הקדמה 9

מבאר שינוי הגילוים של יחזקאל וישעיה, שלא נתגלה שום דבר, אלא מה שנצרך לאדם לעבודת ה' באותו הזמן.

The Difference Between Yeshayahu and Yehezkel
Yehezkel’s vision of the chariot was one of several, similar prophetic visions, recorded in Scripture; the others being Yeshayahu’s vision of God sitting upon a throne (Yeshayahu 1), and Eliyahu’s encounter with God’s “still, small voice” that followed a vision of a storm wind, cloud, and fire (I Kings 19). Of all of them, Yehezkel’s vision is the most detailed. R. Gershon Henokh explains this to have been due to the needs of his time. The First Temple had just been destroyed, and the Jewish people were going into exile as slaves. At that moment, God suspended the decree that prophecy could only occur within the land of Israel, and allowed Yehezekel to reveal to them the meaning of suffering. Yehezkel’s vision of the Merkava – that is, the revelation of God upon earth – would provide support for Israel in the Diaspora, and grant them the faith that God was with them even in all the hardships they were sure to encounter.⁵⁹The vision of the Merkava, and the mystery of faith, were not only relevant to the generation of the exile. The idea will be discussed in greater depth at the end of the book, when R. Gershon Henokh describes how the soul accepts upon itself all trials and hardships it will face upon entering the world, since it knows that the Divine is greatly elevated through the suffering of the souls of Israel.

ובזוה"ק (שמות ב:) ותו אית לשאלא אי יחזקאל נביאה מהימנא הוה אמאי גלי כל מה דחמא, מאן דמלכא אעיל ליה בהיכליה אית ליה לגלאה רזין דחמא, אלא ודאי יחזקאל נביאה מהימנא הוה וכל מה דחמא בהימנותא איהו וברשותא דקוב"ה גלי כל מה דגלי וכלא אצטריך. וכדמסיק שם, לפי שהיו עתידים לירד לגלות, מגודל תענוג שהורגלו בארץ, וגלות בבל הוא כבד מאד, לכן הוצרך לגלות להם מעשה מרכבה בלבוש הזה, וכדאיתא בגמרא (חגיגה יג:) שישעיה דומה לבן כרך שראה את המלך ויחזקאל דומה לבן כפר שראה את המלך:

It is written in the Zohar (Shemot, 2b): We must ask, if Yehezkel was a faithful prophet, then why did he reveal all that he saw in his prophetic vision? If the king invites someone into his private chamber, is it proper for that person to divulge all he saw there to the press? Yet it is clear that Yehezkel was a faithful prophet. He had permission from God to reveal all that he did. Furthermore, everything he revealed was necessary. The Zohar concludes that all that Yehezkel revealed was necessary for the people of Israel to know in order to survive the ensuing exile. They were accustomed to great delights while living in the land of Israel, and the Babylonian exile was going to be harsh. Therefore they needed to receive the knowledge of Ma’aseh Merkava dressed in this form, as the Gemara says (Hagiga, 13b), “Yeshayahu was like a townsman who saw the king, while Yehezkel was like a country person who saw the king.”

והענין שיחזקאל ראה כל הלבושים היותר רחוקים והיותר חיצונים, שגם בהם נמצא אור הש"י והשגחתו, וזה מרומז שראה רוח סערה באה מן הצפון ענן גדול ואש מתלקחת ונגה לו סביב, שבלבושים האלו ג"כ מנהג הש"י, ורוח סערה עשה דברו:

How would the knowledge of Ma’aseh Merkava help the Jews to survive in exile? Yehezkel saw how the furthermost garments and most external and distant realms are also concealing God’s light and are under God’s providence.⁶⁰Yehezkel was the only prophet besides Moshe to receive prophecy outside of the land of Israel. Because of the incredible suffering of the Babylonian exiles, it was crucial to reveal to them these awesome mysteries, in order for them to find meaning in their pain. This is the essence of Ma’aseh Merkava, as explained above. It is hinted to in Yehezkel’s vision of “a storm wind coming from the north, a great cloud, a burning fire, and the light of nogah surrounding it.” Though these are the kelipot, he taught us that God conducts the world through them, as wellas it says (Tehillim, 148:8), “the storm wind performs God’s word.”

וכדאיתא בזה"ק (פנחס רכז:) והאי איהו רוחא דאסעיר גופא דבר נש מה דכפיף ליה אליהו תחותוי וסליק לעילא ביה הה"ד (מלכים ב ב׳:י״א) ויעל אליהו בסערה השמימה וכו' לשמאלה רוח סערה וכו'. ובלקוטי תורה לרבינו חיים וויטאל ז"ל (איוב לח) שהראהו הקב"ה לאיוב, שהוא יתברך שליט על הנחש ורוח סערה עשה דברו:

Of the storm wind, the Zohar says (Pinchas, 127b), “This is the wind which agitates man’s body. Eliyahu managed to subdue the storm wind, as it is written (Melachim 2, 2:2), “And Eliyahu ascended to heaven in a storm wind.” In the Liqutei Torah of Rabbi Chayyim Vital, on the 38th chapter of Iyov, he mentions that God showed Iyov how He, may He be blessed, rules over the serpent,⁶¹Symbolizing the forces of evil. and how the storm wind performs His word.

והענין הזה מרומז בזה"ק (במדבר קיח:) בענין המתחיל איש על דגלו באותות, דאיתא (שם) אבל ודאי הכי הוא דהא אילנא עלאה קדישא בהו אחתם בחותמוי ואוקמוה דכתיב (יחזקאל א) ודמות פניהם פני אדם ופני אריה אל הימין וגו' דיוקנא דאדם אתכליל בכלהו ואפין הוו לד' סטרי דעלמא ומתפרשין בדיוקניהון וכלהון כלילן ביה באדם. מיכאל מימינא גבריאל משמאלא. אוריאל לקדמייהו. רפאל לאחורייהו. שכינתא עלייהו וכו'. ומבאר שם כל ענין התקשרות ישראל עם הקב"ה, ועניני השגחת הש"י בהנהגה, ובסדר התנהגות השפע והחיים, עד שמבאר ענין השגחת הש"י דרך לבושים וכדמסיק (שם קיט.) אמר רבי יהודה האי בישראל ודאי הכי הוא אבל באו"ה דחמינא כהאי גוונא מאי טעמא, א"ל ודאי שפיר הוא דקא אמרת, פתח ואמר מה אקב לא קבה אל ומה אזעם לא זעם ה'. ת"ח כגוונא דאית לעילא אית לתתא. לעילא אית ימינא ואית שמאלא לתתא ישראל ועמין וכו' וכלהו לתתא מכלהו דרגין דשמאלא וכלהו דרגין אחידן דא בדא עד דתליין מן ריישא, וכגוונא דרישא נטיל בההוא גוונא נטיל זנבא דאיהי תתאה. מ"ט בגין דאחיד ביה וכו' בלעם הוא אשתמש בכלהו כתרין תתאין והוא הוי חמי בהאי תתאה דאיהו זנבא דלא יכיל לאתדברא אלא ברישא, בגין כך אמר מה אקוב לא קבה אל דההוא רישא עלאה לא אשתכח בדינא באינון יומין וכו'. בכה רבי אלעזר פתח ואמר (ירמיה מו) קולה כנחש ילך וגו' השתא דישראל בגלותא איהי ודאי אזלא כנחש חיויא כד איהו כפיף רישא לעפרא סליק זנבא שליט ומחי לכל אינון דאשתכחו קמיה. אוף הכי השתא בגלותא כהאי גוונא רישא כפיף לעפרא וזנבא שליט. מאן עביד לזנבא דיסתליק לעילא ושליט ומחי רישא דאתכפיא לתתא, ועם כל דא מאן מדבר ליה לזנבה ומאן נטיל למטלנוהי האי רישא אע"ג דאיהו כפיף לעפרא הוא מדבר למטלנוהי וכו' אתי רבי יהודה ונשיק ידוי אמר אלמלא לא שאילנא מלה בעלמא אלא דשאילנא דא ורווחנא לה די לי, דהשתא ידענא עמין עכו"ם ושלטנותא דלהון היך מתדבר וכו'. שנודע לו ענין ההנהגה בתוך ההסתר שזה נרמז במרכבת יחזקאל כנ"ל. שנזכר מכל ההסתרות רוח סערה ענין גדול מה שלא נזכר במרכבת ישעיה, שאז לא היה נצרך כנזכר לעיל. ודי למבין הערה להעיר הבנה בענין שהוכרח יחזקאל לגלות מה שלא היה צורך לישעיה. והרי שלא נתגלה שום דבר בתורה, אלא מה שנצרך לאדם לעבודת הש"י ולחיזוק אמונתו ובטחונו בהש"י:

This matter is hinted at in the Zohar (Bamidbar, 118b) on the verse (Bamidbar, 2:2), “every man shall make his camp by his flag.” It says: Yet it is so, that within the holy supernal tree God sealed them with His seal, as we have established earlier. It is written (Yehezkel, 1:1), “and the form of their faces was the face of the man, and the face of the lion to the right, etc.” That is to say, the face of man was included in all four faces on the chariot. Their faces faced the four directions, each face different from the others, yet all included the face of man. Mikhael to the right, Gavriel to the left, Uriel to the front, Rafael to the back, and the Shekhina upon them. Hinted at in this passage from the Zohar on the Merkava is the entire matter of Israel’s connection to God, God’s providence through His management of the world, and the order behind His dispensation of effluence and life. Eventually it describes how God conducts the world through the outer garments. There the Zohar concludes (119a): Rabbi Yehuda said, “with Israel this is certainly so. But why do I also see this among the other nations?” He said to him, “Certainly you spoke well.” He opened his discourse with the verse (Bamidbar, 23:8), “What shall I curse that God has not cursed? Shall I send my wrath on that which God has not sent His?” “Come and see! The way things are above, so are they below. Above, there is right and there is left. Below, there is Israel and the nations. Israel holds onto the right, in the sanctity of the Holy King. The idolatrous nations hold on to the left, the side of impurity. They are all below, from all the levels of the left. All levels hold one to each other, until we see that they are all connected to the head. And wherever the head moves, the tail follows. Why is this? It is because the tail is holding on to the head. Thus, it is similar with the idolatrous nations who operate on the side of impurity. … Bilaam used all of the lower levels. He would look at the lower level, which is the tail, and is necessarily led by the head. This is why he said, “What can I curse that God has not cursed?” I cannot go against God! The supernal head was not giving out harsh judgments on those days.” … Rabbi Elazar cried and opened, saying, “Her sound is like that of a snake on the move.” (Yirmiyahu, 46:22) For now that Israel is in exile, surely the Shekhina moves like a snake. When the snake puts his head in the dust, his tail goes up and bites all that comes before him. It is the same way in the exile. The head is down in the dust, and the tail rules. Who causes the tail to go up, rule, and attack? It is the head, bent down below in the dust! Still, who is it that leads the tail, deciding which way it will go in its travels? The head! Though it is down in the dust, it leads the movements and wanderings of the tail. This is why it is said, “Her sound is like that of a snake on the move.” … Rabbi Yitzchak came and kissed his hands, and said, “If I had never learned anything save the answer to this question, it would be enough! Now I know how God leads the nations.” Here Rabbi Yitzchak understood how God conducts the world through the concealment of His presence, which is all hinted at in Yehezkel’s chariot. The description of the chariot mentions the storm wind, the great cloud, and the fire, which are all expressions of the concealment of God’s light. Yet none of these are mentioned in Yeshayahu’s vision of the chariot, for it was unnecessary at the time, as we explained above. One who understands allusions will realize why Yehezkel was compelled to reveal matters that Yeshayahu was not. The only things that the Torah reveals are matters which man needs to know in order to serve God, and to strengthen his trust and faith in God.⁶²In summary, the mystery of faith is simple simple to express in words, yet difficult to obtain and live by. It means knowing that God’s judgment is really a vehicle for His mercy, in that it furthers His desire to bestow, and His overall plan for creation. God wisdom understands and decrees the ultimate good for His creation. The secret of the Merkava is the ability to see God’s light even in the outermost “garments” of creation, and in the realms furthest away from Divinity. In this way, the two mysteries – of faith and the Merkava – go hand in hand. The real secret is that the Divine Chariot is not some vision in the sky only beheld by a biblical prophet. The Chariot is in the world around us, both in times of redemption, and in exile. While this may not make the suffering any easier to bear on a day to day basis, it does mean that if a person looks upon the world with enlightened eyes – with the mystery of faith and the Merkava – he can, at least, find overall meaning in his suffering. This consciousness, passed from generation to generation, witnessed in the visions of the prophets and guarded in the wisdom of the sages. The transmission of sod – the Torah’s mystical dimension – is the subject of the next several chapters of this work.