Now, they resembled a human being, in that a human has two hands and two feet. This is unlike an animal, which has four feet and no hands at all. So he says, "and human hands beneath their wings." They had human hands. Something else is stated here: these hands were beneath their wings. That is, the hands were not visible until the Chayot raised their wings. As long as the Chayot did not raise their wings, their hands would not be visible. So he says human hands beneath their wings: when the wings rest upon the body, the hands are covered.
What does this actually come to hint at? It shows that when they walk on their feet, and we have already seen above that the feet hint at physical movement, that is, movement according to the natural course, whereas flying hints at spiritual governance, that is, flying upward, the providential governance that comes from Hashem. So he tells you, when they walk on their feet, that is, in natural governance, they are not flying, this shows that the governance of the system is according to the natural order, according to the fixed causes, cause and effect. And then the hands are covered, one does not see human hands, one sees only the feet of an animal. This comes to say that here there is, as it were, an action of animals. An animal, after all, has no free choice. So here you see the feet of an animal, that is, the walking is in a reality in which there is no free choice, that is, according to the orders and governance of the systems and cycles of nature.
By contrast, when they raise their hands to fly, as we said this comes to hint that the system changes, that it comes to hint that the governance is providential. The governance is like flying upward, as it were a governance that comes from the upper worlds. When they raise their wings to fly, when the governance is not in the fixed manner as we explained, like the feet, but rather in a manner of free choice. Unlike the animals. The animals, we said, have no free choice. Feet of a calf come to symbolize walking without free choice. By contrast, the wings hint at flying upward, that the governance is according to Hashem's will, and Hashem's will is a matter of choice. The Holy One, blessed be He, chooses now to govern in one way, and on another occasion to govern differently. And then the actions are according to the Divine will, which has no compulsion in its deeds, it is not limited to the system of nature.
When is this truly so? When is the Holy One, blessed be He, governing us in this manner? In this manner of the wings flying upward, providential governance? When we do the will of Hashem. When we return in teshuvah. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, governs us with a supernal governance, above nature. When we do not do the will of Hashem and do not return in teshuvah, then the governance is not with the wings, but with the feet. The feet walk in the way of nature, and this is feet of a calf. Feet of a calf are the feet of an animal, and the animal has no free choice, it is subject to the system. And not only that, we also explained that the feet walk below, the feet of the Chayot are below. Upon what do they tread? Upon the world of Asiyah, the cycles and the wheels (ofanim). What this actually means is governance according to nature, according to the orders of the cycles, the ofanim, the cycles of the constellations, natural governance.
The Malbim says: see how wonderful this is, this is what Chazal say, "human hands beneath their wings - to receive those who repent." According to what we have now explained, this is very wonderful. Since, as we said, when they raise their wings, drawing close to Hashem, there is here providential governance from Hashem, what is revealed? The hands. When is there providential governance, when the Chayot as it were rise upward? When the hands receive those who repent. When we are penitents, we do the will of Hashem, the hands are open to receive. When are they revealed? Only when the wings rise. For if not, then human hands remain beneath their wings. And then the governance is natural. But when we do the will of Hashem, the wings rise upward to providential, miraculous governance, above nature, the hands are revealed, and the hands are to receive those who repent. Since we are penitents, then automatically the governance changes to providential, supernatural governance.
The pasuk continues and says: "and human hands beneath their wings on their four sides." Just as the flying wings were fixed on all four sides of the Chayah, and we saw that by each face there were wings, so too the hands were fixed on all four sides. What does this come to say? The Malbim says, this comes to hint that on every side where the wing rises, whether for kindness, whether for judgment, whether for mercy, the actions are done by choice and will. As we explained, the wings hint at the aspect of supernal providence, which is the Divine will. And everything is according to the will of Hashem. And about this he says "and their faces and their wings for the four of them." The wings were with the faces, that is, each face had wings of its own. That is to say, there are several types of governance here, and remember this matter, for we will see it later in a more detailed way, how each governance influences a different kingdom.
The Malbim says, from this you will understand that according to the number of wings was the number of hands. This is not agreed upon. This is one opinion. There is an additional opinion which the Malbim brings, which is the opinion of the Rambam, that there were only two hands. The understanding that one could arrive at, since the hands were beneath the wings, is that the number of hands equaled the number of wings. But the Rambam does not understand it this way. The Rambam says that there were only two hands, just as each Chayah had only two feet. We do not find that they had 256 feet, but wings, yes. That is to say, you understand that there were only two feet, and hands too, the Rambam says, were only two. And this is what is written here, "and human hands beneath their wings," the intent is that from the wings upward the multiplicity begins. The multiplicity of the faces and the multiplicity of the wings. By contrast, from the hands downward there is no multiplicity, but rather there are two hands and two feet. So the entire part in which there is the multiplicity of faces is from the wings upward, a multiplicity of faces and a multiplicity of wings.
"Their wings joined one to another, they did not turn as they went, each went toward the direction of its face." There is a dispute here as to how to understand what "their wings joined one to another" means. Rashi explains that the intent is that when the Chayot spread their wings to the sides, they would join with one another. That is to say, when the right wing of one Chayah was next to the left wing of the second Chayah, they would join. "Their wings joined one to another." They would spread their wings to the sides until each one joined with the wings of its fellow. And with this they would cover their faces, since the wings were spread upward from the faces, so when the wings were spread, the faces were covered.
"They did not turn as they went" - if they wished to turn toward some direction, Rashi says, they did not need to turn their faces, for we saw that they had faces to every direction. And if there is a face to every direction, then there is no need to turn. Toward whichever side you wish, you begin to walk. You have a face to the south, to the east, to the north, to the west. So toward whichever side you wish to go, you go. This is what "they did not turn as they went" means, they did not need to turn, for they had a face to every direction. Rather, "each went toward the direction of its face," toward the side of that face of the direction they wished to go, immediately it went.
The Malbim, by contrast, understands "their wings joined one to another" as referring to the wings of a single angel, of a single Chayah. And what is the meaning of this? "One to another" does not refer back to the Chayot, but rather refers back to the wings. That is, the Malbim says, the wings in the back were joined. Joined in the sense that both of them emerge from the same point. Both emerge from the same point and spread out. Yes, as you sometimes see wings drawn, the wings of a butterfly. That is to say, they emerge from the same point and spread out. And this is what is written, "their wings joined one to another." One wing is joined to its fellow at its root, and through this they are joined to the body and touch one another.
What is the hint in these matters? The Malbim says, you see that the wings come in an even number. And this comes to hint that they are not like their Creator. The Chayot are not like the Creator, since the Creator is an aspect of oneness, whereas in the Chayot you see that there is multiplicity, you see that there are wings which are a multiplicity, you see that they are two. And what do the two come to hint at? The Malbim says, this comes to hint that they are created beings, and (a) they comprehend themselves, and (b) they comprehend their cause. What is the meaning of this? Comprehending themselves means grasping and recognizing their own existence. Comprehending their cause means that they grasp and recognize also the cause. The cause is the source. Its cause means the One who formed it. It comprehends its Creator. That is to say, it is a separate entity from its Creator. And to this the two wings hint. That is, the two wings hint at the fact that one comprehends itself, and the second, as it were, comprehends its cause.
The Malbim says, and even though you see that there is no oneness in them, nevertheless there is here also an expression of oneness. And what is the expression of this? That you see that the wings are joined at a certain point. Indeed they are two, and this comes to hint at what we said, but at the root they are joined. That is to say, both of them emerge from a single point. What does this come to say? That in essence they are an aspect of intellects abstracted from matter. That is, the early ones defined the angels as separate intellects. Whoever examines the Guide for the Perplexed and other works of the early ones will see that the angels are called separate intellects. What are separate intellects? We are a body with an intellect. By contrast, when there is only an intellect without a body, this is called a separate intellect. It is an intellect separated and detached from the body. The angels are an aspect of wisdom, they are intellects, but they are separate. What does "intellects" mean? It means that they are not a beast, but rather there is knowledge in them, they are intellects, but they are separated from the body, separated from matter.
So the Malbim says, he wishes to tell you in this matter, this joining comes to say that their comprehension is instantaneous, connected, uninterrupted by the time of comprehension or by place. Translation: when we wish to understand something, we have two limitations. We have a limitation of place, we have a limitation of time. That is to say, if now someone wishes to teach me, let us say, Bava Kamma, then I need time. Because I need to learn page by page and understand it and delve into it, until I can attain some grasp and understanding in tractate Bava Kamma. That is one thing. Second, it may very well also be that I have a limitation of place. Since I live here and he lives there, and I need to go to him in order to attain the thing that I wish to learn. That is to say, a physical person has a limitation of time, has a limitation of place. Our comprehensions are always slow. We slowly add another piece of knowledge and another understanding and another grasp. Our comprehensions are dependent on time.
By contrast, the Malbim says, by the separate intellects, that is, by the angels, their comprehension is instantaneous, connected, uninterrupted by the time of comprehension. By us, comprehension is interrupted. For another minute passes and another hour and another day, and each time I have learned something more and something more. This is interrupted comprehension. We, as they say, learn in slices. By contrast, by the angel, in a single moment it comprehends. In a single moment it knows. And it has no limitation of place either. It follows, therefore, that according to this it is understood why the wings are joined. The wings being joined comes to hint at something unlike our reality, for our reality is separated, the reality of matter, in which we too have a separation of time and a separation of place. By the angels, their comprehension is immediate. In a single moment it understands. That is to say, as if you taught a person in a single moment the entire Torah in its entirety. Without a limitation of place, without a limitation of time. The joining of the wings hints at this matter, that things are connected and occur in a single moment, without separation. For matter always hints at separation. When there is matter, it is always one piece of matter separate from another piece of matter. In matter itself you can divide it into parts. Matter always hints at separation. As opposed to a spiritual reality, which is a complete entity.
The Malbim continues: "they did not turn as they went, each went toward the direction of its face." Since they have wings on every side, they do not need to turn their faces even at the time when they fly. The meaning of this is that it flies in the direction of the wings. Which direction of the wings? From every side. So to whichever side it wishes to fly, it has wings to fly to that side. What does this come to hint at? This we will see later on.
"And the likeness of their faces was the face of a human, and the face of a lion on the right for the four of them, and the face of an ox on the left for the four of them, and the face of an eagle for the four of them." And the likeness of their faces was the face of a human and the face of a lion. The Malbim explains, in front it had the face of a human. To the right the face was the face of a lion. To the left was the face of an ox. And behind it was the face of an eagle. Note, it is written "and the likeness of their faces was the face of a human, and the face of a lion on the right for the four of them." Regarding the lion it is written "for the four of them." "The face of an ox on the left for the four of them," also regarding the ox. "The face of an eagle for the four of them," also regarding the eagle it is written "for the four of them." The only one about which "for the four of them" is not written is the human. The Malbim says, and why? Because we already saw above "the likeness of a human they had." So from this we already understand that there was a human face for each and every one. To each of the sides. And therefore there was no need to say here "for the four of them."
The Malbim explains, the wise craftsmen have already explained. Wise craftsmen refers to the masters of the hidden wisdom (Kabbalah). And "charashim" (craftsmen) is a figurative word, like a craftsman who works in the labor of production, yes? So they say wise craftsmen, from the term "charash." "Charash" means secret, yes? "Hacharishu" (be silent), matters that are in silence. So wise craftsmen refers to the masters of the hidden wisdom. The wise craftsmen have already explained that the attribute of kindness serves the right. As we have discussed several times, that in the arrangement of the sefirot, kindness (chesed) is the right arm. The attribute of fear, that is, gevurah, is on the left. This is the face of the ox on the left. For those who know, this was the reason that the people of Israel in the wilderness, as the Ramban says, made themselves a calf. And why? Since they were exposed to the vision of the chariot. And in the vision of the chariot they saw the face of the ox on the left. And then they understood that since we are in a place of desert, drought and wasteland, where this is the governance, the governance of the left, then automatically the abundance must be drawn from the left. And therefore what they made was a calf. A calf, which is the aspect of the face of the ox on the left, is the manner of governance appropriate and fitting for the place of the wilderness. And what was their error? That there is no governance by way of the left. The governance is forever by way of kindness. This was their error. The Holy One, blessed be He, always governs you by way of kindness and not by way of a governance of the left, by way of those aspects.
And the beauty (tiferet) of the human, this is in the middle. The human is the aspect of tiferet. Tiferet is the body, this is the middle, this is Yaakov. It essentially blends between judgment and kindness. For judgment is the gevurot, kindness is mercy, the human is in the middle. Extreme judgment is not good, extreme kindness is not good, but rather the governance is in the middle. In the middle is the attribute of mercy. What is the difference? The attribute of mercy means mercy within judgment. To show mercy is always within judgment. There is judgment and there is an attribute of mercy within judgment. There is no situation of mercy in which they exempt you with nothing at all. Rather, mercy is within judgment. This is the middle attribute, which is the aspect of Yaakov.
Behind, behind the human. So we said, to his right we have the aspect of kindness, which is the face of the lion, on the left is judgment, which is the ox, in the middle the human. Where is the eagle located? It is located in the back. That is, we spoke of four directions. So in the back is located the eagle. What is the eagle? The Malbim says, a woman of valor in the far parts of the house, at the back of the Mishkan. A woman of valor, we already know what that is, it speaks of the aspect of malchut. The sefirah of malchut is located in the back, it is the aspect of the nukva (feminine). So if the human is the aspect of the dechura (masculine), the nukva is in the back, it is the aspect of malchut. Why is it characterized by the eagle? "Like an eagle over its young it hovers." The attribute of malchut, which is like a flying eagle, receives from above, and over its young it hovers, bestowing to that which is below. This is the aspect of the eagle.
The Malbim says, when the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows from His light to the lower worlds, then from the world of Yetzirah, when there is an aspect of bestowal of kindness, then the right appears in the form of a lion. Why? This comes to express that in truth there is here immense kindness that overpowers like a lion with tremendous force. Great kindness of bestowal with the strength of a lion. The Malbim says, note, we have the name Ayin-Bet (72). What is the name Ayin-Bet? It is known that the names are divided into Ayin-Bet (72), Samech-Gimel (63), Mem-Heh (45) and Bet-Nun (52). What are Ayin-Bet, Samech-Gimel, Mem-Heh and Bet-Nun? Ayin-Bet, Samech-Gimel, Mem-Heh and Bet-Nun are the spellings-out of the letters of the name of Havayah, blessed be He. The name of Havayah, blessed be He, can be filled out with yuds, can be filled out with alephs, and so on in this manner. For example, I can say Yud, Heh-Yud, Vav-Yud-Vav and Heh-Yud. The Heh I wrote with a Yud. And then also the Vav I wrote with a Yud, Vav-Yud-Vav. This reaches the gematria of Ayin-Bet (72). By contrast, there is a filling-out with alephs, for example, I can say Yud-Vav-Dalet, Heh-Aleph, Vav-Aleph-Vav, Heh-Aleph. With an aleph at the end. And then I obtained a much lower gematria. I obtained the gematria of Mem-Heh. The name Mem-Heh (45). There is Samech-Gimel and there is Bet-Nun. Which is essentially, Bet-Nun means the Cave of Machpelah, which means everything is doubled. Heh-Heh, Vav-Vav, Heh-Heh. One writes the Heh with another Heh. And there is also, as I said, the name of Samech-Gimel. Which is in a filling-out that reaches the gematria of Samech-Gimel (63).
The Malbim says, the name Ayin-Bet is a name of kindness. Chesed in gematria: Chet is 8 plus Samech is 60, that is 68, plus Dalet is 4, that is 72. The name Ayin-Bet is a name of chesed. If we multiply it by three, we obtain 216. This is a well-known name among the Kabbalists. If you check 216, it is the gematria of gevurah, it is the gematria of arye (lion). What do you see? The lion is three times chesed. Three times chesed is a lion. Three times chesed is also an aspect of gevurah, we will explain shortly. Why? Because this is an aspect of the intensification of chesed. The predatory lion, the Malbim says, that is, the negative aspect, which draws its power downward to bestow evil, is weakened by the power of the lion of holiness. "One opposite the other God has made." So just as there is an aspect of the lion of holiness which bestows kindness, there is a lion of the aspects of the judgments which wishes to bestow harm. Who weakens it? The lion of holiness. The lion of holiness weakens the lion which is the aspect of the predatory lion.
The left is the aspect of the ox. It appears in the form of an ox, this is gevurah. Here too the Malbim says we have a hint. The first name of the name Mem-Bet (42). We know that there is a name of 42 letters. The name of 42 letters is not connected to what I spoke of earlier, it is connected to what we all know from Ana BeKhoach. "Ana BeKhoach gedulat yeminkha," we spoke of it once, there are many who err and think that this is the name. But in fact Ana BeKhoach is a hymn that was composed in order to express the name. And the main thing when one says the Ana BeKhoach is to focus on the letters. There are those who think the main thing is to say it. No. Note that always where Ana BeKhoach is written, the acronyms are written on the side. And there are those who composed other liturgical poems with other signs that arrive at Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Yud, Tav, Tzadi, yes? Kuf, Reish, Ayin, Shin, Tet, Nun. These are the acronyms of the Ana BeKhoach gedulat yeminkha tatir tzerurah. Aleph-Bet-Gimel Yud-Tav-Tzadi, Kuf-Reish-Ayin Shin-Tet-Nun, yes? And so on in this manner. These are the letters that emerge from the Ana BeKhoach. But as I said, the Ana BeKhoach is a later composition that came to express these names.
So if we take the first name of the name Mem-Bet, in total we obtained 42 letters. If I take the first name of the name Mem-Bet, the name I obtain is Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Yud, Tav, Tzadi. Ana BeKhoach gedulat yeminkha tatir tzerurah. By the way, one should know that always when one says the Ana BeKhoach, one should divide it into two. Ana BeKhoach gedulat yeminkha, tatir tzerurah. Kabel rinat amkha sagvenu, tahareinu nora. It always should be divided in this way, two, two, two. Yes. So the first name of the name of Mem-Bet, which is Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Yud, Tav, Tzadi. There are those who pronounce this aloud, there are those who are careful not to pronounce it aloud. This is an aspect of chesed within gevurah. It equals the number of shor (ox). Shor, as we said, is the aspect of gevurah. But after all we all know that in every aspect there are all seven aspects. From the counting of the Omer we recognize this. There is chesed, there is chesed within chesed, gevurah within chesed, tiferet within chesed, netzach within chesed, hod and so on. Afterward there is gevurah. Gevurah too includes within it all seven. Chesed of gevurah, gevurah of gevurah, tiferet of gevurah. And afterward tiferet. Chesed of tiferet, gevurah of tiferet. Each and every one includes within it all seven components.
So then, the name Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Yud, Tav, Tzadi, this is the aspect of the chesed of gevurah. One must always look at the "of." What determines it for us is the "of." Chesed of gevurah. Gevurah of chesed. Why? Why is the "of" the determining factor? Because it tells us which sefirah is being discussed. For even if you are speaking of chesed of gevurah, it is still gevurah. It is gevurah, and this is a facet of gevurah. It is the bestowal of chesed within the side of gevurah. And this is completely different from gevurah of chesed. For gevurah of chesed, I told you, the "of chesed" here is the essence. "Of chesed" means it is a bestowal of chesed. Only that in the bestowal of chesed there is the bestowal of chesed by way of gevurah. But what is dominant? What is the essence? It is which sefirah we are in. Chesed of gevurah, tiferet of gevurah, netzach of gevurah, we are in all of them within gevurah. Gevurah is judgments, gevurah is harsh. Yes? So there is a tremendous difference between chesed of gevurah and gevurah of chesed. For the essence is what is at the center.
So then, the Malbim says, Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Yud, Tav, Tzadi, this is chesed of gevurah, which equals the number of shor. What is the reason? So that the attribute of judgment will not be with too great an intensity, and then it consumes and burns immediately, if a person strays from the way, on the spot there are judgments, there are punishments. Therefore chesed comes and sweetens the gevurot. This is the Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Yud, Tav, Tzadi in the gematria of shor, whose aspect is the sweetening of the gevurot. And in the opposite way, the Malbim says, "much produce comes through the strength of the ox," it brings down gevurot (mighty amounts) of rains, the rains fall with strength. This is an aspect of chesed. And whoever draws its power downward by means of its ministering angel, that is, if we wish to take this in the negative sense, as we spoke of regarding the lion in the negative sense, then there is also an aspect of ox in the negative sense. It cannot cause harm. And why? As we said, since we have the aspect of the ox which is the supernal aspect, and the supernal aspect is in the vision of the chariot, everything here is in holiness, yes? So there is power in this to nullify the lower judgments. This is an aspect of the sweetening of the gevurot at their root, as we discussed several times. The Malbim says an additional matter: there is no venom at its root. That is, in the attribute of gevurah there is no venom. What is the understanding of these matters? The Malbim will explain later what it means to us that there is no venom at its root in that attribute of fear, and why this is in fact for benefit.
In the middle there is Yaakov. Yaakov, "You shall give truth to Yaakov," his face is the face of a human. His attribute is the attribute of mercy. Behind him is the face of an eagle. The eagle soars in flight. And this attribute receives, soars in flight to receive from the supernal sefirot that are above it, the sefirah of malchut, and bestows downward. Malchut has nothing of its own, it receives from those above and bestows upon its young downward. The Malbim says, now come and understand what I opened and told you above, that this entire vision here of Yechezkel was intended in order to show him the governance by way of the four kingdoms that would rise up against Israel. And among other things, the destruction and burning of the Beit HaMikdash.
The Malbim says, Bavel. Let us begin with Bavel. Bavel received its power from the face of the lion. It is written, Bavel and Ashur, which is a joint kingdom, were likened to a lion. "A lion has come up from its thicket." Correct? That is to say, they were likened to a lion. Daniel saw the first beast that emerged from the water, he saw the first one like a lion. What does this come to express? That the Holy One, blessed be He, clothed Himself in the form of a lion in order to nullify the lion-power of Ashur and Bavel. To save His children, as it is written, "After Hashem they shall walk, like a lion He shall roar." This is the lion on the side of holiness, as we said, whose power comes to nullify the lion of the side of the kelipot, of the side of the judgments.
Afterward, what comes to us after Bavel? It was Madai and Paras. Madai and Paras are in the likeness of a human. Why in the likeness of a human? Because they did good to the people of Israel. They gave us permission to build the Beit HaMikdash, Koresh and Daryavesh. In their time too we had relief in the days of Achashverosh. So in fact this period was a period in which we were still, as they say, treated in a human manner. This speaks of the exile of Madai and Paras, this is like the beauty (tiferet) of the human.
The ministering angel of Yavan, it received its power, this comes after Madai and Paras, it is the third, it received its power from the face of the ox. The face of the ox, we said, is to the left. And therefore the Greeks decreed, "Write for yourselves on the horn of the ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel." And even though, the Malbim says, their root is from the attribute of harsh judgment, they did not succeed in burning the Beit HaMikdash. And why? Because, as we explained above, there is no burning venom at their root above. They have no aspect of burning venom at the root in that aspect of the ox. The ox has no burning venom. Since this is so, they did not succeed in burning the Beit HaMikdash. Even though they very much wanted to, for we are speaking of a period which is the period of Yavan, the period of Chanukah. So they defiled the Beit HaMikdash, but did not burn it.
Romi, by contrast, is the fourth beast. First, it has longevity like an eagle. "Your youth is renewed like the eagle." Ten times. So it is written about Daniel, that he saw the beast that emerged from the water, he saw ten horns on it. It had ten horns. This comes to hint that they would fall and return and fall and return, and we are still in the exile of Edom. We are still in that same exile of Romi. And the flag of Romi, as is known, its symbol is the eagle. And Hashem, "like an eagle He rouses His nest," against that kingdom there is the aspect of the eagle in holiness, "like an eagle He rouses His nest, over its young it hovers, He spreads His wings, He takes it." Hashem shelters over us with His pinions, so that we do not fall into the hands of the harsh eagle, which is Romi, which is essentially the fourth beast.
The Malbim says, Yechezkel sees that each of the Chayot has four faces. What does this come to hint at? That these four kingdoms are always present. They are always present, only what? In every period there is one kingdom that goes at the head. And this is what we saw above, that we saw "they did not turn as they went." And then what in fact happens? If now, for example, I speak of Bavel, and it is the face of the lion which now goes at the head, then also the face of the eagle, also the face of the human, also the face of the ox, all are drawn along. But which is the central one? Which is the one leading? It is now the face of the lion. And when the time of Madai and Paras arrives, for example, like the beauty of the human, then it goes at the head and the rest are drawn along. What does this actually mean? That all these kingdoms are not nullified, only the question is always which kingdom will be the dominant one, and which kingdoms will be merely kingdoms that are annexed and follow after it. And each one, that beast which was in his days overpowered in the supernal chariot, and through this that kingdom ruled.
"And their faces and their wings were separated from above, for each; two joined for each, and two covered their bodies." "And their faces and their wings were separated from above." Whoever pays attention, there is a cantillation mark that stops upon "and their faces." And the Radak wishes to explain here an interpretation that is somewhat novel, but it is ostensibly precise according to the cantillation marks. The Radak says, the word "and their faces" is separated by the cantillation mark. The mark makes a pause. Which means that it is not attached to what comes after it. For the simple understanding is "and their faces and their wings were separated from above." He tells you, no, "and their faces" - there is a stop. One must pause. And their faces were as we saw earlier. That is, what I mentioned earlier, this is "and their faces." Full stop. "And their wings were separated from above." But the wings were separated from the body and they were spread upward, with which they would fly. By contrast, the Malbim does not explain it this way, he explains it more according to the plain meaning. The Malbim says, that even though below in the body we saw that each Chayah was one complete body, and according to the Rambam this also includes the hands, but as for the part below the hands, all agree that it was one body, there were not several bodies. Nevertheless, above, in the place of the faces and in the place of the wings that were attached behind each face, they were separated into four heads. And below the place of the wings, beneath the place of the wings, they joined and were one body, whether including the hands or not including the hands, we already saw a dispute in this above.
What in fact is the idea and the figurative meaning of these matters? The Malbim says, this comes to hint to you that in each Chayah, indeed a certain attribute overpowers, this is the aspect of the faces, this is the center of that Chayah. That is, for example, on the right side the primary one was the face of the lion, which goes at the head. But nevertheless, there were also other faces. There was also the face of the human and the face of the ox and the face of the eagle. Do not think that they were nullified. Rather, he tells you, there were here "their faces and their wings separated from above." The gevurah and the mercy within chesed are drawn after it. And all of it is the aspect of chesed, for we are speaking here now, for example, of the face of the lion. So if there is the face of the lion, which is the aspect of chesed, then there is gevurah within chesed, there is judgment within chesed, mercy within chesed, they are drawn after it. Each one was recognizable in its own right. The face of the lion performs the chesed with the power of chesed, the face of the ox performs the chesed with the power of gevurah, and so on in this manner. Each of the faces performs its action according to the more primary part in its face, that is, according to that side toward which it goes.
The Malbim says, so too in what happens below. The ministering angels above and the kingdoms below. When one king rules supreme, then, as I said, when Bavel rules, Paras and Madai were not nullified. They exist, they are only drawn along, they are annexed. For example, when Bavel ruled, both Paras and Madai were a kingdom in their own right, and Yavan in its own right, and Romi in its own right, only that Bavel led the governance.
"For each, two joined for each." Now he explains why there were four wings. For each individual of the Chayot, "ish" meaning like "yesh" (there was), for each individual of the Chayot there were two wings for flight, and they were joined to one another on the side where they were fixed in the body. As we saw above "joined one to another," and we explained that at the root the wings were in fact joined. Note, how many wings did they have? We already saw that they had four wings. Only that two of them were joined at the root. The Malbim says, the other two were not joined at the root. And these two were intended, "and two covered their bodies." These two were not intended for flight, but rather the two joined ones. But the two that were separated at their root, these two were intended in order to cover their bodies. The meaning of this is that each of them had a root of its own. And this comes to hint that even though the two flying wings were joined, and why? Since their flight is for one purpose, at the command of their Maker. Nevertheless, the two that were made in order to cover, and what is this covering? It is an aspect of concealment, He hides His face, He covers His essence, the wings in fact hover over the Chayot and cover them, this comes to hint at two separate matters. One matter, the concealment and hiddenness that exists in the very reality of the Chayot. For anything connected to matter, that is, we physical people, are unable to grasp an intellect that is abstracted from matter. So what does it have? It has wings that hover over it, concealing it. I, being of matter, am unable to grasp it. So there is here one concealment. Second, there is here an additional concealment, that it seeks and receives the light from the abundance above it, from the world of Beriah. For the Chayot are in the world of Yetzirah. They receive the abundance from the world of Beriah. And he tells you, this reality, as we already saw above, is an aspect of the hidden, the stored and the concealed, it is a very lofty reality that they are unable to grasp. And since this is so, there are here wings intended to cover also the grasp that they attain. So then, there are here two expressions of wings, and we already saw this above. One wing that hints that they do not truly grasp the bestowal that is above them, they receive the abundance but do not truly grasp the source. And second, that we do not grasp them. And this is the wings, which are the aspect of the wings, the second wing that comes to hint that the lower ones cannot truly grasp the aspect of the Chayot.