Hekhalot Zutarti

Hekhalot Zutarti

If you desire to be set apart in the world so that the mysteries of the world and the hidden things of wisdom may be revealed to you, repeat this teaching and guard it carefully until the day of your departure. Do not seek to understand what lies behind you, and do not investigate what is beyond the utterance of your lips. Understand what is placed within your heart, and be silent, so that you may become worthy of the splendours of the chariot.

Be watchful concerning the glory of your Maker, and do not descend toward it presumptuously. If you descend, do not make use of it for your own pleasure; for whoever makes use of it for pleasure will at last be driven from the world. The glory of God is to conceal a matter. Therefore conceal it, so that you are not driven from the world.

When Moses ascended to God, the Holy One, blessed be he, taught him concerning every person whose heart wanders from what he hears. He said: Let that person recall these names over himself: Bari, Abahai, Hai, Marmarot, Semo-Sallam, Abri, and Ankibon. Let everything that I hear and learn remain in my heart. Let me learn Scripture, Mishnah, teaching, laws, and interpretations, and let me not forget them in this world or in the world to come. Blessed are you, Lord: teach me your statutes.

This is the name that was revealed to Rabbi Akiva when he gazed upon the work of the chariot. Rabbi Akiva descended and taught it to his disciples. He said to them: My children, guard yourselves concerning this name. It is a great name, a holy name, and a pure name. Whoever makes use of it in awe, fear, purity, holiness, and humility will increase his seed, prosper in all his ways, and lengthen his days.

When Moses ascended to God, the Holy One, blessed be he, disclosed to him the book of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge: the investigations of what is above and below, the hidden things of Torah, heaven and earth, and the secrets by which the world stands. By them Moses performed the signs and wonders in Egypt, and by them he struck the Egyptian. In the fire of the bush there appeared to him Metatron, the great prince, the prince of the host of the Lord, and he said: Moses, Moses.

Rabbi Akiva said: That name is sealed, sealed, sealed. This is the great name by which Moses divided the great sea, by which the waters were made into high walls. [A sequence of divine and angelic names follows; several forms are unstable among the manuscripts.]

I called from my distress to the Lord, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. I looked again toward your holy palace. You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God. With the voice of thanksgiving I will sacrifice to you. I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy palace.

Rabbi Akiva said: When I ascended to the first palace, I stood at its gate and uttered the seal that had been delivered to me. The guardian recognized the sign and opened before me. I passed in peace, and the ministers did not injure me.

At the gate of the second palace I showed the second seal and pronounced its names. The guardians trembled, bowed, and made a path for me. Their faces were like flashes of fire, and their voices were like the sound of many waters.

At the third palace the hosts stood in ranks, each according to his station. They praised the King of glory without ceasing. When they heard the seal, they said: Blessed is the one who knows the secret of his Maker and does not profane it.

At the fourth palace I saw fiery rivers flowing from before the throne, and bridges stretched over them. The ministers who stand there test everyone who descends to the chariot. I spoke the names in fear and crossed unharmed.

At the fifth palace the splendour was greater than the splendour of the palaces below it. Crowns of holiness hung above the heads of the princes, and the wheels of the chariot were full of eyes. I sealed myself with the seal, and the guardians permitted me to pass.

When I came to the gate of the sixth palace, it appeared to me as though hundreds of thousands of myriads of waves of water were rushing against me, although there was not even a drop of water there. The splendour of the polished marble stones made them appear like water.

The guardians said: Why do you marvel? Do not say, Water, water. Whoever says, Water, water, is a liar and will not stand before the King. I steadied my heart, remembered the seal, and passed between the stones in peace.

[The wording of the seals and the names of several guardians is textually unstable.]

At the seventh palace I saw the King of glory seated upon a high and exalted throne. His throne was established in splendour, and the living creatures bore it. Wheels within wheels moved beneath it, and fire went out from before him.

The holy living creatures opened their mouths in holiness and purity, saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. The wheels answered them, and all the ministers of flame blessed the name of the great King.

The throne itself answered and said: Blessed is the glory of the Lord from his place. The firmaments shook, the foundations of the palaces trembled, and the rivers of fire increased their sound.

I fell upon my face. The prince of the Presence came near, strengthened me, and said: Son of man, stand upon your feet. Do not fear, for your seal is recognized, and the name upon you is true.

I raised my eyes and saw the likeness of a youth standing before the throne. His name was called by many names because of the offices entrusted to him. He served before the King and carried the commands of the Most High to all the hosts.

[Some manuscripts identify this prince with Metatron; the transmitted wording and sequence differ.]

Rabbi Akiva said: I asked concerning the hidden name by which heaven and earth were made, by which the sea was divided, by which the dead will live, and by which the appointed times are sealed. A voice came from behind the curtain and said: Do not seek to utter the name according to its letters, for its holiness is beyond the service of flesh and blood.

Learn its reverence, learn its seals, and learn the purity required for it. Whoever utters it for pride or gain brings destruction upon himself. Whoever guards it in humility and fear is guarded by the ministers of the throne.

The voice said: Before you call, purify yourself from violence, falsehood, hatred, and unlawful gain. Wash your garments, restrain your tongue, and separate yourself from uncleanness. Fast according to your strength, pray at the appointed hours, and do not reveal the mystery to one who is unworthy.

Let the worthy disciple sit upon the ground, cover his head, and direct his heart toward the place of the Presence. Let him recite the praises of the Creator and the holiness of the living creatures. Let him seal himself with the names delivered by his teacher.

Do not change the order of the seals, do not add to the names, and do not diminish them. A name written incorrectly is not the name, and an adjuration spoken in arrogance is not heard.

Rabbi Akiva said: I heard the ministers proclaiming the measures of praise, each company answering the company above it. The lower ones did not begin until the higher ones gave permission, and none raised its voice above its appointed rank.

One company said: Magnified and sanctified is the great King, mighty in the chambers of his palace. Another said: Blessed is the hidden God, who dwells in concealed light and reveals wisdom to those who fear him.

Another said: His throne is fire, his footstool flame, his servants burning ones, and his chariot a storm. Yet his mercy is over all his works, and his glory fills the worlds.

The prince who stood over the song raised his staff, and every host became silent. Then from the midst of silence came a thin voice, and all the palaces bowed before the name of the King.

[A long series of mystical names and vocalisations follows. Their exact forms differ sharply among the manuscripts and cannot be translated.]

Rabbi Akiva said: I saw the crowns that are bound upon the letters of the name. Each letter was like a palace, each stroke like a flame, and from every crown went forth myriads of powers. No mouth can recount them and no ear can endure their sound.

I said: Master of the worlds, who is able to behold your glory? He answered me from the cloud: No creature beholds me as I am. They behold the splendour that goes before me and the glory that I permit them to see.

I said: Why then have you brought me here? He said: So that you may know, fear, teach, and conceal. Teach the worthy; conceal from the scorner. Make known the greatness of the King, but do not make merchandise of the mystery.

Rabbi Akiva said: I descended from the chariot in peace. I taught the words to the elders in a whisper, and they delivered them from teacher to disciple. They warned that one should not expound the work of the chariot before one who is alone unless that person is wise and understands from his own knowledge.

Whoever seeks only power will be confused by the guardians. Whoever seeks only honour will be cast down by the splendour. But whoever seeks the knowledge of the Creator in humility, purity, and fear will be strengthened and brought out in peace.

The names are not weapons for anger, nor are the seals instruments for revenge. Their holiness rests upon restraint, truth, and reverence. The one who makes profane use of them profanes himself.

Rabbi Akiva said to his disciples: When you reach the place of pure marble stones, do not say, Water, water, for it is said: He who speaks falsehood shall not be established before my eyes.

Ben Azzai gazed and died. Ben Zoma gazed and was harmed. The other cut the plantings. Akiva entered in peace and came out in peace, because his deeds were ordered and his heart was prepared.

[The relationship of this paradise tradition to the surrounding ascent text varies among manuscripts.]

The Holy One, blessed be he, said: I have placed my name upon Israel, and my glory among those who sanctify me. Let them not exchange my fear for pride or my covenant for sorcery.

Happy is the person who hears and keeps silent, who understands and does not boast, who learns and teaches in purity. The secret of the Lord is for those who fear him, and his covenant makes it known to them.

Rabbi Akiva said: These are the words that were shown to me in the palaces. I have not disclosed all that I saw, for there are matters that the mouth is forbidden to speak and the ear is forbidden to hear.

[A further series of names, seals, and adjurations is preserved in divergent forms. Much of its wording is uncertain or untranslatable.]

Seal this teaching and guard it. Do not deliver it to the angry, the proud, the violent, the deceitful, or the one who seeks to make himself great through it. Deliver it to one who is humble, restrained, fearful of heaven, and able to keep a secret.

Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who reveals hidden things and makes known the secrets of wisdom to those who fear him. His name is holy, his throne is glorious, and his kingdom endures from age to age.

[The ending is not uniform across the surviving recensions.]