City of the Ants

CITY OF THE ANTS

By Roy S. Neuberger

"When [Moshe] finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households and all the people who were with Korach and the entire wealth. They and all that was theirs descended alive to the pit; the earth covered them over and they were lost from among the congregation.” (Bamidbar 16:31-33)

In the Generation of the Midbar, our ancestors were on a sufficiently high madreiga so the results of their actions were immediately apparent. In addition, the tikkun for deviation was right at hand in the Mishkan. When Miriam and Aharon spoke loshon hara against their brother, Miriam was immediately afflicted with tzaraas.

Today navua is absent and the Shechina is hidden. In our deep Golus, we have great difficulty understanding the messages emanating from Shomayim. Even when we had neviim to guide us, we often refused to listen. In our own day, our gadolim are becoming fewer and fewer, and – in the best of times – we don’t always listen to them. So, in effect, we “force” Hashem to send louder and louder messages, earth-shaking messages that become increasingly difficult to ignore.

In fact, we are always expected to do what is right. “I present before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing: that you hearken to the commandments of Hashem, your G-d, that I command you today. And the curse: if you do not hearken to the commandments of Hashem.” (Dvarim 11:26) In the Midbar, Korach and his followers were swallowed up by the earth. In our generation, we should not be fooled. Although the consequences of our actions may be delayed, they will certainly be forthcoming.

I like to walk to shul. It is good exercise and gives me a chance to think. You can hear the birds singing, and, on a hot day, you appreciate the beautiful shade afforded by the trees. A few days ago, I noticed movement on the pavement and saw what seemed like millions of ants. It was probably more like tens of thousands, but I imagine there were thousands more underground. Yesterday there had been nothing and today there was a whole city of ants, running madly around, incredibly busy accomplishing something (although I don’t know what). Certainly, however, each was playing a vital part in Hashem’s world. Assuredly, the universe would not be complete without each one of them.

“[Hashem] counts the number of the stars, and to all of them He assigns names.” (Tehillim 147:4) I would not be surprised if Hashem has a name for each ant. They have a big city. Yesterday it did not exist and tomorrow it may be gone, but today it is thriving. If they could speak, they would tell you how important their city is, how much they are accomplishing and their plans for the future.

Recently, the United Kingdom voted to secede from the European Union. Worldwide markets tumbled upon predictions of economic and social chaos. Commentators reported that some voters later said, “If I had known the consequences I would not have voted for secession.” But I doubt that. I believe the press was simply trying to justify its failure to predict the outcome correctly by saying that the secessionists didn’t really believe in what they did.

I believe that it is clear why Britain voted this way, and it brings us back to the only Source from which we can understand the ways of the world. I will once again remind you of the Malbim which I quote at the beginning of my book, 2020 Vision. To paraphrase: after Am Yisroel returns to Eretz Yisroel at the end of history, Bnai Yishmoel and Bnai Esav will unite against us to drive us into the sea, G-d forbid. What will save us? When these two super-powers start fighting each other and finally destroy each other in the historically climactic war known as Milchemes Gog Umagog. (Malbim on Yechezkel 32:17)

We are seeing Britain react to the tsunami of Bnai Yishmoel flooding Europe. This is a visceral reaction to a perceived threat against a long-established way of life. Similarly, it would seem that the same scenario is behind the intense conflict taking place between the two candidates for the United States presidency. The heat created by this election originates from a sense that this is a last-ditch effort to retain the culture of Bnai Esav against seismic forces of challenge emanating from Bnai Yishmoel.

Here we have two ancient civilizations, which have controlled much of the world for two thousand years, in a cataclysmic conflict which will decide the future of mankind. We know the outcome: “And you, Ben Adam, prophesy against Gog and say … I will strike your bow from your left hand, and I will cast down your arrows from your right hand. You shall fall upon Israel’s mountains, you and all your cohorts and the nations that are with you …for I have spoken, the words of my L-rd Hashem Elokim.” (Yechezkel 39:1 ff)

The Children of Israel and the Torah itself are surrounded by enemies, both those outside and those, like Korach, who come from within. Although the Existence of the Ribono shel Olam is deeply concealed, one should not be fooled. Hashem is “slow to anger,” but it would seem that we must be close to the Day on which He will act openly against the enemies of His Holy Torah and the intense worldwide hatred directed toward His Children.

Civilizations come and go, but the Torah is forever. Those who cleave to the Ruler of the Universe can look forward to the coming day when the mouth of the earth opens and all evil is swallowed forever.

* * * *
Roy Neuberger, author and public speaker, can be reached at roy@2020vision.co.il.
© Copyright 2016 by Roy S. Neuberger

Bechina: The Golden Spiral

Bechina: The Golden Number (Visual)

In geometry, a golden spiral is a logarithmic spiral whose growth factor is φ, the "golden ratio". Stated as a decimal fraction, the golden ratio equals approximately 0.6180340. Mathematicians since Euclid have studied the properties of the golden ratio, including its appearance in the dimensions of a regular pentagon and in a golden rectangle, which may be cut into a square and a smaller rectangle with the same aspect ratio.



The curve of the nautilus.

Approximate logarithmic spirals can occur in nature (for example, the arms of spiral galaxies or phyllotaxis of leaves); golden spirals are one special case of these logarithmic spirals. Some twentieth-century artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio — especially in the form of the golden rectangle — believing this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing.



The curl of a leaf follows the golden ratio.

​The golden ratio has also been used to analyze the proportions of natural objects as well as man-made systems such as financial markets, in some cases based on dubious fits to data. The fascination with the Golden Ratio is not confined just to mathematicians. Biologists, artists, musicians, historians, architects, psychologists, and even mystics have pondered and debated the basis of its ubiquity and appeal. In fact, it is probably fair to say that the Golden Ratio has inspired thinkers of all disciplines like no other number in the history of mathematics.



The golden ratio is found in many aspects of the human body.
Here it is demonstrated in the joints of the finger.

Some twentieth-century artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio—especially in the form of the golden rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratio—believing this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing. Many designers are fond of its appearance, and the golden ratio or rectangle may be found in designs everywhere, including commercial graphics.

Text: Wikipedia and LWH
Shell Chris Akkana Peck via Wikimedia Commons
Leaf By Grupo Firenze via Wikimedia Commons
FInger Image courtesy of http://www.goldennumber.net, Gary B. Meisner, Copyright 2001-2013.

Shocking Statistics – 75 Suicides Since Rosh Hashana

What do we think will happen when at 120 they stand before the Great Judges in Shomayim and the TRUTH is revealed? How could the guilty even dare to think they could get away with such horrendous behavior? The neshomas are victims of insane people, who need to be put away until they reach 120 and finally meet the Great Judges in Shomayim.

REPORTED: 75 SUICIDES SINCE ROSH HASHANA

First they are listed as Suicides.

TRUTH comes out that they were Drug Victims.

THE REAL TRUTH is – "none of the victims died of a drug overdose they actually died many years earlier when they were molested. A family member of mine is very involved getting help for teens and adults with drug problems. He said 99% of drug attacks in the frum community were molested as a child."

"So its actually not a suicide [OR drug overdose, even if that is the clinical reason], they were murdered by their molester as a child. Until we recognize and identify the true enemy as being molestation not suicide we can’t fix the problem"

BEHIND THE TRUTH – "I’m pretty sure there have been more than 75. I know a 24 year old girl who committed suicide about a week and a half ago, but it’s very much not public. At almost the end of shiva, this other girl ... (whom I know too) also committed suicide. The sad part is there are even more cases that barely anyone knows about because it can ruin family names, it can cause suspicions, it can cause judgement, etc. Just know that 75 families have been public about it but there are probably dozens more who are mourning for the same kind of losses. May they each have an aliyas neshama, and may we only share in simchos."

THE CAUSE – Another Scandal: Another rabbi/educator accused of all kinds of outrageous, inappropriate behavior with female students. Also: The Pied Piper AND Change that needs to take place


THE CURE – Educate all boys and girls about how to protect their minds, bodies, and lives. "All children - not just girls - should be taught how to recognize, avoid, and report sexual predators. Also, teaching them the basics of self-defense wouldn't hurt any. Like learning how to swim (Kiddushin 29a), instruction in self-defense ought to be part of every child's curriculum."


Video a project of Jewish Community Watch



Source on Suicides: YWN
Text in italics are from comments by caring individuals about this sickening behavior and their victims.

Jewish Children in Israel are in Mortal, Divine and Spiritual Danger

The Israeli Government and Security Divisions suffer from Cognitive Dissonance 

(beside a bunch of other dastardly sins)

because they fail to differentiate between enemies and the innocent

Around 3:00 a.m. on Friday, a large force comprised of police officers, detectives and the Israel Security Agency (ISA, also known as the Shin Bet or Shabak) raided a Yitzhar home to arrest a 15-year-old for violating the terms of an administrative order.

"The ISA's Jewish Department's audacity and the arrogance is setting new records," said the father. "To take a 15-year-old child who hasn't done anything and toss him off to an unknown address without coordinating with the family is something done in a democratic country? In the 50s they took Yemenite children in the dark, and now they're trying to remove children from their homes for reeducation in the light of day. The natural place for my son is at home and it's not right that, based on classified information that we have no idea about, he should leave his home."

"The attempt to remove the minor to an isolated spot in southern Israel is similar to rogue nations reeducating people. We are trying to explain to the authorities that they can't treat a child like an object and put him wherever they like. His place is in his parents' home. We hope that someone will come to their senses and not limit the minor's rights like this."

"The nerve and patronizing arrogance of the Jewish Section of the Shabak has broken new records," the father said. "To take a 15-year-old boy who has done nothing, and to throw him to an unknown address without coordination with the family – this is what is done in a democratic country? In the 50's they kidnapped Yemenite children in secret, and now they try to take children from their parents for re-education in broad daylight. The natural place for my son is at home, and it is unacceptable that because of some secret material that we have no idea what it contains, the boy is forced to leave his home.”

Also see: "MK David Biton: ‘Shabak and Mossad chiefs turning leftist’– 'There’s a problem with these positions,' Biton said. 'Meir Dagan was a hardcore right-winger, but after he took control of the Mossad he ended up the opposite. . .The heads of the Shabak and Mossad turn into leftists.' Biton also attacked Yaalon, intimating that he too had been pushed to the left during his tenure as Defense Minister"

State Security Agencies are Not Enough of an Intrusion on the Innocent – Parents of Children will be Usurped of Legality

The Parents and their Children Law is a long term project undertaken by persons associated with the radical left, most notably Judge (ret.) Savyona Rotlevy, who chaired a governmental committee in the 1990s and whose report provided the basis for the bill.

Jewish Home MK Shuli Mualem-Refaeli Wants to Undo Parents’ Legal Guardianship of Jewish Children in Israel.

The bill would strike out items 14 and 15 in Israel’s Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law (1962), which define a child’s parents as his or her legal guardians, and which places them in charge of deciding where the child will live, and of representing the child before the authorities.

In place of the concept of guardianship, the law defines a new concept, “parental responsibility,” which consists mainly of the parents' obligation to respect and uphold a series of “children’s rights” as defined by the bill. The “parental responsibility,” in turn, can be limited or completely taken away by a court, should the authorities decide that the parent is not carrying out his or her “parental responsibility” properly.

The item’s on the list of “children’s rights” are far-ranging and nebulous, including “the right to be educated to a life of social responsibility and to respect of the basic rights of all human beings regardless of race, sex, religion, nationality or origin.”

Also listed as a basic right of children is “the right to freedom of thought, expression, conscience and religion, as well as the right to know their culture and use their language.”

*See below a sampling of comments to this disastrous bill.

Kidnapping Teenagers Without Due Process 

Leads One to Comparisons Reminiscent of : 

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (Народный комиссариат внутренних дел, Narodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del), abbreviated NKVD, was a law enforcement agency of the Soviet Union that directly executed the will of the All Union Communist Party. It was closely associated with the Soviet secret police, which at times was part of the agency, and is known for its political repression during the era of Joseph Stalin.

The NKVD contained the regular, public police force of the USSR, including traffic police, firefighting, border guards and archives. It is best known for the activities of the Gulag and the Main Directorate for State Security (GUGB), the predecessor of the KGB. The NKVD conducted mass extrajudicial executions, ran the Gulag system of forced labor camps and suppressed underground resistance, and was responsible for mass deportations of entire nationalities and Kulaks to unpopulated regions of the country. It was also tasked with protection of Soviet borders and espionage (which included political assassinations abroad), influencing foreign governments and enforcing Stalinist policy within communist movements in other countries.

The main function of the NKVD was to protect the state security of the Soviet Union. This function was successfully accomplished through massive political repression, including authorized political murders, kidnappings and assassinations, inclusively in its international "secret" operations.

See Also: 'Riot police knocked Torah scroll to the ground’ Witnesses claim police assaulted worshipers, knocked down Torah in order to help Christians enter King David's Tomb.” Riot Police are no different from the rest of Israel’s security system on the far left. The innocents are captive in a system that destroys their soul.
…………………………………………………

A sampling of comments to this shameful Mualem-Refaeli Bill:

"Jewish Home has no official stance on the issue, and indeed punished Tekuma MK attorney Betzalel Smotrich when he voted against the bill when it was put forward most recently by Likud in Knesset, breaching party discipline. If I recall the bill was defeated by a vote of 42 to either 41 or 40. In other words attorney Betzalel Smotrich single handedly prevented the disaster such a bill would present to citizens rights.

"They have all gone insane. And this is further proof that "Jewish Home" is anything but! If parents don't hit the streets over this bill, then they are also nuts because they could wake up one day and find that the state takes away their child because they did not listen to the child's worldview. Good G-d, please save us from ourselves! And coming from this MK, wow what another trojan horse.

"Very scary! Its a communist law. Very easily a court can decide that a parent "is not able to educate the child according the democratic (..) rules of society" ( the court will decide by itself whatever those rules may be ) and take it away from the parents…

"to respect of the basic rights of all human beings regardless of race, sex, religion, nationality or origin.”Will this mean that the state will have to take a lot of Arab children away from their parents since a lot are being educated to hate and kill Jews?”


All of the above article sources:
Arutz Sheva
Arutz Sheva
Arutz Sheva
Wikipedia NKVD

The Truth of Truths – The Spies – National Redemption

The Truth of Truths

Rabbi Pinchas Winston Shlit”a, Parshas BeHa’aloscha

This is the greatness of G–D. He is the Truth of Truths, there is none higher. Nothing else matters to G–D other than the truth, at all times. G–D and truth are one, in the ultimate sense. Truth is greatness and therefore G–D is, by definition, the greatest of greatness. By definition, He must also be humble.

The Talmud says regarding Moshe and Aharon:

Rava, others say Rebi Yochanan, said: “More significant is that which is said of Moshe and Aharon than that which is said of Avraham. Regarding Avraham it says, 'I am but dust and ashes,’, whereas regarding Moshe and Aharon it says, ‘And we are nothing.’ Rafa, others say Rebi Yochanan, also said: “The world exists only on account of [the merit of] Moshe and Aharon; for it is written here, ‘And we are nothing,’ and it is written there [of the world], ‘He hangs the earth upon nothing’.” (Chulin 89a)

It is quite a statement to make. What it is really saying is that the world exists on account of humility. But, if humility is the ability to bow to the truth at all times, how can it be any other way? History, for the most part, has been about arrogant people who would rather impose their version of truth than to humble themselves to the real one. This is why history has also been about death, destruction, and tremendous waste.

If the world exists for the humble, because the humble exist for the truth, then a world that strays far from the truth is one that is vulnerable to Divine decree. Political correctness only flies if it supports the truth, not if it undermines it, as it has done in so many ways.

The Talmud states that one of the signs that Moshiach is not too far away is the amount of falsehood in the world. It’s pervasiveness indicates that Creation is reaching a boiling point, and that is never good.

True, it will result in Moshiach and a more perfect world, but only after crossing a deadly and dangerous threshold called “The War of Gog and Magog.”

National Redemption

Rabbi Pinchas Winston Shlit”a, Parshas Shlach

The importance of Parshas Sh'lach is that it holds the key to more than just being able to make aliyah. It holds the key to national redemption. You can do mitzvos in exile. You can’t really “do” Eretz Yisroel, at least not in the full sense of the term, in the Diaspora, and Eretz Yisroel is an indispensable part of redemption.

What does this have to do with the parshah? Granted that the spies erred gravely and prevented the Final Redemption from occurring in their time. Unquestionably, there are lessons still to be learned from what they did wrong. What, however, does their sin have to do with us anymore.

After all, we have our own issues to fix up today, and they are the ones holding back the redemption in our time. Certainly how a Jew feels about Eretz Yisroel today is important, but is it really central? For the Jewish people in the generation of the spies, the next mitzvah was aliyah, and they failed it. For us, it is just staying Torah observant, and we’re not doing so well at that either.

This is not exactly accurate. In fact, it is this inaccuracy that is actually holding back the redemption. It’s at the door. It wants to come in. We just won’t let it.

To begin with, the spies did not only reject Eretz Yisroel, though that was bad enough. What they really rejected was redemption, as in the final one. They were already comfortable with the one they had […] Why upset a status quo you can live with it?

We’re still within a very unique period in Jewish history that has allowed us to enjoy freedoms that our ancestors have not known for millennia, literally thousands of years. Exile, post-Holocaust, has been good to us, and still is, in spite of the troubles we have and the ones brewing on the horizon.

The book, “Kol HaTor,” has been such a source of controversy. Said to be the teachings of the Vilna Gaon to his students on a mission to resettle the Land of Israel, it has been quite controversial in the Torah world. Partly to do with how it came to publication, mostly to do with what it says, many in the Torah world refuse to believe that it is authentic GR”A (the letters of HaGaon, Rebi Eliyahu).

Many years later the authenticity of the work has been verified by different sources. The history of how it came to be published is thoroughly chronicled in a new translation of the work, called “The Voice of the Turtledove,” by the “Mishmeres Sholom.” Undoubtedly, such crucial information will not change the opinion of the many who “need” it to not be the work of Gaon.

The reason is human nature, and the story of the spies all over again. Kol HaTor focuses primarily on the concept of Moshiach Ben Yosef, a little known and even less understood component of the Final Redemption. Only the GR”A, in this ground uprooting work, seems to have understood the idea, translating it into a call for national proactivity in bringing about redemption.

All of a sudden statements like, “I’ll make aliyah when Moshiach comes” do not work. Suddenly, our “to each his own” type of lifestyle is pushed aside for one that puts every Jew either at war against the forces blocking redemption, or on their side. In short, if a person is not a redemption-lover, someone who daily fulfills the directive of anticipating redemption, Kol HaTor is a proverbial brutal slap across the national face.

Before Kol HaTor came to public light, one could have argued that there was a big difference between the generation of the spies and subsequent generations. After all, they had been taken out of Egypt specifically to go to Eretz Yisroel. God Himself was leading the nation, and Moshe Rabbeinu was His emissary on earth. Rejecting Eretz Yisroel at THAT time was clearly a big no-no.

Since then, we have wandered from exile to exile. We are no longer led by pillars of fire but threatened by them. We have leaders but none even close to the level of Moshe Rabbeinu. What can we do but sit back and let history run its course, doing the best we can do to preserve Torah tradition in a world that is become increasingly hostile to God-believers. Given the circumstances and what we know about redemption, can God really blame us?

Enter Kol HaTor. Kol HaTor says yes, God can and will blame us, at least since the Jewish year 5500 (1740 CE). According to the Gaon, as of that date national passivity was out and proactivity was in. There are things that we should and must do in anticipation of the Final Redemption, especially if we are going to speed it up and help it come mercifully. In the 1800s, most Jews were just trying to escape persecution and find any opportunity they could to eke out a meager living. Equal opportunity for Jews was still nascent, and this is why even secular Jews as well as religious Jews called for mass emigration from Europe to the Land of Israel.

Redemption? That’s a term that is only comfortable to repeat when referring to stocks or bonds. National Redemption? That’s a phrase that is better left to those who have little or nothing to lose by repeating it, or in the private world of prayer. Proactively pursue redemption? That’s tantamount to committing social suicide for many.

The exile will end, of that we can be certain. How it will end is a question that can only be answered by the nation itself. As mentioned in the past, the spies had a great reason for rejecting Eretz Yisroel, one that they thought God would whole-heartedly accept and agree to. They were shocked just how wrong they were.

What was their big and deadly mistake? They thought that they had only been rejecting a land, albeit one precious to God and His dear ones. They found out that, instead, they had rejected the whole idea of redemption, in effect retroactively nullifying the reason for their miraculous salvation from Egyptian bondage.

Are we making the same dangerous, nation-threatening mistake today? According to Kol HaTor, unquestionably, which is why so many continue to believe that it cannot be the authentic work of the Gaon from Vilna. Consequently, after they answer to God for overlooking the means to an expedient and safer Final Redemption, they’ll have to answer to the GR”A as well.

Editorial emphasis is mine.

What is That BIG RED BALL in the Sky?

WSO June 21 Updates - What is that BIG RED BALL?

Plus photos of …… OBJECTS IN THE SKIES OVER OUR HEADS – Soon to be visible with the Eye and without a Camera

And the Strawberry Moon

Time Lapse Nibiru and The Blue Orb

Further Along in this Series of Investigative and Revealing Space Adventures

[S]ee what happened right as the balloon just got through the chem layer. I enhanced it slightly so you can get the idea. PLUS - timelapse cam from FAA Alaska.




There is a planetary type object at 11:00 of the sun, and images from around world. The blue orb is dominant. We look at sub photos and observations, plus we have a full 15 minute segment from camera 2 on our recent balloon flight, at its highest altitude.




WSO Jun 14 - Another video:  Earth Wobble Captured

TIME LAPSE NIBIRU JUNE 2016

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.






A NAVY HELICOPTER WENT DOWN TODAY IN VA. SOMETHING IS GOING ON, WERE LOSING AT LEAST ONE AIRCRAFT A DAY SOMETIMES 3 A DAY SINCE THE GOTTHARD TUNNEL RITUAL JUNE 1ST. RichieFromBoston is a youtube site that documents the falling aircrafts from the Earth’s skies.

From the Se’er of Israel: Words of Comfort and Hope

Each word of the following is tremendous, and prophetic. Read this and open your eyes to hear, and open your heart to receive the message

Father of Mercy, Father of the Holy Land and the Jews: 

The Creator of the Universe loves the Jews more than anyone else; He gave them the Torah as a gift and Shabbat as a gift.

At Mount Sinai the Jews said "we will do and we will obey," and the Holy One, Blessed is He chose them to manage the world forever and ever, for all eternity.

Anyone that wants to bother Israel and take parts away of the Holy Land of Israel will be messing with [the] Master of [the] Universe.

 The Creator of the Universe is bringing complications to all of the countries that want to take away parts of Israel, the Holy Land.

 It is not just that no one will be able to take away parts, it is that they will experience a downfall with the Holy One Blessed is He.

 Even Gush Katif will be returned to Israel.

Egypt and France are delusional. They want to get rid of the Muslim refugees, the Palestinians, Hamas and ISIS and want to take away parts of the Land of Israel in order to create a Palestinian state. They are next in line to receive tough strikes from the Master of the Universe.

 They started a war with the Holy One, Blessed is He, and no one has ever in the world won who is against Him.

European countries will continue to be filled with millions of refugees so that the Jews from Europe and the USA will have to come to the Holy Land of Israel.

If they don't understand with their mind, the Creator of the Universe will use force. If they will not understand with force, He will use more force.

Exile ended in 1948 and the Jews abroad are ‘grinding water,’ they are there for no reason, they must come and live in the Holy Land, in the Negev, Galilee, Golan Heights, Samaria, and Binyamin, and help their brothers in the Holy Land.

Israel grows a centimeter every day! 

You better believe it!

The entire world knows that the Creator of the Universe gave the Jews wisdom and knowledge so that the world will need us and will want to be with the Jews in the Land of Israel to get advice. The Jews in Israel are the small seed that gives great life to the world!

In the Holy Land are the graves of our fathers and mothers, our mother Rachel, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Rabbi Meir Ba'al Hanes, Baba Sali, Rabbi Hiya, Rabbi Akiva – the world greats. The souls of all of the righteous that died outside of Israel come to the Cave of Patriarchs after a year. Just like Jacob that didn't want to be buried in the unholy land of Egypt, and Joseph's coffin that was drowned in the Nile.

All of the righteous reach the Cave of Patriarchs with the fathers. Whoever is wise and knowledgeable understands this, and whoever isn't will soon understand.

The Holy One, Blessed is He will decide who is elected; and, after a President is elected - remember this well, write it down –

The Creator of the Universe will make him expel all of the Jews living in the USA.

Source: The Absolute Truth and I believe this IS the absolute truth whether you want to believe it or not.

It’s All The Imagination of Hashem

This is a controversial topic, but not one to be shoved under the carpet since for many years NASA and the US Government have been engaged in just this and its many facets. I present this for consideration. There are many Rabbis that deny this is actual. However there are others who recognize the possibility. Since we have cautions from the Autistics about a “Star” Nibiru entering (or has entered) into our Hemisphere (as can be viewed on SteveOlson youtube), and the forecasted “Sky Show” of waring celestial entities, the “Kochav Yaakov” (Rabbi Cordevero on the “Star”) and Mashiach’s arrival imminently (as Rabbi Kanievsky has declared). There is much that has been stated so why not this? Of course, it could all be our imagination, or the Imagination of HaShem.

And I recommend reading The Vastness of Space.

Anonymous commented to my previous post, Vision of Ezekiel … NASA: "Sorry, cannot believe this. We have to remember that this is all the work of the soton, Esav's angel and its power. This is what and where all this stems from.” There are cele3stial beings besides angels; there are demons, etc., but life as we understand it from other planets, galaxies, whatever is nonsense."

The Rabbinic-Kabbalistic Teachings on Extraterrestrial Life Forms

An excerpt from the book, “UFO's; Aliens in Light of Torah”

(with permission) 

by Ariel Bar Tzadok

Copyright © 1993 by Ariel Bar Tzadok. All rights reserved.

I most certainly am not the first Rabbi to reveal material concerning life on other planets. Other Kabbalistic Rabbis before me have written books revealing some of the best-kept secrets in the world. We will discuss just a few of them here.

The late 18th century was a turbulent time for Jews living is Europe. The so-called age of enlightenment and science was spreading even into Jewish circles. This new religion of science sneered at the valued teachings of the Bible and sought in every way to contradict them, to "prove them wrong scientifically.”

One of the great Kabbalistic Sages of Eastern Europe, Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu Horowitz of Vilna, arose to meet this challenge. He authored a monumental work on Kabbalah and science the likes of which has not been duplicated to this day.

In 1797, Rabbi Horowitz published his monumental work Sefer HaBrit, The Book of the Covenant. The work begins by discussing the order of the physical universe, the stars, planets and the like, continues to discuss the physical world and finishes with long, rich metaphysical discourses on the nature of man, consciousness and prophecy. The scope of the text is far too great to do appropriate justice to it here. I must limit myself to our topic and Rabbi Horowitz's most striking revelations about it.

It seems that even in Rabbi Horowitz's days there was interest and speculation about life on other planets. In Section 1, Lecture 3, Chapters 3 and 4, Rabbi Horowitz responds to the so-called scientific theories of his day regarding life on other planets and proceeds to enumerate from authoritative Jewish sources what the Torah teaches about this subject.

In Kabbalistic literature it is taught that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, has created an infinite number of worlds. Most commentators on these Kabbalistic texts will state that the worlds being spoken of are spiritual worlds. In other words, the Kabbalah is speaking about an infinite inter-dimensional quantum reality. There are four general dimensions or worlds in the Kabbalistic panorama; the three highest of these dimensions/worlds are Atzilut, Beriah and Yetzirah. These correspond to the dimensions of Spirit, Mind and Emotion respectively. Therefore, any worlds manifesting these realities are not going to be physical, as we understand the meaning of physical.

Rabbi Horowitz now steps in with a significant point. In Chapter 3 he asks why should the number of worlds in the fourth Kabbalistic level, Asiyah, corresponding to the physical realm, be any less than the infinite number of worlds in the supernal realms above it. He continues by quoting the holy Zohar "in many places" and the Mishna that in the future the Holy One, Blessed Be He, is to place each and every righteous person as a governor over 310 worlds. Rabbi Horowitz emphasizes that these are physical worlds in outer space. The future being spoken of is the time after the Messianic age and the resurrection of the dead. The reward of the righteous is that they are to ascend to the stars and rule sections of the galaxy as the regents of the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Rabbi Horowitz continues to bring evidence of other worlds from the Bible itself. With this proof text, he not only claims to prove that there are other worlds, but that they are also inhabited by beings. Rabbi Horowitz quotes from Judges 5:23, "cursed be Maroz, cursed be those who dwell there." The Talmud (Moed Katan 16A) records an opinion that Maroz is the name of a planet. And the verse says, "cursed be those who dwell there." This seems to imply that the planet Maroz is inhabited. Rabbi Horowitz concludes Chapter Three with the words, "According to my opinion, there are inhabited planets [in outer space] and this is also implied in the Tikunei Zohar.”

Accepting the given fact of other inhabited worlds, Rabbi Horowitz now addresses the issue of what type of beings are on these other planets. He begins by criticizing those who are of the opinion that the other planets are just like ours, with similar peoples of free will, similar animals, plant life and the like. He calls these beliefs lies and a waste. Those who believe them, Rabbi Horowitz says, are "simpletons who will believe anything.”

Rabbi Horowitz asks why would so many planets be needed just for our forms of life. Certainly, our planet is large enough to hold us all. Being that these planets are so numerous and distant from one another they must also be very different. No two can be exactly alike; each one is different from the other both generally and specifically.

Rabbi Horowitz also says it is a fallacy to think that the planets are formed of the same types of matter as is ours. He gives an example of the sun (which in Judaism is also considered a planet). Can someone dwell on the Sun and not be burned, he asks? Would not the brilliant light blind a person? In addition, as an example, on Saturn Rabbi Horowitz asks, would not a person freeze to death there due to its cold nature. To again prove the point of the varying types of life that are in outer space, Rabbi Horowitz uses the example of the ocean, saying that just as sea creatures differ tremendously from land creatures due to the different nature of their environments, so do the inhabitants of the other planets differ from us.

Rabbi Horowitz then follows with one of his most important points. He acknowledges that these extraterrestrial beings are "ba'alei sekhel u'madah" (masters of intelligence and science). Yet, with all their intellectual potentials, Rabbi Horowitz claims that all extraterrestrials will lack one essential component that will forever set them apart from the human race. They lack "behirah," the ability of Free Will. Free Will separates mankind from any and every other species. It is Free Will that is the  G-d given spiritual component that separates the human race from being just another animal species.

The Vision of Ezekiel – The Merkabah – NASA

Chassidis:  "The Kabbalistic account explains this difference in terms of the Four Worlds. All prophecy emanates from the divine chokhmah (wisdom) realm of Atziluth. However, in order to be perceived it descends to be enclothed in vessels of lower Worlds. Isaiah's prophecy saw the Merkabah in the World of Beriah divine understanding, restraining his explanation by realising the inadequacy of description. Ezekiel saw the Merkabah in the lower World of Yetzirah divine emotions, causing him to describe the vision in rapturous detail."

"And I saw, and behold, a tempest was coming from the north, a huge cloud and a flaming fire with a brightness around it;

[…] and from its midst, it was like the color of the chashmal from the midst of the fire; And from its midst was the likeness of four living beings, and this is their appearance; they had the likeness of a man; And [each] one had four faces, and [each] one had four wings; And their legs were straight legs, and the soles of their feet were like a round foot, and they sparkled like the color of burnished copper;

[…] And the likeness of the living beings; their appearance was like fiery coals, burning like the appearance of firebrands; it was going among the living beings; and there was a brightness to the fire and from the fire came forth lightning;

[…] The appearance of the wheels and their work was like the appearance of crystal, and the four of them had one likeness, and their appearance and their workings were as a wheel would be within a wheel 

[…] And when the living beings would go, the wheels would go beside them; and when the living beings would lift themselves off the ground, the wheels would lift themselves; When they [the living beings] would go, they [the wheels] would go, and when they would stand, they would stand, and when they would lift themselves up from the ground, the wheels would lift themselves correspondingly to them, for the will of the living being was in the wheels [….]

What Does the Torah Say?

To venture into this topic and not as definitive totality:  there is an e-Book, “Extraterrestrials; UFOs in Light of Torah” which you can download and find out what Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok says the Torah says:

Not afraid of what "might be" in the dark? This book documents according to Torah sources how we are not only not alone in our universe, we are not even alone on our own planet. If you have any interest in this topic, you must read this book. The references are all documented and cannot be disputed. Whether or not you will wish to believe what you own eyes read, that is another story... PDF online E-book auto download. An in-depth Orthodox review of the modern UFO phenomena in light of the teachings of the Rabbis and Kabbalists. This work reviews the Torah beliefs of life in outer space. It also addresses from a kosher Torah viewpoint the allegations of close encounters, aliens abductions, crop circles, and government conspiracies. This book contains involved teachings about angels, demons, alternate dimensions, meditative practice, and many other peripheral issues that are sure to be a real eye opener.

Pictures of Artifacts About Space

Pics About Space is a very unusual site:

The description reads, "Space is attracting increasing attention today. During last few years some commercial space companies have been opened, such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic; there were plans for manned missions to Mars, such as Mars One and Inspiration Mars Foundation; more and more countries start their space programs. All that leads to cheaper space flight and to the popularization of science and cosmos in general. 

This site is a little image search service on the narrow subject - space and everything connected with it. We collect thousands of pictures and show them to you directly from their sources aggregated by their tags and topics.” 

On this site you will find (with links):

Ancient Astronauts Evidence

Ancient Astronaut Cave Drawings

Ancient Astronaut Society

Debunking Alien Astronaut Theory

Ancient Astronaut Sculpture

Alien Ancient Astronauts

and other
Galleries

NASA designed a ship that will travel faster than light:

And this video shows a depiction of a flying wheel

The IXS Enterprise was a starship concept created in 2013 for an interstellar mission in the late-21st century. It was based on the research into the generation of a microscopic warp bubble by a team of scientists led by Doctor Harold White at the Johnson Space Center in Texas.

Source of these pictures and video (above and below)

"Ezekiel Wheel” 

UFO photographed by Apollo 8 during Moon flyby.

A UFO that fits the description of "a wheel within a wheel" made by the prophet Ezekiel, was snapped by the crew of Apollo 8, in December 1968 during Moon flyby.

Chariot of Yechezkel – Merkabah Literature

The sighting with 
the Chariot of Ezekiel (Yechezkel)

At dawn on June 5th 2016, there were 3 coinciding astronomical phenomena of cosmic and esoteric significance:

1) new moon of Sivan appearing in the pleiades
2) superior conjunction of the sun and Venus in the pleiades
3) grand cross between four major planets in the signs of the faces of ezekiel’s chariot: the new moon and venus in the bull, Jupiter and the North node (destiny) in the Lion, Saturn or the gatekeeper of knowledge in the Eagle or rising phoenix, and Neptune the master of the transcendent bridge of the soul in the sign of the man or Messiah, the Water Bearer.

The Vision of Yechezkel

Mordechai wrote to my post of Scientists Discover Giant Planet,

"Surrounding the Throne. The vision of Ezekiel, the four living creatures... Lion Leo, Ox Taurus etc. And Albireo, one star is a blue sapphire and the other is gold, the colors of a (Shabbat) candle flame!  Mordechai”

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Chariot

Wikipedia: Vision of Ezekiel – The main corpus of the Merkabah literature was composed in Israel in the period 200–700 CE, although later references to the Chariot tradition can also be found in the literature of the Chassidei Ashkenaz in the Middle Ages. A major text in this tradition is the Maaseh Merkabah (Works of the Chariot).

According to the verses in Ezekiel and its attendant commentaries, his vision consists of a chariot made of many heavenly beings driven by the "Likeness of a Man." The base structure of the chariot is composed of four beings. These beings are called the "living creatures" (Hebrew: חיות hayyot or khayyot). The bodies of the creatures are "like that of a human being", but each of them has four faces, corresponding to the four directions the chariot can go (East, South, North and West). The faces are that of a man, a lion, an ox (later changed to a cherub in Ezekiel 10:14) and an eagle. Since there are four angels and each has four faces, there are a total of sixteen faces. Each "Hayyot" angel also has four wings. Two of these wings spread across the length of the chariot and connect with the wings of the angel on the other side. This creates a sort of 'box' of wings that forms the perimeter of the chariot. With the remaining two wings, each angel covers its own body. Below, but not attached to, the feet of the "Hayyot" angels are other angels that are shaped like wheels. These wheel angels, which are described as "a wheel inside of a wheel", are called "Ophanim" אופנים (lit. wheels, cycles or ways). These wheels are not directly under the chariot but are nearby and along its perimeter. The angel with the face of the man is always on the east side and looks up at the "Likeness of a Man" that drives the chariot. The "Likeness of a Man" sits on a throne made of sapphire.

The earliest Rabbinic merkabah commentaries were exegetical expositions of the prophetic visions of God in the heavens, and the divine retinue of angels, hosts, and heavenly creatures surrounding God. The earliest evidence suggests that merkabah homiletics did not give rise to ascent experiences – as one rabbinic sage states: "Many have expounded upon the merkabah without ever seeing it."

"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."[9] It must be studied only by exemplary scholars: "Ma'aseh Bereshit must not be explained before two, nor Ma'aseh Merkabah before one, unless he be wise and understands it by himself,"

The Rabbinic Talmud compares Ezekiel and Isaiah's visions of God's Chariot-Throne, noticing that Ezekiel gives a lengthy account of details, while Isaiah is very brief. It gives an exoteric explanation for this; Isaiah prophesised in the era of Solomon's Temple, Ezekiel's vision took place in the exile of Babylonian captivity. Rava states in the Babylonian Talmud that although Ezekiel describes the appearance of the throne of God, this is not because he had seen more than Isaiah, but rather because the latter was more accustomed to such visions; for the relation of the two prophets is that of a courtier to a peasant, the latter of whom would always describe a royal court more floridly than the former, to whom such things would be familiar. Ezekiel, like all prophets except Moses, has beheld only a blurred reflection of the divine majesty, just as a poor mirror reflects objects only imperfectly.

The Kabbalistic account explains this difference in terms of the Four Worlds. All prophecy emanates from the divine chokhmah (wisdom) realm of Atziluth. However, in order to be perceived it descends to be enclothed in vessels of lower Worlds. Isaiah's prophecy saw the Merkabah in the World of Beriah divine understanding, restraining his explanation by realising the inadequacy of description. Ezekiel saw the Merkabah in the lower World of Yetzirah divine emotions, causing him to describe the vision in rapturous detail.

EZEKIEL'S TOMB

According to a tradition this was located at a village 20 miles (32 km.) south of the town of Ḥilla in central Iraq. The Arabs refer to Ezekiel as to other prophets as "Dhū al-Kifl" (various etymologies have been suggested such as "doubly rewarded"; "guarantor"?) for the responsibility that he bore for the people of Israel. The tomb is mentioned for the first time in the epistle of R. *Sherira Gaon (c. 986), and a detailed description is given by *Benjamin of Tudela about 1170, *Pethahiah of Regensburg (about the same time), and later by other travelers, Jewish and non-Jewish. It is situated in a man-made cave, covered by a cupola. 

Over the cupola a magnificent outer tomb is built, coinciding in its linear dimensions with the lower tomb, and it is at this outer tomb that the pilgrims pray. In the room adjoining Ezekiel's tomb there are five tombs purported to contain the remains of five geonim. Another room, with a window, is referred to as "Elijah's Cave," and a third room contains the tomb of Menahem Ṣāliḥ *Daniel, a well-known philanthropist whose family was entrusted with guarding the tomb. 

The walls bear various inscriptions, including three poems in the Arab-Spanish meter composed by the Babylonian poet R. Abdallah Khuḍayr and in honor of donors. Pilgrimages to the tomb were usually made in the late spring, especially on Shavuot. A special parchment scroll, "the Scroll of Ezekiel," was read, containing passages from the Book of Ezekiel and written on behalf of the ascent to heaven of the souls of the departed. In 1860 the Muslims made an attempt to wrest ownership of the tomb from the Jews, but a government emissary from Constantinople decided in favor of the Jews. Jewish Virtual Library

The Prophecy of Ezekiel – The Crystal Wheels – A Sapphire Stone – And The Chasmal

The Prophecy of Ezekiel and The Chariot

With Rashi’s Commentary

This will begin a Four Part Post

1  Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year in the fourth [month] on the fifth day of the month, as I was in the midst of the exile by the river Chebar-the heavens opened up, and I saw visions of God.

א וַיְהִי | בִּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה בָּרְבִיעִי בַּחֲמִשָּׁה לַחֹדֶשׁ וַאֲנִי בְתוֹךְ הַגּוֹלָה עַל נְהַר כְּבָר נִפְתְּחוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וָאֶרְאֶה מַרְאוֹת אֱלֹהִים:

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year: The prophet presented his words obscurely and did not tell his name, who he was; nor did he explain from what date he was counting. Therefore, the holy spirit interrupted his words in the following two verses to teach [us] who the prophet was and to teach [us] from what date he was counting. As it is said: “On the fifth day of the monththat is the fifth year, etc.” These are not the words of the prophet, for he already stated that he was standing on the fifth of the month, and furthermore, from the beginning he had stated his prophecy in the first person: “and I was in the midst of the exile” ; “and I saw visions of God.” And so at the end: “And I saw, and behold, a storm wind, etc.” Now these [next] two verses interrupted his words, as though someone else was speaking about him: “The word of the Lord was [revealed] to Ezekiel… and the hand of the Lord came upon him there.”
 

as I was in the midst of the exile: i.e., outside the land of Israel.

by the river Chebar: The name of the river.

visions of God: Heb. מַרְאוֹת. Because he did not see with a “lucid speculum,” he calls it “visions of God,” a sort of dream, insubstantial. All the prophets also saw through a “dim speculum,” except for our teacher Moses. That is what is said (Hos. 12:11): “and to the prophets, I assumed likenesses.”

2  "On the fifth of the month"-that is the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile.

בבַּחֲמִשָּׁה לַחֹדֶשׁ הִיא הַשָּׁנָה הַחֲמִישִׁית לְגָלוּת הַמֶּלֶךְ יוֹיָכִין:

that is the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile: Thus, we may deduce that the thirty years he counted, he counted from the beginning of the jubilee [cycle]: the last jubilee commenced at the beginning of the eighteenth year of Josiah[‘s reign]; that is, the year that Hilkiah found the scroll (II Kings 22). So we learn in Seder Olam (ch. 26), that the beginning of the jubilee was that [year]. Josiah reigned thirty one years. Subtracting from them the seventeen years that had already passed leaves fourteen years. Jehoiakim reigned eleven years; [together, that] totals twenty-five years. Jeconiah [Jehoiachin] his son, had reigned only three months when he was exiled, and the year that Ezekiel prophesied was the fifth [year] of his exile, hence the thirtieth year of the jubilee. And so we find that at the end of his prophecy, he gives a sign using the count of the jubilee [as a reference], for it says (40:1): “In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month.” Our Rabbis said (Arachin 12a): What “year” is it that begins on the tenth of the month? You must say that this is the jubilee year [See Leviticus 25:9f.].

3  The word of the Lord was [revealed] to Ezekiel the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar, and the hand of the Lord came upon him there.

גהָיֹה הָיָה דְבַר יְהֹוָה אֶל יְחֶזְקֵאל בֶּן בּוּזִי הַכֹּהֵן בְּאֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים עַל נְהַר כְּבָר וַתְּהִי עָלָיו שָׁם יַד יְהֹוָה:

The word of the Lord was [revealed]: Heb. הָיֹה הָיָה [lit. being was.] Our Sages said (Mechilta to Exod. 12:1): “[It] had already come,” because the Shechinah does not rest upon a prophet outside the [Holy] Land, except by having first rested upon him in the Land. We learned in a Baraitha of the Mechilta (Exod. 15:9): [The verse 2:1,] “Son of man, stand on your feet,” was the [actual] beginning of the Book, only there is no chronological order [in Scripture]. Others say that (12:1f.) “Son of man, compose a riddle,” is the [true] beginning of the Book. [Mechilta ends here.] I say that this prophecy was told to him before they were exiled, because it is appropriate to be said to him in the Land, for the community of the exile is not mentioned explicitly in it. It can be recognized as the beginning of his mission to them. Jonathan, too, paraphrased in that manner: The prophetic word from before the Lord was revealed to Ezekiel the son of Buzi the priest in the land of Israel; it returned a second time and spoke with him in the state of the land of the Chaldeans. Now Ezekiel was exiled with the “craftsmen and the sentries of the gates,” who were exiled with Jehoiachin.

the hand of the Lord: Every expression of יַד mentioned in this Book or in any expression of prophecy is invariably an expression of compulsion, [implying] that the prophecy seizes him against his will, like a person going mad, destreze in Old French, compulsion.

4  And I saw, and behold, a tempest was coming from the north, a huge cloud and a flaming fire with a brightness around it; and from its midst, it was like the color of the chashmal from the midst of the fire.

דוָאֵרֶא וְהִנֵּה רוּחַ סְעָרָה בָּאָה מִן הַצָּפוֹן עָנָן | גָּדוֹל וְאֵשׁ מִתְלַקַּחַת וְנֹגַהּ לוֹ סָבִיב וּמִתּוֹכָהּ כְּעֵין הַחַשְׁמַל מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ:

and behold, a tempest was coming from the north: That is the Chariot of the throne of the glory of the Shechinah, as it is described in this chapter (verse 28). Since it came with fury to destroy Israel, it is therefore likened to a tempest and a [storm] cloud.

coming from the north: It was returning from the land of the Chaldeans, which is in the north. As it is said (Jer. 1:14): “From the north the misfortune will break forth.” And why did it go there [first]? In order to subjugate the whole world to Nebuchadnezzar, to prevent the nations from saying that He delivered His children into the hands of a lowly nation, for the Chaldeans were [considered] a lowly nation. As it is said (Isa. 23:13): “this people has never been.” So did our Sages expound on this verse in tractate Chagigah (13b).

with a brightness around it: Surrounding the cloud on the outside, implying that Israel was destined to be redeemed from there [Babylonia].

it was like the color of the chashmal: “Chashmal” is an angel bearing that name, and he [Ezekiel] saw [something] like the appearance of its color in the midst of the fire. And so did our Sages say: There was an incident involving a child who was expounding on the account of the Chariot. He perceived the meaning of “chashmal,” [whereupon] fire emanated from the chashmal and consumed him. They said further that the word itself is a combination: When they asked, “What is chashmal?” replied Rav Judah, “Living beings (חֶיוֹת) of fire (אֵש) that speak (מִמַלְלוֹת).” In a Baraitha we learned: Sometimes silent (חָשּׁוֹת), sometimes speaking (מִמַלְלוֹת) when the speech emanates from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they remain silent. When the speech does not emanate from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they speak; that is, they laud and praise the Lord (Chag. 13). [Addendum: Possibly, “chashmal” is the name of the color resembling the color of fire, for he said, “Chashmal from the midst of the fire,” and he said (verse 27): “the color of chashmal, the appearance of fire within it found about, from the appearance of his loins and above.” And, he says in the second vision (8:2): “and from his loins and above was like the appearance of a splendor, like the color of chashmal.”] And from the midst of it, [i.e.,] that fire, I saw something like the color of chashmal that appeared from the midst of the fire. But we do not know what it is, and the midrash that our Sages expounded on it, [defining “chashmal” as] living beings of fire that speak, does not seem to me to the context.

5  And from its midst was the likeness of four living beings, and this is their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

הוּמִתּוֹכָהּ דְּמוּת אַרְבַּע חַיּוֹת וְזֶה מַרְאֵיהֶן דְּמוּת אָדָם לָהֵנָּה:

they had the likeness of a man: This is surprising, because they had also the likeness of an ox, a lion, and an eagle! Apparently, since this [being] is the patron of them all [all the living beings], the prophet praises the Chariot with it. [Their human face] had the countenance of our father Jacob.

6  And [each] one had four faces, and [each] one had four wings.

ווְאַרְבָּעָה פָנִים לְאֶחָת וְאַרְבַּע כְּנָפַיִם לְאַחַת לָהֶם:

and each one had four faces: “Each one” means that the human countenance had four faces, as did that of the lion, the eagle, and the ox, totaling sixteen [faces] to one living being. It was thus for each living being, and four wings for each of the faces, totaling sixty-four wings for each living being. This is [why] Jonathan paraphrased: two hundred fifty-six wings.

7  And their legs were straight legs, and the soles of their feet were like a round foot, and they sparkled like the color of burnished copper.

זוְרַגְלֵיהֶם רֶגֶל יְשָׁרָה וְכַף רַגְלֵיהֶם כְּכַף רֶגֶל עֵגֶל וְנֹצְצִים כְּעֵין נְחֹשֶׁת קָלָל:

were straight legs: [Jonathan renders]: רִגְלִין כֵּיוָנָן parallel legs, this one opposite this one. Another explanation: “straight,” meaning they had no knee joints by which to bend their legs because they do no sitting or lying. Therefore they do not require joints like those of animalsthe upper joint and the lower joint by which it bends its legs to lie down.

a round foot: Heb. עֵגֶל, a round foot, and so did Jonathan render it: round feet.

and they sparkled: Because of their brilliance, sparks seemed to emanate from them, as we say in tractate Yoma (37b): She too [Queen Helene] made a golden candelabrum, etc. When the sun shone, sparks would [seemingly] emanate from it, etc. וְנוֹצְצִים is etincelants in French, gleaming.

like the color: Heb. כְּעֵין, like מַרְאֶה, the appearance.

burnished copper: Heb. קָלָל, clarified and gleaming. Menachem (Machbereth p. 155) associated it with (Lev. 2:14): “roasted (קָלוּי) in fire.”

8  And human hands were beneath their wings on their four sides, and their faces and their wings were [the same] to all four of them.

חוִידֵי (כתיב וִידֵו) אָדָם מִתַּחַת כַּנְפֵיהֶם עַל אַרְבַּעַת רִבְעֵיהֶם וּפְנֵיהֶם וְכַנְפֵיהֶם לְאַרְבַּעְתָּם:

And human hands were beneath their wings: As the Targum paraphrases: to pick up coals of fire with them, etc. Likewise, we find in this Book (10: 7): “And the cherub stretched forth his hand, etc. to the fire that was between the cherubim, and he picked it up and gave it to the hands of the one dressed in linen.” And so, [in the verse] after it, “And there appeared to the cherubim the form of a human hand, etc.” The human hands pick up the fire and give it to the cherub, and the cherub [gives it] to the messenger, in order [to allow] the coals to cool off [as they pass] from hand to hand, to mitigate Israel’s punishment.

on their four sides: To the four directions of the world, for they have faces and wings in every direction.

and their faces and their wings were the same to all four of them: As the Targum renders: were the same to all four of them.

9  Their wings joined one to the other; they did not turn when they walked; each one would go toward the direction of his face.

טחֹבְרֹת אִשָּׁה אֶל אֲחוֹתָהּ כַּנְפֵיהֶם לֹא יִסַּבּוּ בְלֶכְתָּן אִישׁ אֶל עֵבֶר פָּנָיו יֵלֵכוּ:

Their wings joined one to the other: Each one’s wing was spread out to the side of the other one’s wing this way [lit. to here] and that way [lit. to here] until they join and touch each other, thereby covering their faces, for the wings are spread out over the face.

they did not turn when they walked: If they wished to walk in any desired direction, they did not need to turn their faces because they have faces on every side; therefore each one went in the direction of his facein the direction of the face on that side where they desired to go, they would go.

10  And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man, and the face of a lion was on their right, to the four of them, and the face of an ox to their left, to the four of them, and the face of an eagle [was] to the four of them.

יוּדְמוּת פְּנֵיהֶם פְּנֵי אָדָם וּפְנֵי אַרְיֵה אֶל הַיָּמִין לְאַרְבַּעְתָּם וּפְנֵי שׁוֹר מֵהַשְּׂמֹאל (כתיב מהשמאול) לְאַרְבַּעְתָּן וּפְנֵי נֶשֶׁר לְאַרְבַּעְתָּן:

11  And so were their faces. And their wings were extended upward; each one had two wings joined to each other, and two covering their bodies.

יאוּפְנֵיהֶם וְכַנְפֵיהֶם פְּרֻדוֹת מִלְמָעְלָה לְאִישׁ שְׁתַּיִם חוֹבְרוֹת אִישׁ וּשְׁתַּיִם מְכַסּוֹת אֵת גְּוִיֹּתֵיהֶנָה:

And so were their faces, and their wings were extended upward: Had I not seen the cantillation sign of a “zakef gadol” [indicating a pause] punctuating “And so were their faces,” I would not know how to explain it, but the punctuation taught me to separate them [the words of the verse] one from the other and to place the word וּפְנֵיהֶם by itself. And so, [this] is its explanation: And they had faces and their wings were extended above their faces and covered them. How so? “Each had two wings joined to each other” to each face, their two wings were joined. On each one, the wing of this living being was stretched out towards the side of that living being, and this one’s towards the side of this one, and the face that was in between was covered by them. [A verse whose wording] is similar to the language of this verse appears again in this chapter (verse 18): “And they had backs, and they were very high and they were dreadful.” The word וְגֲבֵּיהֶן, “and they had backs,” stands by itself.

and two covering their bodies: And the two remaining wings would cover their bodies.

12  Now each one would go toward the direction of his face; wherever would be the will to go, they would go; they did not turn as they walked.

יבוְאִישׁ אֶל עֵבֶר פָּנָיו יֵלֵכוּ אֶל אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה שָּׁמָּה הָרוּחַ לָלֶכֶת יֵלֵכוּ לֹא יִסַּבּוּ בְּלֶכְתָּן:

wherever would be the will: Heb. רוּחַ, usually spirit, here means will: the will to go.

13  And the likeness of the living beings; their appearance was like fiery coals, burning like the appearance of firebrands; it was going among the living beings; and there was a brightness to the fire and from the fire came forth lightning.

יגוּדְמוּת הַחַיּוֹת מַרְאֵיהֶם כְּגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ בֹּעֲרוֹת כְּמַרְאֵה הַלַּפִּדִים הִיא מִתְהַלֶּכֶת בֵּין הַחַיּוֹת וְנֹגַהּ לָאֵשׁ וּמִן הָאֵשׁ יוֹצֵא בָרָק:

it was going among the living beings: That appearance (מַרְאָה) was going among all the living beings.

there was a brightness to the fire: More than [there is to] our fire.

lightning: Heb. בָּרָק,flandours in Old French, lightning flashes.

14  And the living beings would run and return, like the appearance of the sparks.

ידוְהַחַיּוֹת רָצוֹא וָשׁוֹב כְּמַרְאֵה הַבָּזָק:

would run and return, like the appearance of the sparks: Our Sages explained (Chag. 13b): They would run and return like the flame of a furnace, which constantly shoots out of the mouth of the furnace and hastens back to enter. So, when they would thrust their heads out from under the expanse that was extended above themas is delineated in the chapterthey would recoil because of the Shechinah, which is above the expanse, and they hasten to pull their heads [down].

like the appearance of the sparks: Heb. הֲבָּזָק, de l’etincelle in French, and the color of their fire is like the color of the fire that emanates from between the shards within which gold is refined in a furnace. The fire that emanates from there is colored with these colors (ibid.). [Addendum: Others explain הַבָּזָק as an expression of scattering, as our Sages explained it (Gen. Rabbah 50:1): “like the appearance of the bazak” R. Judah in the name of R. Simon in the name of R. Levi the son of Perata: Like one who scatters (הַבּוֹזֵק) ‘gefeth’ in a stove, i.e., he scatters ‘gefeth’ the residue of olives in a stove: it ignites quickly and raises a flame, and the flame ascends and descends, and this is the meaning of “would run and return.” Furthermore we find in their words (Sanh. 108b, according to Aruch) בזק used as an expression of scattering: “He scattered (בָּזַק) dust on them and it turned into swords,” meaning he scattered, and so in the Mishnah (Eruvin 10: 14): “We may scatter (בּוֹזְקִין) salt on the ramp so that they should not slip.” בזק may also be defined as ברק (lightning), which is an expression of searching.]

15  And I saw the living beings, and behold, one wheel [was] on the ground beside the living beings for its four faces.

טווָאֵרֶא הַחַיּוֹת וְהִנֵּה אוֹפַן אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ אֵצֶל הַחַיּוֹת לְאַרְבַּעַת פָּנָיו:

one wheel [was] on the ground: On the floor of the expanse.

for its four faces: of each living being, or the wheel had four faces. Our Rabbis said (Chag. 13b): “This is Sandalphon [the angel], who stands on the ground yet whose head reaches up among the living beings.” From the context we learn that the wheels were four.

16  The appearance of the wheels and their work was like the appearance of crystal, and the four of them had one likeness, and their appearance and their workings were as a wheel would be within a wheel.

טזמַרְאֵה הָאוֹפַנִּים וּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם כְּעֵין תַּרְשִׁישׁ וּדְמוּת אֶחָד לְאַרְבַּעְתָּן וּמַרְאֵיהֶם וּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה הָאוֹפַן בְּתוֹךְ הָאוֹפָן:

like the appearance of crystal: Heb. תַּרְשִּׂישּׂ, like a precious stone named tarshish, cristal in French.

as… would be: A wheel set within a wheel, crosswise. Since they go to every side, with their faces to the four directions, the wheel must roll in its four directions.

17  When they went, they went toward their four sides; they did not turn when they went.

יזעַל אַרְבַּעַת רִבְעֵיהֶן בְּלֶכְתָּם יֵלֵכוּ לֹא יִסַּבּוּ בְּלֶכְתָּן:

toward their four sides, etc.: Because of the working of the wheels, he had to repeat them [i.e., the description of the living beings’ movements], to say that the wheels did not stop them because they [the living beings] too were made for that [i.e., moving in four directions].

18  And they had backs, and they were very high, and they were dreadful, and their eyebrows were full of eyes round about-[so it was] to the four of them.

יחוְגַבֵּיהֶן וְגֹבַהּ לָהֶם וְיִרְאָה לָהֶם וְגַבֹּתָם מְלֵאֹת עֵינַיִם סָבִיב לְאַרְבַּעְתָּן:

And they had backs: Heb. וְגַבֵּיהֶן, lit. and their backs. And they had backs.

and they were very high, and they were dreadful: They were frightful to look upon. Others interpret: “they had fear,” meaning they stood in awe.

and their eyebrows: Heb. וְגֲבֹּתָם, et leurs sourcils in French.

were full of eyes round about: to see in all directions, for they did not turn when they went.

19  And when the living beings would go, the wheels would go beside them; and when the living beings would lift themselves off the ground, the wheels would lift themselves.

יטוּבְלֶכֶת הַחַיּוֹת יֵלְכוּ הָאוֹפַנִּים אֶצְלָם וּבְהִנָּשֵׂא הַחַיּוֹת מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ יִנָּשְׂאוּ הָאוֹפַנִּים:

off the ground: Off the floor of the expanse, and so did Jonathan render: “off the high heavens”; meaning when they lifted themselves up from the depths to the heights.

20  Wherever there was the will to go, they would go; there was the will to go, and the wheels would lift themselves correspondingly to them, for the will of the living being was in the wheels.

כעַל אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה שָּׁם הָרוּחַ לָלֶכֶת יֵלֵכוּ שָׁמָּה הָרוּחַ לָלֶכֶת וְהָאוֹפַנִּים יִנָּשְׂאוּ לְעֻמָּתָם כִּי רוּחַ הַחַיָּה בָּאוֹפַנִּים:

the will: The will of the Holy One, blessed be He.

there was the will to go: It was not necessary to tell them [to go] to this side [or that] because the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, was in the living beings, and the will of the living beings was in the wheels.

21  When they [the living beings] would go, they [the wheels] would go, and when they would stand, they would stand, and when they would lift themselves up from the ground, the wheels would lift themselves correspondingly to them, for the will of the living being was in the wheels.

כאבְּלֶכְתָּם יֵלֵכוּ וּבְעָמְדָם יַעֲמֹדוּ וּבְהִנָּשְׂאָם מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ יִנָּשְׂאוּ הָאוֹפַנִּים לְעֻמָּתָם כִּי רוּחַ הַחַיָּה בָּאוֹפַנִּים:

When they would go: Heb. בְּלֶכְתַּם, [i.e.,] the living beings.

they would go: Heb. יֵלְכוּ [i.e.,] the wheels.

22  And there was a likeness over the heads of the living beings, of an expanse like the color of the severe frost extended over their heads above.

כבוּדְמוּת עַל רָאשֵׁי הַחַיָּה רָקִיעַ כְּעֵין הַקֶּרַח הַנּוֹרָא נָטוּי עַל רָאשֵׁיהֶם מִלְמָעְלָה:

the severe frost: Jonathan rendered: גְלִיד חֲסִין, severe frost, gelee forte in French.

23  And beneath the expanse, their wings were straight, one [pointed] toward the other; this one had two that covered, to here, and that one had two that covered, to here, their bodies.

כגוְתַחַת הָרָקִיעַ כַּנְפֵיהֶם יְשָׁרוֹת אִשָּׁה אֶל אֲחוֹתָהּ לְאִישׁ שְׁתַּיִם מְכַסּוֹת לָהֵנָּה וּלְאִישׁ שְׁתַּיִם מְכַסּוֹת לָהֵנָּה אֵת גְּוִיֹּתֵיהֶם:

straight: Parallel.

24  And I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of many waters like the voice of the Almighty-when they went; the sound of stirring, like the sound of a camp; when they would stand, they would let down their wings.

כדוָאֶשְׁמַע אֶת קוֹל כַּנְפֵיהֶם כְּקוֹל מַיִם רַבִּים כְּקוֹל שַׁדַּי בְּלֶכְתָּם קוֹל הֲמֻלָּה כְּקוֹל מַחֲנֶה בְּעָמְדָם תְּרַפֶּינָה כַנְפֵיהֶן:

like the sound of many waters: I would think that the voice was low. Therefore, Scripture adds: like the sound of the Almighty, like the voice delineated in the Holy Writings (Ps. 29: 4f.): “The voice of the Lord is in strength, etc. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars.”

the sound of stirring, like the sound of a camp: Like the sound of their speech when they thank and bless their Master; it was like the sound of the camp of the angels on high.

when they would stand, they would let down their wings: [and cease] from making a sound be heard, and Jonathan rendered: when they would stand, they would silence their wings because of the speech, [i.e., because of] the speech of the Omnipresent emanating from above their heads, to let the prophets hear His mission, as he [Ezekiel] concludes (verse 25): “And there was a voice, etc.” The Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 65:11) states: “When they would stop praising [God] so that Israel would praise first.”

25  And there was a voice above the expanse that was over their heads; when they stood still, they would let down their wings.

כהוַיְהִי קוֹל מֵעַל לָרָקִיעַ אֲשֶׁר עַל רֹאשָׁם בְּעָמְדָם תְּרַפֶּינָה כַנְפֵיהֶן:

And there was a voice above the expanse: Jonathan rendered: And at the time that there was a will before Him to make His speech heard to His servantsthe prophets of Israelthere was a voice, and it was heard from above the expanse, from between the cherubim, from beneath the expanse that was over their heads.

they would let down their wings: out of the fear of the speech.

26  And above the expanse that was over their heads, like the appearance of a sapphire stone, was the likeness of a throne, and on the likeness of the throne, was a likeness like the appearance of a man upon it above.

כווּמִמַּעַל לָרָקִיעַ אֲשֶׁר עַל רֹאשָׁם כְּמַרְאֵה אֶבֶן סַפִּיר דְּמוּת כִּסֵּא וְעַל דְּמוּת הַכִּסֵּא דְּמוּת כְּמַרְאֵה אָדָם עָלָיו מִלְמָעְלָה:

27  And I saw like the color of chashmal like the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and above; and from the appearance of his loins and below, I saw [a thing] like the appearance of fire, and there was a brightness round about it.

כזוָאֵרֶא | כְּעֵין חַשְׁמַל כְּמַרְאֵה אֵשׁ בֵּית לָהּ סָבִיב מִמַּרְאֵה מָתְנָיו וּלְמָעְלָה וּמִמַּרְאֵה מָתְנָיו וּלְמַטָּה רָאִיתִי כְּמַרְאֵה אֵשׁ וְנֹגַהּ לוֹ סָבִיב:

And I saw like the color of chashmal: No permission was granted to ponder over this verse.

within it: Within it was like the appearance of fire.

28  Like the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness round about; that was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord, and when I saw, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.

כחכְּמַרְאֵה הַקֶּשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בֶעָנָן בְּיוֹם הַגֶּשֶׁם כֵּן מַרְאֵה הַנֹּגַהּ סָבִיב הוּא מַרְאֵה דְּמוּת כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה וָאֶרְאֶה וָאֶפֹּל עַל פָּנַי וָאֶשְׁמַע קוֹל מְדַבֵּר:

and I fell on my face: I prostrated myself.

and I heard a voice speaking: And what did it say?

To continue the text and read what Yehezkel was told, visit HERE