Prophetic inspiration is often said to come from the Holy Spirit. In its most powerful manifestation, prophetic inspiration made it possible for the greatest of all figures in Jewish history, such as Abraham and Moses, to communicate directly with God. But over time the potency of divine inspiration waned. Indeed, the primary pattern is one of a progressive loss of prophetic inspiration. This is the kind of direct knowledge of God demonstrated by Abraham and Moses, which is replaced by the prophecy of the prophets such as Ezekiel and Isaiah, whose knowledge of the divine comes from apparitions and visions. This kind of prophecy, in turn, is replaced by the prophecy of the sages. Here the sages derive their knowledge from a process of reasoning, yet it must be validated by prophetic inspiration, which gives it the seal of truth. By this time prophetic inspiration has become a kind of intuition of the divine, in which the voice of God must be heard inside oneself. When Elijah stands on the mountain and the Lord passes by, Elijah does not find God in the wind, in an earthquake, and in a fire. Instead, he finds God in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12). This seems like a good description of the kind of intuition that has replaced prophecy since rabbinic times.
The generational change portrayed in this myth of the Holy Spirit parallels that of the transition from patriarchs to priests to rabbis. Before the Temple was destroyed, its priests dominated Jewish ritual life. But when the Temple was destroyed, the responsibility for sustaining the heritage fell to the rabbis, as did prophetic inspiration. One famous hasidic tale of Rabbi Israel of Rizhin (1797-1850) describes how each succeeding generation knows less of a ritual performed in a forest by the Ba’al Shem Tov (1700-1760), until the latest generation knows only the story about it (Knesset Yisrael 12a). See “Lighting a Fire” in Gabriel’s Palace, pp. 209-210.
Sefer Hasidim (par. 1473) speaks of a kind of prophetic wisdom in which it is possible to look at a piece of meat and know whether the slaughterer had intercourse with his wife on the previous night. This reflects one vision of the Tzaddik, the exceptionally righteous man, who, like the Ari, can look at a man’s forehead and read the history of his soul (known as Metoposcopy), or point to a stone in the wall and tell whose soul is trapped in it. Rabbi Yitzhak Eizik Safrin of Komarno states that “There are letters written on every part of the human body which can be seen and read by a Tzaddik. These letters appear mainly on the forehead and reveal a person’s character (Zohar Hai, Yitro 92-93). All of these are examples of prophetic inspiration, but none approach the kind of divine illumination experienced by the patriarchs—Abraham, who spoke with God on several occasions; Isaac, whose soul is said to have left his body and traveled to heaven during the Akedah (the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22); and Jacob, who not only had the dream of the ladder reaching to heaven, but also wrestled with a mysterious angel. There are all kinds of remarkable traditions about Moses, particularly about his heavenly ascent to receive the Torah directly from God. An extensive tradition also grew up around Enoch’s ascent into Paradise and his transformation into the angel Metatron. See “The Metamorphosis and Enthronement of Enoch,” p. 166. The prophets, too, received messages from on high and reported God’s words in their writings. After that, however, these prophecies came to an end.
Sources:
Targum Pseudo-Yonathan 22:19; B. Megillah 7a; Pesikta Rabbati 3:4; Ecclesiastes Rabbah 3:4, 12:7; Seder Olam 15; B Sanhedrin 11; Sefer Yetzirah 1:6-9, 6:1; Sefer Hasidim, par. 1473; Ma’ayan Hokhmah in Otzar Midrashim pp. 306-311; Zohar 1:79a.
Studies:
The Early Kabbalah, edited by Joseph Dan, pp. 49-53.
Prophetic Inspiration After the Prophets: Maimonides and Other Medieval Authorities by Abraham Joshua Heschel.
“The Debut of the Divine Spirit in Josephus’s Antiquities” by John R. Levison.
“The Holy Spirit in Rabbinic Legend” by A. Marmorstein.
26. THE BREATH OF GOD
At the time of the creation of the world, God’s Throne of Glory stood in space, hovering over the surface of the waters like a dove over its nest, suspended by means of the breath of the mouth of God, as it is said, and a wind from God sweeping over the water (Gen. 1:2). Four gatherings of angels sang praises before Him, and the waters rose up and touched His throne. And God himself sat at the center on his lofty and exalted throne, elevated and suspended in the air, and his gaze encompassed the entire world.
The Hebrew term for “the spirit of God” is “Ruah Elohim,” which also means “the breath of God.” The image of God sitting on his lofty and exalted throne is borrowed from Isaiah 6:1 and is repeated in Daniel 7:9. See “Isaiah’s Vision,” p. 3.
Sources:
Rashi on Gen. 1:2; Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 4; Midrash Tehillim 93:5.
27. THE MIND OF GOD
In the beginning God’s mind had everything in it, all that existed or would come to exist. It contained the darkness and the void, the light and the earth, as well as all yet to be called into being. It contained the colors of the rainbow, although no rainbow had yet shone. It contained the green color of the leaves and all the shades of the sunset, as well as the brightness of light that had not yet been brought into being.
Here all of existence is said to have existed in God’s mind before it was created. The concept has a strong echo of the Platonic archetype, but here the archetypes all find their origin in God’s mind.
This myth grows out of the belief that God’s presence filled all of the universe before the Creation, and it follows logically the kind of personification of God so common in rabbinic sources. Thus if God has eyes, a voice, hands, and feet, etc., God also has a mind and His own thoughts. This also follows the metaphor of God as the divine architect, who carefully planned out all of Creation long before the first day, when God said, Let there be light (Gen. 1:3).
Sources:
Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael be-Shalah 133; Sefer ha-Zikhronot 1:1.
Studies:
The God of the Beginnings by Robert Aron, pp. 75-100.
28. THE EYES OF GOD
From His throne in heaven, God’s eyes observe all that takes place in the world. With one of His eyes, He sees from one end of the universe to the other. With His other eye, He sees behind Him that which has yet to happen. Nothing, not even the future, is hidden from God. Even before a person has crystallized a thought in his mind, God already knows it. God sees what is in the light and what is in the dark. There are no secret places for people to hide where God will not see them. Even those who transgress with utmost secrecy in the innermost chambers of their dwellings, in a place of darkness and in an area completely hidden—even those will go down to Gehenna, for God sees them.
God is vigilant both day and night. And on Rosh ha-Shanah all creatures are reviewed by the eyes of God at a single glance.
The principle that God sees all deeds is one of the essential beliefs of Judaism. Virtually each of the assertions made here about God is based on a biblical verse including The eyes of Yahweh are everywhere (Prov. 15:3); “If a man enters a hiding place, Do I not see him?” (Jer. 23:24); For Yahweh searches all minds and discerns the design of every thought (1 Chron. 28:9); and He reveals deep and hidden things, knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him (Dan. 2:22).
Another reference to the eyes of God is found in “Abraham’s Dying Vision,” p. 347. For a modern story based on the concept of the eyes of God, see “The Aleph” by Jorge Luis Borges in his Collected Fictions, pp. 274-286
Sources:
Midrash Tanhuma, Naso 6; Numbers Rabbah 11:6; Midrash Tanhuma, Vayak-hel 2; Midrash Tanhuma, ve-Atah Tetzaveh 6; Genesis Rabbah 9:3; Exodus Rabbah 21:3; Eliyahu Rabbah 18:108; Shi’ur Komah; Hekhalot Rabbati 1.
29. THE FACE OF GOD
The face of the God of Israel is a lovely face, a majestic face, a face of beauty, a face of flame. When God sits on His Throne of Glory, His majesty surpasses the beauty of the bridegroom and bride in their bridal chambers.
Whoever beholds the face of God will be torn to pieces at once, as it is said, “
You cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live,” (Exod. 33:20).
The tradition that a human may not behold God’s face derives from Exodus. Moses asked God to behold His Presence, but God told him that “You cannot see my face, for man may not see Me and live” (Exod. 33:20).
This myth presents an essential paradox about the nature of God’s face. On the one hand it is said to be beautiful beyond measure or imagination. On the other hand, whoever beholds it will be instantly “torn to pieces.” This might suggest that some heavenly guard, such as those found at each gate of the heavenly palaces, will attack if the one who has ascended glimpses God’s face. However, the same passage in Hekhalot Rabbati offers another metaphor for the destruction that will take place: whoever glimpses God’s beauty will instantly pour himself out as a vessel.
In Moses, Martin Buber speculates that since “man may not see Me and live,” and since God is said to have led the people, that “YHVH goes ahead of the people in order to overthrow foes who meet them on the way.” This may explain the meaning of Deuteronomy 4:37, where God is said to have led the people out of Egypt “with His face.”
Even the angels who sing before God are incinerated after singing for only one day. See “The River of Fire,” p. 158.
Sources:
Hekhalot Rabbati 8.
Studies:
Moses: The Revelation and the Covenant by Martin Buber, p. 155.
30. THE SIZE OF GOD
We can begin to comprehend the greatness of God from the size of His fist, as it is said, Who measured the waters with the hollow of His hand (Isa. 40:12).
His greatness can also be determined from his size of his finger, as it is said, And meted earth’s dust with a measure (Isa. 40:12).
We can also learn about God’s greatness from his dwelling place. Although the heavens extend above the sea, as well as all the inhabited and uninhabited lands, they still do not contain God’s throne.
Many esoteric Jewish texts are devoted to describing God’s gigantic size and characteristics. The best known of these texts is Shi’ur Komah. Less comprehensive descriptions of God’s size are found throughout rabbinic literature, as here from Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu, which describes the size of God’s fist and his finger, as well as suggesting the enormity of God’s throne. See “The Body of God,” p. 24.
Sources:
Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu, Bereshit 5.
Studies:
The Anatomy of God by Roy A. Rosenberg.
The Mystical Shape of the Godhead by Gershom Shalom.
31. THE THREE KEYS
Three keys are in the hand of God that have not been entrusted to anyone—not to an angel, nor to a seraph, nor even to a troop of seraphim. Rather, God keeps them in His own hand. They are the key of the rains, the key of the womb, and the key of the resurrection of the dead.
The key of the rains opens the Treasury of Rain in the sixth heaven.
The key of birth is the key to the Guf, where the souls of those who have not yet been born are kept.
But no one knows where the key to the resurrection of the dead is hidden, not even the angels. Nor will God take it out until the time has come for the footsteps of the Messiah to be heard.
This tradition of three keys is attributed to the talmudic sage, Rabbi Yohanan. These are understood to be the most important keys—to the rain, representing nature; to birth, i.e., life; and to the resurrection of the dead, which is rebirth after death. Each of these is a life-giving force. The extensive traditions about God delegating various heavenly responsibilities to Metatron, in particular, as well as to other angels, are counteracted here with the assertion that God retains the core power of life-giving, and that is the essential power of God; nothing else really matters. This kind of struggle over the primacy of God’s role is an integral part of the ongoing dialectic found in Jewish mythology.
Battei Midrashot lists many other keys that God holds: the key of sustenance, the key of femininity, the key to manna, the key of the renewal of the kingdom, the key of the eyes, the key of silence, the key of the lips, the key of the tongue, the key of prisoners, the key of the land, the key of the Garden of Eden, and the key of Gehenna. Each of these assertions is accompanied by a prooftext that demonstrates that God does indeed hold that key, such as, He rained manna upon them for food (Ps. 78:24) to demonstrate that God holds the key to the manna. See “The Treasury of Souls,” p. 166.
Sources:
B. Ta’anit 2a; Pesikta Rabbati 42:7; Battei Midrashot 2:367-369.
32. THE ARMS OF GOD
God carries everything beneath His arms. With His right arm he carries the heavens, and with His left arm he carries the earth. How much do God’s arms carry? The left carries the 18,000 worlds that surround this world. The right carries 120,000 worlds of the World to Come.
The length of God’s arms is like the length of this world from one end to another; the width, like the width of this world. And the radiance of God’s arm is like the splendor of the sun in the season of Tammuz.
This myth finds its biblical source in Deuteronomy 33:27: The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. This can also be understood as underneath the arms is the world. The mythic notion that the heavens, and all that is in them, hang beneath God’s right arm, and the earth, and all that is in it, hangs beneath His left arm, portrays everything as completely dependent on a God who is larger than the universe. Other myths describe the world hung like an amulet from God’s arm. See “A Universe of Water,” p. 94. Still others describe God using His arms to destroy prior worlds. See “Prior Worlds,” p. 71. Yet others assert that the Torah is inscribed on God’s arm (Merkavah Rabbah). See “The Torah Written on the Arm of God,” p. 252.
Sources:
B. Hagigah 12b; Sefer Hekhalot in Beit ha-Midrash 5:189-190; Midrash Konen in Beit ha-Midrash 2:34; Seder Rabbah di-Bereshit 467, 743, 784, 840; Midrash Aleph Bet 3:1, 3:5.
Studies:
“Arm of the Lord: Biblical Myth, Rabbinic Midrash, and the Mystery of History” by Michael Fishbane.
33. GOD’S HANDS
The name of God’s right hand is Just, and the name of the left is Holy. Sometimes God uses one hand to create something, and sometimes he uses both hands. God used only one hand to create a holy mountain, for it is written, He brought them to His holy realm, the mountain His right hand had acquired (Ps. 78:54). But both Adam and the Temple were created with both of God’s hands.
How do we know that God created Adam using both hands? Because it is written Your hands have made me and fashioned me (Ps. 119:73). And how do we know that the Temple was created with both hands of God? From the verse The sanctuary, O Yahweh, which Your hands established (Exod. 15:17).
That God used His hands to create Adam is strongly suggested by the biblical text: the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth (Gen. 2:7).
This midrash about God’s hands suggests an underlying myth that God can create using a single hand or both hands. Biblical verses are brought in to prove that God created using both methods. A holy mountain, probably Sinai, was created with one hand, while biblical verses about Adam and the Temple describe them as having been created out of both hands. These latter two are among God’s finest creations, and it is implied that they were even better because they were created with both of God’s hands.
It is interesting to contrast the myths about God’s words with those about God’s hands. Because Genesis begins with a creation myth in which God creates through His words, creation through speech became the dominant tradition. But there is also an extensive rabbinic tradition that God made use of His hands. This brief myth from Avot de-Rabbi Natan describes God using his hands to create a mountain, a man, and a Temple. Shloyshe Sheorim explains that God created the world using both of His hands.
See “Creation from a Mold,” p. 134, for an alternate account of God creating Adam using his hands. For another example of God’s use of His hands, see “The Work of Creation,” p. 90
, where God forms the world out of balls of fire and ice, that He crushes together. Other examples abound.
Sources:
Avot de-Rabbi Natan 1; Shloyshe Sheorim; Hekhalot Rabbati 10.
34. THE BODY OF GOD
What is the appearance of God? God is fire and His throne is fire. Clouds and fog surround him. His face and His cheeks are in the image of the spirit, and therefore no man is able to recognize Him. With one eye God sees from one end of the universe to the other. The sparks that go forth from that eye give light to everyone. With the other eye, God looks behind Himself to see the future.
God’s splendor fills the universe, luminous and awesome from within the darkness. Platoons of anger are to His right and to His left are splendid bolts of beauty and darkness and cloud, and before him lies a field of stars. His arms are folded. His cheeks are like a bed of spices, as it is said, His cheeks are like a bed of spices (S. of S. 5:13).
When God moves, there move behind him cherubs of fire and hailstones to His right, and to His left, the wings of storm and the might of the whirlwind.
What is the measure of God’s body? His little finger fills the entire universe. His tongue stretches from the one end of the universe to the other. His mouth is fire consuming fire.
It is said that whoever knows the measurement of his Creator and the glory of God is secure in this world and in the World to Come. He will live long in this world, and live long and well in the World to Come.
Certain mystical texts, especially Shi’ur Komah, describe the body of God in great, sometimes ludicrous, detail. Even God’s sexual organ is described and its size detailed. All of these measurements, given in parasangs, are gigantic. As noted here, “even His little finger fills the entire universe.” These texts show a strange literalism in which God shares the anatomy of a man. The point is that God’s size is so large that it cannot be imagined, although, in describing God’s anatomy in great detail, these texts are in fact explicitly imagining it. Were these strange measurements meant to have been taken literally? Like all allegorical material in kabbalistic texts, especially in the Zohar, there is an ambivalence about this. On the one hand, Shi’ur Komah takes the issue of precise measurements very seriously, expanding the myth of God’s gigantic body. On the other hand, there is a distinct awareness that these texts are also to be understood in allegorical terms. This represents the antimythological impulses within kabbalah. The central dialectic of kabbalah is focused on the debate between these two perspectives, the mythic
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