THE SEVEN HEAVENS IN THE TALMUD: There are seven heavens, representing ascending degrees of holiness. The six lower ones correspond to the days of active creation of the universe – and the highest, the seventh, corresponds to the Sabbath (Zohar 1 38a). "Sing to God, make music to to His Name; extol He Who rides upon the highest heavens בָּעֲרָבוֹת (the 7th Heaven; ARAVOTH), With His Name Yah, and exult before Him" (Psalms 68:8). He rides and directs the heavens as the rider on His steed. ”YAH” denotes Him as the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe (Radak). ”The Hebrew says that ARAPHEL (the opaque darkness) is the name of the firmament into which Moses went, for the Jews speak of seven firmaments, which they also call heavens. This is a reference to the ancient tradition that Moses went up to Sinai, to the throne of God in the highest heaven, which the rabbis of the Talmudic era called more accurately, but still relatedly ARABOT. Moses ascended, in short, to the throne of the Divine glory, to the light of the Shekinah” (Presence of God) – John of Scythopolis. ”THE PEOPLE STOOD FROM AFAR and Moses approached the thick cloud (opaque darkness, thick darkness) הָעֲרָפֶל ARAPHEL where God was” (Exodus 20:17). As it is said, ”So you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire up to the heart of the heaven, darkness, cloud, and thick cloud עֲרָפֶל ARAPHEL ” (Deut. 4:11). Hashem said to Moses, “Behold! I come to you in the thickness of the cloud, so that the people will hear as I speak to you, and they will also believe in you forever” (Exod. 19:9). ”YOU HAVE SEEN THAT I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU FROM HEAVEN” (Exodus 20:19). God spoke to Moses from the midst of the thick cloud, but the entire nation was able to hear the Divine voice; that God spoke to it directly, without an intermediary. We are never to seek symbols of the Divine. We pray directly to God – without an intermediary, therefore verse 20 warns us that it is forbidden to make images of the heavenly bodies and angels or forces that are with God in heaven. “HASHEM DESCENDED UPON MOUNT SINAI to the top of the mountain; Hashem summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses ascended. Hashem said to Moses, ”Descend, warn the people, lest they break throuh to Hashem to see, and a multitude of them will fall... Go, descend. Then you shall ascend, and Aaron with you...” (Exod. 19:20—21,24). Moses descended to warn the people; God knew that the people might disregard the threat of death in their zeal to come closer to the source of the Revelation. If the purpose of life is to elevate oneself to a higher spiritual existence, then one could be ready to give his live to achieve such a goal. But God does not want this. He wants human beings to remain alive and BRING HOLINESS INTO THEIR EARTHLY EXISTENCE (See Tur, Or HaChaim). Our service to Him must evolve around ways to elevate earthly matters to do His will. YOU HAVE BEEN SHOWN IN ORDER TO KNOW that HaShem, He is the God! There is none beside Him! From heaven He caused YOU to hear His voice IN ORDER TO TEACH (DISCIPLINE, INSTRUCT) YOU, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire,..” (Deut. 4:35-40). His glory was in heaven, His fire and His power were on the earth. WHEN GOD REVEALS HIS GLORY PEOPLE ARE OVERAWED and become frightened: He bent down the lower heavens and the highest heavens and spread them out upon the mountain. So Scripture says: “And He bent the heavens, and He came down, and thick darkness (ARAPHEL) was under His feet. And He rode on a cherub and did fly; He swooped on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding-place about Him as His booth; the darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. HAILSTONES: From the brightness before Him, His thick cloud passed, hail (truth) and coals of fire. The Lord thundered from Heaven; and the Most High gave forth His voice with hail and coals of fire. And He sent out arrows (Torah insights) and He scattered them; He shot lightning and He discomfited (terrified) them” (Psalms 18:10-15, Job 38:22-23, Ezekiel 38:22-23). God intervened in the course of human affairs (Ralbag). When God gave the Ten Commandments, He opened the heavens above and the nether regions below, so that it would be clear to every Jew that there is only one God (Rashi). God allowed you the privilege of experiencing all these wondrous phenomena so that you would mediate upon them and draw the unshakeable conclusion that only Hashem is God... (Sforno). "For inquire now regarding the early days that preceded you, from the day when God created man on the earth, and from one end of heaven to the other end of heaven: Has there ever been anything like this great thing or has anything like it been heard? Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire as you have heard, and survived? Or has any god ever miraculously come to take for himself a nation from amidst a nation, with challenges, with signs, and with wonders, and with war, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with greatly awesome deeds, such as everything that Hashem, your God, did for you in Egypt before your eyes?" The Seven Heavens: torahblogg.net/91218721
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:51:47 +0000
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