ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף יחזקאל 1:6

And you shall make: Our predecessors said that the form of the keruvim were like two youths, and that its meaning is "like a baby (keravya)" in Aramaic, and that the [letter] kaf is [a prefix]. Yet they spoke correctly, that they have the form of children - if they have a tradition, and they made the word a mnemonic, like chanukah [is used]. For the kaf [in] keruv is [part of the] root. And the testimony ([is in] verse 20 of this chapter), "and hakeruvim were" - since the [letter] hay [at the beginning of the word (ha)] is a definitive hay and not one of questioning, like the hay (in Isaiah 27:7), "Was he beaten as his beater has been?" (Had the hay been used as a questioning hay, the kaf could have been part of the root.)

"I shall remove My palm and you shall see My back." Know that this is only a metaphor, for there is no back of the neck above, even among the angels, as it is written, (Ezek. 1:6) "each one had four faces," a face for each of the four directions, therefore, (Ezek. 1:9) "they did not turn when they moved, they went in the direction of [any of the four] faces." Furthermore, we may not speak of [God] thus, rather, it means to say "you shall see My back" like a man who sees a friend from behind, but can't really observe him.

We also learn from this verse, especially the words, את הכרובים, that these angels are the ones we refer to in our prayers as חיות הקדש. These names of the angels are mentioned in Ezekiel 10,20 היא החיה אשר ראיתי....ואדע כי כרובים המה. “This is the Chayah which I have seen,...and I realized that they are the cherubs.” It is a fact familiar to kabbalists that every Chayah has 16 facets, four in each direction of globe, as it is written in Ezekiel 1,6 וארבעה פנים לאחת, “one of them had four faces (facets). Seeing the word פנים consists of the singular פן, the rest is merely a plural ending. Hence four times פן in four directions each time totals 16. These cherubs are something intangible which flashes from the sword which seems in constant motion, turning over and over. This is what is meant by the words ואת להט החרב המתהפכת i.e. G-d’s angel Chayah, the one with 16 facets. This angel symbolizes His attribute of Justice. You must understand how it is possible that this angel is called להט, suggesting it is a great power, whereas according to our verse here this להט appears as something subordinate, an adjective, something “carried” by the sword. This is always the case with the angels called חיות הקדש. Although they appear to be carriers of the glory of G-d, the fact is that the glory of G-d carries them. You have also learned already that the four letters of the Ineffable name of G-d which represent the pinnacle of all intelligence are alluded to here, i.e. the highest of the ten emanations is represented by the letter י at the beginning of G-d’s name and the remaining letters ה-ו-ה correspond in their numerical value (16) to the 16 facets of the חיות הקדש that we have discussed. The Torah which is called עץ החיים, “the tree of life,” has been given to us by means of 16 covenants, 13 of them are mentioned in connection with the ritual of circumcision, whereas the word ברית, covenant, appears three more times in connection with the Torah’s report of the revelation at Mount Sinai where we received the Torah.