The Hekhalot literature (sometimes transliterated Heichalot) from the Hebrew word for "Palaces", relating to visions of ascents into heavenly palaces. The genre overlaps with ''

Merkabah Merkabah ( he, מֶרְכָּבָה ''merkāvā'', "chariot") or Merkavah mysticism (lit. Chariot mysticism) is a school of early Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE, centered on visions such as those found in the Book of Ezekiel chapter ...

'' or "Chariot" literature, concerning Ezekiel's chariot, so the two are sometimes referred to together as "Books of the Palaces and the Chariot" (). The Hekhalot literature is a genre of Jewish esoteric and revelatory texts produced some time between late antiquity – some believe from

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ic times or earlier – to the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. Many motifs of later

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

are based on the Hekhalot texts, and the Hekhalot literature itself is based upon earlier sources, including traditions about heavenly ascents of

Enoch Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...

found among the

Dead Sea scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

and the Hebrew Bible pseudepigrapha.

Texts

Some of the Hekhalot texts are: * ''Hekhalot Zutartey'' ("Lesser Palaces" or "Palaces Minor";

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: היכלות זוטרתי), which details an ascent of

Rabbi Akiva Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...

through the Heavens, seeking revelations regarding the holy name of God; * ''Hekhalot Rabbati'' ("Greater Palaces" or "Palaces Major";

: היכלות רבתי), or Pirkei Hekhalot, which details the ascent of

Rabbi Ishmael Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא), was a rabbi of the 1st and 2nd centuries (third gener ...

when he sought to examine the validity of the decree regarding the execution of the

Ten Martyrs The Ten Martyrs ( he, עֲשֶׂרֶת הָרוּגֵי מַלְכוּת ''ʿAsereṯ hāRūgēi Malḵūṯ'', "The Ten Royal Martyrs") were ten rabbis living during the era of the Mishnah who were martyred by the Roman Empire in the period after ...

; * ''

Maaseh Merkabah The ''Ma'aseh Merkabah'' ("Work of the Chariot" מעשה מרכבה) is a Hebrew-language Jewish mystical text dating from the Gaonic period which comprises a collection of hymns recited by the "descenders" and heard during their ascent. It is p ...

'' ("Account of the Chariot"), a collection of hymns recited by the "descenders" into the holy chariot, and heard during their ascent; * ''Merkavah Rabba'' ("The greater Chariot"): * '' Sepher Hekhalot'' ("Book of Palaces," also known as ''3 Enoch'') Other similar texts are: * ''Re'uyyot Yehezqel'' ("The Visions of Ezekiel") * ''Massekhet Hekhalot'' ("The Tractate of the Palaces") * ''

Shi'ur Qomah Shi’ur Qomah ( he, שיעור קומה, lit. Dimensions of the Body) is a midrashic text that is part of the Hekhalot literature. It purports to record, in anthropomorphic terms, the secret names and precise measurements of God's corporeal limbs ...

'' ("Divine Dimensions") * '' Sepher Ha-Razim'' ("Book of the Mysteries") * '' Harba de Moshe'' ("The Sword of Moses") * ''

Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva ( he, אלפא-ביתא דרבי עקיבא, ''Alpha-Beta de-Rabbi Akiva''), otherwise known as Letters of Rabbi Akiva ( he, אותיות דרבי עקיבא, ''Otiot de-Rabbi Akiva'') or simply Alphabet or Letters, is a mi ...

Dating and genre

The Hekhalot literature is post-rabbinical, and not a literature of the rabbis, but since it seeks to stand in continuity with the Rabbinic literature often

pseudepigraph Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...

ical.Judaism in late antiquity: Volume 1 - Page 36 Jacob Neusner, Alan Jeffery Avery-Peck, Bruce Chilton - 2001 "The Hekhalot literature is "not a literature of the rabbis, yet it seeks to stand in continuity with the Rabbinic literature" (p. 293); this literature is deeply pseudepigraphical and as such post-rabbinical."

References

External links

The Zoharic Seven Heavens

(The Palaces & The Chariot)
Notes on the Study of Merkabah Mysticism and Hekhalot Literature in English

English translation of the Hekhalot Rabbati
Jewish mystical texts Merkabah mysticism {{Kabbalah-stub

Texts

Dating and genre

See also

References

External links