The Ziz

I'm not talking about some sci-fi creature, but a being from Jewish lore: the Ziz.

Imagine this: a colossal bird, its feet planted in the ocean, the water only reaching its ankles. And its head? Soaring all the way to the Throne of Glory, where it sings praises to God! That's the Ziz, a creature as grand as the Leviathan itself. According to the Tree of Souls, this magnificent being is truly something to behold.

The Talmud, in Bava Batra 73a-74a, even tells a story of sailors who, seeing the Ziz standing in the water, thought it was shallow enough to dive in. But a voice from heaven warned them, "Don't dive in here! A carpenter dropped his axe here seven years ago, and it still has not reached the bottom." Can you imagine the sheer scale?

And get this: Once, one of the Ziz’s eggs fell to earth, crushing a forest of three hundred trees. The liquid from the broken egg flooded sixty cities! It’s almost unbelievable, isn't it?

But the Ziz isn't just a creature of immense size; it's also a messenger of God. We find this in the Tree of Souls, recounting a tale of King Solomon. He learned that his daughter was destined to marry a poor man, so he locked her away in a tower on a desert island. But the Ziz swooped in, carrying a poor youth from Acco right to her balcony! They fell in love and married, proving that even a king can’t outsmart fate.

This theme of the Ziz as an incarnation of fate appears again. There's another story of a young scholar named Shlomo. The Ziz plucked him from his studies and dropped him in the garden of the King of Spain! The king befriended him, and Shlomo met and fell in love with the princess. They even secretly married! But then, the Ziz, in its mysterious way, brought him back home. This is found in "The Flight of the Eagle," in Elijah's Violin. Talk about a whirlwind romance! Despite the separation, the princess eventually found her way back to him, proving that destiny, with a little help from a giant bird, always finds a way.

Now, Rabbah bar Bar Hannah, the talmudic sage known for his fantastical sea and land journeys, is often credited with the sailor story. But, as you can imagine, these tales were often interpreted allegorically. The Maharsha, Rabbi Samuel Eliezer Edels, saw the seemingly shallow but impossibly deep waters as a metaphor for the Torah. He said the Torah might appear simple at first glance, but it's actually incredibly profound. And the Ziz's head reaching the sky? That represents the hidden aspects of the Torah – the secrets of kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.

Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav took this even further in Likutei Moharan. He saw the deep waters as the deepest secrets of the Torah, and the voice warning against diving in as a warning to those not trained in Torah against seeking its deepest secrets. He even interpreted the carpenter as God, and the axe as the Messiah! He connected the seven years to the 7,000 years the world is supposed to exist, creating a new messianic myth.

And perhaps the most fascinating detail of all? It is said that the flesh of the Ziz, like that of Leviathan, will be served to the righteous at the messianic banquet at the End of Days, as mentioned in "The Messianic Banquet." From this, the rabbis even deduced that the Ziz must be kosher!

So, what does the Ziz represent for you? Is it a symbol of fate, a reminder of the hidden depths of Torah, or simply a magnificent creature of myth and legend? Whatever it is, the story of the Ziz continues to inspire awe and wonder. Think about it - a giant bird, a messenger of God, and a key player in some of the most incredible stories ever told. It makes you wonder what other wonders are hidden within the rich tapestry of Jewish tradition, doesn't it?

Commentary

So too did the Ziz pick up a young scholar named Shlomo from the roof of his house where he was studying and drop him in the garden of the king of Spain. The king took a liking to him, and let him live in a hut in the garden. There he met and fell in love with the princess, who studied Torah with him and secretly married him. But then the Ziz picked him up out of that garden and brought him back to the roof of his parents' house. In this way Shlomo was separated from the princess, but after great trials she found her way back to him. The flesh of the Ziz will be served to the righteous at the messianic banquet that will take place at the end of days. The Ziz is one of three mythical gigantic creatures that often appear in Jewish lore. The others are Leviathan and Behemoth. The Ziz is mentioned in Psalms 50:11: And Ziz-Sadai is with Me. In Jewish folklore the Ziz serves as the incarnation of fate. The two folktales noted are two famous examples. See "The Princess in the Tower" in Elijah's Violin , pp. 47-52, and "The Flight of the Eagle," pp. 82-88 in the same book. The account of the sighting of the Ziz by a passing ship is attributed to Rabbah bar Bar Hannah, a talmudic sage who reported on many strange sightings in his sea and land journeys. These are found in B. Bava Batra 73a-74a. Because of their outlandish nature, the tall tales of Rabbah bar Bar Hannah were often interpreted allegorically. The Maharsha, Rabbi Samuel Eliezer Edels, interpreted these fables this way, as did Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav. For the Maharsha, the waters that first appear shallow but turn out to be very deep represent the Torah, which may appear to be only ankle deep, but is actually profound and difficult to fathom. The bird's head that reaches the sky represents the hidden aspects of the Torah — the secrets of kabbalah. In Likutei Moharan , Rabbi Nachman expands on the Maharsha's interpretation in which the deep waters represent the deepest secrets of the Torah. He interprets the voice that warned against diving in as a warning to those who are not trained in the Torah against seeking out its deepest secrets. This is the esoteric view taken by kabbalah and succeeding stages of Jewish mysticism. Rabbi Nachman sees the carpenter as God, and the axe dropped into the sea as the Messiah, since the Messiah is called God's "axe." He finds that the reference to seven years refers to the 7,000 years that the world is supposed to exist. Most interesting is Rabbi Nachman's interpretation that the falling of the axe refers to the Messiah's own probing of the deepest secrets of the Torah. And when he reaches those secrets, then the messianic era will arrive. When that takes place, the Messiah will reveal these secrets to the whole world. Note that here Rabbi Nachman has created a new messianic myth. It is said that the Ziz, like Leviathan, will be served to the righteous at the messianic banquet at the End of Days. From this the rabbis concluded that the Ziz must be kosher. See "The Messianic Banquet," p. 508.

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