Greco-Roman Period
Ma‘aseh Merkavah is an early Jewish mystical text which emphasizes the liturgical aspect of the mystical quest to ascend through the seven heavens and stand before God on His throne. This and other similar texts were redacted in the early Middle Ages and are based on late talmudic traditions. The prayer preserved in this text shows the extent to which Jewish liturgy is clearly related to—even dependent on—the Merkavah mystical tradition.
Rabbi Ishmael said- I asked of Rabbi Akiba the prayer that one recites when he ascends
to the Merkavah, and I asked of him the praise of
RWZYY, Lord, God of Israel—who knows what it is? He said to me- [There must be]
purity and holiness in his heart, and he says a prayer;
Be praised forever.
At the Throne of Glory You dwell,
in the Chambers on high, and the exalted Hekhal. 243
For you have revealed the secrets and the deepest of secrets,
and the hidden things, and the most hidden things
to Moses, and Moses taught them to Israel
So that they can engage in Torah with them, and increase study with them.
Rabbi Akiba said- When I ascended and gazed at the Power (Gevurah), 244 I saw all the
creatures that are in all the paths of heaven, those whose lengths are above and widths are
below, and those whose widths are above and whose lengths are below.
Rabbi Ishmael said- How do the ministering angels stand on them? He said to me- like a
bridge laid over a river that everyone passes over; so is a bridge laid from the beginning
of the entrance to its end; and the ministering angels go around on it and recite song
before TRQYLYY YHWH God of Israel….
And this is the prayer-
‘El RWZYY YWY God of Israel-
Blessed are you, God, great in power.
Who is like you in heaven or on earth
Holy in heaven and holy on earth?
He is a holy King, He is a great King,
He is a magnificent King over all the Merkavah.
You stretched out the heavens and established Your Throne,
and Your great name is adorned at Your Throne of Glory.
You spread out the earth;
You founded in it a seat for your footstool,
Your glory fills the world
Your name is great and mighty in all power,
and there is no limit to your understanding.
You know the mysteries of the world
and oversee wisdom and hidden ways.
Who is like You, who searches hearts
and examines the innermost parts
and understands thoughts?
There is nothing concealed from You; and nothing hidden from Your sight.
All life and death, blessings and curses, good and evil, are in Your hand;
and Your name is mighty in heaven and earth,
of great strength in heaven and earth,
blessed in heaven and earth,
honored in heaven and earth,
merciful in heaven and earth,
holy in heaven and holy on earth,
Power is the remembrance of Your name
forever and ever, to the end of all generations.
Rabbi Akiba said- Who can contemplate the seven Hekhalot, and gaze at the highest
heavens, and see the inner chambers, and say, “I have seen the chambers of YH?” In the
first Hekhal there stand four thousand myriads of Merkavot of fire, and forty thousand
myriads of flames of fire go in among them. In the second Hekhal there stand one
hundred thousand myriads of Merkavot of fire, and forty thousand myriads of flames of
fire go in among them. In the third Hekhal there stand two hundred thousand myriads of
Merkavot of fire, and one hundred thousand myriads of flames of fire go in among them.
In the fourth Hekhal there stand one thousand of thousands of thousands of myriads of
Merkavot of fire, and two thousand myriads of flames of fire go in among them. In the
fifth Hekhal there stand four thousands of thousands of myriads of Merkavot of fire, and
two thousand myriads of flames of fire go in among them. In the sixth Hekhal there stand
a thousand thousands of thousands of myriads of Merkavot of fire, and two thousand
thousands of myriads of flames of fire go in among them. In the seventh Hekhal there
stand one hundred thousands of thousands of myriads of Merkavot of fire, and two
thousand thousands of myriads of flames of fire go in among them.
242. Trans. M. D. Swartz, Mystical Prayers in Ancient Judaism (Tubingen- J.C.B. Mohr, 1992), pp. 222-4.
243. Literally “palace,” referring to the seven palaces surrounding the divine throne.
244. The divine presence, termed “Shekhinah” in Rabbinic texts.