Sefer Yechezkel, chapter 10.
"And I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne." "And I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim." Who are these, the head of the cherubim? Rashi says that these are the four Chayot of the Merkavah. And at first glance this is not understood, for we saw that one of the Chayot had the face of the cherub, there was an ox, there was a lion, there was an eagle, so how is he suddenly speaking of the head of the cherubim, that all four are cherubim? Rashi says, because the face of the ox was turned into the face of the cherub, as is written in this parashah, our Sages said that Yechezkel asked for mercy and it was turned into a cherub. He said before Him: Master of the Universe, let no accuser become a defender. The ox is the aspect of the left, as we have already discussed several times, and therefore Israel in the wilderness understood that their leadership was by way of the left, not by way of the right and chesed. The wilderness is a place of judgments, a place of desolation, a place of ruin, the place of the sheidim, the lilin and the ruchin, a place of serpent, fiery serpent and scorpion. And therefore they understood that the way of their leadership had to be specifically from the face of the ox in the Merkavah, which is on the side of the left. And we saw that this was part of their error, for the leadership of Hashem, even in these places, is always by way of chasadim and mercy, never by way of judgments; Hashem does not lead Israel by way of judgments. But in any case, here Yechezkel asked for mercy that the face of the ox, which is the aspect of the face of the left and of judgment, be turned into an aspect of a defender, that it should not be an aspect of an accuser regarding the sin of the golden calf, but rather turn into a defender. And so it is no longer one cherub, there are here cherubim. Cherubim: here already there is the ox that turned into a cherub, and there is the cherub, the first cherub, and "cheruv" is from the term "keravya" (like a child), yes? This is the likeness of a man in the Merkavah.
The Malbim explains that now Yechezkel sees the vision of the Throne of Glory, as it were Hashem sitting on the throne of mercy in order to ease their punishment, through the advocacy that Yirmiyahu offers on their behalf. The meaning of this: we saw in the previous chapter that there is a prophecy there, "Draw near, you who have charge over the city, every man with his weapon of destruction in his hand," that six men come from the way of the upper gate and so on, and there is one among them clothed in linen with a scribe's inkhorn at his loins. And there the Malbim explained who is this one clothed in linen with the scribe's inkhorn at his loins: this is Yirmiyahu, for Yirmiyahu prophesied about the destruction. And then afterward it is written that Yirmiyahu asks, the man clothed in linen who had only the inkhorn at his loins reported the matter, saying, "I have done as You commanded me." The Malbim explains that Yirmiyahu asked for mercy and he came and argued: Master of the Universe, there are also righteous ones in the city, there are also people who do listen to my voice and to the voice of my prophecies, as is brought in Sefer Yirmiyahu that there were also officials who saved Yirmiyahu. So that one cannot come and determine that all of them are wicked. So even though it is written, "and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done in her midst," and afterward the Holy One reversed Himself from good to evil and said that they too would be indicted, why did they not protest, in any case Yirmiyahu did succeed in advocating, and Yirmiyahu did succeed in arousing heavenly mercy.
And then the next stage is really our chapter. Now he sees the vision of the throne, the Throne of Glory. Yechezkel says: I see how Hashem sits on the throne of mercy in order to ease their punishment, through the advocacy of Yirmiyahu who said that there were indeed people who accepted his prophecies and his rebukes. And since, says the Malbim, according to the leadership of the Ofanim, and we already explained above that the Ofanim really symbolize the World of Asiyah, and the Ofanim are the world of the spheres and the order, the systems of nature, according to this leadership it would have been fitting that all of them die, that all of them fall by the sword. And then there would not have been a situation of burning the city and the Temple; Hashem would have killed all of them and it would be over. Hashem came and now changed Nevuchadnetzar's choice, that instead of killing all of them he would burn the city, he would burn the Temple. And then He spent His wrath upon the wood and upon the stones, and through this a remnant would remain, part of the nation would remain in the hands of Gedalyah ben Achikam. Through this He would exile some of them, He would not kill all of them, and by spending His wrath upon the wood and upon the stones He gave us a surviving remnant. And this is what he says here for us, that this matter was a matter of providence from Hashem. And this thing did not come from the leadership of the order, for according to the leadership of the order, the stars of the heavens, death was decreed upon us. What then brought the mercy upon us? This was a matter of providence from Hashem, and this is from the world of the Throne. The world of the Throne is the World of Beriah, as we know. And this is a world second to the World of Atzilut, and from there, from the world of the Throne, this decree issued, for the world of the Throne is above the leadership of the leaders of the Ofanim. For there is the World of Atzilut, the World of Beriah is the world of the Throne, beneath it is the world of the Chayot which is the World of Yetzirah, and beneath it is the World of Asiyah, which is the world of the spheres and the Ofanim. This means the spheres of nature, yes? This is the intent, the sun, the moon and the rest of the spheres that revolve in nature. And certainly we are speaking of a spiritual reality that influences this reality. About this he says here, "And I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne." From there the mercy issues by way of providence, not to destroy the nation.
"And He spoke to the man clothed in linen, and said: Go in between the wheelwork, under the cherub, and fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And he went in before my eyes." Rashi brings from the exposition of Chazal: what is written here "between the wheelwork," Rashi says this is between the Ofanim. They say, says Rashi, it is written twice "and He said." "And He spoke to the man clothed in linen, and said: Go in between the wheelwork." Why twice "and He said"? So certainly there was here another statement that is not written. What is that statement? Chazal say: the Holy One said to Gavriel, and Gavriel came and asked the cherub to give it to him. And why? Because he needed to take from there, from between the wheelwork, to take the coals. And if he had taken it immediately, then it is written that there would not have remained of the enemies of Israel, Heaven forbid, a remnant and a survivor. And how did it come about that a remnant did remain? Because Hashem said to Gavriel and Gavriel asked the cherub, and the purpose was that, so to speak, as this passed from hand to hand, in the meantime the coals would cool. So too Chazal expound, "and he took it up and put it into the hands of the one clothed in linen." And Hashem said to him, "and scatter them over the city." He said to him, scatter them over the city, and come and see that in this too Gavriel did not fulfill the demand immediately. Chazal say that even though the one clothed in linen received them, and according to Rashi's explanation, not like the Malbim who says the one clothed in linen is Yirmiyahu, according to Rashi's explanation and as Chazal explain the intent is Gavriel, when Gavriel received the coals, and by the way specifically Gavriel because Gavriel is the angel sent for might, for judgment. So he received the coals, he did not scatter them immediately, rather Chazal say only after six years, when the coals had dimmed in his hand. The proof, says Rashi: see, this prophecy was delivered in the sixth year, and the city was destroyed in the eleventh year. You see that six years passed, if you count also the sixth year, one year, the sixth, the seventh and so on, until the eleventh, you reach six years. So that in fact it turns out that we truly see an expression of what Chazal expounded also in the verses, in the order of the verses, that over six years, as it were, these coals cooled in Gavriel's hands, and through this the trouble and the damage that they brought with them were slight relative to what should have been.
The Malbim explains, "And He spoke to the man clothed in linen." The Malbim says: why are they suddenly asking, according to the Malbim who holds that Yirmiyahu is the man clothed in linen with the scribe's inkhorn in his hand who used to write his prophecies, why are they suddenly asking him to take the coals and scatter them over the city? How does this fit? The Malbim says: on the contrary, for we saw that he is the one who advocated. And through this Hashem had mercy and annulled Nevuchadnetzar's decree to kill all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, but rather said, no, there will be a burning. And through this there will be a surviving remnant, Hashem spends His wrath upon the wood and upon the stones and through this there will be a surviving remnant for Israel. So it turns out, who is the one who will do this? The one who advocates. The one who advocates is specifically Yirmiyahu; he will do it. That is, you, Yirmiyahu, through you the easing of the decree will come. Since the harsh decree was that all would die, this we saw is what is deserved according to the order. But since Yirmiyahu advocated, through this there will be only a burning and many will be saved, so it follows that you are the one who will take the coals and do so; that is, since this merit came through you, this salvation too will come through you.
"And He said: Go in between the wheelwork." The Malbim says: the wheelwork (galgal) is not the Ofan. Rather it is the thing that turns the Ofan. What is the meaning of this? We are speaking of the Ofanim, we are speaking of the World of Asiyah. And we explained that we are really speaking of something like a chariot. Like a chariot, where the chariot itself is where the throne is located, and the chariot is drawn, as it were, by the Chayot, who lead it, with a calf's foot, they lead it, and they turn the wheelwork and the Ofanim. Through this the wheelwork and the Ofanim turn, that is, the Chayot, which are the world located between the throne of the chariot and the wheelwork, these are the Chayot. And the Chayot, as it were, are the ones that turn the lower world, which is the world of the spheres, yes? The world of the Ofanim. The Malbim says: do not understand here that what is written "galgal" is speaking of the world of the Ofanim, that this is the galgal. No. Here we are speaking of the world of the Chayot. And if you ask why it is called "galgal"? Because I am speaking of that which turns (megalgel) the Ofan. And we said the Chayot are the ones that turn the Ofan, they are the ones that influence from above onto the world of the Ofanim, for the world of the Ofanim is the lower world, the World of Asiyah. And therefore this is called the galgal. Why is it called galgal? Because the feet of the Chayot are like the sole of a calf's foot, which turn the Ofanim. We saw that "calf" (egel) is from the sense of round (agol), the sole of their foot is round, for they are as those who turn the round Ofanim. And therefore He said to him, go in under the cherub, this is at the place of the feet of the cherub. Since if we look at the Chayot, the Chayot are the cherubim. "Under the cherub" means the place of the feet of the cherub, for I am speaking, after all, that the foot of the Chayot is like the sole of a calf's foot, they are the ones we are speaking of here as the wheelwork. From there one must take the coals. The Malbim says: for it cannot be explained that He told him to fill up with fire from the Ofanim. Since the Ofanim are the World of Asiyah as we said. The Ofanim are the lower world, this is the World of Asiyah. According to the order, as we explained, they were liable for killing. According to the order we explained, according to nature they are liable for killing. So how did He tell him to take coals from where? From the world of the order which is the natural world? From here it is not applicable to take coals, for we said that he aroused mercy and took coals from the higher world, from the world of the Chayot. By arousing mercy, through this power he protected them and saved them from destruction, bringing upon them only the burning of the Temple and spending His wrath upon the wood and the stones. Therefore the Malbim says it is not applicable that he would take the coals from the lower world where it is the physical world, where we said that according to this world complete destruction is deserved for them. How could he take the coals from there? For the coals are from a higher world, which as we said is an aspect of mercy. And therefore he says that certainly you must understand that what is written here "between the wheelwork, under the cherub" means still in the world of the cherubim, under the feet of the cherubim, for beneath their feet their feet are a calf's foot and this is called the galgal. And what he is telling you here is that the cherubim are the ones that moved the order outside of nature, they overturned the natural orders by the command of the exalted and lofty Holy One, so that the city would be burned and the remnant of Israel saved. The Malbim proves this also from the continuation; whoever wishes may look at the explanation of the words, he proves in the continuation that here we are speaking of the galgal, speaking of something different from the Ofan. He explains that the difference between galgal and Ofan: galgal includes anything that rolls. An Ofan of a wagon or anything. "Like a whirling thing (galgal) before a storm," "the voice of Your thunder was in the galgal." The Ofan is a thing designated only for the chariot. So therefore when speaking of the Ofanim it is only the Ofanim of the chariot, the lower world. And when speaking of galgalim I can also speak of a world above it, which is the world of the Chayot who turn the Ofanim.
"And the cherubim stood on the right side of the House when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court." "The cherubim stood on the right side of the House when the man went in." What is the meaning of "on the right side of the House"? The Radak explains that the Holy One here shows the prophet that the cherubim are on the right, since He had shown him the harsh abominations that they did in the north of the House. So therefore He shows him that the cherubim are on the other side, they are on the right of the House, the opposite of the side and the place where they did their abominations. The Malbim explains that the right comes to express mercy and chesed. Since we know that the attribute of the right is the attribute of chesed, and the attribute of the left is the attribute of judgments and gevurah. So He now wished to show him the influence that would come from the side of the attribute of chesed, that He spent His wrath upon the wood and the stones and did not, Heaven forbid, destroy Israel. And therefore, as we will see in the continuation, this thing came from the aspect of the cherubim, as we will see in the continuation. Therefore he tells you, "and the cherubim stood on the right side of the House," since they advocated, so the cherubim are on the right. And the cloud still filled the inner court, that is, the glory of Hashem had not yet departed from the Sanctuary. And we will soon see that the departure of the glory of Hashem from the Sanctuary was gradual.
"And the glory of Hashem rose from over the cherub, over the threshold of the House, and the House was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of Hashem." Now the glory of Hashem departs from the cherub to the threshold. And as we know that the Holy Shechinah moved and stepped several steps in order to distance itself from the Temple, ten journeys that the Shechinah journeyed. And now he describes for us how the glory of Hashem rises from over the cherub. For we know that the place of the resting of the Shechinah is between the two cherubim. So "and the glory of Hashem rose from over the cherub, over the threshold of the House," from there the glory of Hashem departs, as it were, to the threshold of the House. What this thing also comes to hint is that what Hashem is now doing is not by the power of the cherub, that is, the cherub is the Chayot as we will soon see. One of the faces of the Chayot, even two as we will soon see and try to understand why, had the face of the cherub. The face of the cherub means "keravya," it means the likeness of a youth, of a child. And the providence now, if we express providence that is found from a higher place, that is from the aspect of the world of the Throne. For we explained that the Throne is Beriah, beneath it the cherubim and the Chayot are Yetzirah, beneath them are the wheelwork and the Ofanim which are Asiyah, the intent being the heavenly bodies. So now we are speaking, "and the glory of Hashem rose from over the cherub," the action that Hashem now performs is by the power of the Holy One alone, from the aspect of the world of the Throne and not from the aspect of the world of the cherub, that is the Chayot, the World of Yetzirah, but from the aspect of the World of Beriah. And Hashem is the one who commands the burning of the Sanctuary and, as it were, Hashem does it Himself. And why? Since something that stems from Hashem stems with mercy, stems with chasadim. Whereas if it descends through the lower attributes, then it can come with judgment and gevurah. But by contrast, with the Holy One in His essence, for we know that "no evil dwells with You," and when speaking for example of Atzilut then all is perfect good. So it follows that when we speak of the influence coming from a higher place, this means that it comes more by way of chesed. Whereas if it comes from a lower place, it comes more with judgment and gevurah. And now "and the House was filled with the cloud," the glory, the glory of God, journeys to the House, like one who journeys from the Holy of Holies outward. That is, what is "and the House was filled"? Was He not in the House? Yes, but He was inside the House, which is the Holy of Holies, and from there He fills the House itself, yes? That is, He goes out from the Holy of Holies outward. And then when the light, the glory of Hashem, goes out from the Holy of Holies and He is in the House, meaning in the Sanctuary, then it follows that outward only the brightness (nogah) shines. And what really is the nogah? The Malbim has already explained this to us several times, it is what we today call nogah (Venus). Nogah means the light that stems from within the essential light. The nogah is not essential light. Rather it is like, so to speak, when one sees, for example, the moon, then if there is a little haze then one sees a nogah around it. So one sees a sort of envelope of faint light around it. This is the aspect of the nogah. So he tells you: know that the light returning from the glory spread until the court, reached until the court, and this is what is written, "and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of Hashem." Since the glory of Hashem was in the House, so it follows that from the light of the glory of Hashem it reached until the court, for the court is already filled with nogah, a light that is not the essential light of the glory of Hashem, this is no longer the essential light, but rather this is the aspect of the nogah.
"And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks." "The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court." The outer court means the Temple Mount. Rashi says: perhaps you might say that because the sound was low, so it follows that it was not heard from afar? The verse teaches, "like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks." This implies that it is a powerful and mighty voice. So how is it possible that it is powerful and mighty and reaches only until the outer court? Rather Chazal say: when it reached the outer court it stopped. That is to say, there was here a wondrous voice. And this voice we also saw with Moshe Rabbeinu. When Moshe Rabbeinu would enter the Mishkan, Hashem would speak with him in a mighty and strong voice, shattering mountains and splitting rocks. And with all this, as the voice reached the threshold of the Mishkan, it stopped. That is, a mighty voice up to a certain limit. In that place, that is, whoever needed to hear it would hear it, beyond that they would not hear. This too is what is written here. "The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court." The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, but do not think that this stemmed from its weakness. Rather immediately he tells you, "like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks." It was a strong and mighty voice like the voice of Almighty God.
The Malbim explains that we already saw above in chapter 1, and by the way many of the things here are really a repetition and duplication of things we saw above in chapter 1. Since in chapter 1 we saw the main matter of the cherubim and the matter of the Chayot, for from there was the first revelation of Yechezkel regarding this matter. So therefore some of the things we see here the Malbim does not elaborate upon, since they came at length there, so the Malbim refers us to look there. The Malbim says: we already saw in chapter 1 that when Hashem overturns the order, we saw that the cherubim have two states. There are states in which they walk, and there are states in which they fly. And we explained that walking always expresses the way of nature, they walk in their way. There is a state in which they fly, and we explained that flying always is elevation above nature. And this always shows that the Holy One, as it were, raises the leadership above the orders. Always the order means the systems of nature, and the flying shows raising the leadership above the systems of nature, meaning leadership in a heavenly way. And so, he says here, I hear the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the voice of Shaddai. The meaning of this: here I see the wings in action. Which means that there is going to be here a supernatural leadership. They overturn the order, and this we already saw in the decree of the Most High, for we saw that this comes by the power of the World of Beriah, the world of the Throne, from where, as it were, the instruction issues to act by way of burning the Temple in order to spend the wrath upon the wood and upon the stones and to save the whole of Israel. So it turns out that there is here an overturning of the order by a supernal power. And therefore I hear the sound of the cherubim like the voice of Shaddai. That is, I hear the sound of the wings of the cherubim, which is the aspect of the wings that is the supernatural leadership, and then this is "like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks." The meaning is: this is not by the power of the natural leadership, but rather this is the voice of Shaddai. The Holy One, and "Shaddai" is from the term "overturning" (meshaded) the systems of nature, for the Holy One here acts not according to the natural leadership in order to bring the calamity in such a way that there will not, Heaven forbid, be destruction for Israel. And this voice is really the command issuing from above to those below. He sends His voice and His instruction to those below. And from where does it issue? He tells you: from the voice of Almighty God, from above, from the aspect that is above the aspect of natural leadership.