixed dwelling place awaits the temple of the eschatological future; only then will the people of Israel finally be purified....The Second Temple is never able to emerge from the shadow of the disengagement of the glory of God. the ark and the cherubim are gone. In the period of the Second Temple, under the influence of Ezekiel, those who are unhappy with the behavior of the people and especially its priests come to see the temple not as God's proper dwelling, the place where heaven and earth meet, but rather as a mere copy of the true temple located in heaven.
The vision of Ezekiel Becomes Known as the "Vision of the Chariot" in Jewish Tradition
(18) the weight of refined gold for the incense altar and the gold for the figure of the chariot (merkava)—the cherubs—those with outspread wings screening the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD.
Sirach 49:8 יְחֶזְקֵאל רָאָה מַרְאָ֑ה וַיַּגֵּד זְנֵי מֶרְכָּבָֽה׃
Book of Ben Sira: 49:8 Ezekiel saw a vision, disclosing orders of the Chariot (merkava).
Ezekiel 1 and its Role in Subsequent Jewish Mystical Thought and
Tradition, Meira Polliack in European Judaism: A Journal for the New Europe, Vol. 32, No. 1, (Spring 1999), at 71.
So central was Ezekiel's vision to early Jewish mysticism that it had come to be known by the Hebrew word merkavah (meaning 'chariot'). This term, and the term ma'aseh merkavah (meaning 'the story /deed of the chariot') was used by the rabbis to designate the complex of speculations, homilies and visions connected with the throne of Glory and the chariot which bears it. Interestingly, the word or term merkavah itself is not mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel. It is derived from I Chronicles 28:18, which contains a description of David's building plans for the Temple, 'for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord'. (RSV) The term first appears, as a designation of Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly chariot in the Book of Ben Sira 49:8: 'Ezekiel saw a vision, and described the different orders of the chariot.'
Merkabah Mysticism A Critical Review Numen, Vol. XXXVII, Fasc. 2, Rachel Elior at 233
The awesome celestial vision described in the opening chapter of the Book of Ezekiel is known in Jewish tradition as the 'Vision of the Heavenly Chariot' or as the 'Vision of the Merkabah'.' Ezekiel's detailed, first person account of the heavenly throne was the subject of extensive exegetical tradition, homilitic elaboration, and mystical speculation throughout late Jewish antiquity
The Merkavah Tradition in Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls
4Q403 I, ii, 6-29 (The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Geza Vermes, at 388)
and from among them run ‘gods’ with the appearance of coals of [fire] ... walking round about, most holy spirits ... Holy of Holies, divine spirits, ever(lasting] appearances ... and divine spirits, forms of flaming fire round about it ... wonderful spirits. And the chief dwelling on high,
the glory of His kingdom, the innermost sanctuary ... And He consecrates the seven elevated holy places. And a voice of blessing (comes) from the chiefs of His innermost sanctuary ... And a glorious
voice of blessing ... is heard by God (the ‘gods’) and the foundations ...of blessing. And all the ornaments of the innermost sanctuary burst into wonderful prayers in the innermost sanctuary ... of wonder, one
innermost sanctuary to another, by the voice of holy crowds, and all their ornaments ... And the chariots of His innermost sanctuary will utter praises together and their cherubim and wheels will bless wonderfully the chiefs of the ‘godly’ figure and will bless Him in the holy innermost sanctuary.
The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Geza Vermes, at 381-2
From the point of view of palaeography all the manuscripts (of (4Q400—407, 11Q17, Masada 1039-200) are dated to the first century BCE, with the exception of the Masada fragment, which belongs to the first half of the first century CE. The songs contain angelic praises of God assigned to the first thirteen sabbaths, i.e. the first quarter of the solar year. They imply the simultaneity of heavenly and earthly worship. Although often obscure, the poems depict the celestial sanctuary, the throne-chariot, and the various groups participating in the angelic liturgy; they also include the words of the benedictions sung by the seven archangels. The main source of inspiration is the Book of Ezekiel, especially chapters i and x in connection with the throne-chariot and xl-xlviii for the heavenly sanctuary. The songs include nothing that can be dated. On the basis of the script and on general grounds the composition is said to belong to the first century BCE. The Merkabah, or divine throne-chariot, was a central subject in ancient and medieval Jewish esotericism and mysticism. Hence this early post-biblical manifestation of the speculation is of considerable historical importance for the study of the so-called Merkabah mysticism and of the Hekhaloth (‘heavenly palaces’) literature.
Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q405 20, ii-22) (The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Geza Vermes, at 107)
The [cheru]bim prostrate themselves before Him and bless. As they rise, a whispered divine voice [is heard], and there is a roar of praise. When they drop their wings, there is a [whispere]d divine voice. The cherubim bless the image of the throne-chariot above the firmament, [and] they praise [the majes]ty of the luminous firmament beneath His seat of glory. When the wheels advance, angels of holiness come and go. From between His glorious wheels there is as it were a fiery vision of most holy spirits. About them, the appearance of rivulets of fire in the likeness of gleaming brass, and a work of ... radiance in many-coloured glory, marvellous pigments, clearly mingled. The spirits of the living ‘gods’ move perpetually with the glory of the marvellous chariot(s). The whispered voice of blessing accompanies the roar of their advance, and they praise the Holy One on their way of return. When they ascend, they ascend marvellously, and when they settle, they stand still. The sound of joyful praise is silenced and there is a whispered blessing of the ‘gods’ in all the camps of God.
Geza Vermes, Dead Sea Scrolls, at 107
The aim of a holy life lived within the Covenant was to penetrate the secrets of heaven in this world and to stand before God for ever in the next. Like Isaiah, who beheld the seraphim proclaiming ‘Holy, holy, holy’, and like Ezekiel, who in a trance watched the winged cherubim drawing the divine throne-chariot, and like the ancient Jewish mystics who consecrated themselves, despite official disapproval by the rabbis, to the contemplation of the same throne-chariot and the heavenly Palaces, the Essenes, too, strove for a similar mystical knowledge, as one of their number testifies in a description of his own vision of the ministers of the ‘Glorious Face’.
The Merkava Tradition in the Pseudepigrapha
עברית
1 Enoch 14:8-20 (Old Testament Greek Pseudepigrapha, English translation)
8 And to me in a vision it was thus shown: Behold, clouds in the vision were calling and fogs were calling, and courses of the stars and lightnings were troubling me and bothering me, and winds in my vision stunned me. 9 And they lifted me up and brought me into heaven, and I entered until I came near to a wall built with stones of white marble and a tongue of fire around them; and they began to frighten me.
10 And I entered into the tongues of fire and came near to a large house built with stones of white marble, and the walls of the house were like stone tablets, and all were white as snow, and the floor was of crystal, 11 and the roofs (were) as the courses of stars and lightning flashes, and fiery cherubim were between them, and their heaven was like water, 12 and flaming fire surrounded the walls, and the doors burned with fire. 13 I entered into that house; (it was) hot like fire and cold as ice, and every nourishment of life was not in it. Fear overcame me and trembling took hold of me. 14 And I began shaking and trembling, and I fell. I was seeing in my vision,
15 and behold, another door began opening before me, and this great house also was wholly built in tongues of fire, 16 and the whole thing exceeded in glory and in honor and in majesty, so much so that I am not able to describe to you the glory and majesty concerning it. 17 Its floor was fire, and above it was lightening and forays of stars, and its roof was flaming fire. 18 And I was looking and I saw a high throne, and its appearance was like crystal, and a wheel was shining like the sun and a mountain of cherubim. 19 and from underneath the throne burning rivers of fire came out, and I was not able to see (anything). 20 And the Great and Glorious one sat upon it. His cloak was like the sun, bright and whiter than any snow. 21 And no angel was able to pass into this house and was not able to see his face because of the honor and gloriousness, and no flesh was able to see him. 22 The flaming fire encircled him. And a great fire stood before him, and no one could draw near to him. Thousands upon thousands stood encircled before him, and every word (was) his work. 23 and the holy ones of the angels that were coming near to him did not withdraw or depart from him. 24 And I was until this time cast down on my face and trembling, and the Lord called me with his mouth and said to me: "Come here, Enoch, and hear my word."
I Enoch, by Miryam T. Brand, in Outside the Bible, Louis H. Feldman and Lawrence H. Schoffman (eds.) at 1359, 61.
The Book of Enoch, also called 1 Enoch, is actually a collection of works centered on the character of Enoch and the mysteries that are revealed to him in heaven. These writings take as their common starting point the unusual description of Enoch within the genealogical list from Adam to Noah in Gen. 5:1-31:
"When Enoch had lived 65 years, be begot Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God (ha-elohim) 300 years; and he begot sons and daughters. All the days of Enoch came to 365 years. Enoch walked with God (ha-elohim); then he was no more, for God (elohim) took him.(Gen. 5:21-4)."
The passage was evocative for the Second Temple reader, for then elohim was understood to denote not God, but angels. This is especially the case for Gen. 5:24, as a Second Temple audience would not believe that a human being could walk with God himself....The various works included in 1 Enoch attempt to answer the question of what Enoch saw when he "walked with the angels."....The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch, chap. 1-36) is dated to 250-200 BCE based on its dependence on the book of Jubilees (dated to approximately 160 BCE)....The latest possible date for this work is based on the paleographic dating of the Enoch fragments found at Cave 4 at Qumran to the first half of the 2nd century BCE.
Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses, Martha Himmelfarb, at 9
The vision of 1 Enoch 14 marks a crucial departure in the history of ancient Jewish literature To a certain extent Enoch's vision stands in the tradition of prophecy. From one angle it can been seen as a dramatic call vision, like Ezekiel's vision of the chariot throne, to which it has some striking parallels. In the culmination of the vision, God commissions Enoch to perform a prophetic task, to deliver a message of judgment to the fallen Watchers. But there is one central difference between Enoch's vision and visions of the prophets, including Ezekiel's: Unlike any of the prophetis, Enoch ascends to heaven.
Testament of Levi 3:1 Therefore, Listen about the seven heavens. The lowest heaven because of this is gloomy, because this sees all the unrighteousness of humanity. 2 The second heaven has fire, snow, and ice made ready for the day of commandment of the Lord in the righteous judgment of God; in it are all the spirits of attractions for vengeance of lawlessness. 3 In the third heaven are the powers of the encampments, which are appointed for the day of judgment to work vengeance on the spirits of deceit and of Beliar. And above them into the fourth heaven are these holy ones; 4 because in the highest heaven of all dwells the Great Glory in the holy of holies, far above all holiness. 5 In it the angels are with him in the presence of the Lord, who minister and make atonement to the Lord for all the sins of ignorance of the righteous.
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, James L. Kugel, Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture, Louis Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman (eds.) at 1703, 1725.
The Testaments [including the Testament of Levi] are one of the most significant pieces of writing to have survived from the Second Temple period. Particularly interesting is what they can teach us about ancient biblical interpretation, since each testament refers--directly or indirectly--to passages from the book of Genesis as well as other parts of what would become the Hebrew Bible. Some of the interpretive motifs found in the Testaments may have originated with the book's own author[s]; others appear to have been borrowed from earlier works, in particular from [The Book of] Jubilees. It is striking that a numbers of the interpretive motifs found in the Testaments reappear in much the same form in later writings, particularly in the midrash of Rabbinic Judaism....In Second Temple writings, heaven was conventionally divided into different layers or levels of increasing sanctity, though the total number of levels varies; these levels correspond to the angels and other heavenly beings who inhabit them, who are similarly ranked. In [The Book of ] Jubilees, for example, the two highest ranks of angels are the "angels of the Presence" [lit. "of the Face," because they are privileged to serve God directly and behold the heavenly countenance] and the "angels of holiness" (or "sanctification";....
The Merkavah Tradition in Early Rabbinic Literature
(א) אֵין דּוֹרְשִׁין בַּעֲרָיוֹת בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה. וְלֹא בְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית בִּשְׁנַיִם. וְלֹא בַמֶּרְכָּבָה בְּיָחִיד, אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן הָיָה חָכָם וּמֵבִין מִדַּעְתּוֹ. כָּל הַמִּסְתַּכֵּל בְּאַרְבָּעָה דְּבָרִים, רָאוּי לוֹ כְּאִלּוּ לֹא בָּא לָעוֹלָם, מַה לְּמַעְלָה, מַה לְּמַטָּה, מַה לְּפָנִים, וּמַה לְּאָחוֹר. וְכָל שֶׁלֹּא חָס עַל כְּבוֹד קוֹנוֹ, רָאוּי לוֹ שֶׁלֹּא בָּא לָעוֹלָם:
(1) They may not expound upon the subject of forbidden relations in the presence of three. Nor the work of creation in the presence of two. Nor [the work of] the chariot in the presence of one, unless he is a sage and understands of his own knowledge. Whoever speculates upon four things, it would have been better had he not come into the world: what is above, what is beneath, what came before, and what came after. And whoever takes no thought for the honor of his creator, it would have been better had he not come into the world.
Concealment and Revelation, Moshe Halbertal (trans. Jackie Feldman) at page 8.
More than any other source, this Mishna---which dates to the second century, though it might reflect earlier traditions--granted legal authority to the claim that there is a secret dimension to the Jewish tradition. It is small wonder that many esotericists called their teachings ma'ase merkabah (the story/act/work/vision of the chariot). An analysis of this Mishna yields several important insights. The area of knowledge for which the group of students must be filtered and access restricted is related to certain specified portions of Scripture. "The work [vision] of the chariot" and "the work [narrative] of creation" deal with the opening chapters of Genesis and Ezekiel, respectively, as is evidenced in another passage of the Mishna. The exposition of these passages is proscribed outside closed, restricted contexts. The secret whose dissemination is prohibited by the Mishna is not located in the hidden exegetical level of the biblical text as a whole, but in certain specified chapters. At this point, we may already state that the idea that all of Scripture has a hidden esoteric level, which runs parallel to its external meaning--an idea of profound import in the Middle Ages--finds no expression in talmudic literature.
(א) אין דורשין בעריות בשלשה אבל דורשין בשנים [ולא] במעשה בראשית בשנים אבל דורשין ביחיד ולא במרכבה ביחיד אא"כ היה חכם מבין מדעתו מעשה ברבן יוחנן בן זכאי שהיה רוכב על החמור והיה רבי אלעזר בן ערך מחמר אחריו אמר לו רבי שנה פרק אחד במעשה מרכבה אמר לו לא [כן אמרתי לך מתחלה שאין שונין] במרכבה ביחיד אלא אם כן היה חכם מבין מדעתו אמר לו מעתה ארצה לפניך אמר לו אמור פתח רבי אלעזר בן ערך ודרש במעשה מרכבה ירד רבי יוחנן בן זכאי מן החמור ונתעטף בטליתו וישבו שניהם על גבי אבן תחת הזית והרצה לפניו עמד ונשקו ואמר ברוך ה' אלהי ישראל אשר נתן בן לאברהם אבינו שיודע להבין ולדרוש בכבוד אביו שבשמים יש נאה דורש ואין נאה מקיים נאה מקיים ואין נאה דורש [אלעזר בן ערך] נאה דורש ונאה מקיים אשריך [אברהם] אבינו שאלעזר בן ערך יצא מחלציך [שיודע להבין ולדרוש בכבוד אביו שבשמים] רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה אומר רבי יהושע הרצה לפני רבן יוחנן בן זכאי [רבי עקיבה] הרצה לפני רבי יהושע חנניא בן חכינאי הרצה לפני רבי עקיבה.
(1) (1) One may not expound upon the subject of forbidden relations but they may expound before two. They may not expound concerning the Work of Creation before two but they may expound before one. They may not expound on the [Work of] the Chariot before one unless he is wise and understands of his own accord. A story of R. Yochanan ben Zaccai who was riding on his donkey and Rabbi Ele'azar ben Arakh was riding behind him. He said to him: "Rabbi, teach me one paragraph concerning the Work of the Chariot. He said to him: "No. Have I not said to you from the beginning that one does not teach concerning the [Work of] the Chariot before one unless he is wise and understands of his own accord? He said to him: "Now give me permission to expound before you." He said to him: "Speak!" Rabbi Ele'azar ben Arakh began to expound on the Work of the Chariot. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zaccai alighted from his donkey and wrapped himself in his tallit and the two of them sat on an outcropping of rock under an olive tree and he presented the subject before him. Rabbi Yochanan stood up and kissed him and said: "Blessed is Adonai, God of Israel, who gave a son to Abraham our father that knows and understands how to expound on the glory of our Father in Heaven! There are those suited to expound and who are not suited to fulfill, those who are suited to fulfill and who are not suited to expound. Ele'azar ben Arakh is suited to expound and to fulfill. Happy is Abraham our father, that Ele'azar ben Arakh, who came forth from your loins, knows and understands well enough to expound on the glory of our Father in heaven! Rabbi Yosi bar R. Yehuda says: "Rabbi Yehoshua expounded before R. Yochanan ben Zaccai, Rabbi Akiva expounded before Rabbi Yehoshua and Hananiah ben Chachinai expounded before before Rabbi Akiva.
Four Entered Paradise Revisited Alon Goshen Gottstein, Harvard Theological Review 88:1 (1995) 69-133 at 79, 86, 104
In the first unit we find an example of a sage who follows the limitations placed by the mishnah upon the study of ma'aseh merkabah. There is, I believe, one potentially important difference between the mishnah and the Tosefta at this point. According to the mishnah, one who is wise and understands on his own accord may expound the merkabah; the mishnah seems to place a limitation upon teaching others. yet it does not necessarily address the question of a competent student engaging in the study of the merkabah on his own. It is this point that the Tosefta seems to address. The point of the Tosefta's presentation seems to be that one should not engage in the study of the merkabah except under the direction of a qualified master. This aspect of relations between student and teacher is the thread that holds the various components of the "mystical collection" together. The opening story is not only an example of R. Yohanan b. Zakkai following the injunctions of the mishnah. More important, it is an example of a particular relationship that exists between R. Yohanan and R. Ele'azar b. Arakh. The latter lectures (הרצה)before his master and receives his master's approval for his teaching. Thus, whereas the mishnah might be construed wrongly as stating that someone who understands of his own accord (mum) may engage in the study of the merkabah, the Tosefta limits this by introducing the role of the master as controlling the free study of ma'aseh merkabah.
The Merkavah Tradition in the Hekhalot Literature
(א) אמר ר' ישמעאל מה הפרש שירות שהיה אומר מי שבקש להסתכל בצפיית המרכבה לירד בשלום ולעלות בשלום:
(ב) גדולה מכולם להכנס ולהכניסו ולהביאו לחדרי היכל הרקיע להעמידו לפני כסא כבודו ולידע כל מה שהוא עתיד להיות בעולם למי משפילין ולמי מגביהין למי מרפין למי מגבירין למי מרוששין למי מעשירין למי ממיתין למי מחיין למי נוטלין ממנו ירושה למי נותנין לו ירושה למי מנחילין לו תורה למי נותנים חכמה:
(1) Rabbi Ishmael said: What are the specific hymns which one who seeks to gaze upon the vision of the chariot should recite in order to descend in peace and to ascend in peace?
(2) Greatest of all of them, to enter, to gather him in and bring him into the chambers of the palace of the firmament, to cause him to stand before the throne of glory, to know all that will come to pass in the world: Who shall be cast down, who exalted; Who shall be weakened, who strengthened; Who shall be crushed with poverty, who made rich; Who shall die, who shall live; From whom shall inheritance be taken, To whom shall inheritance be given; Who shall be granted Torah for his portion And who be given Wisdom.
(א) וארא כעין חשמל (יחזקאל א כז) זה נזקק ובורר אם ראוי לירד במרכבה אם לאו אם ראוי לירד במרכבה כיון שאומר לו הכנס ואינו נכנס חוזרין ואומרין לו הכנס ומיד נכנס היו משבחין אותו בודאי לומר זה מיורדי מרכבה אבל אם אינו ראוי לירד במרכבה כיון שאומרים לו הכנס והוא נכנס מיד מטילין עליו אלפים מגזרי ברזל:
(ב) מפני ששומרי פתח היכל ששי היו עושים כמי שמטילים עליו אלף אלפי גלי מים ואין שם אפילו טפה אחת אם אמר מים הללו מה טיבן מיד רצין אחריו בסקילה ואומרין ריקה שמא מזרעו של מנשקי העגל שאין אתה ראוי לראות במלך וכסאו לא זז משם עד שמטילין עליו אלף אלפים מגזרי ברזל:
And I saw a spark of lightning which was fixed and stationary and was divided between those fit to descend to the Merkava and those who were not fit to descend to the Merkava. If a man were fit to descend to the Merkava, when they say to him “Enter” and he does not enter, they repeat themselves and say to him “Enter,” and he at once enters. They would then praise him, saying, “Surely this is one of those who descend to the Merkava.” But if a man be not fit to descend to the Merkava, when they say to him “Enter” and he enters, they at once place upon him a thousand pieces of iron, [259] because the door-keepers of the sixth palace place upon him a thousand thousands of waves of water, and there is not in that place even a single drop. And if he said, “What is the nature of this water?” they at once run after him, stoning him, and saying to him, “Wretch, are you not of the seed of them that kissed the [golden] calf, you are not fit to see the Sovereign and the throne. He does not move from the spot before they place on him a thousand thousands of pieces of iron.
Hekhalot Literature in Translation, James R. Davila, at 1-2
The Hekhalot literature is a motley collection of textually fluid and often textually corrupt documents in Hebrew and Aramaic which deal with mystical themes associated especially with visions of God's throne-chariot (the markavah or "chariot," ehence "Merkavah mysticism"), control over angels, and details descriptions of the heavenly realm....Broadly speaking, the Hekhalot literature focuses on two main themes. The first is how a practitioner may ascend (or, frequently and paradoxically, "descend") to heaven in order to be transformed, at least temporarily, into a being of fire; to join in the angelic liturgy in the divine throne room; and to sit enthroned, sometimes on God's lap, and be granted theurgic power. The second is how the practitioner may gain control over angels, especially the Sar Torah or Prince of Torah who can grant expertise in rabbinic Torah lore without the need for the normal arduous study. These texts are filled with descriptions of the seven-tiered heaven that contains seven hekhalot ("palaces," hence, "Hekhalot literature"), concentrically arranged, with the centermost, and evidently the largest, containing the celestial throne room, with God seated on his throne-chariot surrounded by attending angels who sing the celestial liturgy. But for the most part the texts are simply descriptions of the heavenly realm, they are instructions manuals on how to carry out the two main goals, the heavenly ascent or "descent to the chariot" and the acquiring of power over angels, especially the Prince of Torah. The instructions consist of detailed accounts of the ritual practices to be performed, along with the texts of numerous songs and adjurations to be sung and recited. These songs and adjurations are often beautiful and carefully crafted poetic pieces, but these are interspersed and interlarded with long lists of divine names, nonsense words (nominan barbara), and names of angels, all of which are, again, intended for recitation in the rituals.
Sar Ha-Torah in Hekhalot Literature in Translation, James Davila, at 181-2
R. Ishmael said: Thus said R. Aqiva in the name of R. Eliezer the Great: He who would bind himself to the Prince of Torah must wash his clothes and his garments and immerse (in) a strict immersion in case of a nocturnal emission. And he must enter and dwell for twelve days in a room or in an upper chamber. He may not go out and he may not come in, and he must not eat or drink. But from evening to evening (see) that he eats his bread, clean bread of his own hands, and he drinks clear water, and he may not taste any kind of vegetable. And he must insert this midrash of the Prince of Torah into the prayer, three times in every single day; it is after the prayer that he should pray it from its beginning to its end. And afterward he must sit and study it (for) twelve days, the days of his fasting, from morning until evening, and he must not be silent. And in every hour that he finishes it he must stand on his feet and adjure the servants by their King and he must call for every single prince twelve times. Afterward he must adjure him by the seal— every single one of them. He must adjure them for twelve days in the name of YWPY’L, who is the adornment of the height of his King; and in the name of SRBY’L, who is one of the princes of the chariot; and in the name of ŠHRRY’L, who is a beloved prince; and in the name of ḤSDY’L, who is called to might six hours in each day. And he must go back and adjure them, the latter four princes, with a great seal and with a great oath in the name of ’ZBWG’, which is a great seal, and in the name of ṢWRṬQ, a holy name and a fearsome crown. When he completes the twelve, he will go forth to all the principles of Torah that he seeks, whether to Bible or to Mishnah or to the vision of the chariot.
Hekhalot Zutarti in [The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament, Christopher Rowland and Christopher R.A. Morray-Jones]
R. Akiva said: § 413b Memorize and learn by heart the names of the seven princes, the guardians of the seven palaces—the palace of exaltation, the palace of eminence, the palace of wonders, the palace of purity, {the palace of lordship, the palace of splendour, the palace of holiness}—and the names and how they are made into seals. When you show each one his seal, he will permit you to enter his palace....(416) Over the first palace is set רגזיאל , the Lord, the prince, with smoke and winds. You show him the seal and the signet on which is engraved: אבטח , the Lord God of Israel, our Father who is in heaven. Over the second palace is set רחיבירון , the Lord, the prince. You show him the seal and the signet on which is engraved: אזבוגה , the Lord God of Israel, our Father who is in heaven. Over the third palace is set שקדהוזאיי , the Lord, the prince, and you show him the seal and the signet on which is engraved: זהפפנוריי , the Lord God of Israel, our Father who is in heaven. Over the fourth palace is set סגנסגאל , the Lord, the prince, and, of the seals, you show him the seal and the signet on which is engraved: זבודיאל , the Lord God of Israel, our Father who is in heaven. Over the fifth palace is set אשירוויאלי , the Lord, the prince, and, of the seals, you show him the seal and the signet on which is engraved: אברגהודריה , the Lord God of Israel, our Father who is in heaven. Over the sixth palace is set טטרוסיאי , the Lord, the prince—an exalted prince, whom his king exalted, therefore he is set over the sixth palace—and, of the seals, you show him the seal and the signet on which is engraved: נתפדראילו , the Lord God of Israel, our Father who is in heaven. § 417a Over the seventh palace is set שהריאל , the Lord, the prince—an exalted prince whom the king of the world exalted like himself, therefore he is set over the gate of the seventh palace, the palace of exaltation, the palace of eminence, the palace of wonders—and, from the seals, you show him the seal and the signet on which is engraved: שתקייר , the Lord God of Israel, whose name is called אהה שתקייר , the God of Israel, our Father who is in heaven.
The Merkavah Tradition in the Babylonian Talmud
שם אופנים ושרפים וחיות הקדש ומלאכי השרת וכסא הכבוד מלך אל חי רם ונשא שוכן עליהם בערבות שנאמר (תהלים סח, ה) סולו לרוכב בערבות ביה שמו ומנלן דאיקרי שמים אתיא רכיבה רכיבה כתיב הכא סולו לרוכב בערבות וכתיב התם (דברים לג, כו) רוכב שמים בעזרך וחשך וענן וערפל מקיפין אותו שנאמר (תהלים יח, יב) ישת חשך סתרו סביבותיו סוכתו חשכת מים עבי שחקים ומי איכא חשוכא קמי שמיא והכתיב [דניאל ב, כב] הוא (גלי) עמיקתא ומסתרתא ידע מה בחשוכא ונהורא עמיה שרי לא קשיא הא בבתי גואי הא בבתי בראי ואמר רב אחא בר יעקב עוד רקיע אחד יש למעלה מראשי החיות דכתיב (יחזקאל א, כב) ודמות על ראשי החיה רקיע כעין הקרח הנורא עד כאן יש לך רשות לדבר מכאן ואילך אין לך רשות לדבר שכן כתוב בספר בן סירא במופלא ממך אל תדרוש ובמכוסה ממך אל תחקור במה שהורשית התבונן אין לך עסק בנסתרות
There, in the firmaments, are the ofanim, the seraphim, the holy divine creatures, and the ministering angels, and the Throne of Glory. The King, God, the living, lofty, exalted One dwells above them in Aravot, as it is stated: “Extol Him Who rides upon the skies [Aravot], Whose name is God” (Psalms 68:5). And from where do we derive that Aravot is called “heaven”? This is learned by using a verbal analogy between two instances of “rides” and “rides”: Here, it is written: “Extol Him Who rides upon the skies [Aravot],” and there, it is written: “Who rides upon the heaven as your help” (Deuteronomy 33:26). And darkness and clouds and fog surround Him, as it is stated: “He made darkness His hiding place, His pavilion round about Him; darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies” (Psalms 18:12). The Gemara asks: And is there darkness before Heaven, i.e., before God? But isn’t it written: “He reveals deep and secret things, He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him” (Daniel 2:22), demonstrating that only light, not darkness, is found with God? The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. This verse, which states that only light dwells with Him, is referring to the inner houses, where there is only light; that source, according to which He is surrounded by darkness, is referring to the outer houses. And Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: There is one more firmament above these, which is above the heads of the divine creatures, as it is written: “And over the heads of the divine creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, like the color of the terrible ice” (Ezekiel 1:22). The Gemara comments: Until here, you have permission to speak; from this point forward you do not have permission to speak, as it is written in the book of Ben Sira: Seek not things concealed from you, nor search those hidden from you. Reflect on that which is permitted to you; you have no business with secret matters.