Ginzay Ramchal — Section 15: Sefer Penos HaMerkavah — Volume Preamble

Introduction to *Sefer Peanoas HaMerkavah*

**"*Peanoas HaMerkavah*" — her four Corners in the heights of the heights.** Each Corner is made a root for one of the stages of the future Ge'ulah (Redemption). According to each one of the four stages of this Ge'ulah, Rabbenu [the Ramchal] explicates the *parashah* (Torah-portion) of *Minchah* (the Meal-Offering) through four expositions.

These four Corners are founded upon Names that issue from the Name הוי״ה (*Havayah*) by way of the permutations of the *Alfa-Beisa Beisa-Alfa* [i.e. the atbash-type substitution cipher: אַתְבַּ"שׁ], which are brought in *Sefer Bris Menuchah* (p. 3:), and this is its language:

"And they are divided into four *derachim* (pathways), and they are: **the portion of Ahavah, and the portion of Shalom, and the portion of Gevurah, and the portion of Yir'ah** — which are these, their Names: **the portion of Ahavah:** its Name is called כוז״ו (*Kuzu*), *ha-choseif* over the All [i.e., *that seizes/comprises the All* — from the root ח-ת-ף, to seize; alternatively *ha-choseh*, "that covers"]. **And the portion of Shalom:** its Name is called מצפ״ץ (*Matzpatz*). **And the portion of Gevurah:** its Name is called אנג״ץ (*Angatz*). **And the portion of Yir'ah:** its Name is called תנע״ץ (*Tana'tz*). And you shall see that these Names issue forth through the interchange of letters of *Alfa-Beisa Beisa-Alfa*, and when you contemplate you shall find the matter spoken upon its facets. And these four Names indicate the places of the Ahavah, and the Shalom, and the Gevurah, and the Yir'ah. And these Names of the four Pathways indicate the *Gevuras Shem Havayah* (Might of the Great Name *Havayah*). And these four Heads reach up to four places, which are the places of Ahavah, and Shalom, and Gevurah, and Yir'ah," *end of quote*.

Rabbenu alters the order, and brings the Fourth Portion before the Second Portion — *Yir'ah* before *Shalom*.

In this composition, too, as in the remainder of Rabbenu's compositions, there are elucidated — along with the principal themes — verses and Torah-portions in Torah and Nach, and sayings of Chazal, in the luminous light of Rabbenu's Torah. Every elucidation is itself a facet (*pinah*).

The First Corner — פְּנַת הָאַהֲבָה — the Corner of *Ahavah* (Love)

**The First Corner is the Corner of Ahavah,** by whose power the graves are opened [fn1] toward *Techiyas HaMeisim* (the Revival of the Dead). "And the operation of this Light is very great, for in its descending with great force, it guides all the possessors of Ahavah in the upright way, so that they shall not stumble… This Light is called *zechus* (merit), and of it is said: *'Wherewith shall a young man purify his path?'* [Tehillim 119:9] — for by this Light they grant merit upon their path," and so forth. Further he expounds according to this the *parashah* of Minchah: "And upon this secret is said, *'And a soul, when it shall offer an offering of Minchah'* [Vayikra 2:1] — to make a satisfying spirit to her Maker, certainly; and this depends upon the Nefesh, which is the *Shechinah* that stands within *Asiyah*, and receives from there her rectifications that are made for Her Name. She raises up from them a very great Light, pure and clean, which causes a satisfying spirit to the King, the Holy One Blessed be He," and so forth. **The force of Ahavah wells up from our deeds that are done for Her sake (*lishmah*):** to make a satisfying spirit to our Maker. According to this he expounds the verse: *"Surely God is good to Yisrael, to the pure of heart"* [Tehillim 73:1].

The Second Corner — פְּנַת הַיִּרְאָה — the Corner of *Yir'ah* (Awe)

**The Second Corner is the Corner of Yir'ah** — the Second Stage of the Ge'ulah, in which *Nevu'ah* (prophecy) is revealed through *Yir'as HaRomemus* (the Awe of [His] Exaltedness), and it spreads forth upon all Yisrael. "For this purpose are the prophecies given: in the beginning, that which is needful to bring the Ge'ulah by their hand, and prophecies at the end to all Yisrael, among whom is *Rav le'Hoshia* (*a great Savior*), certainly — in every *revach* (respite, interval) that shall be opened so that the rectification shall be for the world and for the worlds of worlds." [fn2] According to this he says: "And the reason that *Nevu'ah* shall be revealed, in the Future-to-Come, to all Yisrael — is because by its hand are raised up all the matters, until the rectification of this — to return the All to the Supernal Unity (*HaYichud HaElyon*)."

The Third Corner — פְּנַת הַשָּׁלוֹם — the Corner of *Shalom* (Peace)

**The Third Corner — "this Corner is the Corner of Shalom.** Upon this depends the great arrangement of all the chapters of the Merkavah, that they stand aright — for each one shall recognize his place that was given to him in the service of the Blessed One, and then the *Shalom* shall spread in the world, when the Upper Ones and the Lower Ones stand in a single equanimity, without turbulence and without jealousy." According to this he says: "And in truth, according to what each one is fit for, so is he fit — but when every one [wishes] to ascend to a rung for which he is not fitting, behold there is jealousy and contention among the Lower Ones — not one fulfills what befits him, and the Glory of Heaven is injured. Thus [when] the root and the portion of each one shall be revealed to him in the Future-to-Come, 'in order that all the sons of man receive of their [proper] ascent, each one as is fitting for him, and shall not transgress the boundary of another — *and the jealousy of Efrayim shall be removed*' [Yeshayahu 11:13]."

He explains further: "And then the *Chassidus* shall be known in the world, that the sons of man recognize their [proper] ascent, and will not desire more than this. When every one does not feel himself constrained by another, but rather each one recognizes his place, and wishes to add his portion in the service of the Holy-One-Blessed-be-He — **this is the root of *Chassidus*:** to show-kindness with one's Maker, to give and not to take."

The Fourth Corner — פְּנַת הַגְּבוּרָה — the Corner of *Gevurah* (Might)

**The Fourth Corner — "is the Quietude and Security forever** [echoing *Yeshayahu 32:17*: *hashket va-vetach ad olam*]. Of it is said: *'A Ruler in His Gevurah forever, His eyes watch the nations'* [Tehillim 66:7]. It is the Corner of *Gevurah*, [the Corner] by the power of whose Might the Creator repairs every blemish in Creation and in man. It is this *Gevurah*, that in its seven [phases] shall rule in the world, and it shall bring out all the existents upon another pathway, and they shall not be consumed any more — such that they shall be consumed-as-food by the majority of the Fire." And upon this our Sages of blessed memory said: *"Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one — destruction"* [Sanhedrin 97a]. In this Great Fire shall all the creatures be refined, entirely, until there shall not remain in them any *zuhamah* (filth), and from there they shall pass over to the Rest — the Eternal, certainly. **The destruction of the corporeal [realms] in the Seventh Thousand [Millennium] — shall be the building of the spiritual [realms].** To this he says: *"To You, Hashem, is the Kingdom"* [Divrei HaYamim I 29:11] — the All passes over to the Seventh Day, which is *Malchus* of the Seventh, certainly —

**the final *Heh* (of the Name *Havayah*) — she is the one who rules in this Corner, for there is completed the Last of the Perfections**."

By way of this Fire shall they ascend to the Last Perfection: "When this Fire of which I have spoken — it shall ascend until the Last *No'am* (Pleasantness); there shall appear there one Light that has no end, and its Name is called *Or Gadol* (the Great Light)… And thereby it is known that this Luminous Light shall rule forever, and it shall be revealed in the Eighth Millennium — and more than this, none shall know of it… And therefore the souls shall receive a new knowledge that they have not at present at all."

We have brought a few points from within the four Corners, as signposts of the way — **and for the rest, go, learn** [*ve'idach zil gemor* — the classic phrase of Hillel to the convert, *Shabbos 31a*].

Rabbenu composed a prayer for each Corner, in order to pray over the revelation of its Lights. In it is hinted — in the initial letters of the words of the prayer — the holy Names of each Corner.

After the four prayers of the Corners, come prayers corresponding to the Four Worlds, from the World of *Asiyah* up to the World of *Atzilus*.

In his letter to his teacher *MoHaRaI Bassan* [Rabbi Yeshayah Bassan, Ramchal's teacher — see "*Ramchal u'Venei Doro*," p. 31; "*Yarim Moshe*," p. 104], Rabbenu mentions "*Perush HaMerkavah*" (Exposition of the Chariot) among his compositions, that several of them he composed according to the dictation of a *Maggid* and Holy Souls that were revealed to him [see above, in the Introduction to *Ma'amar "Vayehi Miketz"*]. It is possible that the composition that is before us is the one that he mentions in his writing. **Whoever merits revelations from Heaven — is able to reveal to us Supernal mysteries.**

The manuscript is found in the collection of Baron Günzburg, which is located at the University of Leningrad. The photograph-scan of this manuscript was brought from there by Prof. A. I. Katz. A copy of the photograph is deposited in *Machon Ben-Zvi*. The quality of the microfilm is poor, and to our regret we were unable to receive a better copy. At first, Prof. M. [Benayahu] gave us a copy of the photograph; afterward, a copy from the microfilm. In the end we received from Machon Ben-Zvi enlarged images which ease the work of decipherment more [than before] — our thanks to all of them. Still, many words remained that it was not possible to decipher. In a number of places — the ends of rows and the heads of rows, in the location where the pages of the quire are joined — are not visible in the photograph; therefore there are many unreadable words, which we have marked with dots. The words that we conjectured from within the letters that it was possible to decipher, or from within the flow of the matters, we have placed in square brackets.

The manuscript was copied by two students of Rabbenu. In places where the copyists marked dots in place of unreadable words — we have noted this. **This manuscript was in the possession of Rabbi Yekusiel.** [R. Yekusiel Gordon — Ramchal's foremost disciple]. The title of the composition is written in his [own] hand, within the illustrated title-page.

Footnotes (from the editor)

[fn1] On the matter of the opening of the graves in the secret of the Name כוז״ו (*Kuzu*) — see in *Sefer Adir BaMarom*, p. 68.

[fn2] See the words of Rabbenu in *Ma'amar HaGe'ulah* (*Sefer HaMa'amarim*, Levin-Epstein ed., p. 70): "And the greatest good that shall be to Yisrael is the removal of jealousy and the falling-away (*afilus*) of the *Yetzer HaRa*. For when each one recognizes his place according to the rung — behold, this one shall be above and this one below, and even so, there is no jealousy and no hatred, for so is the order according to the rungs; and just as the importance of this Upper one [so is] the importance of this Lower one — being that each one is a chariot to the Supernal Luminaries, and a man upon his place, and does not depart from his boundary — just as the Supernal Luminaries [do not]."