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Ma’aseh merkavah
Summary
Ma’aseh merkavah, which means “the workings
of the chariot,” was among the earliest movements in Jewish mysticism,
along with ma’aseh bereshit (see below). The two
movements first arose in the first century B.C.E. Ma’aseh
merkavah was based on a vision experienced by the prophet
Ezekiel, which is recorded in the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel
in the Old Testament. While standing by a river in Babylon, Ezekiel
saw a throne spinning through the heavens, accompanied by four winged
figures. Seated on the throne was a shadowy figure that looked like
a man. Ma’aseh merkavah mystics set out to interpret
what the vision meant and revealed about God. Eventually the vision
became their way of describing the “upper” world of God, above the
material reality that humans know. The early mystics—the predecessors
of kabbalists—meditated on the image of the fiery chariot to develop
a fuller understanding of God.
Ma’aseh merkavah mystics described the
path through the upper world to the chariot as dangerous and terrifying.
It led past seven palaces filled with armies of angels. Rivers of
fire flowed out of the sky as angels drew the chariot through the
air. The goal of meditating on the chariot was to overcome the obstacles
en route to the chariot itself and then to see the figure seated
on the throne. Reaching the throne required extensive religious
education, extreme concentration, and a strong dedication to God.
Though mystics apparently followed a strict set of instructions
on how to see the figure on the throne, ma’aseh as
we know it is merely a series of speculations referred to in various
other texts. Analysis
Though ma’aseh merkavah precedes Kabbalah,
it does reveal several practices and theories later used in Kabbalah. Ma’aseh
merkavah introduces the idea of the ecstatic experience,
in which one communes with God on a physical and emotional level.
This notion of close communication with God forms the core of all
kabbalistic thought. Ma’aseh merkavah also introduces
the idea that close encounters with God could be dangerous to untrained
minds. In the Torah, faithful Jews could communicate directly with
God without risk. Kabbalists believed that contact with a force
as vast and powerful as God could lead to madness. For this reason,
kabbalists initially limited study of Kabbalah to married men over
forty who had studied the Torah and the Talmud.
Ma’aseh merkavah also introduced physical
risks as well. Mystics believed certain body positions could assure
meditators a glimpse of the throne. One required the meditator to
place his head between his knees, a posture that can lead to fainting
or even stroke if held for too long. Mystics believed visions had
to be both emotional and physical experiences that would overwhelm
the soul and the body. Followers of Kabbalah later embraced the
idea that communication with divinity had to be both a physical
and intellectual experience.
The angels that accompany the chariot in Ezekiel’s vision
are a source of widespread speculation in Kabbalah. Some argued
that each angel was a specific theological idea or one of God’s
Commandments. Others argued that each Angel was a different aspect
of God’s identity. But most agreed that the angels served as messengers who
communicate God’s will to the “lower realms,” the material world
that humans inhabit. In Kabbalah, the ten sefirot replace these
angels. Though the idea of the sefirot did
not arise until sometime between the third and sixth century, the
angels in ma’aseh merkavah served as a kind of
blueprint for their role in Kabbalah. One major difference distinguishes
later kabbalistic beliefs from ma’aseh merkavah:
whereas kabbalists would attempt to understand the true nature of
God, ma’seh merkavah mystics aimed merely to glimpse
the appearance of God. |
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