Kaisipang Hudyo sa Ezekiel 1:10: Guide for the Perplexed & Akeidat Yitzchak

IT is well known that there are men whose face is like that of other animals thus the face of some person is like that of a lion, that of another person like that of an ox, and so on: and man’s face is described according as the form of his face resembles the form of the face of other animals. By the expressions, “the face of an ox,” “the face of a lion,” “the face of an eagle” (Ezek, 1:10), the prophet describes a human face inclining towards the forms of these various species. This interpretation can be supported by two proofs. First, the prophet says of the Ḥayyot in general that” their appearance is this, they have the form of man” (ver. 5), and then in describing each of the Ḥayyot he attributes to them the face of a man, that of an ox, that of a lion, and that of an eagle. Secondly, in the second description of the Chariot, which is intended as a supplement to the first, the prophet says, Each hath four faces; the one is the face of a cherub, the second a man’s face, the third a lion’s face, and the fourth that of an eagle (ibid. x. W. He thus clearly indicates that the terms “the face of an ox” and “the face of a cherub” are identical. But cherub designates “a youth.” By analogy we explain the two other terms—“the face of a lion” and “the face of an eagle” in the same manner. “The face of the ox” has been singled out on account of the etymology of the Hebrew term shor (ox), as has been indicated by me. It is impossible to assume that this second description refers to the perception of another prophetic vision, because it concludes thus: “This is the Ḥayyah which I saw at the river Chebar” (ibid. ver. 15). What we intended to explain is now clear.

Meanings of some of the detailed instructions. 1) Since the tabernacle was built mostly from voluntary contributions, this parallels the act of kindness and generosity that the universe was created with by G-d. olam chessed yibaneh, the world is built by kindness. (Psalms 89,3) There were no preconditions which had necessitated that the universe come into existence. 2) Just as the tabernacle contained thirteen materials, so the universe consists of nine planets and four basic elements. (Actually fifteen materials are mentioned, but wool coloured three different ways may be considered the same material.) 3) Just as Moses put a stop to the amount of donations being offered, saying dai! enough, so G-d had exclaimed at the time He completed the sixth day of creation, "dai." Ever since His name has become shaddai the One who had said dai. The first item to have been constructed was the holy ark, repository of the tablets and the Torah. According to our Midrashic literature, the Torah had been created prior to the construction of the universe. Next came the lid of the ark, and the cherubs mounted on that lid. These represented the angels, the spiritual beings who are close to G-d, and by means of whom inspiration is conferred upon man. Scriptural proof for this function of the angels can be found in the very last verse of the Bible, Chronicles II 36, 23, in which Coresh reports about having been inspired to build a temple for the Almighty. That the destruction of the holy temple was due to the refusal to heed the angels, is documented in verse fifteen and sixteen of that same chapter. Third, we have the fact that the material used for construction of the cherubs was pure gold. This teaches that the angels are not composed of a variety of materials like human beings. The wings of the cherubs represent an attribute man desires, but has not been granted. See Psalms 55,7 "I said, O that I had wings like the dove! Then I would fly and have rest." The construction of the cherubs does not contradict the commandment not to make images, since in fact they are not physical. Therefore one does not violate the commandment not to reproduce a likeness when one fashions the cherubs. The reason that there are two cherubs, not one, notwithstanding the fact that they were made out of the same material, is to prevent someone making the error that there is more than one uniqueness in this world, namely G-d Himself. This is the reason that at the time of the pilgrimages, the curtain was opened to reveal to the multitude the holy ark and the cherubs mounted on its lid. (Yuma 54 ) The cherubs were seen embracing each other like man and wife. The people would comment that their love before G-d was like the love between man and his wife. The author quotes other sources illustrating that without the love relationship which exists between man and wife, i.e. families, the Divine Presence on earth cannot be expected to manifest itself. The upward lift of the cherub's wings points towards the source of all life, G-d. Nonetheless, the cherubs' stance in covering the holy ark, is indicative of their function to be the intermediary between G-d Himself the Essence, and earth.

In our opening Midrash, Rabbi Meir takes the view that wine, -because it causes confusion of the mind-, is unwholesome. Rabbi Yehudah, on the other hand, holds that far from confusing the mind, wine confers blessings upon those who drink it; it improves the digestion, temperament etc. when consumed in moderation. The Bible is full of quotations attesting to the virtues of wine. As the wine cellar is open to all who wish to buy, so Sinai was open to all who wished to learn Torah, to help them control the urge to let the demands of the flesh dominate, a tendencey that has existed since the first sin in Eden. This is why the Talmud (Yevamot 103) claims that the Israelites who stood at Mount Sinai divested themselves of the impurities ingested by man in Eden, due to the serpent. For this reason too, our sages in Sanhedrin 90, say that all of Israel has a share in the world to come. If the Talmud in Sanhedrin 90, had meant that every Jew, whether religious or secular has eternal life, that would be unfair discrimination against the gentiles, and would make the life of the pious Jew unrewarding. The sinner could then look forward to the same destiny. Also, the second statement in that Mishnah, which lists a number of exclusions to the general rule, would contradict the first statement. Therefore, the correct understanding of the statement is that the term "Israelite" is not applied to someone who is merely of Jewish parentage, but to someone who lives up to the expectations of Judaism. It refers to Jews who live in accordance with the lessons learned at Sinai. Such a person is assured of eternal life. Therefore we understand the word "Israelite" as a righteous person, and conversely, "a righteous person" is an "Israelite." When the Mishnah goes on to adduce scriptural proof for its statement, the quotation "and your people who are all righteous will inherit the earth for all future times," makes perfect sense. We read in Tzefaniah 3,13, "the remnant of Israel will not commit iniquities." This seems to presuppose that it is possible to bear the name Israel, and yet commit all kinds of sins? When Tzefaniah talks about the "remnant" however, he refers to those who, though they share the Jewish tradition, are not necessarily aware of Torah. We see that Moses distinguishes between two sets of Jews. (Deut. 33,4) "Moses commanded us Torah, a hereditary tradition to the community of Jacob." The elite of the people are familiar with Torah and its details; the multitude treasures tradition handed down as such, but without deeper knowledge of same. Acquiring new habits is difficult, unless a satisfactory rationale is provided. Continuing a long established tradition does not make intellectual demands on those who practice them. The men of the great assembly may have been called such, because due to the cessation of activities by the prophets, it fell to their lot to make certain innovations to insure the continuance of Judaism as we know it. They established their claim to fame by three things. (Mishnah Avot 1) They advised moderation in the application of justice, searched for a concensus. 2) They tried to put Torah on a broad base, by enrolling many students in the academies; and once having done these two things, 3) they were able to construct "fences" around Torah, and have those "fences" respected by the people at large. If the interpretation of the Mishnah would be the standard one, i.e. that of "be circumspect before deciding legal matters," a later statement at the end of the chapter, that "justice is one of the pillars of the world," should have appeared before the statement in the name of Shimon Hatzaddik. The latter had been a member of the men of the great assembly, and was also the author of the opening statement of the first Mishnah. Having understood the function of the men of the great assembly, we can now understand the statement of the Talmud in Avodah Zarah 35, which interprets the verse "your friendship is dearer than wine" (Song of Songs 1,1) to mean that the Midrashic interpretations of Torah are dearer to Israel than the original text, even. The general order in which forbidden foods are listed, is such that the intake of animals that the Torah considers as only mildly damaging, is listed first, whereas those foods that the Torah considers as severely harmful to the development of the ideal Jewish personality, are listed later. The very fact that animals which are poisonous, or any plants that are poisonous are omitted in the list, clearly shows that the Torah's concern in this legislation is not our physical health.