Merkaba

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Engraving of the Merkaba vision of Ezekiel from the Iconum Biblicarum by Matthäus Merian (1593–1650).

Merkaba ( old Hebrew מרכבה ' Chariot ' ) refers to the “throne chariot ” of the vision of Ezekiel (in Ezek 1, 4  EU ).

Merkaba mysticism

The Merkabamystik or Merkabah literature refers to a prior Kabbalistic flow within the Jewish mysticism . This first epoch of Jewish mysticism stretched from the first century BC to the 10th century of the Christian era. No names have survived from the heyday of this trend (3rd to 6th centuries). The Merkaba mystics were less interested in immersing themselves in the true essence of God than in the mysteries of the heavenly world of the throne. Its significance for the Merkaba mystic may be compared to that of the pleroma for the Hellenistic or early Christian Gnosticbe compared. After appropriate preparations, which extend over a longer period of time, the mystic arrives at a direct view of the majesty of God on his throne. On the way there, which is called "ascent into the throne world", various thresholds must be crossed and dangers must be passed. In later layers of merkabah literature there is talk of a descent rather than an ascent, and the corresponding mystics in this later layer referred to themselves asירדי מרכבה Jorde Merkaba , German for 'those descending to the Merkaba' ; according to Gershom Scholem, this reversal probably took place around the 3rd century. The ascent or descent is "a dangerous hike through the seven heavenly palaces in front of God's throne", which is a Jewish variant of the ascent of the soul among the Gnostics and Hermeticists of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The archons there , who are “hostile to the liberation of the soul from the bonds of the world”, correspond here to the gatekeepers; in order to pass, the ascending / descending person has to pronounce a specific password at each station, which consists of a secret name. These passwords became longer mantras over time . Most of the texts are devoted to the heavenly liturgy; they quote hymns that the angels or the four living beings who carry the divine throne sing. These songs usually end with the triple saint of Isa 6,3  EU . The solemn and monotonous uniformity of the hymns should certainly also promote ecstasy. This area also includes the description of the divine palace or temple, which is why Hechalotmystik (היכלות, Pl. From Hebrew היכל Hechal 'temple' or 'palace') speaks.

According to the Mishnah ( Chagiga 2: 1) it is forbidden to teach even one person in the introduction to the book of Ezekiel unless that disciple is wise and able to understand the material himself. Maimonides qualifies this prohibition as binding halacha . His main philosophical work, The Leader of the Undecided , is an attempt to reconcile the study of the Bible with that of Aristotelian philosophy. The explanations about the Merkaba ( Ma'asse Merkaba ) are equated with metaphysics .

Others

Mircea Eliade points out the similarities between shamanic “vehicles” and the merkabah.

Josef F. Blumrich (1913–2002) thought he recognized the Merkaba not just as Ezekiel's vision, but as a real spacecraft . In the 1960s , he and his colleagues at NASA were responsible , among other things, for the design and construction of a stage of the Saturn V moon rocket . Utilizing the experience gained, Blumrich reconstructed Ezekiel's car as a spacecraft and depicted it in all details in drawings. The description in chapter 1 of the book of Ezekiel was taken literally . Blumrich came to the conclusion that it was a vertically launching spacecraft whose four wheels could be rotated in all directions.

Building on Blumrich's considerations, Hans Herbert Beier (1929–2004), also an engineer at a large company, identified the temples described in chapters 40 to 47 of the book Ezekiel as launching, landing and maintenance facilities for the spacecraft. He also describes the buildings in detail - although they have not been localized to this day - strictly adhering to Ezekiel's descriptions.

The contemporary German painter Anselm Kiefer titled one of his large-format pictures in 1987, which shows a crashing fighter plane from the Second World War , Merkaba . He later added this picture to an entire cycle of Merkaba, which was shown in 2002 at the Gagosian Gallery , New York.

literature

  • Hans Herbert Beier: Key witness Ezekiel. His report - his temple - his spaceships. Ronacher, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-923191-10-3 .
  • Josef F. Blumrich: Then heaven opened up (Ezekiel chapter 1, verse 1). The spaceships of the prophet Ezekiel and their confirmation by the most modern technology. Econ-Verlag, Düsseldorf / Vienna 1973, ISBN 3-430-11353-9 (in English: The Spaceships of Ezekiel. Corgi Books, London 1974, ISBN 0-552-09556-7 ).
  • Rachel Elior: The Three Temples. On the Emergence of Jewish Mysticism. Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, Oxford a. a. 2005, ISBN 1-904113-33-8 .
  • David J. Halperin: The Faces of the Chariot. Early Jewish responses to Ezekiel's vision (= texts and studies on ancient Judaism. Vol. 16). Mohr, Tübingen 1988, ISBN 3-16-145115-5 .
  • David J. Halperin: Seeking Ezekiel. Texts and Psychology. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park PA 1993, ISBN 0-271-00947-0 .
  • Bill Rebiger: The Ladder Motif in Hekhalot Literature. In: Klaus Herrmann , Margarete Schlüter , Giuseppe Veltri (eds.): Jewish Studies between the Disciplines. = Judaic studies between the disciplines. Papers in Honor of Peter Schäfer on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday. Brill, Leiden u. a. 2003, ISBN 90-04-13565-0 , pp. 226-242.
  • Peter Schäfer (Ed.): Synopsis on the Hekhalot literature. = Sinopsis le-sifrut ha-hekhalot (= texts and studies on ancient Judaism. Vol. 2). Mohr, Tübingen 1981, ISBN 3-16-144512-0 .
  • Peter Schäfer (Ed.): Concordance on Hekhalot literature. Volume 2: L - t (= Texts and studies in ancient Judaism. Vol. 13). Mohr, Tübingen 1988, ISBN 3-16-145179-1 .
  • Peter Schäfer: The Origins of Jewish Mysticism. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-16-149931-9 .
  • Peter Schäfer (Ed.): Translation of the Hekhalot literature. Register. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-16-148633-3 .
  • Gershom Scholem : Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition. Based on the Israel Goldstein Lectures, delivered at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York. 2nd, improved edition. The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York NY 1965, OCLC 1038538961 .
  • Gershom Scholem: Jewish mysticism in its main currents (=  Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Wissenschaft . Volume 330 ). Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1980, ISBN 3-518-07930-1 (English: Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism . Translated by Gershom Scholem and Nettie Katzenstein-Sutro, most important overall presentation of Jewish mysticism).
  • Gershom Scholem: On the Kabbalah and its symbolism (= Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch Wissenschaft. 13). Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1973, ISBN 3-518-27613-1 .
  • Gershom Scholem: From the mystical figure of the deity. Studies on the basic concepts of Kabbalah. Rhein-Verlag, Zurich 1962, DNB 454453248 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Karl RH Frick : Gnostic-theosophical and alchemical-Rosicrucian secret societies up to the end of the 18th century . A contribution to the intellectual history of the modern age (=  The Enlightened . Volume 1 ). Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1973, ISBN 3-201-00834-6 , p. 90 f .
  2. ^ Karl RH Frick: Gnostic-theosophical and alchemical-Rosicrucian secret societies up to the end of the 18th century . A contribution to the intellectual history of the modern age (=  The Enlightened . Volume 1 ). Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1973, ISBN 3-201-00834-6 , p. 92 .
  3. ^ Hans Herbert Beier: Key witness Ezekiel. His report - his temple - his spaceships. Ronacher, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-923191-10-3 .