"And each one went toward the direction of its face; wherever the spirit would go to travel they would go, they did not turn as they went." "And each one went toward the direction of its face" means: do not think that these creatures move according to their own free choice. Rather, "wherever the spirit would go to travel they would go." This means there is a higher spirit that flows upon them. Just as the spirit of the living being is in the wheels, so too the spirit of the Creator is in the living beings. That is, the creation is the Creator, His spirit within the living beings. The living beings are of the aspect of the spirit of the wheels. We have already spoken about this many times, both in Rav Dessler and in other places, that in the spiritual realm everything really exists face within face within face. I once compared this, I once told you the parable of the matryoshka. There is a Russian matryoshka, which is a doll, a large doll, you open it and inside you see a smaller doll. You open it, you see another doll, another, another, until from a doll of forty centimeters you can arrive at a doll the size of a quarter of a finger. Yes, so this is a parable that can help us understand. When we speak about worlds, then a reality that is physical here, for example, let us call it the innermost matryoshka, we will call it physical. Now, in contrast, relative to the matryoshka outside it, it is considered a soul to it. It is spirit. Even though we first called it a physical reality, yet relative to the part outside it, it is spirit. And then that outer part, let us call it number two, is a body. Now, since it is contained within yet another matryoshka, I now say it is of the aspect of spirit relative to the one outside it, number three, which is body. What does this really mean? That at every level, the higher you rise or the more inward you go, what until now was considered by you a spiritual thing, you would have called it a high spiritual thing, is coarse relative to what is above it. Because what is above it is the spirit that animates it. So then, the spirit of the Creator is in the living beings, and the spirit of the living beings is in the wheels. That is, Hashem is of the aspect of spirit within the living beings, who are coarse. And in contrast, the living beings themselves are of the aspect of spirit within the wheels, who now become, they are of the aspect of spirit and a high level, spiritual, relative to the wheels who are considered coarse. It is always the influences from above to below. So this is what he tells us here, come and see that "wherever the spirit would go to travel they would go" refers to the higher spirit that flows within the living beings. Just as the spirit of the living being is in the wheels, so too the spirit of the Creator is in the living beings; the living beings are in the world of Yetzirah, and as the higher spirit wishes them to go, so they go.
"They did not turn as they went" means: we already saw that they have faces on every side, and you already told me this above, "they did not turn as they went." Why does he repeat this again here? The Malbim says: above we spoke about the wings, that the wings do not need to turn, like a bird that must turn and swing its wings toward whatever direction it wishes to fly; it must turn the wing here in order to fly this way, and turn it there in order to fly there. In contrast, the living beings do not need to, since they have wings on every side. And so they can fly to whatever side they wish without turning. The Malbim says: that was discussed above. Here he speaks of the faces. Here he is not speaking about the wings, he speaks about their faces. "They did not turn as they went" upon the earth, meaning: at the time when the living beings move the wheels, the wheels being the world of Asiyah, they move it according to the order of the system, they move it according to the spirit of their Creator, according to the Divine will, according to the spirit of the Creator that is within them, to whatever side is needed. "And they did not turn backward" from the higher will. This is the meaning of "they did not turn as they went." It means: it carries out the Divine will. That is, whatever spirit Hashem places within them, that they do. Their faces are directed and ready toward every side, performing with dread and awe the will of their Maker.
The Malbim says: we also learn that when they fly with their wings, they raise the system above natural reality. We explained that this is the difference between the legs and the wings. The legs represent walking according to natural orders, and the legs, we said, tread upon the world of the wheels and spheres, which is the world of Asiyah, the lower world, and this represents governance by way of nature. The wings hint at flight, which means spiritual elevation upward, governance from the higher spiritual reality, which is the reality of Divine providence, that in truth operates above nature. About this he tells you "they did not turn as they went." What is the meaning of this? The wings are ready for the miracle and wonder that the Holy One, blessed be He, commands them, without any delay. As soon as the Holy One, blessed be He, gives His instruction and command, immediately the living beings bring it into effect.
What in fact is the analogue? The Malbim says: the analogue is to the ministering angels of the kingdoms. For all that He wished to show him was the four kingdoms that would arise and also the burning of the House of our God. About this he says: know that each of the kingdoms has a special face to go and walk about the earth, to each of the directions of the world, according to the higher will. Each kingdom governs according to the spirit of the higher will within it. That is, do not err to think Bavel did this to us, Rome did this to us, it was not it that did this to us. "Woe to Ashur, the rod of My anger." It is the staff of Hashem's wrath, so Hashem did this to us. It means: within each of these living beings is the spirit of Hashem that activates them, that governs them. "They did not turn as they went," whether in a time of peace, whether in the time of their flight in a time of war, shaking kingdoms and nullifying the orders of governance, "they did not turn as they went," all is from Hashem, according to the governance that the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows upon them. And their matter is concealed, the Malbim says, for the heart of kings is in the hand of Hashem. And the Holy One, blessed be He, directs their deeds toward the purpose that He intends, that the higher spirit designates for them, and they in truth operate according to the spiritual governance as the will of the Creator, may He be blessed.
"And the likeness of the living beings, their appearance was like coals of fire, burning like the appearance of torches; it moved about among the living beings, and there was a brightness to the fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning." "And the likeness of the living beings, their appearance was like coals of fire." The Radak explains that the likeness written here refers to the likeness of their eyes. Since we already spoke above about their bodies, therefore the likeness written here is the likeness of the eyes. The Malbim explains that when we speak of the likeness of the living beings, it is not appropriate to speak of a physical likeness. Since the living beings refer to a spiritual entity. Therefore when we speak of the likeness of the living beings, the meaning is the action of the living beings. This is the meaning of the likeness of the living beings, what emerges and is enacted from their existence. And he sees their action as burning coals of fire. Now remember, this vision comes to express the burning of the Temple. Therefore he sees the likeness of the living beings as coals of fire; it means that their action now is to burn the Temple and the royal palace. Therefore he sees their likeness as coals of fire, for this is the nature of their action now. "And like the appearance of torches": torches would be brought out to battle, torches would travel with them. And since there is here a spirit of war that will come upon Yerushalayim, therefore he also sees them like the appearance of torches. Now he wishes to explain to you that you should not think that this is their essence, that they themselves are fire. Therefore he emphasizes and says that it moved about among the living beings. The fire we spoke about is not the living beings themselves; it is a fire that moves about among the living beings. As we saw, "take fire from between the wheelwork." The fire is attributed to them according to their action, but it is not a description of their body, of their essence. And note, he sees that there is a brightness to the fire. What is brightness?
Brightness, we already explained to Yoel, is not the body of the fire, not the body of the light, but rather the halo around it, that which shines around and does not burn. They come to hint to him by this that, although you see here fire and the fire expresses burning and destruction, know that it is all from the kindnesses of Hashem; the Holy One, blessed be He, spent His wrath upon the wood and the stones, Hashem will not abandon His people nor forsake His inheritance, and know that behold there is a brightness around. Brightness is of the aspect of illuminating light that does not burn, which comes to express the kindnesses of Hashem.
And from this fire goes forth lightning. What is this lightning? This lightning is to burn and destroy those who brought the fire. That is to say, those very nations that came to burn the Temple, who are hinted at here in the fire that goes forth from among the living beings, those very nations will ultimately receive lightning that will destroy and burn them. As Chazal say that the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to destroy His House and wishes to wipe His hands upon that man. Hashem will destroy His House, but as it were He will wipe His hands upon that man who destroyed the House, that is, He will exact retribution from him. This is the lightning that goes forth to burn the nations that went to destroy the House of Hashem.
So too Chazal say that the Holy One, blessed be He, makes His angels: sometimes He makes them fire, sometimes He makes them torches, sometimes He makes them lightning. That is to say, the likeness of the angels is in each situation according to their action. Sometimes it is lightning in order to destroy the enemies, and sometimes it is of the aspect of fire in order to burn the Temple, and so on in this manner.
And the living beings ran and returned like the appearance of the flash. "And the living beings ran and returned": Rashi brings the explanation of our Rabbis, like the flames of the furnace, that go forth from the mouth of the furnace and hurry to return and enter. Anyone who has ever seen a fire sees that the fire as it were dies down and flares up, dies down and flares up, dies down and flares up; this is the meaning of running and returning. So too, as it were, the living beings stick out their heads from beneath the firmament that is stretched over them, recoiling before the Shechinah, and again put their heads into the firmament and again recoil.
The Radak brings that Chazal say: what is "ran and returned"? Like the light that goes forth from the mouth of the furnace, as Rashi brought. Explanation of "like the appearance of the flash": Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina said, like the light that goes forth from between the shards. What is the connection between the flash and the shards? It is written concerning Shaul when he went out to war, at the stage when he was still poor: when he became wealthy it is written that he mustered Israel with lambs, but when he was poor, "and he mustered them at Bezek." What is "at Bezek"? The meaning is shards. So too here, according to the explanation of Chazal, "like the appearance of the flash" means like the light that goes forth from between the shards.
Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Simon bar Pazi, like one who scatters olive-pulp in the stove. The meaning of "scatters" is like to spread, like to sprinkle salt, yes? Like one who spreads olive-pulp, which is the residue of the olives, in the stove. So the residue of the olives, since it is saturated with oil, therefore it flares up quickly and raises a flame, and the flame rises and falls. This is the running and returning, like olive residue placed in the stove. And lightning means that it runs quickly and disappears quickly, yes? that it can almost not be grasped.
Good, let us now see the explanation of the Malbim. The Malbim says: the living beings ran and returned. He sees that they perform their action with alacrity, in a reality in which it is difficult even to perceive their movement. And he sees that they return from their mission like the appearance of the flash, like the fire of the furnace that we explained, that one moment is revealed and one moment disappears. What did they wish to show him by this? Since we showed him, they showed him from Heaven how the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to burn and destroy His House, which is what we saw above as coals of fire among the living beings, they showed him: know that this action will not endure, that is, the trouble will not be permanent, but rather they showed him one moment you will see the fire and one moment it will disappear. It will be like the appearance of the flash, meaning like the appearance of lightning, for one moment it illuminates and for one moment it disappears.
Chazal say: Michael in one, Gavriel in two. That is, let us explain the plain meaning: Michael in one means Michael performs his action in one flight. Gavriel in two performs his flight in two flights, performs his action in two flights. The meaning is he flies twice in order to reach his goal. What is the difference? What in fact is the inner meaning of these matters? The Malbim says: Michael is the angel of kindness, and he is in one. What does "in one" mean? He goes and performs one action to enact kindness and it is complete. In contrast Gavriel is a term of might, it is the strict judgments, and therefore his action is in two. What is the meaning of this? He performs an action in order to bring judgment, but the judgment does not remain. As we said, "the sword shall not devour forever," and Hashem does not hold His wrath eternally, but rather the action is an action of judgment and return. Of the aspect of running and returning. And therefore Gavriel, which is judgment, is in two: one time he performs his action, a second time he returns. But the aspect of Michael is kindness, so he performs his action one time and it remains, he does not, as it were, return backward.
And I saw the living beings, and behold, one wheel was upon the earth beside the living beings, for its four faces. "And I saw the living beings, and behold, one wheel was upon the earth." Chazal say that here they speak of an angel called Sandal, ending with the letters peh, vav, nun, and generally we do not mention the names of angels and therefore we will not mention his name. And this is the angel that stands on the earth and whose head reaches up among the living beings. But we will explain the matters as the Malbim explains them.
The Malbim says: after he saw the living beings, who are the drivers of the chariot, for as we described, we described that there is the aspect of the chariot, and upon the chariot the throne, which is the aspect of the world of Beriah, which is the throne of the Holy One, blessed be He; below the world of Beriah is the world of Yetzirah, which is the aspect of the world of the living beings who carry the chariot, that is, draw the chariot, and below them the world of the spheres, which in the parable is the wheels of the chariot, by whose power the chariot moves. That is to say, this is the influence that descends from the aspect of the world of the throne to the living beings and from the living beings to the wheels, as we explained above.
Now he describes: after he sees the living beings and describes them at length, he now wishes to describe the wheels. The wheels of the chariot are the spheres of the chariot that the living beings draw, and this in truth is the reality of the world of Asiyah. We spoke of how the wheels and spheres are an expression of the celestial bodies. The ancients called the celestial bodies spheres, since they go and revolve like a wheel. Therefore they are called spheres. That is to say, they are the ones that receive the flow from the living beings, which is the world of Yetzirah, that receives the flow from the world of Beriah, as we explained, which is the world of the throne.
And he sees that each living being has one wheel for its four faces. That is to say, although we saw that each living being has four faces, do not think that because of this they had four wheels; rather, each living being had only one wheel. And for the four living beings there were four wheels in total. And he saw that they move them in the number of four. What does the four here hint at? The Malbim says: the ancients divided the matter of the sphere into four quarters, including all its parts. The sphere of the constellations is divided into four parts, three constellations to each part; the year is divided into four seasons, the moon into four phases in the month, the day is divided into four changes, in the world there are four directions. According to the inner meaning of these matters, we once explained, since everything draws from the four-letter Name, therefore everything is divided into four. And since there are ten sefirot, then in its detailing it divides also into ten, but in the general sense it is divided into four, and from this the four elements and everything, for everything derives from Y-H-V-H. But when we speak here of the lower influences, then therefore he says it is divided into four wheels, since the lower influences, the wheels, the spheres, as we said, are what "rolls" down to us already here in this world, therefore it is divided into four.
Another thing they showed him, also regarding the four living beings, is the four kingdoms, as we saw above that they hint to him of Bavel, Madai and Persia, Yavan, Rome. Each one moves one star that rules and influences that nation. Each living being moves a wheel, and the wheel, as we said, is of the aspect of the flow that descends and is bestowed below. That is to say, each nation draws from one living being, and how? Through that sphere. And what is the sphere, we said? These are the arrays of the stars that are found here below.
The Malbim says: and although the later astronomers established and accepted that there is no sphere in reality. That is to say, the astronomical conception that was accepted in their time, Ptolemy and others, is entirely different from the astronomical conception accepted in a later period; when we speak of Galileo and speak of Plato, the conception there was entirely different. The ancients believed that there is truly an aspect of a sphere, that there is a reality of a sphere. But in contrast, the conception accepted afterward, and this is what we know today also by means of telescopes and observation and study, and by means of waves, radio waves that we receive and get from stars that we are not even able to see, at any rate we know today that there is no actual reality of a sphere. Indeed the revolution is a circular revolution, but there is no actual reality of a sphere above. At any rate, the Malbim says, as we said, since the revolution is circular, then these matters do fit the expression "wheel," for the expression "wheel" expresses revolution in a circle. And he describes that in truth they speak here of the space that is outside the atmosphere, yes? He calls it ether, in which the planets circle their orbit in a fixed sphere along whose track they go and never depart forever. So even if there is no actual sphere, still the likeness of a revolution of a sphere does exist.
The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of tarshish, and the four of them had one likeness, and their appearance and their workings were as if a wheel were within a wheel. "The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of tarshish." Rashi says that tarshish is a precious stone called tarshish, crystal in the vernacular. The Radak likewise explains that it is a precious stone mentioned in the breastplate, and its color is like the color of sky-blue. And shortly we will note that the Malbim also mentions this matter.
The Malbim says: note that regarding the wheels the word "likeness" is not written. What we saw regarding the living beings, he mentioned their likeness, he mentioned it twice. In contrast, regarding the wheels he did not mention likeness. And why? Because the living beings are not corporeal, so I can speak of their likeness. I cannot speak of their reality, I can speak of what they resemble. In contrast, when we speak of the spheres, spheres are already a reality, as we said we are already speaking of the celestial bodies. And since this is so, this he sees not only in a vision, this he perceives in reality, therefore it is appropriate to speak in the concept of sight, "the appearance of the wheels" and not "the likeness of the wheels."
And concerning them he says that they had an appearance like galilim (cylinders). And this is what is written in Shir HaShirim, "His hands are cylinders of gold set with tarshish." The galilim, as the Malbim there explained, and whoever wishes may hear this on our disc on Shir HaShirim, the galilim are in truth the spheres, that are filled with the air of the atmosphere, and this appears like tarshish. What does "like tarshish" mean? We saw that the Radak explained to us that tarshish is a stone whose color is like the color of sky-blue. When you look at the place of the stars, you see it like tarshish; these are cylinders like tarshish, whose color is like the color of sky-blue, whose hue is like the appearance of sky-blue. And this also fits with the Sea of Tarshish, with what Chazal say that the sky-blue resembles the sea and the sea resembles the firmament. The Sea of Tarshish is also known in the books, Tarsis, it is known in the books as the name of a sea. It is written concerning Shlomo that he had ships that go to Tarshish. At any rate, this sea too is blue, and this is also the aspect that resembles the firmament, for the firmament is blue, which is also like the stone, the crystal stone which is also blue.
And their appearance and their workings were like the color of tarshish, and the four of them had one likeness, and their appearance and their workings were as if a wheel were within a wheel. What is "their appearance and their workings were as if a wheel were within a wheel"? So Rashi already explains, and so too the Malbim explains, that if we wish to picture this, then we picture it like a wheel, a wheel that is hollow within and inside it is another wheel. Except that the inner wheel is at cross-purposes to the outer wheel. That is to say, one wheel is positioned in such a way, say from east to west, and the wheel that revolves within it is positioned from north to south. This is called a wheel within a wheel. And this is what he says, "as if a wheel were within a wheel." What is the idea of this? Because when there is a wheel from north to south, for example, then this is its movement, it can move from north to south. When there is a wheel from east to west, then its movement is from east to west. And since he wished to tell you that the living beings move to all four sides, as we saw above, "they did not turn as they went," they do not need to turn, but rather if it wishes to move it moves forward, wishes to move it moves backward, wishes to move it moves right, wishes it moves left. How can this be possible? Only when there is a wheel in this form that I just described, that the wheel is in the form of cross-purposes, that is, its direction say from east to west and within it there is another wheel from north to south. Now indeed in the corporeal world it is difficult for us to grasp how such a thing can move, yes? Since in practice this thing does not roll, unless it is not within it, unless it is truly external to it and then it is like a ball. Yes? But at any rate, understand that they speak here in some sense of a parable that comes to express that the movement is to all four sides.
The Malbim says that in the stars too we find a movement of this kind. I will give the example of the sun, but in truth in the rest of the planets too, in the arrays of stars we speak of this aspect. When we take note, we see that the movement of the sun is from east to west. And if we face west, then we note that in winter the sun is to the south of us. And afterward, in the transition of the seasons, the sun little by little moves to the center and afterward moves a bit more to the right side. And then we see it toward the north side, shining upon us more from the northern side. No, it will never be completely to the north side, but at any rate we see it more toward the northern direction, and so on repeatedly. It emerges then that the sun, besides its movement from east to west, also has a movement from south to north. So that in truth this is the expression of the wheel, since the wheel expresses the celestial spheres, and it expresses the movement that is both from east to west and from south to north. And so too he says every star, every star has its own special head of the celestial dragon and tail of the celestial dragon and so on, that are like a fixed wheel within a wheel.
Toward their four quarters they went as they went, they did not turn as they went. "Toward their four quarters they went as they went": each day they go from east to west, and they operate over the four quarters of the day, as he explained above that the astronomers divided the day into four parts, that every six hours as it were a wind is aroused from another side, there is some other aspect of influence. Chazal say four winds blow every day. That is to say, they divided the day into four. And every half year they go in a circle from south to north and from north to south as I explained earlier. And then it emerges that they encircle each year the circle from west to east and from north to south in all four seasons, which are cold and heat, summer and winter, as it is written in Chumash Bereishit. And so too every star, every star performs its action in these four parts, and its movement in truth includes all four directions.
And their rims, they had a height and they had fear; and their rims were full of eyes all around, for the four of them. "And their rims": Rashi says they had a rim. "And they had a height and they had fear": Rashi brings two explanations. Either they are fearsome to the one who sees them, "they had fear" meaning whoever sees them receives fear. An additional explanation he says: "they had fear" is in its plain sense, referring to them themselves. They stand in fear, the wheels stand in fear before the glory of His majesty. "And their rims were full of eyes," Rashi says, in order to see in every direction, for we said "they did not turn as they went," they do not turn, so they need to look in all directions simultaneously.
The Radak has here an explanation that the word "and their rims" is a separate word, and its meaning is as he explained earlier with the word "and their faces," that it is not connected to what follows. "And their rims" means they had a rim, full stop. And then he continues "and they had a height and they had fear," which is a matter unto itself, as the Radak explained above with the word "and their faces." And his precision is from the side that "their rims" has a pausal cantillation mark. "And their rims" (in the feminine), the Radak says, means the same as "their rims" (in the masculine), except that this is in the masculine form and this in the feminine form. But he is not speaking here, the Radak says, about the eyebrows, but rather about their back; for the feminine you say "their rims/backs."
The Malbim says that the wheels have a rim/back. If we explained that the wheels refer to the celestial bodies, then when we speak of a back it is what is found behind them. And what is found behind them? These are the stars that exist and stand upon their back. And they are many beyond investigation, and their distance has no measure, and they stand upon the backs of the spheres and wheels of the planets, "and they had a height." What is the meaning of "they had a height"? Their height, as we said, is at an immense height, that they are without end, as I said that there are also stars whose existence we know not from the side that we have seen them, but only from the side of the light that occasionally sparkles from them. And the light is not the substance of the star, for in truth this light set out on its way sometimes thousands of light-years ago, and only now do I see it. And although the world has existed for six thousand years, we already explained this above, that the meaning is that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the star in a reality in which its light had already set out on its way, as it were already halfway, yes? Its light was already halfway along the way, for the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world in a form in which everything was already in its full form and stature. At any rate, so you understand what distance is being spoken of. This is what he says here, "and they had a height," they are far higher than you can describe and imagine.
"And they had fear." What is "they had fear"? The Malbim says: here he describes the attractive force by which the smaller stars are drawn to the larger ones. It means, we know today in astronomy that the stars revolve in a circular revolution around a larger star. And the reason for this is that each star has a mass, and according to its mass, and often also the magnetic force within it, this is the attractive force. And since this is so, the smaller stars are drawn toward the larger stars because of their magnetic force. As today we know that we stand upon the globe of the earth, yes? And everyone, his child once asked him, Dad, how do those on the other side of the earth not fall? Right? Yes, truly a good question. So the answer that everyone understands: the earth is magnetic. And this magnet creates a state of the force of gravity, gravitation, which creates a state in which everything you throw in the air immediately returns and falls here. Not in all places is the magnet equal. The moon, for example, has only a sixth of the magnetic force of the earth, the moon's. At any rate, we understand that the magnetism varies. By the way, it may be that with stars too, it depends on the density of the matter, that is the magnetism within it. And there are places, stars that are an immense and mighty magnet, many millions of times more than a magnet you are familiar with here in self-production. At any rate, the Malbim says, this is the expression of what we say, "they had fear." As it were they are like ones who fear and the smaller stars are drawn toward the larger stars. And this is the cause of the circular revolution. Why? Because when a certain thing revolves in a circle, then the centrifugal force controls it, which creates a state in which the thing wishes to go outward and escape. When you take something and revolve it in a circle, take a stone, place it in a sling and revolve it in a circle, the moment you release the sling it will fly outward. It will not continue to revolve round and round. It will fly outward. And why? The centrifugal force controls it, which means the pull outward. By this force there are motorcyclists who ride in the wall of death. How do they not fall? Since the centrifugal force pulls outward, so it sticks to the wall and therefore it does not fall. So too, this is the factor here, what is the magnet that will cause that the stars in their revolution not fly outward? The magnetism that pulls them inward toward the larger inner star, which in truth serves as a magnet to them and pulls them inward. So that it emerges that "they had fear," as it were each one fears its fellow and is drawn and cleaves to its fellow, the small one fears to distance itself from the large one and is drawn after it.
An additional possibility the Malbim says, as Chazal taught us, that they fear the word of Hashem. That the Holy One, blessed be He, set a law that shall not be transgressed, that they always revolve around the central point, where the Holy One, blessed be He, established for them as the center of the movement. And this is the factor that in truth they revolve around that central point. So of whom is the fear? According to this it is "they had fear" from Hashem, that Hashem engraved this law, and not an aspect of fear of the large star that they as it were fear.
"And their rims were full of eyes." The back, as we said, is full of stars. And the stars are countless, and the suns are countless. We know that a solar system such as we have, there are many additional solar systems. Therefore he calls them eyes, because they shine like eyes. Just as the sun shines in the aspect of an eye, the eye of the sun, so too those additional solar systems also shine like eyes.
An additional explanation he gives for "eyes," that so each star influences downward. For the aspect of the stars and the constellations, we spoke about this in the past, that they are the sources of the flow. But they are not a self-source; rather they influence from what the world above them influences upon them. The nations, the worshippers of the stars, erred in this in the past and believed that the source of the flow is intrinsic. But this was an error and a corruption, therefore they worshipped stars and constellations. We know that the constellation only channels and pours down the flow that it received from the world above it. And therefore there is no point in worshipping it, but rather one must worship the First Cause, that the First Cause is the Holy One, blessed be He. And then it emerges that when we speak here of eyes, the meaning is those very arrays of stars from which and through which the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were watches over what happens here below and bestows the flow through them. So "their rims/backs," what is "their rims/backs"? We said it is what serves as a back to the array of spheres, and the back is the higher part where the stars are found, which is of the aspect of eyes, the flow descends and influences through them, the eyes of Hashem are open to watch over all of reality in His constant governance.
And when the living beings went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. The Malbim says: after he explained to us the nature of the wheels, now he will explain to us the connection of the wheel with the living being. For we explained that in truth what influences the course of the wheels? The living beings, upon them. In the parable and example of the chariot, that there is a living being that draws the chariot, and by this force the wheels roll. How? By means of the wheels the chariot is drawn. That is to say, we must understand how the connection, the synthesis between the action of the living beings and the rolling of the wheels. This is what he now explains to us. So at first he explained the living beings on their own, afterward he explained the matter of the wheels on their own, and now he will explain the influences that go forth from this one to that one. How do the living beings move the wheels? The Malbim says: and there are in this three kinds of governance. Two of them are natural courses, and this is: (a) the natural course, that each day it encircles from east to west. And this is the swift movement, the daily movement. Each day from east to west. There is the natural course by which they encircle from south to north, as we explained, which is already a course of a year. There are stars for which this is a longer course. And in this course, the Malbim says, there are cessations. What is the meaning of cessations? That sometimes it appears to us that they are without movement. Sometimes we do not perceive their movement. From east to west is something that is perceived immediately, you see the sun in its motion, you see the sun moving. But when we speak of south and north, it seems as if sometimes it stands and rests in the middle of its course, as Chazal say sometimes it comes by the long route and sometimes it comes by the short route.
A third matter the Malbim says, that there is a providential course. What is a providential course? A providential course means that the Holy One, blessed be He, activates those forces not according to their nature, but in the aspect of "Sun, stand still upon Givon." Hashem gives an instruction to the sun and the sun stands still. This is the providential course, whose meaning is that the Holy One, blessed be He, changes the orders of the system, or as it is written He took two stars from the Pleiades, or that the Holy One, blessed be He, halts the arrays of the stars in the heavens, the stars fought with Sisera, and all sorts of such examples in which the Holy One, blessed be He, changes the courses of the stars for some outcome that the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to create. At first he speaks of the daily course, and concerning it, as we said, there is no cessation, it is a fixed thing. And then he tells you: and when the living beings went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. We already explained above that when we speak of "going," "going" means a fixed course. This is the walking. And we saw above that the living beings also have wings, and there we spoke of flight. And we said flight is already what is called a providential action. This is already what is called rising upward; it is not in the ordinary walking, but rather through the higher influences. So there is the ordinary, natural course, which is the walking, and there is the supernatural course, which is the flight, that is flight like rising above nature and operating in a way that is not the way of natural walking. And this too is what he tells us here, and when the living beings went, the wheels went beside them. This is the natural course as we said, which is the course of the stars that operate in a natural way when the stars go both from east to west and from south to north. So the wheels went beside them. What does "the wheels went beside them" mean? The action of the living beings is an action that influences in a natural way. In contrast, "and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth," that is, that there is a non-natural path, where the governance is a spiritual governance, a governance of flight, a providential governance, then the wheels were lifted up. That is, when there is supernatural governance, it is because the spirit of the living being is in the wheels. The spirit of the living being in the wheels is like a soul within the body. And the soul elevates the body from its natural laws to the governance that is according to the higher spiritual governance. So that in truth here he explains what he said earlier, and the wheels were lifted up corresponding to them, for the spirit of the living being is in the wheels, and when the spirit of the living being is in the wheels, therefore the wheels operate in a supernatural way by the force of the spirit of the living being that is within them.
When they went, they went, and when they stood, they stood, and when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up corresponding to them, for the spirit of the living being was in the wheels. Now he speaks, the Malbim says, of the second movement, the intrinsic one by which the stars revolve, as we said, from south to north. Until now we spoke of east to west, which is the daily revolution. Now he speaks of south to north, as we explained, which is the revolution in which we see the difference, for example, in the movement of the sun between its course in summer, which is more toward the north, and its course in winter, which is more toward, excuse me, more toward the south, and between its course in summer, which is more toward the north. And now he says: when they go in the natural order, then when they went, they went. When there is a reality of cessation and delay in their course, in their movement, as we saw that this aspect is sometimes it comes by the long route, sometimes it comes by the short route, about this he says: and when they stood, they stood. And when the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to lead them in supernatural governance, about this he says: and when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up corresponding to them, as we explained earlier, that also in this course, which is the course from south to north, also in this course there is a supernatural aspect, and how? By the force of what? By the force of the spirit of the living being that is in the wheels.
And there was a likeness over the heads of the living being of a firmament, like the color of the awesome ice, stretched out over their heads from above. "And there was a likeness over the heads of the living being of a firmament." The Malbim says: now he will describe to us what Yechezkel sees in the world of the angels and in the world of the wheels, and the flow and the connection that the angels who move the wheels have together with the wheels. And now he describes how the living beings receive the flow from the world above, for as we explained, we have, we will speak here of the three lower worlds. Atzilut we do not discuss; we speak of Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah. This is Bi"a (Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah). And we explained that Asiyah is the spheres. We explained that Yetzirah is the place of the living beings and the angels. And above this is Beriah, that Beriah is of the aspect of the world of the throne. Now he describes how the living beings, who are found in the world of Yetzirah, receive the flow from the world above them, which is the world of the throne, this is the world of Beriah, which is the world found above the world of the living beings, for we said that the flow always descends in a chain from high and above high until the reality of the lower world, which is the physical world.
The Malbim says: now he describes to us that over the heads of the living beings there is a firmament. A firmament is a partition that separates between the upper and the lower. The firmament, just as for us there is a firmament, that the firmament is the place of the rising of the vapors, up to there belongs to the earth; from the firmament and upward begins the boundary of the heavens, where it is impossible to exist since with regard to the air, the oxygen, there is none there in that place called firmament. And this is what is written, "And God called the firmament heavens." The Malbim says: just as for us there is a division by means of a firmament that separates between us and the upper part, so in every single world there is a screen separating between the upper and the lower, which is the firmament of that world. This screen is called a parsah. A parsah is a partition in the language of the Targum, yes? It is a partition. This is the parsah.
This parsah is of the aspect of a screen, the Malbim says, so there is between every single world, and it stands in the middle between the two worlds, and through it passes the flow from the upper world to the lower world. He sees the likeness of the firmament that is over the heads of the living beings, and in truth what is the likeness of the firmament? It refers to the part that as it were interposes between the reality of the living beings and the reality of the world above them, which is the world of the throne, the world of Beriah. And he describes this firmament as being like the awesome ice. What is the meaning of these matters? The Malbim says: just as in the lower firmament we see that the vapors rise upward, whether you explain it like the understanding of the natural scientists that the vapors rise from below upward, whether we explain it like Chazal see the matters, that the entire world is sustained from the upper waters, it drinks, the meaning being that this is from the aspect of the upper waters that are found above and influence below. There they condense, they become rain, and sometimes they become of the aspect of ice. And by the way, know that there are stars that are giant icebergs. And there is also a reality of receiving rain from stars. How? If, for example, just as there is an asteroid, which is some part of a star that descends here below, and then usually in the atmosphere it burns up, so too there is a reality that it may be that there is ice that descends downward and this ice becomes rain. Whoever wishes, Rav Zamir Cohen wrote about this in his book HaMahapach, that there is also a reality that the world drinks from the upper waters. Also according to the natural understanding, beyond that one can understand the words of Chazal in the spiritual understanding, that the meaning is that from the upper waters it drinks. The Malbim says: so too he describes the Divine flow that descends from the world of the throne, which is the world of Beriah, where it is of a very very spiritual aspect; when it reaches below it becomes coarse. As it were, this is a parable. That is, water is a flowing thing, and ice is a physical thing, it is already a solid thing. So as it were the flow descends from above, it is very spiritual, but when it reaches all the way above the heads of the living beings it already becomes coarse in a form that they can receive and perceive, and this he describes to us as ice, as a solid thing, as a hardened thing, as a coarse thing. So the flow condenses and becomes of the aspect of ice according to that world, in order that the living beings can receive it, for they cannot receive something that is spiritual beyond their comprehension. But he says this ice is a very awesome ice, elevated above the physical ice known to us. And the reason is that there is here some dread that freezes the blood from the upper aspect, therefore he describes it as ice. This is the very awesome one, that you perceive the upper reality that is a frightening reality, a reality that casts dread, so the blood freezes in the veins. Therefore he describes this as a reality of ice, awesome ice, very much so. And all this is a parable and metaphor, the Malbim says, to bring it near to the ear regarding the freezing of the flow when it descends from above as a fine spiritual flow, and reaches below and becomes as it were frozen in a coarse form that will be able to be received and grasped. And this firmament was stretched over the heads of the living beings from above, in order that the heads of the living beings receive the flow through that firmament and bestow it below to the wheels.