Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Ezekiel 1:26

When perusing the Bible and the Talmud we find that there have been a total of 9 red cows (view of the sages in Parah 3,5). The first one was burnt during Moses’ life time.; the second one was burnt during the period of Ezra in the early years of the second Temple. Shimon Hatzadik, as well as Yochanan the High Priest (early Hasmonean period), each burnt 2 such red cows. The seventh was burnt by Elihueyni, the eighth by Chanamel the “Egyptian”, whereas the ninth and last was burnt by Ishmael ben Pabi. The tenth and final one will be burned by the Messiah (according to Maimonides).
The meaning of Kohelet 8,1: מי כהחכם ומי יודע פשר דבר, חכמת אדם תאיר פניו ועז פניו ישנא, ”Who is like the wise? Who knows what things mean? A man’s wisdom lights up his face, and the boldness of his face is transformed” is as follows: the words: “Who is like the wise?” refer to G’d of Whom it is written: “the Lord founded earth with wisdom.” (Proverbs 3,19). The words: “who knows what things mean?” are also a reference to G’d who explained the Torah to Moses. Concerning the words: ”a man’s wisdom lights up his face,” Rabbi Yudan said that the power of the prophets is great as they are able to draw relevant comparisons between the manifestation of power in the celestial regions and the appearance of man. Rabbi Yudan bases this on Daniel 8,16: “and I heard a human voice in the midst of Ulai.” Rabbi Yehudah in the name of Rabbi Seymon derives this point from Ezekiel 1,26: ועל דמות הכסא דמות כמראה אדם עליו מלמעלה, “on top of this semblance of a throne, there was a semblance of a human form.” Concerning the words: “and the boldness of his face is transformed,” this is understood to refer to G’d’s ability to switch from His manifestation as attribute of Justice to manifesting Himself as attribute of Mercy when dealing with the Jewish people. Compare Tanchuma Chukat end of verse 6.

ויראו את א-לוהי ישראל, “they experienced a vision of the G’d of Israel.” Ibn Ezra explains that the word ויראו here describes a prophetic vision, not perception with their physical eyes. This vision would be similar to that seen by the prophet Ezekiel when he described the appearance of G’d’s throne. (Ezekiel 1,26) He described it as made of אבן ספיר, whereas here the Israelites due to their familiarity with bricks, described it as לבנת ספיר, as a brick made of sapphire. In verse 28 in that chapter in Ezekiel, the prophet spells out that what he saw was not the actual throne but a דמות, an image of such a throne. Nachmanides writes that according to the plain meaning of the text the words א-לוהי ישראל mean that the merit of the patriarch Israel was the catalyst that enabled them to be granted such a vision.

ויראו את אלו-הי ישראל, “and they ‘saw’ the G’d of Israel, etc.” The Torah refers to the attribute כבוד which we have discussed at length earlier saying that according to Pessikta Zutrata this is another name for what is popularly known as Shechinah. We know that it is impossible to experience a vision of the attribute of Hashem, as Hashem told Moses specifically that His attribute of Hashem cannot be seen by any living human being (Exodus 33,20). This is why Onkelos translates these words as וחזו ית יקר אלהא דישראל. This is the same attribute כבוד which the prophet Ezekiel experienced in a vision in Ezekiel 1,26 as the appearance of a human being above (the other chayot). First he had seen the חיות הקודש, and the אופנים beneath next to the חיות. When he looked again he saw the sky suspended above the heads of the חיות. Then he saw the throne of the Lord above the sky. Above that he saw a likeness resembling that of a human being, still higher above the throne.

and to the prophets I assumed likenesses I appeared to them in many likenesses. Another explanation. I gave My words likenesses to them through allegories in order to make them comprehensible to their listeners.