Maaseh Merkabah

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The Ma'aseh Merkabah ("Work of the Chariot" !"#$ !%&'$ ) is a Hebrew-language Jewish mystical
text dating from the Gaonic period which comprises a collection of hymns recited by the
"descenders" and heard during their ascent. It is part of the tradition of Merkabah mysticism and the
Hekhalot literature. The text was rst edited by Gershom Scholem (1965).
[1]
An English translation
by Janowitz can be found in her Poetics of Ascent, pages 2981. The critical edition and translation
of the text was published by Michael D. Swartz
[2]
Contents
Like most other Hekhalot texts, the Ma'aseh Merkabah revolves around the knowledge of secret
names of God used theurgically for mystical ascent. It begins with a conversation between Rabbi
Ishmael and Rabbi Aqiba,
[3]
where the latter expounds on the mysteries of the spiritual world, as
well as describing the appearance of the heavenly planes. Hymns with longs lists of secret names of
God are present throughout the text, as well as many angel names including a section listing the
various angelic rules of the 7 palaces. Specic ritual instructions are also given at various points in
the text, including a technique to invoke the angel of the Presence:
The name of the prince of the Torah is Yoel, and everyone who seeks him must sit for
40 days in fast, eat his bread with salt, and must not eat unclean food; he must perform
24 immersions, and not look at any kind of coloured garments; his eyes must be cast to
the ground. And he must pray with all his strength, direct his heart to his prayer, and seal
himself with his own seal, and pronounce 12 utterances: 'You are living God in heaven,
engraved as a SPYS!WS NWMS!WS 'QNYPWS 'NBY...'
[4]
After more formulas, another prayer and ritual is given to protect the practitioner when the angel of
the presence (named as PDQRM or PNQRS in the text
[5]
) descends. This involves the recitation of
various divine names over one's body, referred to as "seals", designed to ensure that the mystic does
not perish due to the fearsome power of the angel:
Blessed are you YY who created heaven and earth with your wisdom. Your name is
forever. "Y 'WP SYSY PYY'W LW SM BY KYH TNYY the name of Your servant. By
the Seven Seals that Rabbi Ishmael sealed on his heart. 'WRYS SSTYY on my feet, 'BG
BGG on my heart, 'RYS TYP' on my right arm, 'WRYS TSY Y'H on my left arm...(etc.)
[6]
The text ends with a series of hymns for further ascent.
References
^ Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Hermann Leberecht Strack, Gnter Stemberger, Markus
Bockmuehl - 1991 Ma'aseh Merkabah was rst edited ...
1.
^ Michael D. Swartz, Mystical Prayer in Ancient Judaism: An Analysis of Ma!aseh Merkavah Coronet
Books, 1991, p. 3.
2.
Maaseh Merkabah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maaseh_Merkabah
1 von 2 07.07.14 08:47
^ Swartz, pg. 224 3.
^ Swartz, pg. 235 ff. 4.
^ Swartz, pg. 235 ff. 5.
^ Swartz, pg. 238 ff. 6.
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