Chanoch/dead sea scrolls/Metat

Ribbie Danzinger

Mon, Oct 30 2006, 5:28 am

CHANOCH

Why is it said that Enoch walked with God? Was he married? Did he have children? How did he spend his time? Was he a hermit? Did he have social responsibilities as well as being a man of God? Was he a priest?

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To answer some of your questions on Enoch—called Chanoch in Hebrew. He is mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Book of Genesis:

And Chanoch lived sixty-five years, and fathered Methuselah. And Chanoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah three hundred years, and fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of Chanoch were three-hundred and sixty-five years. And Hanoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him.

We also know from that Chanoch was a shoemaker. He was not a priest, as there was no Temple at the time that he lived. He was married and he not a hermit.

Chanoch represents the seventh generation from Adam. The sages teach that all the sevens are dear in the eyes of God. Chanoch, the seventh generation, was like the seventh day, the holy Shabbat. Moses was also the seventh—the seventh generation from Abraham. Thus, Chanoch was the spiritual master of Moses.

The numerical values of the Hebrew words Chanoch (84) and Moses (345) equal 429, which is the numerical value of the word mishpat meaning “law.” The name Chanoch shares a root with the word chinuch, meaning “education.” This is the root of rectified education in the world.

Matat

The angel Metatron is called Sar Ha’olam “Minister of the World.” He is the angel that includes the spirituality of the World of Formation (Yetzirah). He is responsible for writing the merits of Israel, and for this purpose he is permitted to sit above, as explained in the Talmud (Chagiga 15).

Metatron is related to Chanoch and to Elijah. It is he who says, Na’ar hayiti gam zakanti “I was young and now I am old.” He is called na’ar (“the eternal youth”) and in the Zohar he represents contracted consciousness. Chassidic thought explains this concept as the soul’s ability to perceive the secret of the continual renewal of creation ex nihilo, and to achieve the consciousness of bitul hayesh (“nullification of reality”).

If you need the source, please pm me.

Ribbie Danzinger

Mon, Oct 30 2006, 5:57 am

THE ESSENES AND JEWISH MYSTICISM

Is there any connection between Kabbalah and the Essenes who worked 2,000 years ago at Qumran [where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found]? Did the Essenes follow Kabbalah/Jewish mysticism?

The Essenes sect is mentioned by the historian Yossef ben Matityahu in his book, Milchemet Hayehudim together with the perushim and the tzedukim. All three sects were unaccepted by traditional Judaism. The Essenes seem merely to be the rigorists among the perushim, overstressing in particular the necessity for cleanliness and purity, including celibacy and other stringencies that are forbidden by Torah law; and may be related to the initiation of Christianity.

Since this sect was an offshoot of Judaism, taking with it many of the traditional Jewish practices, there may be some evidence of the presence of Kabbalistic knowledge in their practices

The spiritual service and "experiencing the Divine in solitude"
(hitbodedut) of the Essenes has parallels to Kabbalah. However, this
service was not according to the Written or Oral Law of the Torah. Therefore, this service had nothing to do with authentic Kabbalah.