God's Throne Of Glory

Chagigah 12b-13b

Aravot is the heaven in which there are righteousness, justice, and charity, the treasuries of life and the treasuries of peace and the treasuries of blessing, and the souls of the righteous, and the spirits and souls that are destined to be created, and the dew with which the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future revive the dead. Righteousness and justice, as it is written, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne" (Psalms 89:15). Charity, as it is written, "And He put on charity as a coat of mail" (Isaiah 59:17). The treasuries of life, as it is written, "For with You is the fountain of life" (Psalms 36:10). And the treasuries of peace, as it is written, "And He called it the LORD is peace" (Judges 6:24). And the treasuries of blessing, as it is written, "He shall receive a blessing from the LORD" (Psalms 24:5). The souls of the righteous, as it is written, "And the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with the LORD your God" (1 Samuel 25:29). The spirits and souls that are destined to be created, as it is written, "For the spirit should grow faint before Me, and the souls which I have made" (Isaiah 57:16). And the dew with which the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future revive the dead, as it is written, "A bountiful rain You poured down, O God; Your inheritance, when it was weary, You established it" (Psalms 68:10). There are the ophanim and the seraphim and the holy living creatures and the ministering angels and the Throne of Glory; the King, the living God, high and exalted, dwells over them in Aravot, as it is said, "Extol Him who rides upon the heavens (aravot), whose name is the LORD" (Psalms 68:5). And from where do we know that it is called "heaven"? It is derived by a verbal analogy between "riding" and "riding": it is written here, "Extol Him who rides upon the aravot," and it is written there, "who rides upon the heaven as your help" (Deuteronomy 33:26). And darkness and cloud and thick gloom surround Him, as it is said, "He made darkness His hiding place, His pavilion round about Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies" (Psalms 18:12).

Themes