What really happened to Enoch when God “took him”? Who is the mysterious angel Metatron? And why did Rabbi Elisha ben Avuya become a heretic after seeing him in Heaven? Find out in the class below, where we also compare the three Books of Enoch, discuss Azazel and the Watchers, and uncover the true identity of the Biblical “Son of Man”. Also: who was the teacher of Moses and how did Joseph know 70 languages?
For lots more on the Four Who Entered Pardes and a different interpretation of Elisha’s vision of Metatron, see here.
See also ‘Who is Metatron?’
For part one of the series on the Apocrypha, see here.
For the class on the Watchers and the Book of Jubilees, see here.
Recall that God originally made the cosmos entirely with Gevurah, or Din, with strict measure, strong judgement, and precise severity. This is why the account of Creation uses only Elohim as the name of God, for that is the name associated with Din (whereas the Tetragrammaton is typically associated with Chessed, unlimited kindness, and more specifically, with Rachamim, mercy and compassion). However, that universe was “too perfect” and too fragile, unable to contain God’s light. Of the ten “vessels” (the Sefirot) that held the universe together, the lower seven “shattered” and had to be reconstructed. The Arizal notes that they shattered into 288 major fragments. This is alluded to when the Torah says that the Spirit of God “hovered” over the primordial waters (Genesis 1:2). The word “hovered”, merachefet (מרחפת), is an anagram of met-rapach (מת רפ״ח), the fall or “death” of the 288 pieces (see Sha’ar HaPesukim on Beresheet).