אנכי ה' אלהיך וגו' (שמות כ ב). זש"ה רכב אלהים רבותינו אלפי שנאן (תהלים סח יח), אמר ר' אבדימי דמן חיפה שניתי במשנתי שירדו עם הקב"ה לסיני כ"ב אלפים מרכבות של מלאכי השרת. אמר ר' ברכיה הכהן (במחנה) [כמחנה] לוים, צפה הקב"ה [שאין עומדין במומיהם אלא שבטו של לוי לכן ירד בעשרים ושנים אלף כמחנה לויה, ד"א רכב אלהים רבותים אלפי שנאן, מלמד שירד עם הקב"ה עשרים ושנים אלף מרכבות], וכל מרכבה ומרכבה כמרכבה שראה יחזקאל. רכב אלהים אמר ר' אלעזר בן פדת וכולם ירדו בחרבות שנונים לכלות שונאיהם של ישראל, שאילו לא קבלו את התורה היו מכלין אותם. אמר ר' לוי אלא שראו פני שכינה, ומי שהוא רואה פני שכינה אינו מת, שנאמר באור פני מלך חיים (משלי טז טו).
(Exod. 20:2:) I AM THE LORD <YOUR GOD>…. This text is related (to Ps. 68:18 [17]): THE CHARIOTS OF GOD ARE TWO MYRIADS, THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING.40The midrash interprets the verse to mean: TWO MYRIADS (of 10,000 each) PLUS A THOUSAND DOUBLED for a total of 22,000. <THE LORD IS AMONG THEM, AS IN SINAI, SO IN THE HOLY PLACE.>41PRK 12:22; PR 21:7; cf. Exod. R. 29:2. R. Avdimi of Haifa said: I have learned in my <own> Mishnah that twenty-two thousand chariots of ministering angels descended upon Sinai along with the Holy One. R. Berekhyah the priest said: <It was> {in} [like] the host of Levites.42According to Numb. 3:32, Moses and Aaron recorded a total of 22,000 Levites. The Holy One foresaw [that only the tribe of Levi would withstand <Israel's> failings (i.e., remain faithful in the matter of the golden calf). For that reason he descended with twenty-two thousand corresponding <in number> to the host of Levites. Another interpretation (of Ps. 68:18 [17]): THE CHARIOTS OF GOD ARE TWO MYRIADS, THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING (shin'an). <This> teaches that twenty-two thousand chariots came down with the Holy One.] Each and every chariot was like the chariot which Ezekiel saw, <i.e.,> a chariot of God. THE CHARIOTS OF GOD. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: They all came down with sharp (shenunim) swords to destroy the enemies of Israel.43“Enemies of Israel” here is a euphemism for Israel. For if they (Israel) had not accepted the Torah they would have destroyed them. R. Levi said: It is simply that they had seen the face of the Divine Presence; and whoever sees the face of the Divine Presence does not die, as stated (in Prov. 16:15): IN THE LIGHT OF THE KING'S FACE THERE IS LIFE.
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ד"א רכב אלהים רבותים. אמר ר' אלעזר בן פדת מהו אלפי שנאן, הנאים והמשובחים שבהן, אעפ"כ ה' מסויים ביניהן, אמרה כנסת ישראל, דודי צח ואדום (שה"ש ה י), מלך בשר ודם יוצא לקמפון, כמה נאים כיוצא בו, כמה גבורים כיוצא בו, אבל הקב"ה אינו כן, כשבא לסיני נטל עמו מלאכי השרת הנאים והמשובחים שבהם, אמר ר' יהודה בר' סימון מה כתיב הופיע מהר פארן ואתה מרבבות קודש (דברים לג ב), ואות הוא בתוך רבבות קודש, אין כמותו, ומי דומה לו. אמר ר' אלעזר בן פדת במקום שיש אוכלוסין הרבה יש דוחק, אבל בסיני כשבא הקב"ה ירדו עמו אלפי אלפים ורבו רבבות אלפי שנאן אעפ"כ היה להם ריוח. ר' אלעזר בן עזריה ור' אלעזר המודעי אמרו, חד אמר ומחזיק היה ההר, [אלא] א"ל הקב"ה הרחב הארך וקבל בני אדונך, וחד אמר כשישוב הקב"ה לירושלים הוא מחזיר את הגליות לתוכה, שנאמר הנה אלה מרחוק יבואו (לך) וגו' (ישעיה מט יב), ויכולה היא להחזיק, אלא הקב"ה אמר לה הרחיבי מקום אהלך וגו' (שם נד ב), אדני בם (תהלים שם), אמר ריש לקיש טבלא יש על לבו של כל מלאך ומלאך, ושמו של הקב"ה משותף עם שמו של כל מלאך ומלאך, מיכאל, רפאל, אדני בם.
Another interpretation (of Ps. 68:18 [17]): THE CHARIOTS OF GOD ARE TWO MYRIADS, <THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING (alfe shin'an) >. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: What is the meaning of alfe shin'an ('LPY ShN'N)? The most handsome (HN'YM, rt.: N'H)44The midrash reads ShN’N as shenna’in (rt.: N’H), which means, “who are handsome.” and the most excellent45Here the midrash may be understanding the alfe of the verse in the sense of alfa, i.e, that which is first or preeminent. So Wm. G. Braude and I.J. Kapstein, Pesikta de-Rab Kahana (Philadelphia: JPSA, 1975), p. 244, note 64. of them (i.e., of the angels). Nevertheless, the Lord stood out among them, <so that> the congregation of Israel said (in Cant. 5:10): MY BELOVED IS BRIGHT AND RUDDY, <THE MOST PROMINENT OF TEN THOUSAND >. <When> a king of flesh and blood goes forth into the field,46Lat.: campus; Gk.: kampos. how many are as handsome as he? How many are as valiant as he? With the Holy One, however, the situation is different. When he came to Sinai, he took along with him the most handsome and the most excellent of the ministering angels. R. Judah b. R. Simon said: what is written (in Deut. 33:2)? HE (the Lord) APPEARED FROM MOUNT PARAN, AND ARRIVED ('ata) FROM HOLY MYRIADS. Thus he was A BEACON ('ot) in the midst of HOLY MYRIADS.47This reinterpretation is possible because in the Hebrew text neither “arrived” nor “beacon” (i.e., “sign” or “emblem”) have any consonants except alef plus taw. There is no one like him. Who is comparable to him! R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: Wherever there are great throngs,48Gk.: ochloi. there is a pressing together. On Sinai, however, when the Holy One came, there came down with him thousands of thousands and a myriad of myriads (rt.: RBH), (according to Ps. 68:18 [17]) THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING; yet there was space for them. R. Eleazar ben Azariah and R. Eleazar of Modim made the following statements: One said: But would the mountain have contained them? The Holy One said to it: Widen (rt.: RHB) and lengthen yourself to receive the children of your Lord. But the other said: When the Holy One returns to Jerusalem, he will bring the diaspora back into it. It is so stated (in Is. 49:12): LOOK! THESE ARE COMING {TO YOU} FROM AFAR…. But will <that city> be able to contain them? The Holy One has told it (in Is. 54:2): ENLARGE (RHB) THE SITE OF YOUR TABERNACLE. (Ps. 68:18 [17], cont.): THE LORD IS AMONG THEM, <AS IN SINAI, SO IN THE HOLY PLACE. > Resh Laqish said: There is a tablet49Lat.: tabula. over the heart of each and every angel where the name of the Holy One is joined with the name of each and every angel: <e.g.,> Michael (which means, "Who is like God?") and Raphael (which means, "God has healed.") (Ps. 68:18 [17], cont.): THE LORD IS IN THEM.50The Hebrew here would normally be translated, “among them,” but the midrash understands the text more literally to mean, IN THEM. Note that the discussion of Ps. 68:18 [17] ends here without connecting the verse to Exod. 20:2. Yalqut Shim‘oni, Exod. 286, adds that by proclaiming the Lordship of the Holy One among the angels, Ps. 68 does not limit his lordship to them since the first commandment also proclaims his lordship. So also Yalqut Shim‘oni, Pss., 797; PRK 12:22. Cf. Exod. R. 29:2, which adds that, even though Israel has seen many faces in heaven there is only one deity, as Exod. 20:2 clearly stresses. See also below, 6:12.
אנכי ה' אלהיך וגו' (שמות כ ב). זש"ה רכב אלהים רבותינו אלפי שנאן (תהלים סח יח), אמר ר' אבדימי דמן חיפה שניתי במשנתי שירדו עם הקב"ה לסיני כ"ב אלפים מרכבות של מלאכי השרת. אמר ר' ברכיה הכהן (במחנה) [כמחנה] לוים, צפה הקב"ה [שאין עומדין במומיהם אלא שבטו של לוי לכן ירד בעשרים ושנים אלף כמחנה לויה, ד"א רכב אלהים רבותים אלפי שנאן, מלמד שירד עם הקב"ה עשרים ושנים אלף מרכבות], וכל מרכבה ומרכבה כמרכבה שראה יחזקאל. רכב אלהים אמר ר' אלעזר בן פדת וכולם ירדו בחרבות שנונים לכלות שונאיהם של ישראל, שאילו לא קבלו את התורה היו מכלין אותם. אמר ר' לוי אלא שראו פני שכינה, ומי שהוא רואה פני שכינה אינו מת, שנאמר באור פני מלך חיים (משלי טז טו).
(Exod. 20:2:) I AM THE LORD <YOUR GOD>…. This text is related (to Ps. 68:18 [17]): THE CHARIOTS OF GOD ARE TWO MYRIADS, THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING.40The midrash interprets the verse to mean: TWO MYRIADS (of 10,000 each) PLUS A THOUSAND DOUBLED for a total of 22,000. <THE LORD IS AMONG THEM, AS IN SINAI, SO IN THE HOLY PLACE.>41PRK 12:22; PR 21:7; cf. Exod. R. 29:2. R. Avdimi of Haifa said: I have learned in my <own> Mishnah that twenty-two thousand chariots of ministering angels descended upon Sinai along with the Holy One. R. Berekhyah the priest said: <It was> {in} [like] the host of Levites.42According to Numb. 3:32, Moses and Aaron recorded a total of 22,000 Levites. The Holy One foresaw [that only the tribe of Levi would withstand <Israel's> failings (i.e., remain faithful in the matter of the golden calf). For that reason he descended with twenty-two thousand corresponding <in number> to the host of Levites. Another interpretation (of Ps. 68:18 [17]): THE CHARIOTS OF GOD ARE TWO MYRIADS, THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING (shin'an). <This> teaches that twenty-two thousand chariots came down with the Holy One.] Each and every chariot was like the chariot which Ezekiel saw, <i.e.,> a chariot of God. THE CHARIOTS OF GOD. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: They all came down with sharp (shenunim) swords to destroy the enemies of Israel.43“Enemies of Israel” here is a euphemism for Israel. For if they (Israel) had not accepted the Torah they would have destroyed them. R. Levi said: It is simply that they had seen the face of the Divine Presence; and whoever sees the face of the Divine Presence does not die, as stated (in Prov. 16:15): IN THE LIGHT OF THE KING'S FACE THERE IS LIFE.
ד"א רכב אלהים רבותים. אמר ר' אלעזר בן פדת מהו אלפי שנאן, הנאים והמשובחים שבהן, אעפ"כ ה' מסויים ביניהן, אמרה כנסת ישראל, דודי צח ואדום (שה"ש ה י), מלך בשר ודם יוצא לקמפון, כמה נאים כיוצא בו, כמה גבורים כיוצא בו, אבל הקב"ה אינו כן, כשבא לסיני נטל עמו מלאכי השרת הנאים והמשובחים שבהם, אמר ר' יהודה בר' סימון מה כתיב הופיע מהר פארן ואתה מרבבות קודש (דברים לג ב), ואות הוא בתוך רבבות קודש, אין כמותו, ומי דומה לו. אמר ר' אלעזר בן פדת במקום שיש אוכלוסין הרבה יש דוחק, אבל בסיני כשבא הקב"ה ירדו עמו אלפי אלפים ורבו רבבות אלפי שנאן אעפ"כ היה להם ריוח. ר' אלעזר בן עזריה ור' אלעזר המודעי אמרו, חד אמר ומחזיק היה ההר, [אלא] א"ל הקב"ה הרחב הארך וקבל בני אדונך, וחד אמר כשישוב הקב"ה לירושלים הוא מחזיר את הגליות לתוכה, שנאמר הנה אלה מרחוק יבואו (לך) וגו' (ישעיה מט יב), ויכולה היא להחזיק, אלא הקב"ה אמר לה הרחיבי מקום אהלך וגו' (שם נד ב), אדני בם (תהלים שם), אמר ריש לקיש טבלא יש על לבו של כל מלאך ומלאך, ושמו של הקב"ה משותף עם שמו של כל מלאך ומלאך, מיכאל, רפאל, אדני בם.
Another interpretation (of Ps. 68:18 [17]): THE CHARIOTS OF GOD ARE TWO MYRIADS, <THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING (alfe shin'an) >. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: What is the meaning of alfe shin'an ('LPY ShN'N)? The most handsome (HN'YM, rt.: N'H)44The midrash reads ShN’N as shenna’in (rt.: N’H), which means, “who are handsome.” and the most excellent45Here the midrash may be understanding the alfe of the verse in the sense of alfa, i.e, that which is first or preeminent. So Wm. G. Braude and I.J. Kapstein, Pesikta de-Rab Kahana (Philadelphia: JPSA, 1975), p. 244, note 64. of them (i.e., of the angels). Nevertheless, the Lord stood out among them, <so that> the congregation of Israel said (in Cant. 5:10): MY BELOVED IS BRIGHT AND RUDDY, <THE MOST PROMINENT OF TEN THOUSAND >. <When> a king of flesh and blood goes forth into the field,46Lat.: campus; Gk.: kampos. how many are as handsome as he? How many are as valiant as he? With the Holy One, however, the situation is different. When he came to Sinai, he took along with him the most handsome and the most excellent of the ministering angels. R. Judah b. R. Simon said: what is written (in Deut. 33:2)? HE (the Lord) APPEARED FROM MOUNT PARAN, AND ARRIVED ('ata) FROM HOLY MYRIADS. Thus he was A BEACON ('ot) in the midst of HOLY MYRIADS.47This reinterpretation is possible because in the Hebrew text neither “arrived” nor “beacon” (i.e., “sign” or “emblem”) have any consonants except alef plus taw. There is no one like him. Who is comparable to him! R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: Wherever there are great throngs,48Gk.: ochloi. there is a pressing together. On Sinai, however, when the Holy One came, there came down with him thousands of thousands and a myriad of myriads (rt.: RBH), (according to Ps. 68:18 [17]) THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING; yet there was space for them. R. Eleazar ben Azariah and R. Eleazar of Modim made the following statements: One said: But would the mountain have contained them? The Holy One said to it: Widen (rt.: RHB) and lengthen yourself to receive the children of your Lord. But the other said: When the Holy One returns to Jerusalem, he will bring the diaspora back into it. It is so stated (in Is. 49:12): LOOK! THESE ARE COMING {TO YOU} FROM AFAR…. But will <that city> be able to contain them? The Holy One has told it (in Is. 54:2): ENLARGE (RHB) THE SITE OF YOUR TABERNACLE. (Ps. 68:18 [17], cont.): THE LORD IS AMONG THEM, <AS IN SINAI, SO IN THE HOLY PLACE. > Resh Laqish said: There is a tablet49Lat.: tabula. over the heart of each and every angel where the name of the Holy One is joined with the name of each and every angel: <e.g.,> Michael (which means, "Who is like God?") and Raphael (which means, "God has healed.") (Ps. 68:18 [17], cont.): THE LORD IS IN THEM.50The Hebrew here would normally be translated, “among them,” but the midrash understands the text more literally to mean, IN THEM. Note that the discussion of Ps. 68:18 [17] ends here without connecting the verse to Exod. 20:2. Yalqut Shim‘oni, Exod. 286, adds that by proclaiming the Lordship of the Holy One among the angels, Ps. 68 does not limit his lordship to them since the first commandment also proclaims his lordship. So also Yalqut Shim‘oni, Pss., 797; PRK 12:22. Cf. Exod. R. 29:2, which adds that, even though Israel has seen many faces in heaven there is only one deity, as Exod. 20:2 clearly stresses. See also below, 6:12.