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By Root 2113 0

be found in the last sphere of the heavens. They are stacked, one outside the other, like a heavily fortified city with fierce gatekeepers at each of the seven concentric defense walls. The adept shows a charm at each guardhouse, answers a question, and is conveyed into the next inner court until he reaches the throne room, just as he might be conveyed through a high-security fortress. There is some evidence that Arsacid Persian capital cities were laid out in this concentric form, with seven sets of walls. The Arsacid throne room was also based on a celestial model, containing in the center a fixed throne with depictions of heavenly bodies actually revolving around the it, some at relatively great distances, powered by animals treading on machinery hidden on the floor below.60

Scholem suggested that the palaces were all to be found in the highest sphere of the heavens because he could not find enough evidence to identify them with the later sepherot of Kabbalah. While this is an ingenious suggestion, more considered judgment suggests that the seven palaces are, indeed, the heavenly spheres themselves,61 and the sepherot of Kabbalah are a later development, even though the name already exists in the early text Sefer Ha-yetzirah. The angel Metatron, The Prince of the Presence, becomes his angelic guide to the very throne of The Holy One. We have just seen that angels in the seventh heaven see the face of God in 4 Ezra 7. When Rabbi Ishmael recovers enough strength, he opens his mouth and sings the Kedushah, which is exactly the appropriate prayer to say in the presence of the divine throne. The text is obviously making a point about the origin of Jewish liturgy in the heavenly throne room, and conversely the attempt of the synagogue service (and the Temple service before it, no doubt) to pattern itself on the supposed heavenly service. The Dead Sea Scroll texts, particularly the Song of the Sabbath Sacrifice, make the same claim.

Sometimes the throne is empty and sometimes Metatron himself sits on it as God’s regent. There are places in the text when the divine voice emanates from behind the pargod, the embroidered curtain in back of the throne. Other times the text states that God sits on the throne, though His presence is not described in any detail. Metatron or Zoharariel is God’s regent, standing in for God himself, who is beyond figuration.

Metatron explains why he is called “Youth” or Na’ar. Though Metatron has seventy different names, the King of the King of Kings calls him “youth” because he is actually Enoch, the son of Jared and hence young in their eternal company (3 En 4:10). Here, a link with the Merkabah mystics and Enoch is established, a relationship that is furthered by the story of Enoch in the Bible: Enoch’s father’s name, Jared, means “he goes down,” and is exactly the same verb used for the mystical ascent into the heavens, yeridah Lamerkabah. So when Enoch is listed as “ben Yarad,” he is both “the son of Jared” and “a person who descends.” At first blush, this seems a peculiar epithet for an exemplar of heavenly ascent. But this paradox is typical of the Merkabah mystics, who often said that they “went down” into the Merkabah.

This peculiar Rabbinic terminology has been the subject of a great deal of controversy. The best explanation for why an ascent to heaven should be called a “descent to the chariot” is to be found in the Biblical story of Elijah. In 1 Kings 18:42, Elijah prays by putting his head between his legs, the same posture which Merkabah mystics assume when they ascend to heaven.62 Moreover, this body position is known to aid in achieving RASC, especially when combined with repetitious prayers and meditation, exactly as in the Hekhaloth literature. So whatever its origin, the parentage of Enoch (Jared) becomes a clue to the mystical techniques of ascent.

The “divinization” or “angelification” of Enoch serves as a human prototype for the ascenders who practice these techniques. The angels object to Enoch’s elevation to no avail, as Enoch’s new status meets with God’s approval. The narrative