R. Moses ha-Darshan, in his commentary on the Sh‘iur Qomah, cited from Scholem, Reshit ha-Qabbalah, pp. 213, 217-219

 

The Cherub is the one that sits upon the throne. And it is the image of the Holy One, blessed be He, when His shadow is still upon it. This is the import of what is said, “and through the prophets I was imagined” (Hosea 12-11), for the appearance of the Cherub is like that of the shade, and the shade is [related to] the matter of prophecy. Occasionally it is seen like an angel, other times as a human, a lion, a horse, a ram, in accordance with what He wills. It cannot be said that this [refers to] the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is said, “I am the Lord, I have not changed” (Mal. 3-6). It is rather the Cherub that changes and that appears in all these forms… Concerning the Cherub it is said, “Your stately form is like the palm” (Cant. 7-8)… And this is what is said “Great is our Lord and full of power” (Ps. 147-5). The numerical value [of the expression “and full of power,” we-rav koah] is 236. This is the Cherub. [The expression] “and full of power” (we-rav koah) contains the letters [of the word] Cherub (keruv). This Cherub is referred to in the Torah [by the phrase] “the Lord and the one” (YHWH we-’ehad). Thus you must say that it is this Cherub that appears to the prophets. After we have proven that the Cherub appears to the prophets, it must be said that the glory of the Lord is the Cherub, as it says, “And there appeared the glory of the Lord [in a cloud]” (Exod. 16-10). [The word] “appeared” (nir’eh) is numerically equivalent to the expression “this is the Cherub” (zeh ha-keruv). It is said, “It is the glory of God to conceal the matter” (Prov. 25-2). One must hide this and reveal it only to the humble.

Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.

What do you want to know?

Ask our AI widget and get answers from this website