27 Nissan 5768 – Parshas Kedoshim 2 May 2008

Yechezkel Perokim 1 & 2

After agreeing to try and write something that might be one interesting and two intelligent, I then sat down and started to read over the first chapter of the Navi. Well the start is very famous and I knew what to expect, however then came chapter two. Anyway soon I was on my way and these are my thoughts on what I learnt. Please feel free to argue, debate and disagree on anything that I have written, because only through debate do we become wise.

So the opening chapter is a complete description of the "Ma'aseh Ma'merkava" (M.M) the Godly throne and those that surround it. We will not be discussing the deeper workings of the description and not a list of what each of the angels do etc, for two very good reasons. The first that Chazal placed a ban on learning these topics in large groups and two I can’t!

But what is important to note that this is the only place in the Tanach that such a detailed picture takes places. In truth if we were to ask, is this really the best place for such a description why is it mentioned here? Was Yechezkal the only one ever to see such a revelation?

I would guess that this type of revelation describing the throne of Glory which increases the awe and majesty in our eye’s, could have been placed in any of the following well know stories:

1. The creation of the world- some place in the first chapter of Torah would have been a nice introduction.

2. When God reveals himself to Avraham in the beginning of Lech Lechah.

3. When God visited Avraham after the Bris Milah.

4. Mattan Torah.

To list just the first four that came to my mind; I am sure that we could extend the list much longer. So what is really going on here? The gemara in Chagiga 13b, gives us an insight that answers both questions and raises another interesting point. The gemara wants to rate the different prophets and let us know that this prophecy was not unique to Yechezkal, but rather Yeshaya also saw the M.M and there is also a well known mechiltah that claims that by the Yam Suff, even a simple maid servant had a clearer revelation of Hashem than Yechezkal did! So why does Yechezkal draw for us this great picture where other prophets did not think that it was relevant?

Ok let’s go……. The gemara answers that in relation to the two prophet Yechezkel is like a villager, lets say some one from a small farming village that has never seen a large city and only knows his own village whereas Yeshaya is a city dweller, someone who lives in the centre of town. Let’s explain it a little bit clearer.

If you remember wondering around the old city in Jerusalem there are two very distinct types of people, those that rush through the narrow streets and are focused on the final destination. Then there are also those who are walking around in a daze trying to take in two thousand years of history and while they turn there head left and right and take more photos, they have almost forgotten their final destination. When they might ever get there it is almost irrelevant for them, since the simple experience of the old city is enough for them. This is the same with our prophet here. Agreed that others saw what he saw, and agreed another place in the Tanach might have added something. But it needed a prophet who saw the revelation as a "villager'' and not as a "city dweller". We needed to be reminded at that point in history of the ultimate glory of Hashem.

So too within our lives, we at times are running too much. We run from school to home, from home to friends and then to a hundred other places. Never, do we stop and look around and see what is going on around us -

We don’t see the beauty and grace of the world and the Torah. We need to take notice and see how a real person full of the sense that Hashem loves everyone, how they stand and talk, even before the Torah flows from their mouth.

There is a Gemara Yerushalmi, were different Amoraymin are explaining why they were able to become Torah giants. The discussion sounds so strange but I think that what we discussed above helps us to understand. So one turns to the other, and explains that he only he became great in Torah because he saw the arm of a great man when he was young, and that great man saw the face of another great man. The simple glance at another’s face should be enough. The Navi is shouting to us, take in what is around you allow your surroundings to prepare you for spiritual life.

Can anyone imagine what it must have felt to come to the Beis HaMikdash on the Regel? To see all the Jewish people gather together. To strengthen this point we know that the Torah commands men woman and children to come to Hakel, a service where the prince in Israel, reads from the Torah. The question is asked, men come to learn but why do woman need to come? The answer given there is that they come to see the awesome sight of so many Jews gathering together in service of God. There is so much value to being able to take in the positive messages form our surroundings. This is what the Navi wants us to understand.

From the second chapter in the Navi and onwards, when Hashem addresses Yecezkal He calls him Ben Adam. Now I am not sure if you realized that this is not very nice! He does have a name and he is a loyal servant so what is going on? One final question, Rashi and the Radak explain that this is a term of disgrace and that here the Navi is being told that you might have seen the M.M but still remember that you are just man. Nice, it sounds great that Hashem is reminding the Navi of humility but that could have been it. However one needs to look at what term Hashem uses to call him; Adam but not enosh or ish. The Zohar teaches that Hashem calls man by four names, gever, enosh, ish and adam and that adam is the greatest of them all.

Wait a second, what going on now? If Hashem wants to give Yechezkel a slice if humble pie, why not call him ensoh or ish? If you need to lower someone, do it fully? But here is the real beauty of the situation. The Navi has seen the M.M and now the Navi is in a dangerous position as he needs to keep his feet on the ground. So Hashem offers him a message that in one word expresses two different ideas that work together. The first is that Hashem reminds the Navi that he is just man and therefore is limited to the limitations of man, however at the same time he is also adam the highest level that mankind can reach. There is another medrash chazal, where the name adam the letter stand for Adam, David and Moshiach. The title adam is the expanse of the human existence the idea that encompasses all of mankind.

To conclude the Navi, is again showing us the lesson that takes a life-time to try and master. That on the one side we have this potential to reach the greatest heights that mankind can reach and on the other side, we need to understand that we are still mankind and no angels.

Have a great week and please email me with comments, ncdrickman@hotmail.com

By R’ Natan Rickman