Pardes (

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 ...

: ''pardēs'', "orchard") is the subject of a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

aggadah Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...

("legend") about four

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

s of the

Mishnaic The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

period (1st century CE) who visited the '' pardes'' (the "orchard" of esoteric Torah knowledge), only one of whom succeeded in leaving the ''pardes'' unharmed. The basic story goes as follows:

Four entered the ''pardes''—
Ben Azzai Simeon ben Azzai or simply Ben Azzai ( he, שמעון בן עזאי) was a distinguished tanna of the first third of the 2nd century. Biography Ben Azzai is sometimes called "Rabbi", but, in spite of his great learning, this title did not right ...
,
Ben Zoma Simeon ben Zoma, also known as Simon ben Zoma, Shimon ben Zoma or simply Ben Zoma (), was a tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. His name is used without the title "Rabbi" because, like Ben Azzai, he died at a young age, remaining in the grade ...
, Ben Avuya (called אחר - acher, the another one - because of what happened to him after he entered the ''pardes'') and
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 ...
. One looked and died; one looked and went mad; one looked and apostatized; and one entered in peace and departed in peace.

Sources differ with regard to which sage died and which became demented; the Tosefta and Bavli say ben-Azai died and ben-Zoma became demented, but the Yerushalmi,

Shir HaShirim Rabbah Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah (Hebrew: שיר השירים רבה) is an aggadic midrash on Song of Songs, quoted by Rashi under the title "Midrash Shir ha-Shirim". It is also called Aggadat Hazita, from its initial word "Hazita", or Midrash Hazita.Simon D ...

, and

Hekhalot literature 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'' or "Chariot" literature, concerning Ezekiel's chariot, so ...

record the inverse.

Etymology

The Hebrew word פַּרְדֵּס (''pardes'', "orchard") is of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

origin (cf Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌⸱𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬰𐬀) and appears several times in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. The same Old Persian root is the source of the word ''paradise'' via

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

paradisus and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

παράδεισος, which were used for פרדס's Biblical Hebrew equivalent גן,

Garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

, in early Bible translations. Samson Levey proposed the Greek ''paradosis'' suggests the four were examining the claims and early documents of Christianity and that the Tosefta account preserves the scholarly undertaking most accurately.

Account

The story is found in several places, with minor variations: the

Tosefta The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

, the

Babylonian 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 cente ...

, and the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

. The earliest context, found in the Tosefta, is the restriction on transmitting mystical teaching concerning the divine Chariot except privately to particularly qualified disciples. The version in the Babylonian Talmud, which is the best-known, may be translated: Versions of the story also appear in the esoteric

Exposition

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

says that ben Azzai died from looking at the Divine Presence. Ben Zoma's harm was in losing his sanity. Acher's "cutting down the plantings" in the orchard refers to becoming a heretic from the experience. Acher means "the other one", and is the Talmudic term for the tanna

Elisha ben Abuyah Elisha ben Abuyah ( he, אלישע בן אבויה) (spelled variously, including Elisha ben Avuya) was a rabbi and Jewish religious authority born in Jerusalem sometime before 70 CE. After he adopted a worldview considered heretical by his fellow ...

(Yerushalmi identifies him as EbA on the following line; MSS Munich 6 of the Bavli and Hekhalot Zutarti read "Elisha ben Abuyah" in place of "Acher"). Akiva, in contrast to the other three, became the leading Rabbinic figure of the era. Rashi explains that the four rabbis ascended to Heaven by utilizing the Divine Name, which might be understood as achieving a spiritual elevation through

Jewish meditation Jewish meditation includes practices of settling the mind, introspection, visualization, emotional insight, contemplation of Names of God in Judaism, divine names, or concentration on philosophical, ethical or mystical ideas. Meditation may accom ...

practices. The

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

, medieval commentaries on the Talmud, say that the four sages "did not go up literally, but it appeared to them as if they went up." On the other hand, Rabbi

Louis Ginzberg Louis Ginzberg ( he, לוי גינצבורג, ''Levy Gintzburg''; russian: Леви Гинцберг, ''Levy Ginzberg''; November 28, 1873 – November 11, 1953) was a Russian-born American rabbi and Talmudic scholar of Lithuanian-Jewish desce ...

wrote that the journey to paradise "is to be taken literally and not allegorically".

,
Elisha ben Abuyah
, ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

'', 1901-1906. According to another interpretation, ''PaRDeS'' is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for the four traditional methods of exegesis in Judaism. In this sense, they were the four to understand the whole Torah.

Interpretation in Kabbalah

Another version of the legend is also found in the

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

literature (''

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

'' I, 26b and

Tikunei haZohar Tikunei haZohar (תקוני הזהר, lit. "Repairs of the ''Zohar''"), also known as the ''Tikunim'' (תקונים), is a main text of the Kabbalah which was composed in the 14th century. It is a separate appendix to the ''Zohar'' consisting ...

40), which adds to the story:

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero Moses ben Jacob Cordovero ( he, משה קורדובירו ''Moshe Kordovero'' ‎; 1522–1570) was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in 16th-century Safed, Ottoman Syria. He is known by th ...

explains the Zoharic passage in his ''

Pardes Rimonim Pardes Rimonim (meaning " Pardes-Orchard of Pomegranates", sometimes known as the Pardes) is a primary text of Kabbalah, composed in 1548 by the Jewish mystic Moses ben Jacob Cordovero in Safed, Galilee. 16th century Safed saw the theoretical syst ...

'' ("Orchard of Pomegranates"), whose title itself refers to the Pardes mystical ascent (''Pardes'': Shaar Arachei HaKinuim, entry on Mayim-Water). The meaning of the ascent is understood through Rabbi Akiva's warning. The danger concerns misinterpreting

anthropomorphism in Kabbalah __NOTOC__ Kabbalah, the central system in Jewish mysticism, uses anthropomorphic mythic symbols to metaphorically describe manifestations of God in Judaism. Based on the verses "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created h ...

, introducing corporeal notions in the Divine. Emanations in

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 ...

bridge between the

Ein Sof Ein Sof, or Eyn Sof (, he, '; meaning "infinite", ), in Kabbalah, is understood as God prior to any self-manifestation in the production of any spiritual realm, probably derived from Solomon ibn Gabirol's ( 1021 – 1070) term, "the Endless O ...

Divine Unity and the plurality of Creation. The fundamental mystical error involves separating between divine transcendence and

immanence The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pantheis ...

, as if they were a duality. Rather, all Kabbalistic emanations have no being of their own, but are nullified and dependent on their source of vitality in the One God. Nonetheless, Kabbalah maintains that God is revealed through the life of His emanations, Man interacting with Divinity in a mutual Flow of "Direct Light" from Above to Below and "Returning Light" from Below to Above. The

Sefirot Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and ...

, including

Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...

Compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...

and

Kingship King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

comprise the dynamic life in God's Persona. In the highest of the

Four Worlds The Four Worlds ( he, עולמות ''Olamot'', singular: ''Olam'' עולם), sometimes counted with a prior stage to make Five Worlds, are the comprehensive categories of spiritual realms in Kabbalah in the Seder hishtalshelus, descending chain ...

(''

Atziluth Atziluth or Atzilut (also ''Olam Atsiluth'', עוֹלָם אֲצִילוּת, literally "the World of Emanation") is the highest of four worlds in which exists the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It is also known as "near to God."MEIJERS, L. D., and J. ...

''), the complete nullification and Unity of the sefirot and Creation is revealed within its Divine source. Apparent separation only pertains, in successive degrees, to the lower Three Worlds and our Physical Realm. Introducing false separation causes the exile of the

Shekhinah Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah ( Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God, as it were, in a pla ...

within Creation from God. From Cordovero's explanation:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pardes (Legend) Jewish folklore Jewish mysticism Merkabah mysticism Entering heaven alive he:פרדס (יהדות)

Etymology

Account

Exposition

Interpretation in Kabbalah

See also

References