In any case, when the people are on a journey, what does "on a journey" mean? We traveled from our land, we are in exile, and Yechezkel sees Hashem riding upon a chariot. It follows, then, that the revelation of the Merkava that Yechezkel sees is an expression of the fact that, as it were, we are today in a reality of travel, similar to kings who, when they journey from place to place, have a chariot prepared for their departure on the road. And therefore it is understandable that when Yeshayahu saw Hashem, he saw Him in a reality of sitting upon His throne. Since this was the reality, Yeshayahu prophesied when he was here in Eretz Yisrael and, as it were, the dominion was in its proper form. But when the exile came, then here Yechezkel no longer sees Him in the form of sitting upon His throne in His palace, but rather sees Him as a king sitting in a chariot. Chazal say, perhaps before this, he presents it to us in the manner of human beings, with the physical chariot: when there is a chariot, and what actually is a chariot? It is a large and magnificent carriage, and when we speak of a chariot, understand that we are speaking of a chariot in its plain sense. But this is only a parable. And we speak of a chariot in its plain sense because we want, by means of it, to understand the supernal spiritual reality. But when they say chariot, it is a chariot. And the chariot is connected to the living creatures that draw it, and therefore we will see an expression of four living creatures, which are the four living creatures that draw the chariot. And the chariot has wheels with which it rolls and advances, and therefore we will also see an expression of wheels. But as I said, all of this is only an expression of a parable pointing to the supernal spiritual reality.
And when Yechezkel sees the Merkava, which is the chariot in which the King of Glory travels, which as we said is the aspect of the World of the Throne, the World of Beriah, it is now going into exile, and there are now four living creatures that carry the chariot, and the four living creatures are already from the World of Yetzirah, already at a lower level. To the place where there was spirit to go. Chazal say, Yeshayahu was likened to a city dweller who saw the king. Yechezkel was likened to a villager who saw the king. First I will explain the plain understanding, and afterward we will see how the Malbim connects the matters. In the plain understanding, when we speak of a villager who sees the king, he is seized with amazement. He does not see the king day after day. So when he finally sees the king once, wow, oh my, I will tell you what I saw, and what a chariot he had, and how many horses, and what was tied to them, and how there were bells in front and behind and... that is a villager. The villager is amazed by everything he sees, and therefore his description is lengthy. And therefore we see that Yechezkel is lengthy in his descriptions, for it is like a villager who sees the king, seized with amazement. In contrast, Yeshayahu was like a city dweller who sees the king. A city dweller who sees the king is not overly amazed. Every so often the king's procession passes by him. So if they ask him what happened, he says the king passed by with the procession. You understand, he is not lengthy in descriptions. I see Hashem sitting, His train fills the palace, seraphim standing above Him. That is it, no lengthy words and descriptions. This is the simple understanding, which essentially comes to say that Yechezkel was at a lower level. Since Yechezkel was like a villager, he therefore also has abundant amazement. In contrast, Yeshayahu was at a higher level, and therefore he does not have abundant amazement, he is like a city dweller, and city dwellers are always considered more educated than villagers or settlement dwellers, yes, so likewise, all the more so in their times when a city dweller was considered a higher, higher level. This is the plain understanding. But now see how the Malbim connects this with what we explained just now. Says the Malbim, a city dweller who sees the king, in what situation does he generally perceive him? He sees the king when he is sitting on his throne. That is to say, here is the royal palace and I pass by here and I see him more than once and I enter to him and every so often there are ceremonies and all sorts of things, so I enter and see the king. The city dweller, the townsman, sees the king on his royal throne. In contrast the villager, pay attention, does not see him on his royal throne. The king did not build himself a kingdom in the village. Rather, what? He sees the king when he passes by in his carriage. When can he see the king? Once the king traveled from place to place, so the villager saw him passing by in a carriage, sees him passing by in a chariot. And this is essentially the difference. Not only, as we said, I am not contradicting the first interpretation, here the plain interpretation, I am not contradicting it. But not only in this sense of amazement because his level is low, but rather in this sense that in the city one sees the king when he is sitting upon his kingdom, while in the village one can see him only when he is upon his chariot. And this is what comes to say that Yeshayahu saw Him here in the Land. He saw the visions of God when the dominion above was settled, Hashem sitting on His throne, since we had not yet been exiled. In contrast, when Yechezkel sees Him, this is after we were exiled, and then the governance was transmitted not in the miraculous manner of Hashem sitting on His throne, but rather in the manner in which it was transmitted to the angels, and therefore you see that he already perceives Him at a lower level, this is not Beriah but rather lower, this is Yetzirah, where one already does not see Hashem's governance in a miraculous and revealed manner but rather more in a natural manner, in the manner of the systems of the stars and the angels who govern the world.
Around the brightness, and essentially this brightness (nogah) is a kind of illumination that emanates from that body, and this illumination is called nogah. The nogah receives the light and illuminates but does not burn, and its measure is the measure of chesed, to bestow within the darkness, to illuminate the night. That is to say, there is a state of darkness, there is a cloud, there is fog, but there is nogah. That is to say, from within the darkness one sees a certain illumination of chesed, not burning but rather illuminating, for we are speaking here of light. From within the nogah, pay attention, there he perceives the chashmal. What is chashmal? It is the camp of the Shechina. The camp of the Shechina which, as it were, is found within the fire. What is the meaning of these matters? This burning will be done by Hashem. The Beit HaMikdash is going to be burned, this is fire, and the fire will burn His palace. Who is found there inside? The Holy One, blessed be He. Hashem alone, this is not done by the system, this is not done by lower powers but rather by supernal powers. And you should know that even though Hashem alone comes to burn, still there is nogah around. And the surrounding nogah is an aspect of light that does not burn. It is an aspect of chesed within the judgments and severities. Within that harsh reality there will be an aspect of light that will illuminate the darkness. And this light comes, as it were, to express the salvation of those who cleave to holiness, those who cleave to the surrounding nogah, they will have salvation from the burning fire.
Says the Malbim, see also that with Eliyahu, Eliyahu too saw the Merkava outside its place. Eliyahu went to the desert and there in the desert, outside the Land, he too saw this vision. A great and strong wind, which is the storm wind, after the wind an earthquake, the Malbim says the earthquake came from the cloud, and after the earthquake a fire, which is a flaming fire. All of this is still not the camp of the Shechina. Hashem was not in the wind, Hashem was not in the fire. After the fire, a still, small voice. What is a still, small voice? Chashmal. Chashmal, "chash" is from the language of silence, as we said "to be silent," and "mal" is from the language of speech. This is the aspect of a still, small voice. Speech in silence. Thus he explains what we saw with Eliyahu, and thus also with us, this is the aspect of the chashmal, composed of voice and silence, as it is written, "silence and a voice I heard." This is chashmal. And this is the aspect of the four shells that surround the nut. There it is understood that there is an aspect of four shells, where the shell closest to the fruit is the more refined shell. And this is the soft shell in which good and evil are mixed. And this is the aspect of nogah. Nogah, says the Malbim, so say the mekubalim, that the shell of nogah is a mixture of good and evil. That is to say, it is not an aspect of actual evil. It is written that the eating of weekdays goes to the shell of nogah. Excess eating, what a person does not need, this goes to the shell of nogah. That is to say, it is not really a shell of the sitra achra, but rather it is the shell of nogah in which good and evil are mixed. And this is the aspect of what Eliyahu saw. And this is also here, as he explains, this is the aspect of that power that went to destroy the Beit HaMikdash, and within that reality he saw that there is an aspect of nogah around, that this nogah is an aspect of chesed within that harsh reality.
And from within it the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance, they had the likeness of a man. And from within it the likeness of four living creatures. Says the Malbim, the seers in the visions of God, meaning the mekubalim, have already informed us that there are four camps of angels that surround the Throne. In the World of Beriah there are four camps of angels. Their sign is ARGaMaN. We spoke about this a bit when we discussed Nefesh HaChaim, and I believe we also spoke of it in Tomer Devorah. ARGaMaN is an acronym for Uriel, Rephael, Gavriel, Michael, Nuriel. Only that when we count we reach five. And now we said that there are four camps of angels that surround the Throne. And we explained that actually Uriel and Nuriel are two aspects of one matter. Since Uriel is also a term of fire, light (ohr), and Nuriel is also a term of fire, nur, therefore both of them are essentially two things whose matter is one. So then in total we have four camps of angels. Uriel-Nuriel, Rephael, Gavriel, Michael. And Yeshayahu, as we explained, saw the King in His house. Seraphim standing above Him, so he saw in the World of the Throne, which is the World of Beriah. And the idea of the matters of the angels found there is that they operate by way of miracle and nature. As we explained, the World of Beriah is a high world. It is the second world from the top, Atzilut, Beriah. And since this is so, the manner of their operation is that it is not through the world below them, namely the ofanim. For beneath the World of Beriah there is not the world of the ofanim. That is, they do not operate through the World of Yetzirah, through the World of Asiyah, but rather through the World of Yetzirah. And we will explain. When I speak of the World of Asiyah, the operation is physical. The operation is by way of nature, through the influences of the systems of the stars and their spheres. This is the influence of the World of Asiyah. In contrast, when we speak of the influences of a high world, of the World of Beriah, the influences are by way of miracle. The influences are not through physical reality by way of nature, but rather in a spiritual manner, in a wondrous manner, in a miraculous manner.
In contrast, Yechezkel, we said, saw the King not in His place. He sees the chariot. We said that this is called the World of the Angels. The World of the Angels is the World of Yetzirah. Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah. This is the World of the Angels, which is a lower world. And in this reality of the World of the Angels, the manner of operation and unfolding is from Yetzirah to Asiyah. That is, how do the angels influence? Through the World of Action. That is, materialized influences. Influences through nature, through the orders of the system, not through diverting the systems of nature, in a miraculous manner above nature, no. Rather it is an influence of a world that is lower, which is the World of Yetzirah, the World of the Angels, which brings down its abundance through the World of Asiyah in natural influences as we explained. When Hashem wants to govern through hidden miracles, then the Holy One, blessed be He, moves and leads by means of the living creatures who are above the world of the ofanim, and they lead them similar to a person who travels in a chariot. Now understand the resemblance to a chariot, and this will help us in the entire parable that we will see later on. When we speak of a chariot, upon a chariot there is a rider. The rider, as it were, is the Holy One, blessed be He. When we speak of the Holy One, blessed be He, we speak of the World of Beriah. The World of Beriah is the Throne. The World of the Throne, there, as it were, in quotation marks, do not imagine that it is literally so, but in quotation marks, for everything is spoken in parables, so it is like the rider sitting on his throne. After that we have the lower world, which is the World of Yetzirah. The World of Yetzirah is the World of the Angels, which Yechezkel saw, and shortly it is also called the World of the Living Creatures. And shortly we will see their faces. Their faces, of the living creatures, we will see they had four faces, and so on, all of this we will explain, that this is like the living creatures that lead the chariot. So there is the rider and there are the living creatures that lead the chariot. By virtue of what does the chariot move? By virtue of the wheels and the ofanim. That is to say, the living creatures that pull and influence, where does the power pass and where does it actually influence? Through the wheels, for the wheels, as it were, are the thing dragged by the power of the living creatures. Thus it is in the materialized parable. And thus too Yechezkel saw in the spiritual influences that come from above to below.
So then it comes out for us that the World of the Throne is the World of Beriah, the World of Yetzirah is the World of the Living Creatures, which is the lower world, and the third world, which is the lower world, is the world of the wheels, which is the World of Asiyah. Whoever pays attention, so too is the version in many of the Ashkenazi siddurim, which say seraphim and living creatures and holy ofanim. In contrast, we say seraphim and ofanim and holy living creatures. So according to the mekubalim it is more precise. I am not saying to change the version of the siddurim, for our siddur version remains the same, and it is interesting that the Sephardic version is the version of the mekubalim. But Rav Mazuz also cites in the Zohar in the Tikunim that there too it is written seraphim and living creatures and holy ofanim. That is to say, first seraphim. Seraphim standing above Him, this is the World of Beriah, the World of the Throne, what Yeshayahu saw. The World of Yetzirah, we said, is the holy living creatures, as we will shortly see the four living creatures that Yechezkel saw. And beneath them are the holy ofanim, the world of the ofanim and the wheels, which is the World of Asiyah. So one is speaking here in an unfolding order. But if you say seraphim and ofanim and holy living creatures, then here you have reversed the order. For you spoke of seraphim, which is high, that is Beriah, then you jumped down to Asiyah, to the living creatures, and afterward you speak of ofanim, sorry, of the ofanim, and afterward you speak of the holy living creatures at the end. The holy living creatures are in the middle. How did it move to the end? Yes? So that in fact the order, as I said, the more logical one according to what we explained just now, is seraphim and living creatures and holy ofanim.
So let us return to the matter. During exile, as we said, Hashem does not perform actions in a miraculous manner, but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, governs by way of nature, according to the systems of the heavens, which is meant by "through the ofanim, through the wheels." When Hashem wants to govern the system through hidden miracles, He governs not according to the ofanim and the wheels, but according to the holy living creatures. As we explained, that the living creatures refer to the World of Yetzirah, that they are His servants who do His will, they are above the World of Asiyah, and this is governance as if above nature. But in the natural manner the governance unfolds through the ofanim, and then the governance is natural, as the wheels and ofanim of the system direct it downward. Like a person who travels in a chariot, says the Malbim, and he directs the wheels of the chariot by means of the living creatures who are the leaders of the chariot. So then it comes out that the living creatures that Yechezkel saw are lower than the seraphim that Yeshayahu saw. For Yeshayahu saw the seraphim standing above Him in the World of the Throne, the World of Beriah. In contrast, the living creatures that Yechezkel saw are in the World of Yetzirah, as we explained just now.
Says the Malbim, since this governance, to govern by means of the system, meaning the systems of the stars and the spheres, is a fixed governance during exile. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not perform miracles for us, does not govern us in a manner that is above nature. And since this is so, now pay attention, Yechezkel sees the beginning of the reign of the four kingdoms that will rule until the end of the entire exile. That is to say, now the exile begins. And in this exile, which is essentially the first exile, similar to what we saw in Sefer Daniel, that Daniel saw, and shortly the Malbim will show us parallels, that Daniel saw the four kingdoms that were destined to rule. And we saw this both in the vision of the statue, where there he saw that it was composed of four types of materials that came to express the four kingdoms that ruled over Yisrael. We saw this also with the he-goat that came up out of the river, where there too we saw in that vision how it speaks of four types of kingdoms that were destined to rule over Yisrael. So too here, says the Malbim, they show Yechezkel the ways of governance, what the manner of governance will be in exile, how the Holy One, blessed be He, brings down the abundance through those governances of the kingdoms that we will see shortly, and we will see how these kingdoms, each kingdom draws its power, as it were, from one of the four holy living creatures that we will see shortly, from there its power flows and by virtue of this will be its reign.
Says the Malbim, until the Name will be complete and His Throne will be complete, the governance will be by means of the seraphim who stand above Him, and then the King will sit upon His royal throne, then the complete governance, this is the governance that is destined to be when the Holy One, blessed be He, will exercise sole dominion, which is the Name complete and the Throne complete, the world of governance will be in the World of the Throne, the World of Beriah. They show him that we are not yet there, and now the governance flows from a lower world, from the World of Yetzirah, from the four living creatures of the Merkava who lead, as it were, the chariot, and from them the ministers of the nations will be influenced, each one from a different living creature from which it derives its nourishment, and we will also understand why it draws from that power and why that power is the one that influences below, each living creature influences the ofan opposite it. There are four living creatures and there are four ofanim. The ofanim, we said, involve the influences in the World of Action. So they too will each influence the World of Action according to the powers attributed to it. Says the Malbim, I have already explained in the prophecy of Zechariah that the four kingdoms that we will shortly enumerate are attributed to the four winds of heaven. And each one has, as it were, dominion and power over one wind of the winds of the world, and, as it were, this is like a sphere that is divided into four, and each one has what is called authority and power over a quarter of the power in the world, over a quarter of the winds of the world, as we explained. So too says the Malbim, the minister who influences, influences by means of the ofan opposite that wind. For if we are speaking of four living creatures, then opposite the four living creatures are four ofanim, each minister influences through that angel, that living creature, toward that ofan, and this brings down, as it were, a quarter of the influence that is here in the world, it is by his power. Says the Malbim, until the wheel turns and runs to the pit, this is the language of the verse, the meaning is until it sinks and the other ofan rises in its place. That is to say, each one of them is an influence at a different time. Each one of them is an influence where this one rises and the rest descend. Afterward the second rises and the rest descend. Shortly we will see that they do not descend entirely, but in any case they have no power and dominion in the world. For when, for example, Bavel ruled, the rest of the kingdoms were lowly. When Yavan ruled, the rest of the kingdoms were lowly, and so on in this manner.
Says the Malbim, note that he calls them living creatures. Why? Because each one has faces, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, the face of an eagle. But note that he emphasizes "their appearance was the likeness of a man." But now you said living creatures. So how do you say the likeness of a man? What is this, are these living creatures in the likeness of a man? The Malbim explains, since one of the four faces is also a man. We have the face of a lion, an ox, an eagle, and a man. We cannot call it a man on account of the face, for there are also three other faces. Call it a man, but there is also an ox. There is also an eagle, there is also a lion. This is four faces. Says the Malbim, when we speak of "the likeness of a man," we are speaking of the overall form. We are not speaking of the faces. For the faces are four. So what are we speaking of? The overall form. Says the Malbim, the meaning of the matter is that the form of the living creature differs in its structure from the form of a man. First of all, a man walks on two, and the living creature walks on four. The living creature is bent, its face downward, lacking mind and intellect. In contrast, here when I speak of these living creatures, they had a form and structure like a man. They stand upright on two legs and they have two hands. Shortly we will see whether two hands or more. Likewise they had wisdom and understanding like a man. Only in the faces was there a difference: man, lion, eagle, and so on. But when we speak of the overall form of the body, it tells you that their form was like a man, their wisdom and understanding like a man. This is the meaning of "the likeness of a man." We do not mean literally like a man but rather much more, but the intent is that just as a man is possessed of understanding and intellect, so too they are possessed of understanding and intellect. So do not think that we are speaking of an ox, think that it is essentially in the form of an ox and with the mind of an ox. No. Rather they had the form of a man, and in them Hashem placed wisdom and understanding to have insight into their Creator and to praise Him and to give honor to His Name.
And four faces to each one, and four wings to each of them. First let us see Rashi. Rashi says, "and four faces to each one." Note what is written here, since this is not according to the usual conception. Says Rashi, four faces to each one, "to each one" means to the face of the man alone. There were four faces. And likewise for the lion and for the eagle and for the ox. Thus sixteen for one living creature, and likewise for each and every living creature. That is to say, four faces to each one, Rashi explains, and thus is the explanation of Chazal and thus too Targum Yonatan. One might have understood that we are speaking of forms of four living creatures, where each living creature has four faces. So that is to say, the living creature, let us say the outermost one on the right, has a face of a man, ox, eagle, lion. The outermost on the left, a man, ox, eagle, lion. And then when I want to do the calculation, each living creature has four faces, so when I gather them all together I get 16 faces. 4 times 4. Rashi comes and says that is not the calculation. Says Rashi, note "and four faces to each one." For earlier we spoke of the faces. So he says that each face is composed of four faces. That is to say, let us take a living creature, and as I said earlier that is correct, but the calculation is not finished. That is to say, if I take the outermost right living creature, then we said it has faces of a man, ox, eagle, lion. Imagine a cube, that this cube has four faces, as it were, on each side of the cube a different face is depicted. He tells you "and four faces to each one." That is to say, if I now take the face of the man, then in simple terms the face of the man has four faces. And if I now take the face of the ox, then the face of the ox has four faces. And the face of the lion also has four faces. And the face of the eagle also has four faces. And note that all of this speaks of one living creature. So we have one living creature, that this living creature has, as I said, this living creature is composed of four, as it were four heads, four faces, namely man, eagle, ox, lion, and each one of them is composed of four. So then it comes out, says Rashi, that for one living creature we have 16. For one living creature there are 16, that is 4 times 4. And four wings to each of the faces. Note, the calculation is not finished. For if we reached 16, and we said this is only for one living creature, each one of the 16 has four wings. So then how much do we get in total? Four wings times four faces times four faces (visages), we reach together for one living creature 64 wings per living creature. And how many did we reach in total? Says Targum Yonatan, 256 wings. 64 times 4 living creatures, 256 wings.
The Malbim explains, even though each one essentially had a different face on the side to which it walked forward, that is, for if you say that this one had a lion's face and that one a man's face, well, you cannot say that. Since you said that each and every one had four faces, and each face, as we said, four faces, and so on. But each one had four faces. So it cannot be divided into four living creatures, since each living creature included four. So it is not that in the simple understanding one could understand, one living creature is an ox, one an eagle, one a lion, one a man. But now we said it is not so. Now we said that each one includes four faces and each face includes four faces, so if that is the case, in what do they differ from one another? That is to say, each living creature essentially includes everything. Says the Malbim, each one had a different face on the side to which it walked forward. That is, indeed as I said earlier, let us imagine a kind of cube where on each side of the cube there is a different form, but each cube walks with a different face forward. That is to say, one, let us say the depiction toward the front is an ox, with the second it is a lion, with the third it is a man, and with the fourth it is an eagle. It comes out then that although all of them have four faces, four visages, but one is central, which is essentially the leader. And this will be the line along which the Malbim will want to explain that essentially each one had all four powers, but in any case there was one dominant power. Which was the leading power. It was the primary power, and the primary power was the ruling power, as it were. And this is what he tells you, even though the central face that walks on that side, for example was a face of an ox, it also had the other three faces, so that each one had four faces.
Says the Malbim, this is essentially the vision. The Malbim in every matter will want to explain to us the metaphor. The metaphor means essentially the analogue. What do the matters actually indicate regarding the ways of governance. Says the Malbim, the matter comes to teach us that each one has a separate governance, a distinct governance, one for chesed, one for the rod, one for mercy. Nevertheless, in each one all the others are included. Only that when one speaks of the governance, it is from the central line that leads it. But do not think that it does not have the rest of the attributes. It has the rest of the attributes, but there is the attribute that is more dominant. This is called the faces. The faces are the more central part, and all the rest are like accompanying parts. That is, that if we speak, for example, of an aspect of chesed, then when the chesed intensifies, the rest of the attributes accompany it. As is known, that in each and every attribute all the attributes are included. As we say chesed, how do we say it in Sefirat HaOmer? Chesed within chesed, gevurah within chesed, tiferet within chesed, netzach within chesed. There are also the rest of the attributes of the aspect of chesed. So indeed if we ask, what is this sefira? It is chesed. But what does it also include within it? The rest of the attributes. Gevurah, so it is the same, there is gevurah within gevurah and chesed within gevurah and tiferet within gevurah and netzach. What is the attribute? It is gevurah. But what does it also include within it? The rest of the attributes. So too the kingdoms, that the kingdoms were influenced by them, all of them were a certain power that includes within it the rest of the kingdoms. That is, says the Malbim for example, when the kingdom of Bavel ruled, then there were also present the kingdom of Persia, the kingdom of Yavan, the kingdom of Rome. No, they did not evaporate from the world. They existed. But which was the dominant one? That is, which ruled, which set the tone? Bavel. It was the cornerstone, it was the one going at the head. And then too the unfolding of the abundance was in this manner. The minister of Bavel stood at the head, he drew the abundance from above and brought it down to the other faces that were included, since in the face of the ox were also included the lion and the man and the eagle. So essentially the one receiving the abundance is, as it were, the face of the ox now, for it is the one going at the head, but the rest also receive from it.
And four wings to each of them. Says the Malbim, we have already explained in Sefer Yeshayahu that the angels are always depicted with wings. In Yeshayahu too we saw six wings, six wings to each one. And with us too, four wings to each of them. It comes out then that the angels are depicted with wings. And why? Says the Malbim, since the wings hint at flight, at soaring. Says the Malbim, this shows that they have two wings to fly instantly to every place to which they are sent by their Creator. We are speaking of angels. An angel is essentially a messenger. He receives instructions from his Creator and carries them out. The actions he does in an instant. So in order to do actions in an instant he needs wings. Another matter, the wing indicates concealment and hiding. And the wing, as it is written, "your Teacher will no longer be hidden (yikanef)." "Yikanef" means will be hidden. And when we speak of wings we know that the wings were concealing. If the wings were concealing themselves. So we also see that wings hint at the matter of concealment. Says the Malbim, therefore they had two more wings. Four wings. Two wings, we said, to show the speed and alacrity with which they do their Owner's will. Two additional wings to cover their bodies. What is essentially the idea in the fact that he covers himself with the wings? This matter comes to express that their essence disappears and hides from perception. We have no perception of them. The wings, as it were, wing over and cover their essence, which we have no perception to understand. Yeshayahu saw each one with six wings. With two he covers his face, and with two he covers his feet, and with two he flies. He saw six wings. In contrast, here we see four wings. What is the difference? Listen to what a wondrous explanation the Malbim says. Says the Malbim, well, we explained that Yeshayahu saw the seraphim standing above Him, that is above the Throne. And he saw those who stand in the World of Beriah. The World of the Throne is the World of Beriah. There, says the Malbim, they have two types of hidings and coverings. First, they receive the influence from a world above them. What is the world above Beriah? That is Atzilut. The World of Atzilut is a most high world, essentially the highest, it is the reality that is emanated and separated from the understanding and perception even of the angels. To this he hints, "and with two he covers his face." Note, the face is the upper part through which he receives the abundance from above. He covers his face with two, as if to say I have no perception in the source from which I receive the abundance. He covers his face. He, as it were, cannot look upward. He cannot perceive upward. It is a high world, it is the World of Atzilut. He covers his face, as if he does not perceive the place from which he receives the abundance, from the World of Atzilut. And therefore they say, "where is the place of His glory." They do not perceive, where is the place of His glory. On the other hand there is also "and with two he covers his feet." The feet are those that descend below. The feet bring down the abundance from the World of Beriah to the World of Yetzirah. To this he comes to hint that with two he covers his feet, that even though the angels who receive the essence of the abundance, meaning how they receive, this they do perceive, he says nevertheless they do not perceive the essence of the matter in itself. And I will explain. Sometimes I can give you something, you can examine what you received, you cannot perceive the giver. The giver himself is not perceived. But what I received, this I can examine and see what I received. As I want to give an example, if we, like if we find for example the offspring of some creature. So now I can investigate what I received. I can investigate what this thing is. But now if from this egg, for example, I try to understand what the creature is that laid it, I will not necessarily reach a conclusion if I do not know it and never saw it. So too here, with distinction, when we speak of the World of Beriah, we said the seraphim influence below to the World of Yetzirah. The World of Yetzirah is living creatures, holy living creatures. The holy living creatures receive abundance. What they receive they perceive. But the giver of the abundance they do not perceive. That is, the living creatures do not perceive the seraphim who are above them. And the seraphim, we said, also do not perceive the Atzilut that is above them. So it comes out, how wondrous, the seraphim that Yeshayahu saw were hiding their faces for they do not perceive the abundance descending to them from Atzilut. And they hide their feet because the living creatures beneath them also do not perceive the seraphim who influence them. So essentially they cover both from the faces that receive and from the feet that influence. In contrast, says the Malbim, note that the living creatures below, the holy living creatures in the World of Yetzirah, do not hide their faces. For they truly do perceive the abundance. The abundance they perceive. The givers they do not perceive. But the abundance they perceive. And since this is so, then note that in the living creatures found below, what Yechezkel saw, there are four wings. Two wings with which he covers his face, there are not. For truly the abundance that he receives, this he is indeed able to perceive. Says the Malbim, with Yechezkel, note that it is not written that they cover their feet. And why? Because the abundance that they bring down below to the world of the ofanim, which is the World of Asiyah that is beneath them, they do not hide, they do not conceal their influence. So just as the material bodies perceive the influence of the soul that gives them life, so too here the lower world perceives, the world of the ofanim perceives the abundance that comes from above it, from the abundance of the world of the living creatures. And why? Because this aspect is already closer to them, more perception applies to it. What do they have then? Two wings to cover their bodies. They do not cover their eyes, not their faces, that is, and they do not cover their feet, only two wings that cover their bodies. What does this mean? Their essence, as they are in themselves, is a hidden thing. As you would try to perceive the essence of the soul, you would not succeed in perceiving it. What is that essence of the soul as it is in itself before it connected to the body, to perceive its essence, is a hidden thing. But in contrast, to perceive its influences in the body, this we do perceive. Our soul and spirit influence the body, there are desires, the power of action of the soul, this we do perceive. And therefore regarding the world of the ofanim there is no covering of the feet, since this we do perceive. What then? They cover, the living creatures cover their bodies. For to perceive the body of the thing and its essence in the world of the ofanim, which is the World of Asiyah, this we do not perceive. Chazal say, from the day the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed the wings of the living creatures were diminished. What is the meaning of the matter? From the moment the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, well we said the living creatures influence in a miraculous manner. In contrast, the lower world, that is the World of Yetzirah, the lower world which is the World of Asiyah, this involves natural influences according to the spheres. But from the day the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed the wings of the living creatures were diminished, that is, the influences are no longer by the power of the wings of the living creatures, not in a miraculous manner, but rather the influences are in a natural manner. The wings of the living creatures were diminished and the governance is more according to the ofanim, that the ofanim are governance according to the system, according to nature, and there is not all of those coverings of the wings of the living creatures that create a covering and concealment for miraculous governance. Rather the governance is natural, revealed, you can give natural explanations for everything that happens in reality, so that essentially the wings that cover and create hidden governance of miracle, these wings were diminished and all the governance is revealed and natural governance according to the world of the ofanim.
And their feet, a straight foot. And the sole of their feet like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like the appearance of burnished bronze. And their feet a straight foot. Rashi says one explanation, their alignment, aligned one opposite the other. The feet of the living creatures are aligned one opposite the other, one foot opposite its fellow. Rashi gives an additional explanation, and this is the more well-known one, "straight" that they have no joints. Knees to bend their legs. "Kefitzim" is like to clench one's hand. To clench one's hand, by virtue of what do we clench the hand? By virtue of the fact that we have joints. "They have no kefitzim" means they have no joints. And then the foot is a straight foot. They have no kefitzim, that is knees to bend their legs, since they have no sitting, one who sits needs to bend the legs. They have no lying down, and they do not need to have joints as an animal has an upper joint and a lower joint, says Rashi, by which it bends its legs to lie down. But the angels, since they stand constantly, therefore they do not need those knees to bend their legs and therefore they have no joints. And the sole of their feet like the sole of a calf's foot. The plain understanding is that the sole of their feet resembles the sole of a calf's foot. And thus we will see later that this is how the Malbim tends to explain. But in contrast, Rashi explains "a calf's foot" as Targum Yonatan explains, that "egel" is from the language of round (agol). Not "egel" from the language of calf. The Targum says "round feet." "Segalgalin," "segalgal" means round. Yes? So that is to say, their foot is a rounded foot. And they sparkled like the appearance of burnished bronze. From their radiance it appeared as if sparks came out of them. As we saw regarding Queen Heleni who made a golden lamp so that when the sun shone, sparks came out of it. It appeared as if there were a spark. So too here, their feet were radiant and sparkling as if sparks came out of them like burnished bronze. What is burnished bronze? Burnished bronze means refined and shining. Polished bronze that gleams and shines. Another explanation he gives, thus Rashi cites in the name of Menachem, that "kalal" is from the language of roasted in fire. We will see later that Rashi tends more, the Malbim tends more toward this direction. The meaning is from the language of bronze that is as if with burning fire, so too they were gleaming.
Let us see now how the Malbim explains the continuation. Says the Malbim, and their feet a straight foot. The wings were designated so that it would soar upward. And then when the living creatures, which are the World of Yetzirah, rise up, they raise up together with them also the World of Asiyah. The wings rise, they rise and raise up what is beneath them. This we will see later in verse 19. The feet, in contrast, hint at the lower part, at the time and at the stage in which they walk on the earth. The place that is the earth of the living creatures, where do their feet reach? Above the ofanim. For the world of the living creatures, beneath it is the world of the ofanim. So if I examine where the foot of the living creatures is placed, it is upon the World of Asiyah, which is the aspect of the world of the ofanim. And therefore it comes out, says the Malbim, that the wings hint at the ascent upward, and this comes to hint at when the ofanim will not go in the manner of the governance of the system and the governance of nature, but rather they govern from above, beyond the manner of nature, according to the will of Hashem, this is the governance of the wings. The governance of the wings means it is not according to the natural course but rather according to the will from above, the supernal will. And the governance of the feet shows when they lead the ofanim according to the nature of the system. Yes, a person who walks on his feet. And then this comes to hint that everything is conducted here in a natural manner, in a manner that the systems of the stars and the ofanim and so on direct downward. Says the Malbim, note, a foot in spirituality hints at what is caused by them. Thus he cites from the Moreh Nevuchim, chapter 28 of the first part and chapter 4 of the third part. But I found, seemingly, a simpler hint for this, that a foot indicates what is caused by it. The simple example is what Lavan said to Yaakov, "I have divined that Hashem has blessed me for your sake (leraglecha)." Hashem blessed me for your sake, because of you. What is the meaning of the matter? You see that a foot is the cause. "Leraglecha" I came here. "For the sake of the work and the children." What does this mean? Because of. So that is to say, what is caused? A foot comes to hint at the caused thing, that which stems from this. Says the Malbim, a foot in spirituality indicates what is caused by them. Therefore he says, their feet a straight foot. When they govern the world according to the governance of the system, and the governance of the system means the natural governance, he says this is called a straight way. What does this mean, that it is a straight way? There are no changes. There are no bends and twists. A straight way means the world goes according to its custom. The causes of nature, the laws of nature are fixed, from the creation until today. This is called their feet, that which is caused by them, a straight foot. This is natural governance that goes constantly without changes. "Sun, stand still in Givon, and moon in the valley of Ayalon," this is not a straight foot. This is governance that deviates from the bounds of nature. It is not the static, fixed governance. And to this he says, the feet govern according to the order of the system, and they move according to the causes that are fixed, according to this the caused things will go. What is the meaning of the matter? According to the governance of the order of the system, so too will be all the results. And this is what he says, a straight foot, they have no joints in the feet. A joint hints at rotation. When I have a joint in my hand, I can rotate the hand. If I did not have joints in my hands I would not be able to rotate it. When we speak of the governance that is the fixed natural governance, it has no joints. What does it mean that it has no joints? It is straight governance. It is fixed governance. The laws of nature are fixed, they do not change. So this governance is called fixed governance, for a joint essentially creates a rotation and it also constitutes an interruption. There is no flow. There is a joint that interrupts in the middle. The governance of nature is straight governance without interruptions. And the sole of their feet like the sole of a calf's foot. The plain understanding is that the sole of their feet resembles the sole of a calf's foot. And thus we will see later that this is how the Malbim tends to explain. But in contrast, Rashi explains "a calf's foot" as Targum Yonatan explains, that "egel" is from the language of round. Not "egel" from the language of calf. The Targum says "round feet." "Segalgalin," "segalgal" means round. Yes? So that is to say, their foot is a rounded foot. And according to Rashi the meaning is a circle, yes? "Egel" is from the language of circle, as Targum Yonatan says. That is, they influence the fixed movement to all the ofanim, where the root of this movement is from the living creatures above who move the spheres. And they sparkled like the appearance of burnished bronze. The sparks that come out of the feet resemble the sparks of burnished bronze. The meaning is that in this world, the World of Asiyah, which is the world of the spheres, the bronze, the Malbim explains, hints at the matter of the serpent (nachash). That is, the influence here is to the reality of the serpent, the bronze serpent. This is a material world, a composite world, a world in which there is sitra achra, for the sitra achra as is known is the aspect of the serpent. He tells you the sparks that reach the World of Asiyah from the feet of the living creatures are from the pure and polished bronze, which is the clean and pure of the bronze. Which bronze? Burnished bronze. The pure and clean of the bronze. That is, there is here below an aspect of murky bronze, which is a serpent, which comes to hint at the power of Samael and the sitra achra. And in contrast there is the pure and supernal bronze, which is the bronze that influences here below in order to refine the murky power of the bronze serpent that is here below. One can say that this is also hinted at in the serpent that Moshe made, when he told them to gaze upon the aspect of the supernal serpent, which is burnished bronze in holiness, in order to nullify the lower serpent, Samael, which is a serpent of the kelipah that is here below. Says the Malbim, that the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, which they ate through the sin of the serpent, is found, some of it, in the World of Yetzirah and in the influences that descend from there downward. And therefore it is understandable why he introduces here this matter of the serpent, since the serpent, such an aspect of serpent and bronze, is also found in the World of Yetzirah. He cites a midrash of Chazal that Chazal say that "kalal" teaches about burning, as we explained earlier in Rashi. Since their matter then was to destroy the Beit HaMikdash and burn it, therefore he sees sparks that are influenced by the power of the serpent, which was the kingdom that ruled then as we will see later, to cast venom and consuming fire into the holy. Therefore he compared this to a serpent, that a burning serpent, "kalal" meaning from the language of roasted, from the language of burning, that they went and burned the Beit HaMikdash. And the hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides, and their faces and their wings were to the four of them. And the hands of a man were under their wings, Rashi first cites the midrash, which is the Targum, "to rake with them coals of fire." The meaning is that with the hands they would prepare the coals of the fire, as we will see later, that these are the coals of fire that are meant to burn Yerushalayim.