Pt2 “Ma’aseh Merkava”: The Nature of God, Angels, and Heaven in Ezekiel 1 (Chagigah 13a-14a)

This is the second part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.

Anecdote: a youth expounded “ḥashmal” and was consumed by fire

ההוא ינוקא דדרש בחשמל,

ונפקא נורא ואכלתיה

[...]

There was a certain youth (ינוקא) who expounded (דרש) the “electrum” (חשמל) of Ezekiel,

and fire (נורא) came out and consumed him

[...]

Rav Yehuda - Ḥananya ben Ḥizkiya credited with preserving Book of Ezekiel (as part of the canon); Faced with contradictions to Torah, he secluded himself with “300 jugs of oil” and reconciled them, preventing suppression

(See footnote.)¹

אמר רב יהודה:

ברם זכור אותו האיש לטוב,

וחנניה בן חזקיה שמו.

אלמלא הוא —

נגנז ספר יחזקאל,

שהיו דבריו סותרין דברי תורה.

מה עשה?

העלו לו שלוש מאות גרבי שמן,

וישב בעלייה

ודרשו.

Rav Yehuda said:

Indeed, that man is remembered for good,

and Ḥananya ben Ḥizkiya was his name,

because were it not for him --

the book of Ezekiel would have been suppressed (נגנז).

Why did they wish to suppress it? Because they found that its words contradicted the words of Torah, as its later chapters contain many halakhot that appear not to accord with those of the Torah.

What did he do?

They brought up to him 300 jugs of oil, for light and sustenance,

and he sat in an upper chamber

and expounded it, to reconcile its teachings with those of the Torah.

Baraita - Anecdote: a youth-and-ḥashmal incident

תנו רבנן:

מעשה בתינוק אחד

שהיה קורא בבית רבו בספר יחזקאל

והיה מבין בחשמל,

ויצאה אש מחשמל ושרפתו,

וביקשו לגנוז ספר יחזקאל.

A baraita states:

An incident occurred involving a youth (תינוק)

who was reading the book of Ezekiel in the house of his teacher,

and he was able to comprehend the “electrum”,

and fire came out of the electrum and burned him.

And they sought to suppress the book of Ezekiel due to the danger it posed.

... Ḥananya’s defense: one exceptional reader does not define the public’s capacity

אמר להם חנניה בן חזקיה:

אם זה חכם —

הכל חכמים הן?!

Ḥananya ben Ḥizkiya said to them:

If this youth happened to be wise (חכם) --

are all people wise enough to understand this book?!

Rav Yehuda - ‘Hashmal’ = ‘ḥayyot esh memallelot’ (“speaking ḥayyot of fire”)

מאי חשמל?

אמר רב יהודה:

חיות אש ממללות.

The Talmud asks: What is the “electrum”?

Rav Yehuda said:

It refers to “speaking (ממללות) ḥayyot of fire”. Electrum [ḥashmal] is an acrostic of this phrase: ḥayyot esh memallelot.²

Baraita - The ḥayyot alternate: at times silent, at times speaking—silent when “God’s speech emerges”

במתניתא תנא:

• עתים חשות,

• עתים ממללות.

• בשעה שהדיבור יוצא מפי הקדוש ברוך הוא —

  • חשות,

• ובשעה שאין הדיבור יוצא מפי הקדוש ברוך הוא —

  • ממללות.

It was taught in a baraita:

• At times they are silent (חשות);

• at times they speak (ממללות).

• When the divine speech (דיבור) emerges from the mouth of God --

  • they are silent;

• and when the divine speech does not emerge from the mouth of God --

  • they speak.

Rav Yehuda - “Ran and returned” like fire from a furnace - Ezekiel 1:14

״והחיות רצוא ושוב כמראה הבזק״.

מאי ״רצוא ושוב״?

אמר רב יהודה:

כאור היוצא מפי הכבשן.

§ The verse states: “And the divine creatures (חיות - ḥayyot) ran and returned like the appearance of a flash of lightning [bazak]” (Ezekiel 1:14).

What is the meaning of “ran and returned”?

Rav Yehuda said:

Like fire that is emitted from a furnace, whose flame is continuously bursting out and withdrawing.

R’ Yosei b. Ḥanina - “Like a flash (bazak)” = fire from between earthenware shards - Ezekiel 1:14

מאי ״כמראה הבזק״?

אמר רבי יוסי בר חנינא:

כאור היוצא מבין החרסים.

What is the meaning of “like the appearance of a flash of lightning”?

R’ Yosei bar Ḥanina said:

Like the fire that is emitted from between pieces of earthenware (חרסים) used for refining gold, as an additional meaning ascribed to the word bazak is shards of earthenware.

Rav Yehuda citing Rav - The storm from the north went to place the world under Nebuchadnezzar - Ezekiel 1:4

״וארא

והנה

רוח סערה באה מן הצפון

ענן גדול

ואש מתלקחת

ונוגה לו סביב

ומתוכה כעין החשמל

מתוך האש״.

להיכן אזל?

אמר רב יהודה, אמר רב:

שהלך לכבוש את כל העולם כולו תחת נבוכדנצר הרשע.

The verse states:

“And I looked

and, behold,

a stormy wind came out of the north,

a great cloud,

with a fire flashing up,

so that a brightness was round about it;

and out of its midst was like the color of electrum,

out of the midst of the fire” (Ezekiel 1:4).

The Talmud poses a question: Where did that wind go?

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said:

It went to conquer the entire world under the wicked Nebuchadnezzar.³

... so Israel not be given to a lowly nation

וכל כך למה?

שלא יאמרו אומות העולם:

ביד אומה שפלה מסר הקדוש ברוך הוא את בניו.

אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא:

מי גרם לי שאהיה שמש לעובדי פסילים?

עונותיהן של ישראל הן גרמו לי.

And why was all of this necessary? Why was it necessary that the entire world be subjected to his dominion?

So that the non-Jewish nations (“nations of the world”) would not say:

God delivered His children into the hands of a lowly nation.

Since it was already decreed that the kingdom of Israel would fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (in 586 BCE), God made him into a great conqueror, so that Israel would not be ashamed of being defeated by him.

God said with regard to this:

Who caused Me to be an attendant to worshippers of molten images (פסילים - i.e. idols), forcing Me to wage their wars?

It was the sins of Israel that led Me to do so.

R’ Elazar - “One wheel on the earth” = an angel standing on earth with head at the ḥayyot - Ezekiel 1:15

(See footnote.)⁴

״וארא החיות

והנה

אופן אחד בארץ אצל החיות״,

אמר רבי אלעזר:

מלאך אחד שהוא עומד בארץ,

וראשו מגיע אצל החיות.

Another verse in the same chapter states: “Now as I beheld the divine creatures,

behold,

one wheel [ofan] was upon the earth near the divine creatures (חיות)” (Ezekiel 1:15).

R’ Elazar said:

This wheel is a certain angel who stands on the earth

and its head reaches the ḥayyot

Baraita - The angel’s name is Sandalfon, towering and weaving crowns

במתניתא תנא:

סנדלפון שמו,

הגבוה מחברו מהלך חמש מאות שנה.

ועומד אחורי המרכבה וקושר כתרים לקונו.

[...]

It was taught in a baraita:

This angel is named Sandalfon,

who is taller⁵ than his colleague by a distance of 500 years,

and he stands behind the Divine Chariot and weaves crowns for his Maker (קונו).

[...]

Rava - Isaiah saw what Ezekiel saw; Ezekiel, like a villager, describes more detail

אמר רבא:

כל שראה יחזקאל --

ראה ישעיה.

• למה יחזקאל דומה?

  • לבן כפר שראה את המלך,

• ולמה ישעיה דומה?

  • לבן כרך שראה את המלך.

§ Rava said:

All that Ezekiel saw --

the prophet Isaiah saw as well, but the latter did not find it necessary to describe his vision in such detail.

• To what may Ezekiel be compared?

  • To a villager (בן כפר) who saw the king and is excited by all the extravagances of the king’s palace and everything it contains, as he is unaccustomed to them.

• And to what may Isaiah be compared?

  • To a city dweller (בן כרך) who saw the king. Such an individual focuses on the encounter with the king, and is oblivious to all the distractions.

Reish Lakish - “He is highly exalted” = exalted above the exalted - Exodus 15:1

אמר ריש לקיש:

מאי דכתיב: ״אשירה לה׳ כי גאה גאה״?

שירה למי שמתגאה על הגאים.

Reish Lakish said:

What is the meaning of that which is written: “I will sing to YHWH, for He is highly exalted (גאה גאה)” (Exodus 15:1)?

It is fitting to sing to He Who is exalted above the exalted.⁶

Hierarchy of creatures - lion, ox, eagle, and man; God above all

דאמר מר:

1. מלך שבחיות —

   1. ארי,

2. מלך שבבהמות —

   1. שור,

3. מלך שבעופות —

   1. נשר,

4. ואדם מתגאה עליהן,

5. והקדוש ברוך הוא מתגאה על כולן ועל כל העולם כולו.

As the Master said:

1. The king of the beasts (חיות - wild/non-domestic animals)

   1. is the lion,

2. the king of the domestic animals (בהמות)

   1. is the ox,

3. the king of the birds

   1. is the eagle,

4. and man is exalted and lords over them,

5. And God is exalted above all of them and above the entire world,

as the creatures that appear in the Divine Chariot are the ox, the lion, the eagle, and man.⁷

Reish Lakish - Ox-face swapped for cherub-face so an accuser (golden calf) not be a defender - Ezekiel 1 verse 10 vs. verse 14

• כתוב אחד אומר:

  • ״ודמות פניהם:

    • פני אדם ופני אריה אל הימין לארבעתם

    • ופני שור מהשמאל לארבעתן וגו׳״,

• וכתיב:

  • ״וארבעה פנים לאחד

    • פני האחד פני הכרוב

    • ופני השני פני אדם

    • והשלישי פני אריה

    • והרביעי פני נשר״,

  • ואילו שור לא קא חשיב!

אמר ריש לקיש:

יחזקאל ביקש עליו רחמים,

והפכו לכרוב.

אמר לפניו:

רבונו של עולם!

קטיגור יעשה סניגור?!

The Talmud poses a question with regard to the animals of the Divine Chariot:

• One verse states:

  • “As for the likeness of their faces:

    • they had the face of a man; and the four had the face of a lion on the right side;

    • and the four had the face of an ox on the left side” (Ezekiel 1:10).

• And it is also written:

  • “And each one had four faces:

    • The 1st face was the face of the cherub,

    • and the 2nd face was the face of a man,

    • and the 3rd the face of a lion,

    • and the 4th the face of an eagle” (Ezekiel 10:14),

  • but it does not include the face of an ox in this second list.

Reish Lakish said:

Ezekiel requested mercy with regard to it, i.e., the face of the ox,

and had it turned into a cherub.

He said before Him as follows:

God!

Shall an accuser [kateigor] become a defender [saneigor]?!

As the face of an ox recalls Israel’s sin of the Golden Calf, it would be preferable for there to be a different face on the Divine Chariot.

R’ Abbahu - “Cherub” = ‘ke-ravya’ (Aramaic for “child”)

(See footnote.)⁸

מאי ״כרוב״?

אמר רבי אבהו:

כרביא,

שכן בבבל קורין לינוקא רביא.

The Talmud asks: What is the meaning of “cherub”?

R’ Abbahu said:

“Like a child” [ke-ravya],

for in Babylonia they call a child (ינוקא) “ravya”

Abaye to Rav Pappa - “Face of man” = adult; “face of cherub” = child - Ezekiel 10:14

אמר ליה רב פפא לאביי:

אלא מעתה, דכתיב:

1. ״פני האחד פני הכרוב

2. ופני השני פני אדם

3. והשלישי פני אריה

4. והרביעי פני נשר״,

היינו פני כרוב היינו פני אדם?!

• אפי רברבי

• ואפי זוטרי.

Rav Pappa said to Abaye:

However, if that is so, what is the meaning of that which is written:

1. “The 1st face was the face of the cherub,

2. and the 2nd face was the face of a man,

3. and the 3rd the face of a lion,

4. and the 4th the face of an eagle”?

The face of a cherub is the same as the face of a man; what is the difference between them?

He replied: The difference is that

• the face of a man is referring to a large (רברבי) face,

• whereas the face of a cherub means the small (זוטרי) face of a baby.

1. On the preservation and canonization of specific books of the Bible, see my two-part series: “The Biblical Books Nearly Suppressed: Reconciling Contradictions in Ecclesiastes and Proverbs (Shabbat 30b)“, final part here.

And see my note there in Part 1 on the term ‘ganaz’ (“archive, store”), used in this context to mean “hide, suppress”.

In general, Ḥananya ben Ḥizkiya (fl. early 1st century CE) is recognized in the Talmud for several key contributions to the early rabbinic movement; see the discussion in Hebrew Wikipedia, “חנניה בן חזקיה“, especially sections “ביקור התנאים בעליה“ and “כתיבת מגילת תענית“.

2. From a linguistics perspective, this is a backronym (a kind of folk etymology). Compare my “ ‘Where in Scripture is Notarikon Found?’: Talmudic Interpretation of Biblical Words as Acronyms (Shabbat 105a)“; see my extended note there on backronyms.

For the scholarly etymology, see Hebrew Wiktionary, “חשמל“, section “גיזרון”, my translation:

The word appears in the Bible three times — twice in Ezekiel 1 and once, in the form “ḥashmalah” (חַשְׁמַלָה), in Ezekiel 8.

All instances refer to a divine revelation and follow the phrase “as the appearance of” (כְּעֵין - kəʿein).

The precise biblical meaning is unclear, but most scholars agree it denotes something bright/shining/glowing (נוצץ) […]

Some proposed interpretations compare it with Akkadian words such as:

• ḫašmānu – a blue or greenish stone,

• ešmarū – white gold

• elmēšu – a precious gem that gleams with golden light.

3. Ezekiel lived at the same time as Nebuchadnezzar (6th century BCE). Nebuchadnezzar is famous in the Bible and Talmud for having destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple in 586 BCE.

In general, compare my “‘That Wicked One’: A Grotesque Talmudic Portrait of Nebuchadnezzar Based on the Parable against the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14 (Shabbat 149b-150a)“.

4. Regarding the hierarchy, height, placement, and cosmic dimensions of angels (ḥayyot and ofanim) in the next two sections, compare earlier in the sugya, in my “Pt3 Talmudic Cosmology (Ma’aseh Bereshit): Earth’s Foundations, the Seven Heavens, and Cosmic Dimensions (Chagigah 12b-13a)“, section “Heaven 7 - Aravot (Psalms 68:5)“, sub-section “Part 3: the Ophanim, Seraphim, Holy Living Creatures (Ḥayyot), ministering angels, and the Throne of Glory“.

And see also ibid., “Cosmic Dimensions: Measurements of the Firmaments, The Holy Living Creatures (Ḥayyot), and the Throne of Glory (Chagigah 13a, sections #3-4)“.

5. גבוה - or: “higher, more elevated”.

6. Homiletically interpreting the doubled גאה as literally two “proud” entities: The proud God above the proudest humans.

7. As appears in the verses in Ezekiel, discussed in the next section.

8. The Talmud, citing R’ Abahu, provides a folk etymology of the word “cherub”.

For some discussion of the scholarly etymology of the word, see Wikipedia, “Cherub“, section “Etymology“.

In general, see the extended discussions of what biblical cherubs were at TheTorah.com:

• Raanan Eichler, “What Kind of Creatures Are the Cherubim? - Winged children, winged adults, griffins, or sphinxes? A survey of the iconographic and archaeological evidence” (2016)

• Zev Farber, “The Cherubim: Their Role on the Ark in the Holy of Holies - Babies, birds, angels, even Torah scholars, tradition has interpreted cherubs in various ways, but what was their function on the ark?“