Pensée juive sur Ézéchiel 1:4

IT is necessary to notice that the plural marot elohim, “visions of God,” is here used, and not the singular mareh, “vision,” for there were several things, of different kinds, that were perceived by the prophet. The following three things were perceived by him: the Ofannim, the Ḥayyot, and the man above the Ḥayyot. The description of each of these visions is introduced by the word va-ereh, “and I beheld?” For the account of the Ḥayyot, begins, “And I looked (va-ereh), and behold a whirlwind,” etc. (Ezek. 1:4). The account of the Ofannim begins: “Now as I beheld (va-ereh) the Ḥayyot, behold one ofan upon the earth” (ver. 15). The vision of that which is above the Ḥayyot in order and rank begins: “And I saw (va-ereh) as the colour of the amber, etc., from the appearance of his loins even upward” (ver. 27). The word va-ereh, “and I beheld,” only occurs these three times in the description of the Mercabah. The doctors of the Mishnah have already explained this fact, and my attention was called to it by their remarks. For they said that only the two first visions, namely, that of the Ḥayyot and the Ofannim, might be interpreted to others; but of the third vision, viz., that of the ḥashmal and all that is connected with it, only the heads of the sections may be taught. Rabbi [Jehudah], the Holy, is of opinion that all the three visions are called ma‘aseh mercabah, and nothing but the heads of the sections could be communicated to others. The exact words of the discussion are as follows:—Where does maaseh mercabhah end? Rabbi says, with the last va-ereh; Rabbi Yiẓḥak says it ends at the word ḥashmal (ver. 27). The portion from va-ereh to ḥashmal may be fully, taught; of that which follows, only the heads of the sections; according to some it is the passage from va-ereh to ḥashmal, of which the heads of the sections may be taught, but that which follows may only be studied by those who possess the capacity, whilst those that cannot study it by themselves must leave it.—It is clear from the words of our Sages that different visions are described, as may also be inferred from the repetition of the word va-ereh, and that these visions are different from each other in degree: the last and highest of them is the vision commencing, “And I saw as the colour of ḥashmal”: that is to say, the divided figure of the man, described as “the appearance of fire, etc., from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward,” etc. There is a difference of opinion among our Sages whether it is permitted to give by way of hints an exposition of any part of this third vision, or whether it is prohibited even to teach of it the heads of the sections, so that only the wise can arrive at understanding it by their own studies. You will also notice a difference of opinion among our Sages in reference to the two first visions, viz., that of the Ḥayyot and that of the Ofannim whether these may be taught explicitly or only by way of hints, dark sayings, and heads of sections.

Blessed be the exalted name of the one and only God, the God of the world, who dwells forever and sits eternally. Selah. He does not change for those who draw near to Him or for the creatures who exist for His glory, in the hands of the honored ones. As the psalmist said (Psalms 148:5), "For He commanded, and they were created." I will give you a parable with the celestial bodies, for the stars of the great sphere that encompasses their movement are all equal in their distance from one another, always and forever. And the movement of the seven ministers also stands on one path, each in its own sphere, only their movements in relation to the fixedness of the earth vary. Some of them go straight in their course, some run swiftly, some pause, some stand still, and some move backward. Their system is ever-changing, without end. At times they come together, and at times they separate. Sometimes they move without looking, and sometimes with seven glances. Sometimes they rise and descend, in large and small cycles. Sometimes they move in a straight line (the zodiac), and sometimes to the left or right. They themselves do not change, increase, diminish, or add to their light, except in relation to the appearance of the eye and the moon, which change based on their distance from the sun. Whatever happens to the celestial ministers, more or less, affects all these mentioned things. Similarly, others also change, all the creatures born on Earth, from the sources, plants, and living beings. It is impossible to find a consistent system lasting thousands of thousands of years. Thus, it is written in the Book of Formation, "Until eleven, the mouth cannot speak, nor can the ear hear." Therefore, in this number, even with many days of sand, since there is nothing on Earth that stands except for the soul of man alone, the exalted name is not mentioned in the work of creation, only the word "Elohim" is used, which is also called by their name, like the bees that call their language and tongue. Therefore, our sages said, "The full name is called on the full world, and called 'with God' until Cain was born." And when Eve saw that a man was born, she said, "I have acquired a man with the Lord." And for this reason, Moses did not mention his name to Pharaoh, only the exalted name, the God of the Hebrews, who had the power to perform miracles in the land, was mentioned. Therefore, you will not find this name in the Book of Ecclesiastes, for it speaks of the wisdom of God and the power that He gave to all. It was not present in Moses. Therefore, Jethro said, "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods," referring to the name. He is the God of gods, sometimes referred to by His essence and sometimes by His title. The Lord of Hosts and His throne are called by His name, as it is written in the Chronicles and explicitly mentioned in the book of Samuel. Why is He called by this name? Because "the name of the Lord of Hosts is seated on the cherubim" (2 Samuel 6:2), as it is also written, "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). Similarly, it is said, "Like the light of seven days" (Isaiah 30:26), meaning sevenfold, indicating that each day added more light until the seventh day when it stood complete. And likewise, "He will fight with the king of the North" (Daniel 11:11), and "from within it, a likeness with the appearance of amber, from within the fire" (Ezekiel 1:4).

Secondly, the prophets employ homonymous terms and use words which are not meant to be understood in their ordinary signification, but are only used because of some other meaning which they admit, e.g., “a rod of an almond-tree (shaked),” because of the words which follow, “for I will hasten (shaked)” (Jer. 1:11, 12), as will be shown in the chapter on Prophecy. According to the same principle Ezekiel in the account of the Divine Chariot employs, as we have stated the term ḥashmal (Ezek. 1:4); also regel egel (v. 7), neḥoshet kalal (v. 7), and similar terms; Zechariah (vi. 1) likewise adopts this method, and says: “And the mountains were mountains of neḥoshet (brass),” and the like.