Комментарий к Йехезкэля 1:30

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year The prophet presented his words obscurely and did not tell his name, who he was; nor did he explain from what date he was counting. Therefore, the holy spirit interrupted his words in the following two verses to teach [us] who the prophet was and to teach [us] from what date he was counting. As it is said: “On the fifth day of the month that is the fifth year, etc.” These are not the words of the prophet, for he already stated that he was standing on the fifth of the month, and furthermore, from the beginning he had stated his prophecy in the first person: “and I was in the midst of the exile”; “and I saw visions of God.” And so at the end: “And I saw, and behold, a storm wind, etc.” Now these [next] two verses interrupted his words, as though someone else was speaking about him: “The word of the Lord was [revealed] to Ezekiel...and the hand of the Lord came upon him there.”

as I was in the midst of the exile i.e., outside the land of Israel.

by the river Chebar The name of the river.

visions of God Heb. מַרְאוֹת. Because he did not see with a “lucid speculum,” he calls it “visions of God,” a sort of dream, insubstantial. All the prophets also saw through a “dim speculum,” except for our teacher Moses. That is what is said (Hos. 12:11): “and to the prophets, I assumed likenesses.”

that is the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile Thus, we may deduce that the thirty years he counted, he counted from the beginning of the jubilee [cycle]: the last jubilee commenced at the beginning of the eighteenth year of Josiah[‘s reign]; that is, the year that Hilkiah found the scroll (II Kings 22). So we learn in Seder Olam (ch. 26), that the beginning of the jubilee was that [year]. Josiah reigned thirty one years. Subtracting from them the seventeen years that had already passed leaves fourteen years. Jehoiakim reigned eleven years; [together, that] totals twenty-five years. Jeconiah [Jehoiachin] his son, had reigned only three months when he was exiled, and the year that Ezekiel prophesied was the fifth [year] of his exile, hence the thirtieth year of the jubilee. And so we find that at the end of his prophecy, he gives a sign using the count of the jubilee [as a reference], for it says (40:1): “In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month.” Our Rabbis said (Arachin 12a): What “year” is it that begins on the tenth of the month? You must say that this is the jubilee year [See Leviticus 25:9f.].

The word of the Lord was [revealed] Heb. הָיֹה הָיָה [lit. being was.] Our Sages said (Mechilta to Exod. 12:1): “[It] had already come,” because the Shechinah does not rest upon a prophet outside the [Holy] Land, except by having first rested upon him in the Land. We learned in a Baraitha of the Mechilta (Exod. 15:9): [The verse 2:1,] “Son of man, stand on your feet,” was the [actual] beginning of the Book, only there is no chronological order [in Scripture]. Others say that (12:1f.) “Son of man, compose a riddle,” is the [true] beginning of the Book. [Mechilta ends here.] I say that this prophecy was told to him before they were exiled, because it is appropriate to be said to him in the Land, for the community of the exile is not mentioned explicitly in it. It can be recognized as the beginning of his mission to them. Jonathan, too, paraphrased in that manner: The prophetic word from before the Lord was revealed to Ezekiel the son of Buzi the priest in the land of Israel; it returned a second time and spoke with him in the state of the land of the Chaldeans. Now Ezekiel was exiled with the “craftsmen and the sentries of the gates,” who were exiled with Jehoiachin.

the hand of the Lord Every expression of יַד mentioned in this Book or in any expression of prophecy is invariably an expression of compulsion, [implying] that the prophecy seizes him against his will, like a person going mad, destreze in Old French, compulsion.

and behold, a tempest was coming from the north That is the Chariot of the throne of the glory of the Shechinah, as it is described in this chapter (verse 28). Since it came with fury to destroy Israel, it is therefore likened to a tempest and a [storm] cloud.

coming from the north It was returning from the land of the Chaldeans, which is in the north. As it is said (Jer. 1:14): “From the north the misfortune will break forth.” And why did it go there [first]? In order to subjugate the whole world to Nebuchadnezzar, to prevent the nations from saying that He delivered His children into the hands of a lowly nation, for the Chaldeans were [considered] a lowly nation. As it is said (Isa. 23:13): “this people has never been.” So did our Sages expound on this verse in tractate Chagigah (13b).

with a brightness around it Surrounding the cloud on the outside, implying that Israel was destined to be redeemed from there [Babylonia].

it was like the color of the chashmal “Chashmal” is an angel bearing that name, and he [Ezekiel] saw [something] like the appearance of its color in the midst of the fire. And so did our Sages say: There was an incident involving a child who was expounding on the account of the Chariot. He perceived the meaning of “chashmal,” [whereupon] fire emanated from the chashmal and consumed him. They said further that the word itself is a combination: When they asked, “What is chashmal?” replied Rav Judah, “Living beings (חֶיוֹת) of fire (אֵש) that speak (מִמַלְלוֹת) .” In a Baraitha we learned: Sometimes silent (חָשּׁוֹת), sometimes speaking (מִמַלְלוֹת) when the speech emanates from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they remain silent. When the speech does not emanate from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they speak; that is, they laud and praise the Lord (Chag. 13). [Possibly, “chashmal” is the name of the color resembling the color of fire, for he said, “Chashmal from the midst of the fire,” and he said (verse 27): “the color of chashmal, the appearance of fire within it found about, from the appearance of his loins and above.” And, he says in the second vision (8:2): “and from his loins and above was like the appearance of a splendor, like the color of chashmal.” An addendum that I heard.]

And from the midst of it, [i.e.,] that fire, I saw something like the color of chashmal that appeared from the midst of the fire. But we do not know what it is, and the midrash that our Sages expounded on it, [defining “chashmal” as] living beings of fire that speak, does not seem to me to the context.

they had the likeness of a man This is surprising, because they had also the likeness of an ox, a lion, and an eagle! Apparently, since this [being] is the patron of them all [all the living beings], the prophet praises the Chariot with it. [Their human face] had the countenance of our father Jacob.

and each one had four faces “Each one” means that the human countenance had four faces, as did that of the lion, the eagle, and the ox, totaling sixteen [faces] to one living being. It was thus for each living being, and four wings for each of the faces, totaling sixty-four wings for each living being. This is [why] Jonathan paraphrased: two hundred fifty-six wings.

were straight legs [Jonathan renders]: רִגְלִין כֵּיוָנָן parallel legs, this one opposite this one. Another explanation: “straight,” meaning they had no knee joints by which to bend their legs because they do no sitting or lying. Therefore they do not require joints like those of animalsthe upper joint and the lower joint by which it bends its legs to lie down.

a round foot Heb. עֵגֶל, a round foot, and so did Jonathan render it: round feet.

and they sparkled Because of their brilliance, sparks seemed to emanate from them, as we say in tractate Yoma (37b): She too [Queen Helene] made a golden candelabrum, etc. When the sun shone, sparks would [seemingly] emanate from it, etc. וְנוֹצְצִים is etincelants in French, gleaming.

like the color Heb. כְּעֵין, like מַרְאֶה, the appearance.

burnished copper Heb. קָלָל, clarified and gleaming. Menachem (Machbereth p. 155) associated it with (Lev. 2: 14): “roasted (קָלוּי) in fire.”

And human hands were beneath their wings As the Targum paraphrases: to pick up coals of fire with them, etc. Likewise, we find in this Book (10:7): “And the cherub stretched forth his hand, etc. to the fire that was between the cherubim, and he picked it up and gave it to the hands of the one dressed in linen.” And so, [in the verse] after it, “And there appeared to the cherubim the form of a human hand, etc.” The human hands pick up the fire and give it to the cherub, and the cherub [gives it] to the messenger, in order [to allow] the coals to cool off [as they pass] from hand to hand, to mitigate Israel’s punishment.

on their four sides To the four directions of the world, for they have faces and wings in every direction.

and their faces and their wings were the same to all four of them As the Targum renders: were the same to all four of them.

Their wings joined one to the other Each one’s wing was spread out to the side of the other one’s wing this way [lit. to here] and that way [lit. to here] until they join and touch each other, thereby covering their faces, for the wings are spread out over the face.

they did not turn when they walked If they wished to walk in any desired direction, they did not need to turn their faces because they have faces on every side; therefore each one went in the direction of his facein the direction of the face on that side where they desired to go, they would go.

And so were their faces, and their wings were extended upward Had I not seen the cantillation sign of a “zakef gadol” [indicating a pause] punctuating “And so were their faces,” I would not know how to explain it, but the punctuation taught me to separate them [the words of the verse] one from the other and to place the word וּפְנֵיהֶם by itself. And so, [this] is its explanation: And they had faces and their wings were extended above their faces and covered them. How so? “Each had two wings joined to each other”to each face, their two wings were joined. On each one, the wing of this living being was stretched out towards the side of that living being, and this one’s towards the side of this one, and the face that was in between was covered by them. [A verse whose wording] is similar to the language of this verse appears again in this chapter (verse 18): “And they had backs, and they were very high and they were dreadful.” The word וְגֲבֵּיהֶן, “and they had backs,” stands by itself.

and two covering their bodies And the two remaining wings would cover their bodies.

wherever would be the will Heb. רוּחַ, usually spirit, here means will: the will to go.

it was going among the living beings That appearance (מַרְאָה) was going among all the living beings.

there was a brightness to the fire More than [there is to] our fire.

lightning Heb. בָּרָק, flandours in Old French, lightning flashes.

would run and return, like the appearance of the sparks Our Sages explained (Chag. 13b): They would run and return like the flame of a furnace, which constantly shoots out of the mouth of the furnace and hastens back to enter. So, when they would thrust their heads out from under the expanse that was extended above themas is delineated in the chapterthey would recoil because of the Shechinah, which is above the expanse, and they hasten to pull their heads [down].

like the appearance of the sparks Heb. הֲבָּזָק, de l’etincelle in French, and the color of their fire is like the color of the fire that emanates from between the shards within which gold is refined in a furnace. The fire that emanates from there is colored with these colors (ibid.). [Addendum—Others explain הַבָּזָק as an expression of scattering, as our Sages explained it (Gen. Rabbah 50:1): “like the appearance of the bazak” R. Judah in the name of R. Simon in the name of R. Levi the son of Perata: Like one who scatters (הַבּוֹזֵק) ‘gefeth’ in a stove, i.e., he scatters ‘gefeth’ the residue of olives in a stove: it ignites quickly and raises a flame, and the flame ascends and descends, and this is the meaning of “would run and return.” Furthermore we find in their words (Sanh. 108b, according to Aruch) בזק used as an expression of scattering: “He scattered (בָּזַק) dust on them and it turned into swords,” meaning he scattered, and so in the Mishnah (Eruvin 10:14): “We may scatter (בּוֹזְקִין) salt on the ramp so that they should not slip.” בזק may also be defined as ברק (lightning), which is an expression of searching. End of addendum, not found in (sic) all editions.]

one wheel [was] on the ground On the floor of the expanse.

for its four faces of each living being, or the wheel had four faces. Our Rabbis said (Chag. 13b): “This is Sandalphon [the angel], who stands on the ground yet whose head reaches up among the living beings.” From the context we learn that the wheels were four.

like the appearance of crystal Heb. תַּרְשִּׂישּׂ, like a precious stone named tarshish, cristal in French.

as...would be A wheel set within a wheel, crosswise. Since they go to every side, with their faces to the four directions, the wheel must roll in its four directions.

toward their four sides, etc. Because of the working of the wheels, he had to repeat them [i.e., the description of the living beings’ movements], to say that the wheels did not stop them because they [the living beings] too were made for that [i.e., moving in four directions].

And they had backs Heb. וְגַבֵּיהֶן, lit. and their backs. And they had backs.

and they were very high, and they were dreadful They were frightful to look upon. Others interpret: “they had fear,” meaning they stood in awe.

and their eyebrows Heb. וְגֲבֹּתָם, et leurs sourcils in French.

were full of eyes round about to see in all directions, for they did not turn when they went.

off the ground Off the floor of the expanse, and so did Jonathan render: “off the high heavens”; meaning when they lifted themselves up from the depths to the heights.

the will The will of the Holy One, blessed be He.

there was the will to go It was not necessary to tell them [to go] to this side [or that] because the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, was in the living beings, and the will of the living beings was in the wheels.

When they would go Heb. בְּלֶכְתַּם, [i.e.,] the living beings.

they would go Heb. יֵלְכוּ [i.e.,] the wheels.

the severe frost Jonathan rendered: גְלִיד חֲסִין, severe frost, gelee forte in French.

straight Parallel.

like the sound of many waters I would think that the voice was low. Therefore, Scripture adds: like the sound of the Almighty, like the voice delineated in the Holy Writings (Ps. 29:4f.): “The voice of the Lord is in strength, etc. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars.”

the sound of stirring, like the sound of a camp Like the sound of their speech when they thank and bless their Master; it was like the sound of the camp of the angels on high.

when they would stand, they would let down their wings [and cease] from making a sound be heard, and Jonathan rendered: when they would stand, they would silence their wings because of the speech, [i.e., because of] the speech of the Omnipresent emanating from above their heads, to let the prophets hear His mission, as he [Ezekiel] concludes (verse 25): “And there was a voice, etc.” The Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 65:11) states: “When they would stop praising [God] so that Israel would praise first.”

And there was a voice above the expanse Jonathan rendered: And at the time that there was a will before Him to make His speech heard to His servantsthe prophets of Israelthere was a voice, and it was heard from above the expanse, from between the cherubim, from beneath the expanse that was over their heads.

they would let down their wings out of the fear of the speech.

And I saw like the color of chashmal No permission was granted to ponder over this verse.

within it Within it was like the appearance of fire.

and I fell on my face I prostrated myself.

and I heard a voice speaking And what did it say?