Ma'aseh Merkabah

Ma'aseh Merkabah, Hebrew "Work of Chariot," is one of the oldest branches of

Jewish mysticism, which consists of theory and practice based upon the description
of the chariot of God in the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel. Within the system
of Ma'aseh Merkabah this chariot was believed to be the spiritual world itself,
divided into seven heavens and staffed by various wonderful angelic powers. The
structure of the chariot was describes in handbooks distributed during the heyday
of the Ma'aseh Merkabah, which lasted from about 300 BCE until the Middle
Ages.
The several surviving handbooks indicate they were to be used with oral
instruction. Many details of the theory were unclear. What was clear, though, was
that the Merkabah mystics were not content to steady and meditate on the structure
of heaven, but they were equally interested in going there through visionary
journeys which are described in detail in various accounts.
Practicing Merkabah was considered to be both holy and dangerous. In
the Talmud it is related that a child was studying the scriptures his teacher's home,
and he comprehended the secret meaning of the word clashmal, radiance, suddenly
a fire came forth from the clashmal and consumed him.
The Ma'aseh Merkabah was still practiced in some circles during the first
development of the Kabbalah, and its practice emerged into the latter. But unlike
the Ma'aseh Merkabah the Kabbalah relies on meditation to achieve spiritual
development rather than ecstatic visionary experiences. A.G.H.
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/ma'aseh_merkabah.html

MA'ASEH BERESHIT; MA'ASEH MERKABAH (literally, "work of Creation"

and "work of the Chariot"):
By: Joseph Jacobs, A. Biram

Table of Contents
Creation Mystery.
Chariot of Fire.
Practical Applications.

Source of Doctrines.
Talmudic terms for the esoteric doctrine of the universe, or for parts of it (comp. Cabala).
Ma'aseh Bereshit, following Gen. i., comprises the cosmogony of the Talmudic times;
Ma'aseh Merkabah, based on the description of the Divine Chariot in Ezek. i., and on other
prophetic descriptions of divine manifestations, such as that in Isa. vi., is concerned with the
theosophic views of those times. The secret doctrine might not be discussed in public.
Ecclesiasticus (iii. 21-22) inveighs against its study: "Seek not out the things that are too hard
for thee, neither search the things that are above thy strength. But what is commanded thee,
think thereupon with reverence; for it is not needful for thee to see with thine eyes the things
that are in secret." Hag. ii. 1 says: "Ma'aseh Bereshit must not be explained before two, nor
Ma'aseh Merkabah before one, unless he be wise and understands it by himself"; Hag. 13a
then goes on to explain that the chapter-headings of Ma'aseh Merkabah may be taught, as was
done by R. Hiyya. According to Yer. Hag. ii. 1, the teacher read the headings of the chapters,
after which, subject to the approval of the teacher, the pupil read to the end of the chapter. R.
Zera said that even the chapter-headings might be communicated only to a person who was
head of a school and was cautious in temperament. According to R. Ammi, the secret doctrine
might be entrusted only to one who possessed the five qualities enumerated in Isa. iii. 3. A
certain age is, of course, necessary. When R. Johanan wished to initiate R. Eliezer in the
Ma'aseh Merkabah, the latter answered, "I am not yet old enough." A boy who recognized the
meaning of
(Ezek. i. 4) was consumed by fire (Hag. 13b), and the perils connected with
the unauthorized discussion of these subjects are often described (Hag. ii. 1; Shab. 80b).
Creation Mystery.
Hag. 11b states that it is permissible to inquire concerning the events of the six days of
Creation, but not regarding what happened before the Creation. In no case, then, is the entire
cosmogony included in the term "Ma'aseh Bereshit," but only its more mystic aspects, nor
can all the passages of the Talmud and the Midrash dealing with these problems be
considered as parts of the doctrine. Thus, ideas like those regarding the ten agencies by means
of which God created the world, or questions as to whether heaven or earth was first created,
or concerning the foundations of the world, or as to whether there are two heavens or seven
(all these problems being mentioned in connection with the interdiction against teaching the
Ma'aseh Bereshit to more than one person), do not belong to the doctrine itself, for such
arguments are forbidden by the dictum, "Thou mayest speak of the seven heavens, but of the
things thereafter thou mayest not speak." The views which are found scattered throughout the
Talmud, and especially in Gen. R. i.-xii., are generally haggadic in character; indeed the
question arises whether anything more than mere allusions may be expected therein regarding
the Ma'aseh Bereshit in so far as it is esoteric in content. Some information seems to be
given, though only by intimation, in the well-known story in Hag. 14b-15b of the four
scholars that entered paradise (that is, penetrated the mysteries of the secret doctrine), of
whom only R. Akiba remained uninjured. R. Akiba's words at the beginning of the story
(14b), "When ye reach the shining marble stone do not cry out 'Water, water,'" seem to point
to those theories of Creation which assume water to be the original element.

Ben Yoma is represented as interested in the determination of the space between the upper
and lower waters. Hag. ii. 1 also indicates this in the story of R. Judah b. Pazzi, who opened
his discourse on Ma'aseh Bereshit with the words, "In the beginning the world was water in
water." Thus the question of the primal elements undoubtedly belongs to this field. Here
again one must distinguish haggadic and devotional from mystic and philosophical thought,
and must not teach views such as that the world was created out of "tohu" and "bohu" and
"h oshek," or that air, wind, and storm were the primal elements, as component parts of the

doctrine of Creation. In like manner the cosmogonic conceptions of the Apocrypha and of
geonic mysticism must not be considered as indications of the secret teachings of the Ma'aseh
Bereshit.
Chariot of Fire.
Somewhat simpler is the question regarding the nature of the Ma'aseh Merkabah, which is
designated as "an important matter" in the Talmud (Suk. 28a) and which, perhaps, occupies
on the whole a more prominent position than the Ma'aseh Bereshit. Just as in the case of the
latter, the purely haggadic explanations of Ezek. i., as found, for instance, in Hag. 13b, must
not be taken into consideration. Thischapter of Ezekiel, it is declared, may be studied even by
young pupils, because a boy can seldom recognize the doctrines implied therein. The object,
therefore, was to find special secrets in these verses. R. Akiba is said (Hag. 15b-16a) to have
gathered his mystic deductions from Deut. xxxiii. 2 ("and he came with ten thousands of
saints"), Cant. v. 10 ("the chiefest among ten thousand"), Isa. xlviii. 2 ("The Lord of hosts is
his name"), and I Kings xix. 11, 12 (Elijah's great theophany). The Ma'aseh Merkabah,
therefore, dealt with esoteric teachings concerning the visible manifestations of God, and
hence with angelology and demonology, though not to the same degree as in Talmudic
literature. As the story of R. Akiba indicates, the other theophanies mentioned in the Bible
were used in the Ma'aseh Merkabah; Hag. 13b shows, e.g., that this was the case with Isa. vi.
Practical Applications.
The Ma'aseh Merkabah seems to have had practical applications. The belief was apparently
current that certain mystic expositions of the Ezekiel chapter, or the discussion of objects
connected with it, would cause God to appear. When R. Eleazar b. 'Arak was discoursing
upon the Ma'aseh Merkabah to R. Johanan b. Zakkai, the latter dismounted from his ass,
saying, "It is not seemly that I sit on the ass while you are discoursing on the heavenly
doctrine, and while the Divinity is among us and ministering angels accompany us." Then a
fire came down from heaven and surrounded all the trees of the field, whereupon all of them
together began to recite the hymn of praise. R. Jose ha-Kohen and R. Joshua (according to
Yer. Hag. ii. 1, R. Simon b. Nathanael) had similar experiences. The belief in the appearance
of God is indicated also in the popular idea that all who inquire into the mysteries of the
Ma'aseh Merkabah without being duly authorized will die a sudden death. Such a divine
interposition is expressly mentioned in connection with the "story of the Creation" in Sanh.
95b. Rab Hananiah and Rab Hoshaiah studied the "Sefer Yez i rah" and the "Hilkot Yez i rah"
respectively every Sabbath evening and succeeded in creating a calf as large as a three-yearold ox.

This esoteric tendency, originating in pagan conceptions in connection with certain Bible
stories, must have led often to pessimistic and nihilistic views, as is shown by the accounts of
Ah er or Elisha b. Abuyah (Hag. 15a, b), and the Mishnaic passage, "He who speaks of the
things which are before, behind, above, and below, it were better he had never been born."
According to a tradition handed down by Jose b. Judah, a tanna of the second half of the
second century (Tosef., Hag. ii. 2; Hag. 14b; Yer. Hag. ii. 1), Johanan b. Zakkai was the
founder of the secret doctrine. In the same passage, in both Talmuds, it is said, however, that
he refused to discuss it, even in the presence of a single person, although, as already stated, R.
Eleazar b. 'Arak discoursed on it with him and was extravagantly praised by him; two other
pupils of his, R. Joshua and R. Jose ha-Kohen, also discussed it with him. According to
tradition, the second one to give instruction in these matters was R. Joshua, vice-president of
the Sanhedrin under R. Gamaliel. He was succeeded by R. Akiba, and the last to teach them
was R. Neh unya b. ha-Kanah. R. Jose the Galilean and Pappus discussed the subject with R.
Akiba (Hag. 14a; Gen. R. xxi.). The tradition, quoted above, of the four who studied the

secret doctrine mentions, besides Akiba, Simeon b. 'Azzai, Simeon b. Zoma, and Elisha b.
Abuyah. The fate of the last-named, who was driven from Judaism by his experience, is said
to have given rise to restrictive measures. The study of profane books was forbidden (Sanh.
100), and an interdiction of the public discussion of these subjects was issued, only R.
Ishmael objecting. In the time of R. Judah, R. Judah b. Pazzi and Bar Kappara delivered
public discourses on these mysteries (Yer. Hag. ii. 1; Gen. R. i.). R. Levi regarding this as
inadmissible, R. Hiyya declared that the chapter-headings might be taught. R. Judah ha-Nasi
was at this time the authority to whom, as formerly to R. Johanan, such matters were referred.
In later times the interdiction against public discussions of the story of the Creation was
accepted without protest, but by way of warning this saying (Hag. 16a) of Resh Lak ish was
added: "His eyes shall be dull who looketh on three thingsthe rainbow [because it
resembles Ezekiel's vision], the king [because he resembles God in majesty], and the priest
[because he utters the name of God]."
Source of Doctrines.
This Talmudic doctrine may well be connected with the old Jewish esoteric teachings of the
time of the Second Temple, as partly preserved in the Apocrypha and the pseudepigrapha; but
the theosophic and cosmogonic portions of this literature can not with certainty be regarded
as the source of the Talmudic doctrine, nor can the literature of the so-called geonic
mysticism, crystallized in the Ma'aseh Bereshit and the Ma'aseh Merkabah and designated in
its literary form by these names, be regarded as the immediate continuation of Talmudic
mysticism. Although much of the material found in the former may belong to the Talmud, yet
the entire doctrine of the heavenly halls, angelology, and the doctrine of the Creation as it is
found, for instance, in the "Sefer Yez irah," must not be regarded as Talmudic in origin. The
very fact that there are so many Talmudic and midrashic parallels to the conceptions of the
geonic period leads to the conclusion that they contain only a limited amount of original
material from the ancient esoteric teachings. It may be mentioned, finally, that Maimonides
interprets Ma'aseh Bereshit as referring to physics and Ma'aseh Merkabah as referring to
metaphysics. See also Merkabah.

Bibliography:
Hamburger, R. B. T. ii., s.v. Geheimlehre;
Zunz, G. V. 2d ed., v. 171-173.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10229-ma-aseh-bereshit-ma-aseh-merkabah

Maaseh Merkabah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 first 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[edit]

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. Specific 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 Yofiel, 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 SPYSTWS NWMSTWS
'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. H 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[edit]
1.

Jump up^ Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash Hermann Leberecht Strack, Gnter
Stemberger, Markus Bockmuehl - 1991 Ma'aseh Merkabah was first edited ...

2.

Jump up^ Michael D. Swartz, Mystical Prayer in Ancient Judaism: An Analysis of

Maaseh Merkavah Coronet Books, 1991, p. 3.

3.

Jump up^ Swartz, pg. 224

4.

Jump up^ Swartz, pg. 235 ff.

5.

Jump up^ Swartz, pg. 235 ff.

6.

Jump up^ Swartz, pg. 238 ff.