Merkabah: Why Was Ezekiel's Chariot Too Dangerous to Teach?
The fiery throne-chariot of Ezekiel's vision, so dangerous to study that the rabbis restricted who could even discuss it.
Merkabah means "chariot," the name later readers gave to the throne vision of Ezekiel 1. The rabbis restricted its study, and the Hekhalot texts describe mystics who "descend to the chariot" through seven heavenly palaces.
Merkabah means "chariot." Ezekiel never uses the word for his vision of the living creatures, wheels and sapphire throne, but later readers did. 1 Chronicles 28:18 speaks of gold "for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims," and the book of Sirach says, "It was Ezekiel who saw the glorious vision, which was shewed him upon the chariot of the cherubims." The chariot became shorthand for God's throne in motion.
The rabbis treated the subject as hazardous. The Mishnah (Hagigah 2:1) says the account of the chariot may not be expounded even to one student, unless he is a sage who understands on his own. The Talmud tells of four rabbis who entered "the orchard," a mystical ascent: one died, one went mad, one became a heretic, and only Rabbi Akiva came out in peace.
From about the third century CE, a body of Hebrew writings called Hekhalot ("palaces") describes mystics who "descend to the chariot," passing seven palaces guarded by angels who must be shown secret names and seals. 3 Enoch belongs to this literature. Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice already describe chariots and wheels praising God in heavenly temples. Today "merkaba" is also a New Age term for a star-shaped light vehicle, a modern idea not found in the ancient sources.
Ancient rabbis ruled that the first chapter of Ezekiel was too dangerous to teach openly, and told a story in which mystical study of it left one man dead and another insane.
Scholars see Merkabah mysticism as a meditative and visionary practice rooted in temple worship, and note that the modern "merkaba" light-body concept has no basis in these texts.
