Talmud su Salmi 18:78

²³For an explanation of this paragraph, see the author’s The Scholar’s Haggadah, pp. 186–187. From where the Four Cups? Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Benaiah: Corresponding to the four deliveries²⁴Ex. 6:7–8.: Therefore, say to the Children of Israel, I am the Eternal, and I shall take you out, etc. And I shall take you as My people, etc. I shall take you, I shall save you, I shall free you, I shall take you. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, corresponding to the four cups of Pharao: The cup of Pharao was in my hand; I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharao ’s cup, and gave the cup in Pharao ’s hand. You will give the cup in the hand of Pharao²⁵Gen. 40:11,13. The relation to Passover is explained in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan ad loc.. Rebbi Levi said, corresponding to the four kingdoms. But our teachers say, corresponding to the four cups of doom that the Holy One, praise to Him, will make the Gentiles drink at the end of days. Truly, so said the Eternal, the God of Israel, to me: take this cup of the wine of wrath²⁶Jer. 23:15.. The golden cup of Babylon is in the hand of the Eternal²⁷Jer. 51:7.. Truly a cup is in the hand of the Eternal, intoxicating wine, fully to be mixed; He shall sprinkle from it but its dregs shall be drunk, squeezed to the last, by all the wicked of the earth²⁸Ps. 75:9.. He shall let coals rain on the wicked; fire, sulphur, and burning wind is the portion of their cup²⁹Ps. 11:6.. What does the portion of their cup mean? R. Abun said: a double cup³⁰Greek διπλόν ποτήριον, τό. like the double cup taken after a thermal bath. And in accordance with this correspondingly the Holy One, praised be He, will let Israel drink four cups of consolation at the End of Days: The Eternal is the portion of my part and my cup³¹Ps. 16:5.. You anointed my head with oil; my cup is overflowing³²Ps.23:5.. I shall lift up the cup of salvations³³Ps.116:13. counts for two.

The same was said by David, king of Israel; for it is stated, He made darkness His hiding-place.⁶¹Ps. 18, 12. With reference to whom did David say this verse? He only said it by way of praising the Holy One, blessed be He, Who is Yah ruling in the heights of the universe; He is One and His name is One, and He dwells in three hundred and ninety firmaments.⁶²The Heb. for ‘heaven’, שמים, has the numerical value 390. Upon each firmament His Name and attributes are inscribed; in each are Ministering Angels, Seraphim, Ophannim,⁶³lit. ‘wheels’, cf. Ezek. 1, 15ff. Cherubim, celestial spheres⁶⁴The spheres of the zodiac. and the throne of glory. Do not wonder too much at this statement; because a king of flesh and blood has a number of residences, some for warm weather and some for cold weather; how much more so [can this be said] of the King, the Life of the universe, since everything belongs to Him!
When Israel perform the will of the All-present, [56b] He dwells in Araboth the seventh [heaven]⁶⁵The seventh heaven is the abode of righteousness, justice and peace; cf. Ḥag. 12a (Sonc. ed., pp. 71f.). and He does not disinterest Himself in anything [in the world]; as it is stated, From between the two cherubim; and He spoke unto him.⁶⁶Num. 7, 89. But when He is wroth, He ascends and dwells in the upper heavens, and though people cry aloud and weep, their voices are not heard, even though they decree a fast, wallow in ashes, clothe themselves in sackcloth and shed tears.

HALAKHAH: “Your heart should not soften,” etc. It is written³¹Ps. 18:13–15.: “From the radiation that surrounds Him, His clouds,” against their cavalry squads³²Latin turma “squadron”. In similar stories in Yalqut Šim‘oni 230, 232: טורמיות., “passed,” against their cohorts. “Hailstorm,” against their missile throwers³³Latin ballista, ballistra “military machine, stone-throwing machine”. In a Genizah fragment, the word is spelled בליצרה.. “And embers,” against their throwing machines³⁴Latin tormentum, “missile throwing machine”.. “Of fire,” against their naphta. “He thundered from Heaven³⁵In the verse, “He thundered in Heaven”.,” against their torches³⁶In a Genizah fragment, כנגד סלפידס שלהן. One might read סַלְפִּידְס for Greek σάλπιγξ “heavenly trumpet, thunder”. This fits much better to “thunder” than the “torches” of both mss.. “The Most High made His voice heard,” against the sound of their horns. “He sent His arrows,” against their arrows. “And dispersed them,”, this teaches that they were dispersing them. Rebbi Abba bar Cahana said, this teaches that they were in rectangular formations, that the arrows dispersed them but the lightnings were bringing them together. “Lightnings,” against their swords. “And confused them,” He confused them, made them disoriented, and felled their standard³⁷Latin signum, “standard”. In a similar version, Tanḥuma Bešallaḥ 23, “He felled their standard and so made them disoriented.” In a Genizah fragment, the word is vocalized הֲסִיגְנַס.. Rebbi said,³⁸In a Genizah fragment: דָּבָר אַחֵר “another explanation”. the expression “and confounded them” means only pestilence, as it is written³⁹Deut. 7:23.: “He will confuse them in a great confusion until He destroyed them.”

BARAITHA. Seven patriarchs died in universal honour, and the worms and maggots had no power over them, viz. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Amram the father of Moses, Benjamin the son of Jacob, Jesse and Chileab.¹⁷⁹The second son of David (2 Sam. 3, 3, who is named Daniel in 1 Chron. 3, 1). Cf. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, I, p. 22. Some add: David, as it is stated, Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also dwelleth in safety.¹⁸⁰Ps. 16, 9.
Seven entered Paradise in their lifetime, viz.: [Seraḥ [the daughter of Asher],¹⁸¹She showed Moses the place in the Nile where Joseph’s coffin lay hidden, thus enabling him to take it with him when the Israelites left Egypt (Ex. 13, 19). Cf. Ginzberg, op. cit., II, pp. 116, 181; V, pp. 96, 165, 356, n. 295, 359, n. 321. See also Soṭah 13a (Sonc. ed., p. 67). Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh,¹⁸²Cf. 1 Chron. 4, 18; Meg. 13a (Sonc. ed., p. 74); Ginzberg, op. cit., II, p. 270; V, p. 401, n. 60. Hiram, king of Tyre,¹⁸³Because he was of great help to Solomon in the building of the Temple. Cf. 1 Kings 5; Ginzberg, op. cit., IV, p. 155; V, pp. 96, 165; VI, p. 425. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,¹⁸⁴He rescued the prophet Jeremiah when his life was in danger. Cf. Jer. 38, 11ff.; Ginzberg, op. cit., IV, pp. 318ff.; VI, pp. 387, 409f., 411f. Eliezer [the servant of Abraham],¹⁸⁵op. cit., I, p. 297; V, pp. 96, 165, 263, n. 301. the grandson of Judah the Prince,¹⁸⁶op. cit., V, p. 96, where he refers to R. Judah’s ‘slave’, not his grandson. Jabez¹⁸⁷op. cit., V, p. 96; VI, p. 187, n. 30, where Jabez is identified with R. Judah’s grandson. and some add, R. Joshua b. Levi].¹⁸⁸op. cit., V, pp. 31, 96, 165.
GEMARA. Seraḥ, as it is written, I am of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel¹⁸⁹2 Sam. 20, 19, E.V. we are of them, etc.; the words which the wise woman spoke in the name of the people of the city. Here the words are applied to another wise woman, Serah. [which is interpreted,] It is I who completed the number of entrants to the Garden of Eden. Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, as it is written, And his wife Hajehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor … and these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh whom Mered took.¹⁹⁰1 Chron. 4, 18. God said, ‘I will call Moses by no other name than she called him’,¹⁹¹Cf. Ex. 2, 10. as it is stated, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said: Moses, Moses.¹⁹²ibid III, 4. To this David alluded when he exclaimed, He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.¹⁹³2 Sam. 22, 17; Ps. 18, 17. [It is written,] And she called his name Moses, and said: Because I drew him out of the water.¹⁹⁴Ex. 2, 10. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘Because she caused salvation to come to Israel and brought them forth to life, behold, I will prolong her life’. He [also] said, ‘I have made a covenant with your fathers and they followed in the path of their fathers. This woman, however, who has forsaken her royal status and attached herself to you, shall I not reward her?’
In what did Hiram, king of Tyre, earn his merit? Because he built a Tabernacle as Moses did; as it is written, Even all these vessels.¹⁹⁵1 Kings 7, 45. In the Heb. text the word for these is so spelt that it could be read ’ohel which is reminiscent of the ’ohel mo‘ed, ‘the tent of meeting’, which Moses erected. To what does the word these allude? To the tent of meeting. [Why did] Ebed-melech the Ethiopian [enter Paradise alive]? Because he brought up Jeremiah [from the dungeon], as it is written, And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, etc.¹⁹⁶Jer. 38, 12f. [Why did] Eliezer [enter Paradise alive]? Because he prayed on Abraham’s behalf. On what occasion? When he said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray Thee, good speed this day,¹⁹⁷Gen. 24, 12. and it is further written, Because the Lord thy God sent me good speed.¹⁹⁸ibid. XXVII, 20. Jacob said this to his father. And whence do we know that the latter one¹⁹⁹Jacob. [entered Paradise alive]? For it is written, And he brought him wine, and he drank;²⁰⁰ibid. XXVII, 25. and it further states, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.²⁰¹ibid. 27, i.e., the Garden of Eden. Jacob, according to tradition, brought the vine from the Garden of Eden; cf. Midrash Rabbah, Genesis, LXV, 22 (Sonc. ed., p. 599): ‘When Jacob went in to his father, the Garden of Eden entered with him’.
And the grandson of R. Judah the Prince? For this we have a tradition. And R. Joshua b. Levi? For this too we have a tradition. And whence do we know it of Jabez? For it is written, And Jabez called on the God of Israel … and that Thy hand might be with me.²⁰²1 Chron. 4, 10. Some derive it from here, And that Thou wouldest work deliverance from evil, that it may not pain me.²⁰³ibid. Whence do we know that evil means death? As it is written, The righteous is taken away from the evil to come;²⁰⁴Isa. 57, 1. and it has been taught: But for the ills that come upon the world, the righteous would not be taken away before their time. And Jabez prayed concerning himself, That it may not pain me, [and then it is written,] And God granted him that which he requested.²⁰⁵1 Chron. 4, 10.

The Rebbis say: This King Messiah, if he is from the living, his name is David. If he is from the dead, his name is David. Rebbi Tanḥuma said: I am declaring the reason (Ps. 18:51) “He gives kindness to His anointed, to David.²⁰²The previous discussion ended with the verse from Hosea, which indicates that in Messianic times all twelve tribes will seek their king David; it is clear that Hosea talks about the Messiah and calls him David. This gives rise to an insertion about the Messiah in this and the next paragraph.
The second argument is more explicit in the Babli, Sanhedrin 98b, where for the first case a verse in Jeremiah (30:9) is cited: “They shall serve the Eternal, their God, and their king David whom I shall raise for them” which also is written in the future tense. The second case, that the original David will be resurrected as Messiah, is based on a verse in Ezechiel (34:24) “I, the Eternal, shall be for them their God, and My servant David prince in their midst”, seems to refer to the historical David in Messianic times. The Babylonian Talmud points out that a prince is less than a king and, therefore, the new King Messiah will have the status of a Roman Augustus whereas the resurrected David will occupy the position of Caesar, or Crown Prince. In any case, the next paragraph makes is quite clear that the Messiah was born on the day of the destruction of the Temple and that, therefore, nobody with a recorded date of birth can ever be considered as Messiah. There is no reason to believe that the Babli would disagree with this conclusion. In addition, Maimonides in his Letter to Yemen is quite adamant that the Messiah can only appear in the Land of Israel and must be a political figure.’

Rabbi Papius would say: The congregation of Israel was favored above the horses in Pharaoh’s chariot, as it says, “You led your horses into the sea.”
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karha would say: When Pharaoh went into the sea, he rode on a male horse. But then the Holy Blessed One revealed it to be a female horse, as it says (Song of Songs 1:9), “To a mare in Pharaoh’s chariots.” But was it perhaps not a chariot, but a cherub? As it says (Psalms 18:11), “He mounted a cherub and flew, gliding on the wings of the wind.” What happened is that the cherub appeared like a team of female horses, and they all went into the sea.
Those who scorn Me will not be taken seriously” – this is Sennacherib, who scorned the One who spoke and brought the world into being (thus scorning the Holy Blessed One), as it says (Isaiah 37:24–25), “Through your servants you have blasphemed my Lord. Because you said: Thanks to my vast chariotry, I have climbed the highest mountains to the remotest parts of the Lebanon, and have cut down its loftiest cedars, its choicest cypresses, and have reached its highest peak, its densest forest. I have drawn and drunk water. I have dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet.” Therefore, the Holy Blessed One punished him through an emissary, who shaved his head and beard, and sent him back in shame to his own land.
(Rabbi Yishmael the son of Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka would say: One who learns in order to teach, etc.) He would also say: You need not be ready to study the entire Torah, but neither are you free to leave it all aside. Rather, one who continues to add to his learning adds greatly to his reward.
Rabbi Elazar ben Hamsa would say: The study of bird offerings and the calculations of menstruation – these are the essence of the Law.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri would say: Legal matters, ritual purity, bird offerings, and the calculations of menstruation – these are the essence of the Torah.
He would also say: Setting the [great] table, and establishing and supporting a court – both bring goodness into to the world.

Abraham our forefather was tested with ten trials before the Holy Blessed One, and he emerged from each one complete.
They are as follows: Two when God said to him, “Go forth!” Two with his two sons. Two with his two wives. One with the war of the kings. One at the Covenant of the Parts. One in Ur Kasdim. One with circumcision. (The Covenant of the Parts.) And why so many? So that when Abraham our forefather comes to take his reward, the angels will say: More than us, more than anyone, Abraham deserves his reward, as it says (Ecclesiastes 9:7), “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart.”
Because Abraham was tested with ten trials, and emerged from each one complete, the Holy Blessed One performed ten miracles for his children in Egypt, and brought ten plagues, and performed ten more miracles at the sea, and brought ten more plagues upon the Egyptians at the sea.
The Egyptians roared at the top of their lungs, and so the Holy Blessed One thundered back across the sea, as it says (Job 37:5), “God thunders marvelously with His voice.” The Egyptians came to the sea with bows and arrows, and so the Holy Blessed One appeared before them with a bow and arrow, as it says (Habakkuk 3:9), “Bared and ready is Your bow,” and (Psalms 18:15), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them….” The Egyptians came to the sea with swords, so the Holy Blessed One came upon them with swords (and mercy), as it says (ibid.), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them; He discharged lightning and routed them.” And lighting always means a sword, as it says (Ezekiel 21:14–15), “The sword, the sword has been sharpened and polished, sharpened in order to slaughter, so that it sparkles like lightning.” The Egyptians came proudly with shield and armor, and so the Holy Blessed One did the same, as it says (Psalms 35:2), “Grab shield and armor and rise to my defense.” The Egyptians came with spears, and so did the Holy Blessed One, as it says (Habakkuk 3:11), “Your flashing spear in brilliance.” The Egyptians came with rocks and slings, and the Holy Blessed One outdid them with hailstones, as it says (Psalms 18:13), “(Out of the brilliance before Him,) hail and fiery coals pierced His clouds.”
When our ancestors stood at the sea, Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea begins to split open. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it began to split open, as it says (Habakkuk 3:14), “You will split open the heads of his warriors with your staff.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea becomes like a valley before us. So Moses struck the sea and it became like a valley before them, as it says (Psalms 78:13), “He split the sea and passed them through,” and (Isaiah 63:14), “Like a beast going down into the valley.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it is divided into sections, as it says (Psalms 136:13), “Who divided the Sea of Reeds into sections.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross!. They said: We will not cross until it becomes solid matter. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it became mud, as it says (Habakkuk 3:15), “You led Your horse into the sea, onto solid waters.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a desert. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 106:9), “He led them through the depths as if it were the desert.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes all smashed up into particles. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 74:13), “You smashed the sea with Your might.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a bed of rocks. He took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (there), “You broke the heads of crocodiles on the water.” And they could not be broken like this except on rocks. Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes dry land. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 66:6), “He turned the sea into dry land,” and (Exodus 14:29), “And the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes walls. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 14:22), “And the water became a wall for them, on their right and on their left.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until goatskins (nodot) [to drink from] appear before us. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 15:8), “[The walls] stood like a stack (ned) of flowing water.” (And where do we learn that between the sections, fire came down and, as it says [Isaiah 64:1], “Like fire kindles brushwood, and fire boils water to announce Your name to Your antagonists”?) And so the goatskins would draw oil and honey into the mouths of the babies, who would nurse from them, as it says (Deuteronomy 32:13), “He nursed him with honey from the rock.” And some say that fresh water flowed from the sea, and they would drink it between the sections of the sea, since seawater is usually salty, for it says, “flowing,” which always means sweet, as it says (Song of Songs 4:15), “A well of fresh water, flowing from the Lebanon.” And the Clouds of Glory were above them, so that the sun would not oppress them. And this is how the Israelites crossed the water, in order that they would feel no pain.
Rabbi Eliezer would say: The sea depths were arched over them from above, and the Israelites crossed through, so that they would feel no pain. Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon would say: The upper waters and the lower waters tossed the Egyptians, as it says (Exodus 14:27), “The Eternal tossed the Egyptians into the sea.”

Abraham our forefather was tested with ten trials before the Holy Blessed One, and he emerged from each one complete.
They are as follows: Two when God said to him, “Go forth!” Two with his two sons. Two with his two wives. One with the war of the kings. One at the Covenant of the Parts. One in Ur Kasdim. One with circumcision. (The Covenant of the Parts.) And why so many? So that when Abraham our forefather comes to take his reward, the angels will say: More than us, more than anyone, Abraham deserves his reward, as it says (Ecclesiastes 9:7), “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart.”
Because Abraham was tested with ten trials, and emerged from each one complete, the Holy Blessed One performed ten miracles for his children in Egypt, and brought ten plagues, and performed ten more miracles at the sea, and brought ten more plagues upon the Egyptians at the sea.
The Egyptians roared at the top of their lungs, and so the Holy Blessed One thundered back across the sea, as it says (Job 37:5), “God thunders marvelously with His voice.” The Egyptians came to the sea with bows and arrows, and so the Holy Blessed One appeared before them with a bow and arrow, as it says (Habakkuk 3:9), “Bared and ready is Your bow,” and (Psalms 18:15), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them….” The Egyptians came to the sea with swords, so the Holy Blessed One came upon them with swords (and mercy), as it says (ibid.), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them; He discharged lightning and routed them.” And lighting always means a sword, as it says (Ezekiel 21:14–15), “The sword, the sword has been sharpened and polished, sharpened in order to slaughter, so that it sparkles like lightning.” The Egyptians came proudly with shield and armor, and so the Holy Blessed One did the same, as it says (Psalms 35:2), “Grab shield and armor and rise to my defense.” The Egyptians came with spears, and so did the Holy Blessed One, as it says (Habakkuk 3:11), “Your flashing spear in brilliance.” The Egyptians came with rocks and slings, and the Holy Blessed One outdid them with hailstones, as it says (Psalms 18:13), “(Out of the brilliance before Him,) hail and fiery coals pierced His clouds.”
When our ancestors stood at the sea, Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea begins to split open. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it began to split open, as it says (Habakkuk 3:14), “You will split open the heads of his warriors with your staff.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea becomes like a valley before us. So Moses struck the sea and it became like a valley before them, as it says (Psalms 78:13), “He split the sea and passed them through,” and (Isaiah 63:14), “Like a beast going down into the valley.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it is divided into sections, as it says (Psalms 136:13), “Who divided the Sea of Reeds into sections.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross!. They said: We will not cross until it becomes solid matter. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it became mud, as it says (Habakkuk 3:15), “You led Your horse into the sea, onto solid waters.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a desert. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 106:9), “He led them through the depths as if it were the desert.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes all smashed up into particles. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 74:13), “You smashed the sea with Your might.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a bed of rocks. He took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (there), “You broke the heads of crocodiles on the water.” And they could not be broken like this except on rocks. Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes dry land. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 66:6), “He turned the sea into dry land,” and (Exodus 14:29), “And the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes walls. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 14:22), “And the water became a wall for them, on their right and on their left.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until goatskins (nodot) [to drink from] appear before us. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 15:8), “[The walls] stood like a stack (ned) of flowing water.” (And where do we learn that between the sections, fire came down and, as it says [Isaiah 64:1], “Like fire kindles brushwood, and fire boils water to announce Your name to Your antagonists”?) And so the goatskins would draw oil and honey into the mouths of the babies, who would nurse from them, as it says (Deuteronomy 32:13), “He nursed him with honey from the rock.” And some say that fresh water flowed from the sea, and they would drink it between the sections of the sea, since seawater is usually salty, for it says, “flowing,” which always means sweet, as it says (Song of Songs 4:15), “A well of fresh water, flowing from the Lebanon.” And the Clouds of Glory were above them, so that the sun would not oppress them. And this is how the Israelites crossed the water, in order that they would feel no pain.
Rabbi Eliezer would say: The sea depths were arched over them from above, and the Israelites crossed through, so that they would feel no pain. Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon would say: The upper waters and the lower waters tossed the Egyptians, as it says (Exodus 14:27), “The Eternal tossed the Egyptians into the sea.”

The Divine Presence descended to the world ten times. Once in the Garden of Eden, as it says (Genesis 3:8), “They heard the sound of the Eternal God moving in the garden,” and it [also] says (Song of Songs 6:2), “My beloved has gone down to his garden.” Once in the generation of the Tower of Babel, as it says (Genesis 11:5), “And the Eternal went down to see the city and the tower.” Once in Sodom, as it says (Genesis 18:21), “I will go down and I will see about the cries that have come up to Me.” Once in Egypt, as it says (Exodus 3:8), “I have come down to save them from the hands of the Egyptians.” Once at the sea, as it says (Psalms 18:10), “And He bent the heavens and came down.” Once at Sinai, as it says (Exodus 19:20), “And the Eternal came down upon Mount Sinai” before all the people. Once in the Temple, as it says (Ezekiel 44:2), “And the Eternal said to me, this gate must be kept closed and is never to be opened…because the Eternal, the God of Israel, has come through it.” And once in a pillar of cloud, as it says (Numbers 11:25), “And the Eternal came down in a cloud.” And once more in the future, in the days of Gog and Magog, as its says (Zechariah 14:4), “He will set his feet down, on that day, upon the Mount of Olives.”

The Divine Presence would depart from one place and go to another in ten movements: From the Ark’s cover to a cherub; from a cherub to the threshold of the Temple; from the threshold to in between the two cherubs; from in between the two cherubs to the roof of the Sanctuary; from the roof of the Sanctuary to the wall of the outer court; from the wall of the outer court to the altar; from the altar to the city; from the city to the (Temple) Mount; from the (Temple) Mount into the desert. From the Ark’s cover to a cherub, as it is written (II Samuel 22:2), “And He mounted a chariot and flew.” From a cherub to the threshold of the Temple, as it is written (Ezekiel 9:3), “(And the presence of God) went up from the cherub on which it had rested to the threshold of the Temple.” From the threshold to in between the two cherubs, as it is written (Ezekiel 10:18), “And the presence of the Eternal went out from the threshold of the Temple and stopped above the cherubs.” From in between the two cherubs to the roof of the Sanctuary, as it is written (Proverbs 21:9), “It is better to rest upon the corner of a roof.” From the roof of the Sanctuary to the wall of the outer court, as it is written (Amos 7:7), “And behold, my Lord was standing on a wall measured by a plumb line.” From the wall of the outer court to the altar, as it is written (Amos 9:1), “I saw my Lord standing by the altar.” From the altar to the city, as it is written (Micah 6:9), “The voice of the Eternal calls to the city.” From the city to the Mount, as it is written (Ezekiel 11:23), “The Presence of the Eternal ascended from the midst of the city and stood upon the Mount.” From the Mount into the desert, as it is written (Proverbs 21:19), “It is better to dwell in a desert land.” And finally it departed upward, as it says (Hosea 5:15), “I will go and return to My place.”