Enoch, as we find in Legends of the Jews, wasn't just any guy. He lived in a time when, according to Rabbi Ishmael (as told by Enoch himself!), humanity had really messed things up. They were so wicked, they told God, "Depart from us, for we do not desire to know Thy ways." Harsh. According to Ginzberg, the Legends of the Jews author, this sinfulness is what prompted God to take Enoch up to heaven.
But why? What was the point?
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tells us that Enoch was taken as a witness. A witness that even when destruction is decreed, God isn't cruel. He's acting with justice, even if it's hard to understand.
Imagine Enoch's journey. Guided by the angel 'Anpiel, he ascends from earth to heaven. The holy beings – the ofanim, the seraphim, the cherubim – all those beings who move God’s throne, they notice him from a distance of... get this... six hundred and fifty million and three hundred parasangs! (A parasang is an ancient unit of distance). They’re basically saying, "Wait, what’s that human smell? How did someone born of woman get here?"
But God steps in. "O My servants and hosts," He says, "Don't be offended. All the children of men denied Me and paid homage to idols. I transferred the Shekinah (the Divine Presence) from earth to heaven because of it. But Enoch? Enoch is the elect of men. He has more faith, justice, and righteousness than all the rest, and he is the only reward I have derived from the terrestrial world."
Before Enoch could start his heavenly service, he had to be prepared. Think of it as divine onboarding. The gates of wisdom were opened to him – wisdom, understanding, discernment, life, peace, the Shekinah itself, strength, power, might, loveliness, grace, humility, and even fear of sin. He was given qualities beyond any celestial being. He also received thousands of blessings from God!
And get this – his size changed! According to Legends of the Jews, Enoch’s height and breadth became equal to the height and breadth of the world. He sprouted thirty-six wings and three hundred and sixty-five thousand eyes, each as brilliant as the sun!
Then, a throne was erected for him near the gates of the seventh celestial palace. A herald announced that Enoch would now be known as Metatron. That’s right, Enoch became Metatron, a powerful angel.
God declared, "I have appointed My servant Metatron as prince and chief over all the princes in My realm, except for the eight august and exalted princes that bear My name." Any angel with a request had to go through Metatron. He was made guardian of the treasures of heaven, including the treasures of life in the highest heaven, 'Arabot.
Out of love, God dressed Metatron in a magnificent garment covered in every kind of luminary. He placed a crown upon his head, gleaming with forty-nine jewels. This crown held the very letters by which heaven and earth were created, the mysteries of creation itself! God called him "the little Lord."
Even the most powerful angels trembled before Metatron: Samael (the angel of death), Gabriel, and all the angels in charge of the elements – fire, hail, wind, lightning, and more. All were in awe of his magnificence.
The transformation was complete. Enoch's body was transformed into celestial fire. His flesh became flame, his veins fire, his bones glimmering coals, his eyes torches, his hair a blazing inferno. He was surrounded by storm and whirlwind, hurricane and thunder.
So, what does this story tell us? It speaks of transformation, of reward for righteousness, and of hope even in the darkest of times. Even when humanity seems lost, there's a path to elevation, to becoming something greater than ourselves. Enoch's journey to becoming Metatron is a reminder that even human beings can achieve incredible spiritual heights. And maybe, just maybe, that potential lies within each of us.
THE TRANSLATION OF ENOCH - The sinfulness of men was the reason why Enoch was translated to heaven. Thus Enoch himself told Rabbi Ishmael. When the generation of the deluge transgressed, and spoke to God, saying, "Depart from us, for we do not desire to know Thy ways," Enoch was carried to heaven, to serve there as a witness that God was not a cruel God in spite of the destruction decreed upon all living beings on earth. When Enoch, under the guidance of the angel 'Anpiel, was carried from earth to heaven, the holy beings, the ofanim, the seraphim, the cherubim, all those who move the throne of God, and the ministering spirits whose substance is of consuming fire, they all, at a distance of six hundred and fifty million and three hundred parasangs, noticed the presence of a human being, and they exclaimed: "Whence the odor of one born of woman? How comes he into the highest heaven of the fire-coruscating angels?" But God replied: "O My servants and hosts, ye, My cherubim, ofanim, and seraphim, let this not be an offense unto you, for all the children of men denied Me and My mighty dominion, and they paid homage to the idols, so that I transferred the Shekinah from earth to heaven. But this man Enoch is the elect of men. He has more faith, justice, and righteousness than all the rest, and he is the only reward I have derived from the terrestrial world." Before Enoch could be admitted to service near the Divine throne, the gates of wisdom were opened unto him, and the gates of understanding, and of discernment, of life, peace, and the Shekinah, of strength and power, of might, loveliness, and grace, of humility and fear of sin. Equipped by God with extraordinary wisdom, sagacity, judgment, knowledge, learning, compassionateness, love, kindness, grace, humility, strength, power, might, splendor, beauty, shapeliness, and all other excellent qualities, beyond the endowment of any of the celestial beings, Enoch received, besides, many thousand blessings from God, and his height and his breadth became equal to the height and the breadth of the world, and thirty-six wings were attached to his body, to the right and to the left, each as large as the world, and three hundred and sixty-five thousand eyes were bestowed upon him, each brilliant as the sun. A magnificent throne was erected for him beside the gates of the seventh celestial palace, and a herald proclaimed throughout the heavens concerning him, who was henceforth to be called Metatron in the celestial regions: "I have appointed My servant Metatron as prince and chief over all the princes in My realm, with the exception only of the eight august and exalted princes that bear My name. Whatever angel has a request to prefer to Me, shall appear before Metatron, and what he will command at My bidding, ye must observe and do, for the prince of wisdom and the prince of understanding are at his service, and they will reveal unto him the sciences of the celestials and the terrestrials, the knowledge of the present order of the world and the knowledge of the future order of the world. Furthermore, I have made him the guardian of the treasures of the palaces in the heaven 'Arabot, and of the treasures of life that are in the highest heaven." Out of the love He bore Enoch, God arrayed him in a magnificent garment, to which every kind of luminary in existence was attached, and a crown gleaming with forty-nine jewels, the splendor of which pierced to all parts of the seven heavens and to the four corners of the earth. In the presence of the heavenly family, He set this crown upon the head of Enoch, and called him "the little Lord." It bears also the letters by means of which heaven and earth were created, and seas and rivers, mountains and valleys, planets and constellations, lightning and thunder, snow and hail, storm and whirlwind--these and also all things needed in the world, and the mysteries of creation. Even the princes of the heavens, when they see Metatron, tremble before him, and prostrate themselves; his magnificence and majesty, the splendor and beauty radiating from him overwhelm them, even the wicked Samael, the greatest of them, even Gabriel the angel of the fire, Bardiel the angel of the hail, Ruhiel the angel of the wind, Barkiel the angel of the lightning, Za'miel the angel of the hurricane, Zakkiel the angel of the storm, Sui'el the angel of the earthquake, Za'fiel the angel of the showers, Ra'miel the angel of the thunder, Ra'shiel the angel of the whirlwind, Shalgiel the angel of the snow, Matriel the angel of the rain, Shamshiel the angel of the day, Leliel the angel of the night, Galgliel the angel of the solar system, Ofaniel the angel of the wheel of the moon, Kokabiel the angel of the stars, and Rahtiel the angel of the constellations. When Enoch was transformed into Metatron, his body was turned into celestial fire--his flesh became flame, his veins fire, his bones glimmering coals, the light of his eyes heavenly brightness, his eyeballs torches of fire, his hair a flaring blaze, all his limbs and organs burning sparks, and his frame a consuming fire. To right of him sparkled flames of fire, to left of him burnt torches of fire, and on all sides he was engirdled by storm and whirlwind, hurricane and thundering.
