"And it came to pass, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying: Take fire from between the wheelwork, from between the cherubim, that he went in and stood beside a wheel." "And it came to pass, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying: Take fire from between the wheelwork." When He commands the man clothed in linen, saying, and we saw earlier that this man clothed in linen, according to Chazal, is Gavriel, and according to how the Malbim explains it we are speaking of Yirmiyahu, who defended Israel and therefore through him Hashem brought the punishment so that it would come with kindness and mercy, since he defended them. So he did not want to take fire and to burn. On the contrary, we saw that he defended them and he was not interested in punishment coming upon Israel, on the contrary his way and his trait is the trait of kindness. Therefore he stands beside the wheel. The meaning of this, says the Malbim, is that from the side of the wheel and the array there is no obligation to burn the Beit HaMikdash. The meaning is that when we speak of the wheels, we are speaking of the lower part, we are speaking of the world that is the world of Asiyah. And from the side of the world of Asiyah there is no necessity of burning. The whole matter of the burning comes only, as we explained earlier, from the upper aspect. So now he wanted, so to speak, to hold the rope at both ends. For if I come from the side of the world of Asiyah, from the side of the world of Asiyah they deserve total destruction. So what does Hashem do? From the side of the trait of mercy, which is the higher worlds, He brings burning upon the Beit HaMikdash and does not destroy them. So from the side of the higher worlds burning is deserved, this we saw is Hashem's decree, to take coals and burn the Beit HaMikdash. From the side of the lower worlds burning is not deserved but destruction is deserved. So now what does he do? He holds the rope at both ends. He comes now from the side of the wheel, for from the side of the wheel, as we said, burning is not deserved, and he says, please Hashem, do not bring burning upon them. Not, God forbid, that He should bring destruction, for he comes, as we explained, wanting to reduce and minimize the decree. So he says, then burning is also not deserved, since according to the lower world of the spheres, that is, according to the world of Asiyah, there is no necessity for burning to come. So what will you say? But destruction does need to come. Well, though destruction does need to come, he does not go on that side. What he comes for is really to arouse mercy, that from the side of the world of wheels, the lower world of the spheres, the burning of the Mikdash is not obligated. And from the side of the array the burning of the Beit HaMikdash is not obligated. And Hashem wanted that He should do kindness with Israel and protect the Mikdash from the side of nature, that from the side of nature burning is not necessarily deserved.
"And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed in linen, who took it and went out." This verse will now be explained whether we learn according to the plain meaning that Chazal learn, or whether we learn according to the Malbim. Let us go according to what Chazal say, that here he really takes the fire from between the cherubim and gives it to the hands of the one clothed in linen, and he takes it and goes out. And who is the one clothed in linen as we explained according to Chazal? This is Gavriel. And Gavriel asks the cherub to give it to him. "And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim and took thereof and put it" into Gavriel's hands. Why? Because if he had taken it himself, then the cherubim's coals would be blazing. So what does he request? That it pass from vessel to vessel. You, the cherub, take the coals and you hand them to me. And through this, in the meantime, the coals cooled somewhat. That is one thing. The second thing is that the coals were also in his hands for six years, so that they would fade and their fire would weaken, their fire would go out. For this prophecy was in the sixth year, and the city, as we opened at the beginning of the chapter, was destroyed only in the eleventh year. So in fact there were two matters here that caused the decree to cool. First, that the cherub took the coals and transferred them to the hands of the one clothed in linen, to Gavriel. Second, that they still remained in his hand for six years and he did not immediately carry out the decree.
The Malbim explains that here he describes to us that the cherub stretches forth his hand and places the fire in his hands, that this matter, this fire, comes from the side of the upper decree, from the aspect of the world of Yetzirah. From where do you see that it comes? From where does it issue? From the chayot. The cherubim, we said, are from the world of chayot. And he places it in the hands of the man clothed in linen, whom we explained according to the Malbim refers to Yirmiyahu, so that he would cool the coals with what power? With the power of defending Israel, as we said. For Yirmiyahu defended them and said that not all of them acted wickedly, that there were people who were ready to listen to the prophecy, there were people who saved Yirmiyahu when he was cast into the mire or into the courtyard of the guard or through whatever he went through. And this is what Chazal say, that the trait of judgment was cooled by the hand of the man clothed in linen. By what power? According to how the Malbim explains it, the intention is by the power of defending Israel. Defending them is what caused the cooling of the burning fire that was supposed to burn until total destruction, and here now this thing was cooled by the defense of the man clothed in linen, of Yirmiyahu.
"And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man's hand under their wings." "And there appeared in the cherubim," says the Radak first of all, what is written "and there appeared" and it is written here "the form of a man's hand," it does not say a man's hand, in order to show you that all of this was only in the vision of prophecy. "And there appeared in the cherubim" is prophetic sight, a prophetic vision. And it is written not a man's hand but the form of a man's hand, but to teach you that he does not see here tangible things, but in an image, like the image of a man's hand. Since it all speaks of prophecy and he needs to explain to you what he grasps in his prophecy, so he tells you it is like a man's hand, this is how I see it in the vision of prophecy, so that you will understand that it all was in the vision of prophecy. The Malbim says, "and there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man's hand." How can it be that the form of a man's hand is seen? We know that the wings cover and conceal their hands. And if the wings conceal their hands, then it is not possible to see the form of a man's hand. Says the Malbim, you necessarily understand that now the cherubim are raising their wings. And since they are raising their wings, what is revealed? The hands that are under their wings, as we saw earlier. And if we understand that they raise their wings, you necessarily understand that here we are speaking of governance above nature. For we explained that always when the governance is above nature, the governance is one of flight. The cherubim fly with their wings, raising their wings upward. And this shows that the governance is a supernatural governance and not governance according to the array. And this is expressed as a man's hands. What does a man's hands mean? A man has free choice of what to do with his hands. This is a man, there is free choice. And this is what Chazal say, that these hands that were revealed are the hands under the wings of the cherubim to receive the sinners in repentance. For again, repentance too depends on the free choice of man. A man chooses good, and then there are hands that receive his repentance. And this too shows governance that is above nature. For according to nature, the sinner must die. The soul that sins shall die. But according to the governance above nature, there is a concept of repentance. So therefore he tells you, know that here we see governance that is above nature. And this is expressed in a man's hands, which is really free choice. An expression of governance above nature. Natural governance is what must be. The sun has no free choice whether to rise or not. All the heavenly bodies, their governance is natural. It is necessary according to nature. And in contrast, when we speak here of supernatural governance, then there is an aspect of a man's hand, for a man's hand, as we said, is choice, it is something done by will, like a man who chooses. And consequently through this you will understand that here we are about to see governance that is, as I said, supernatural.
"And I looked, and behold four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like the color of a beryl stone." "And I looked, and behold four wheels." Rashi already raises a difficulty: you already described all this to me in the first vision. Why is there a need to repeat it? Says Rashi, since one of the faces changed here, it was necessary to go back and repeat all the workings of the chayot as at first, so that you would not say it is a different chariot. As we will soon see, one of the faces here changed. Because of the four chayot. And since this is so, there was room to say that perhaps he saw a different chariot, perhaps this is something else. Therefore he repeats for you the matter of the chariot in order to tell you this is the chariot I saw at the river Kevar. And only what? There is indeed a change in one of the chayot, which we will explain, from what the change stems and why it truly appears here in a different manner. But in any case, that you should know it is the very chariot that I already described to you in the first chapter. The Malbim explains that the difference between this vision and the first vision is that in this vision he grasps from above to below, whereas in the first vision he grasps from below to above. That is, from the lower aspect to the upper. But here in the vision he first grasps the chashmal, afterward the throne, afterward the wheels, and afterward the chayot. The first time he defines them by the name chayot, and this time he calls them cherubim. And the explanation for this, says the Malbim, is that the first time he saw how the chayot, which is an aspect of the world of Yetzirah, guide the wheels. The wheels, we said, are the world of Asiyah. They are the spheres and the wheels that are really the heavenly bodies. Such is the governance during the days of exile. And the main governance is that the chayot guide the wheels, as in the parable of a chariot pulled by the chayot. The chayot pull and they turn the wheels. What does this mean? It means the governance is natural. It means the governance is according to the array. There is no supernatural governance here, there is no miraculous governance here, there is no governance here that deviates from the bounds of nature. Therefore there it is written that they go. The chayot go. And we explained that going is nature, in contrast to flying, which is above nature. And even though they showed him their wings there, they did not make use of their wings. Why? Because there they showed him the aspects of governance in exile, at the river Kevar. The way of governance is that there are chayot and they pull the chariot, and the chariot rolls according to the wheels, and the chayot go, and all this by way of natural governance, that the world of Yetzirah guides the world of Asiyah. Therefore there too they are called by the name chayot, for the chayot walk, yes? This is not so here, where they show him governance that is outside the array. Governance that is in the aspect of kindness, supernatural governance. For here they show him the burning of the Beit HaMikdash, through which Israel was saved from destruction. And since this is so, they show him that here the governance is above nature, and therefore they show him cherubim. What is the difference between cherubim and chayot? The way of the chayot is walking. Cherubim are really angels. Cherubim, as we speak of the cherubim that were upon the kaporet, covering with their wings over the kaporet. Says the Malbim, the main matter of the cherubim is the wings. And if so it comes out that since they want to show him here supernatural governance, they show it to him by way of cherubim, by way of wings, by way of flight, which is the aspect that rises and elevates above the governance of the array, which is the lower governance; it is the higher governance, which is a governance of kindness in order to save them from destruction so there would be only a burning of the Beit HaMikdash, and He would spend His wrath on the wood and the stones. This governance, this influence, the chayot receive from the Throne of Glory. And this we already explained above, that really there is the Throne of Glory, which is the world of Beriah, beneath it there are the chayot, which are the world of Yetzirah, and beneath it are the spheres and the wheels, which are the world of Asiyah. So we already explained earlier. The throne, if you will, is like the rider on the chariot. He guides everything. He also guides the chayot, which turn the spheres and the wheels. The Throne of Glory there is the upper governance that guides everything. Therefore in the beginning he sees the throne, which is the main thing in this governance. And they show him that even in this governance, in which Hashem overturned the array, they show him that the wheels are connected together with the cherubim. Therefore they show him the wheels a second time, four wheels, as we already explained them in the first part, yes, in chapter one. They show him, know that even in all this, it operates through the governance of the wheels, but here the wheels are influenced by the power of the cherubim. Here the wheels are influenced by the power of the Throne of Glory that is above them, that is, governance above nature, not the natural governance that you saw in the first chapter.
"And as for their appearance, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel." The appearance of the form of the four wheels was one. Like the appearance of a wheel made within a wheel. And we explained that the intention is, since he will soon explain that when they need to, this chariot can move in the four directions. And when it moves in each direction, it does not need to turn in order to move. So consequently it comes out that the wheels of this chariot were not ordinary wheels. Let us define them as one-dimensional wheels that turn, forward and backward. Rather they were wheels, if you will, two-dimensional or three-dimensional, which was a wheel within which was another wheel. And then this wheel can turn both forward and backward, and both right and left. And this is what he says immediately, "When they went, they went toward their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went." That is, the place to which the head, which is the cherub, turned, the wheel goes after the cherub. That is, if it goes forward, then it goes forward. If it goes right, to the right. To the left, to the left. Backward, backward. It does not need to do the work of turning in order to turn around. Rather, since the wheels were in such a form that they were wheels for the four directions, it consequently comes out that there is no need to turn, but immediately when the chariot moves to the right, all of it moves to the right. To the left, to the left. And so on in this manner, without the need to turn the entire chariot in order to reach the direction to which they want to go.
"And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had." "And their whole body," explains the Malbim, that what is written here is a continuation of what we saw earlier. Their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, all go to wherever the head turns. Wherever the head turns, they follow it, who? Their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings. And we also saw earlier that the Malbim explained similar verses in this direction, that really the beginning of this verse does not continue with the end of the verse, but the beginning of the verse concludes the previous verse. "To the place whither the head looked they followed it, and their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings." Period. To that place, in that direction they go. And the intention is, since the cherubim are what guide them, they turn according to the one who turns, the head that is above them. And if I explain that the cherubim are really the chayot, then I understand that the governance is, it is really the head, it is the Throne of Glory. So he says this is what is written here, the cherubim turn according to the one who guides them. And who guides them? It is the one who is in the world of the throne. And then it comes out that among the wheels, among the cherubim, really the wheel and their backs, everything turns to the place to which the head turns. And what is the head? The one who sits on the throne, as we understand, which is the governance of the world of Beriah. About this he says, "and the wheels were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had." The wheels too are full of eyes. And the full of eyes we already saw earlier means the eyes of Hashem that roam in specific providence over all that happens in reality and in the world. This is the aspect of eyes. The wheels are full of eyes, that is, there is no aspect hidden from His view and His sight.
"As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the wheelwork." This is a rather obscure verse. We will see in it two interpretations. Rashi says, I heard that the angel would call the wheel gilgal. "As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the wheelwork." That is, the angel would call the wheels gilgal. The wheels, the angel would call them, calling them the gilgal. So I heard in my hearing. The Malbim, in contrast, explains, and by the way the Radak also goes in this direction, that really wheels are gilgal. But if you recall, we saw that the Malbim earlier, already at the beginning of the chapter, explained that here what we speak of as the gilgal, we are not speaking of the wheels. We are not speaking of the world of Asiyah. Rather, what is the gilgal? It is the feet of the chayot. For we saw that the feet of the chayot had a calf's foot, a foot that is round. And they are a calf, they roll the wheels. As we explained, the chayot in their going cause the rolling of the wheels. So do not say that this rolling is a rolling like a gear wheel. This, in the Malbim's language, is the meeting of a physical thing with a physical thing. The meeting of a physical thing with a physical thing means a physical thing that acts upon a physical thing and activates it. So it is one gear wheel that, when it turns, turns another gear wheel. Thus you might also imagine that perhaps when we speak of the chayot rolling the wheels, you would think it is the meeting of a physical thing with a physical thing, like a physical thing turning another physical thing. He tells you it is not done in this manner. So by what power do the wheels roll by the chayot? He tells you the action is an intellectual, thought-based action. The meaning is, through His voice and His instruction the wheels roll. This is what he says, "as for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the wheelwork." The gilgal, which we explained is the foot of the chayot that turns the wheels, that is, the world of Yetzirah that turns the world and influences the world of Asiyah, do not think this influence is a coarse influence. Rather "they were called." It was by way of calling, it was by way of command and intellectual movement. And He commands them and they go according to His command. And in it there is also a hint, it is written "were called." Why is it not written "call"? "Were called" as if someone called to it. For this too comes to hint that even the gilgal that calls to the wheel, someone called to the gilgal. Who? The one above it, which is the throne. That is, in short, the world of the throne, which is Beriah, calls to whom? To the gilgalim, which are really the chayot as we just explained, which are those that roll the wheels. And the gilgalim call to the wheels. Again, by way of calling to the world beneath it, which is the world of Asiyah.
"And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle." "And every one had four faces." Says the Malbim, since now he describes his perception in the world of chayot, which is the world of Yetzirah, from the side of what they receive from the world of the throne, which we explained is miraculous governance, governance of above nature, not governance according to nature. For we know that above, everything is complete mercy. Even that which descends here as judgments, there above it is an aspect of mercy. Therefore you will understand who is absent for us here. The first face is the face of the cherub, the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of an eagle. Who is missing for us? The ox. For the ox is the governance of the left, as we explained. This is the reason, as we saw earlier, that Israel made themselves a calf in the wilderness, since they understood it is a place where judgments dominate, a place of serpent, fiery serpent, and scorpion, and the more fitting way of governance is by way of the ox. Therefore they went and made themselves a calf. And their mistake was that Hashem's governance is never through the face of the ox, but Hashem's governance with Israel is always with kindnesses. In any case now, when he sees here this aspect of the judgments that Hashem brings down here below, how? Through the burning of the Beit HaMikdash. We explained that these judgments would come in harsh judgment, there would be destruction. Therefore Hashem did not do it by way of the array, from the wheels below, that is, by way of nature, but did it from above, from the aspect of the throne, which is the aspect of flight of above nature, as we explained earlier. Ah, when he grasps these high aspects of above nature, there is no ox there. There is no aspect of judgment there. Therefore in his perception now he does not see the face of the ox on the left; what does he see? The face of the cherub. For there above, even the aspect of the left arouses mercy. And since the influence and the action now flow from above, as we saw that it is the burning of the Beit HaMikdash, which is mercy in order not to make total destruction of Israel, in this notice, the face of the left goes first. The first face is the face of the cherub, which is the face of the left, and it goes first. But with all this, its trait is mercy. And what is the trait of mercy? The trait of mercy is to pour out His wrath on the wood and the stones. Therefore he sees the face of the left first, and therefore he sees it also in the form of a cherub. So Rashi explains, so the Malbim explains the change, where the face of the ox disappeared and why in its place we find the face of the cherub. But Chazal too addressed this change between this chariot and the chariot whose description we see in chapter one. And Chazal say, Yechezkel asked for mercy upon it and it was turned into a cherub. Since Yechezkel saw the face of an ox, and understood that the face of the ox is harsh judgment, therefore what did he do? He asked for mercy and turned it into a cherub. He said before Him, Master of the world, shall a prosecutor become a defender? And what is the prosecutor? It is the sin of the calf. It is the ox, its face is above, so it will, God forbid, cause destruction to Israel. He asked for mercy and turned it into a cherub. What is a cherub? Cherub, as in Bavel they call a child "ravya," yes? The intention is an infant. The Gemara asks, so if this is so, then were there two faces of a man? The Gemara asks, it is already written the face of a man. What are you telling me the face of the cherub? The Gemara says, yes. A large face and a small face. There is a large face and there is a small face. It is not written explicitly for us what this is; the Radak says we explained this matter in the esoteric, it may be that we speak of Arich Anpin and Zeir Anpin, this is the aspect of the large face and the small face, it may be. But according to the Malbim as we explained, the intention here is that the higher aspect is the aspect of the face of the cherub. And it is quite possible that this also fits according to what the Malbim says, for if we speak of higher worlds, in higher worlds then everything is an aspect of kindnesses. So it is understood that it is fitting to speak of the aspect of Arich, which is higher than the aspect of the lower aspects, which is the aspect of Zeir Anpin. Zeir Anpin is the six lower sefirot, which are more an aspect of the governance of the world.
"And the cherubim mounted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river Kevar." "And the cherubim mounted up," explains the Malbim, their matter now was not in walking, for as we saw earlier walking expresses the way of nature, but I see that they rise up, an ascent and flight. Therefore they are now called by the name cherubim, for we said that the cherubim's main matter is their wings, as the Malbim explained earlier. This is the expression of the cherubim. And this living creature that I saw by the river Kevar, he says "this is the living creature that I saw by the river Kevar," for then he had already grasped them as walking chayot. I saw them in the aspect of a living creature, a living creature that I saw by the river Kevar. And we explained that the walking chayot are governance according to walking, according to the way of nature, the courses of nature. Now I see, and the cherubim mounted up. I see them in the aspect of cherubim, that is, with wings, or in the aspect of ascent, that is, flight, both of which express supernatural governance, which is why they now changed from chayot to cherubim.
"And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels also turned not from beside them." "And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them." He says, with all this, both when they walk, and walking we explained is governance according to the way of nature, according to the order of the array, and when they fly, which is governance above the order of the array, know that in every situation the wheels will not turn from beside them. The meaning is, the wheels will not turn from beside them, that is, they will not distance themselves from them. That is, the wheels, which are the aspect of the world of Asiyah, must be governed according to the governance that is above them. When the governance above them is a governance of kindness and mercy, then the wheels below will behave the same. And if it is judgments, then they will behave the same below.
"When they stood, these stood, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creature was in them." Here the Malbim says, I already explained earlier, where he explained the two kinds of motions, which are like the lower motions of the sun, for as we saw it has one motion that is from east to west, and we saw it also has a motion from west, from north to south and from south to north, winter and summer, as we explained at length in the first chapter.
"Then the glory of Hashem went forth from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight when they went forth, and the wheels beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of Hashem's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above." Says the Malbim, now the Shechinah travels the third journey, from the threshold to the cherub. The intention is to fly above the earth, that is, to distance itself even more from the Mikdash that is destined to be destroyed. And then it stands at the door of the east gate of Hashem's house, so to speak going out of the Mikdash. And since the Shechinah, when it goes out of the Mikdash, goes with them into exile, then the governance is hidden governance. It is a governance of hidden miracles according to the array. And then it comes out that what was until now a cherub, which we explained is supernatural governance of flight of wings, becomes a living creature. For the governance of the living creature in its walking is natural governance, walking that expresses the governance of nature. And this is what he says, "this is the living creature that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Kevar. And I knew that they were cherubim." This is the living creature that I saw then, that I grasped then in the form of chayot and now in the form of cherubim; now, when the Shechinah goes out and returns to govern with the governance of nature, then now it is a governance of a living creature. This is what I saw then, I know that now there is not, in this governance, and I saw beneath the God of Israel, and then too they are beneath the God of Israel. The meaning is, do not think that now the governance is natural, that Hashem hands them over to the array. No, rather even in the natural governance it is miracles but hidden. It is miracles but by way of nature. Therefore he says "and I knew that they were cherubim," it is really the same governance that I saw as the governance of the cherubim, only that here it is a governance above nature, while now it returns to the governance of nature with hidden miracles. "Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the river Kevar, their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward." These are the faces that I grasped at first in the first chariot, and just as it was then, as we said, governance according to nature, so too I now see that the situation returns to this governance, as I saw, as then so it is now.