Merkabah mysticism

It is most closely associated with the vision in Ezekiel 1 of the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four hayyot "living creatures", each of which has four wings[7] and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle (or vulture).

According to the verses in Ezekiel and its attendant commentaries, his vision consists of a chariot made of many heavenly beings driven by the "Likeness of a Man".

Mark Verman has distinguished four periods in early Jewish mysticism, developing from Isaiah's and Ezekiel's visions of the Throne/Chariot, to later extant merkabah mysticism texts:[9] The earliest Rabbinic Merkabah commentaries were exegetical expositions of the prophetic visions of God in the heavens and the divine retinue of angels, hosts, and heavenly creatures surrounding God.

When these images were combined with an actual mystical experiential motif of individual ascent (paradoxically called "descent" in most texts, Yordei Merkabah, "descenders of the chariot", perhaps describing inward contemplation) and union is not precisely known.

[citation needed] Maaseh Merkabah (Work of the Chariot) is the modern name given to a Hekhalot text, discovered by scholar Gershom Scholem.

[17] Several movements in Jewish mysticism and, later, students of the Kabbalah have focused on these passages from Ezekiel, seeking underlying meaning and the secrets of Creation in what they argued was the metaphoric language of the verses.

Due to the concern of some Torah scholars that misunderstanding these passages as literal descriptions of God's image might lead to blasphemy or idolatry, there was great opposition to studying this topic without the proper initiation.

Jewish biblical commentaries emphasize that the imagery of the merkabah is not meant to be taken literally; rather the chariot and its accompanying angels are analogies for the various ways that God reveals himself in this world.

This heavenly ascent is accomplished by the recital of hymns, as well as the theurgic use of secret names of God which abound in the Hekhalot literature.

In some texts, the mystic's interest extends to the heavenly music and liturgy, usually connected with the angelic adorations mentioned in Isaiah 6:3.

Scholars such as Peter Schaefer and Elliot Wolfson see an erotic theology implied in this kind of image, though it must be said sexual motifs, while present in highly attenuated forms, are few and far between if one surveys the full scope of the literature.

[20] In addition there are many smaller and fragmentary manuscripts that seem to belong to this genre, but their exact relationship to Maaseh Merkabah mysticism and to each other is often not clear (Dennis, 2007, 199–120).

The literal message of the work was repulsive to those who maintained God's incorporeality; Maimonides (d. 1204) wrote that the book should be erased and all mention of its existence deleted.

It features a linguistic theory of creation in which God creates the universe by combining the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, along with emanations represented by the ten numerals, or sefirot.

Moshe Idel, Gershom Scholem, Joseph Dan, and others have raised the natural question concerning the relationship between the "chambers" portion of the Hekhalot literature and the Babylonian Talmud's treatment of "The Work of the Chariot" in the presentation and analysis of such in the Gemara to tractate Hagigah of the Mishna.

In the long study on these matters contained in "'The Written' as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly" (McGinley, J W; 2006) the hypothesis is offered and defended that "Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha" (more often, simply "Rabbi Ishmael") is in fact a Rabbinically sanctioned cognomen for Elisha ben Abuyah who apostatized from the Rabbinic Movement.

All of this indicates that the generators of the Hekhalot literature were indeed savvy in choosing "Rabbi Ishmael" as paradigmatic in their own writings as a means of relating their own endeavors to the mystical study and practices of the tannaim in the early decades following upon the destruction of the Temple.

(Again, 14a-ii) Akher's non-Messianic and Metatron-oriented version of this "two-thrones"/"two-powers"-in-Heaven motif is discussed at length in the entry "Paradigmatia" of the above-mentioned study.

The generic point in all of this is that by the time of the final editing of the Mishna this whole motif (along with other dimensions of merkabah-oriented study and practice) came to be severely discouraged by Rabbinic officialdom.

Those who still pursued these kinds of things were marginalized by the Rabbinic Movement over the next several centuries becoming, in effect, a separate grouping responsible for the Hekhalot literature.

We must, therefore, begin with teaching these subjects according to the capacity of the pupil, and on two conditions, first, that he be wise, i.e., that he should have successfully gone through the preliminary studies, and secondly that he be intelligent, talented, clear-headed, and of quick perception, that is, "have a mind of his own", as our Sages termed it.Kabbalah relates the Merkabah vision of Ezekiel and the Throne vision of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1–8) describing the seraph angels, to its comprehensive Four Worlds.

The highest World, Atziluth ("Emanation"—Divine wisdom), is the realm of absolute Divine manifestation without self-awareness, metaphorically described in the vision as the likeness of a Man on the throne.

The World of Beriah is the realm of the higher angels, the Seraphim ("burning" in ascent and descent as their understanding of God motivates self-annihilation).

They are described with faces of a lion, ox and eagle, as their emotional nature is instinctive like animals, and they are the archetypal origins of creatures in this World.

The lowest World, Assiah ("Action"—Divine rulership), is the realm guided by the lower channels of the Ophanim (humble "ways" in realised creation).

It gives an exoteric explanation for this; Isaiah prophesied in the era of Solomon's Temple, Ezekiel's vision took place in the exile of Babylonian captivity.

This causes them to be able to draw down divine vitality from a higher source, the supreme realm of Atziluth, to lower creation and man.

However, when one looks at the way that earth, wind, fire and water (for instance) which all oppose each other are able to work together and coexist in complete harmony in the world, this shows that there is really a higher power (God) telling these elements how to act.

Ultimately, we should strive to realize how all of the forces in the world, though they may seem to conflict, can unite when one knows how to use them all to fulfill a higher purpose; namely to serve God.

[26][27] In Christianity, the man, lion, ox, and eagle are used as symbols for the four evangelists (or gospel-writers),[28] and appear frequently in church decorations.