According to Legends of the Jews, a breathtaking collection of rabbinic lore compiled by Louis Ginzberg, during his ascent to the third heaven, Moses witnessed something truly extraordinary. Forget your typical angel with wings. We're talking about something on a scale that beggars belief.
Imagine an angel so colossal that it would take a human being five hundred years just to climb to the top of its head! Just let that sink in for a moment. The sheer size is astounding. But it doesn't stop there.
This wasn't just some giant, silent figure. This being, this incredible malach (angel), possessed seventy thousand heads. And each head? You guessed it: each one had seventy thousand mouths, each mouth with its own tongue, and each tongue spouting forth endless praise.
Can you even begin to picture the sound? A symphony of devotion, a chorus of adoration, all emanating from a single being. The text emphasizes the sheer magnitude of the angelic host.
And he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by a suite of seventy thousand myriads of angels, all crafted from white fire. White fire! What an image that conjures.
So, who were these beings? Metatron, the angel who often serves as a guide in these heavenly realms, explained to Moses that they were the Erelim. The Erelim, Metatron tells us, are "appointed over the grass, the trees, the fruits, and the grain." They are the guardians and maintainers of the natural world.
But here’s the kicker: "as soon as they have done the will of their Creator, they return to the place assigned to them, and praise God." Their purpose isn't just to oversee the earthly realm. It's to serve, to obey, and then to return to their source, offering constant, unceasing praise.
It makes you think, doesn't it? These immense, multi-headed angels, whose sole purpose is to serve and praise. What does that tell us about the nature of service, about the power of praise, and about the infinite wonders that lie beyond our everyday perception? It's a story that invites us to consider our own place in the grand scheme of things, and perhaps, to find our own ways to offer praise, in whatever form that may take.