Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomin;

II Kings 2:11 “Then it came about as they were going along and talking, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of  fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.  And Elisha saw it and cried out, ‘My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and it’s horsemen!’ And he saw him no more.  Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.”

Ok you have just read this verse as it was translated from the Hebrew (WORD BY WORD) in the KJV.  Now read this verse as an esoteric rabbi would read it translating (LETTER BY LETTER).

“Then it actually happened that they were walking the halacah (righteous walk) and talking the heart of God, that behold there appeared the passion and power of God as a means of transport and a connection between the higher spiritual realm in the physical world to a higher spiritual realm in the supernatural world.  This power and passion of God created an expanding portal separating the two of them.  And Elijah was given the offer to step through this portal into heaven.  And Elisha saw into the supernatural realm and cried out: “My father, my father the Prince of God ( I call  Him Jesus)  has His arms spread open wide.”   And he saw him no more.  Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces as a sign of mourning that he too was not allowed to step through that portal.”

The difference between the KJV and the esoteric version is that the KJV translated this from the Hebrew word by word.   In the esoteric version this was translated letter by letter.  If I rendered a meaning in English letter by letter I would do something like this, TRUCK.  The T represents travel, the R is for repair, the U for U-haul, the C for collision and the K – I don’t know the whole thing is ridiculous. But in dealing with ancient Semitic languages, it is very necessary.

Seventy years after II Kings 2:11 we find in II Kings 13:14 that as Elisha laid dying in his bed, King Joash came to him, wept over him as said: “My father My father, the chariots of Israel and it’s horsemen.”  No doubt that for seventy years Elisha told anyone who would listen of his experience with Elijah and when he laid dying, what a fitting word of comfort than to say: “My father, my father, Jesus has His arms spread wide open.”

I found an artist rendition of the event of Elijah going to heaven in a whirlwind riding a chariot pulled by two horses.  Look, there is no way you will convince me that a literal wooden or even golden chariot with wooden or golden wheels, pulled by two flesh and blood horses, all on fire took Elijah to heaven in the midst of a tornado.  Sorry, but I just can’t buy it.  I can’t buy it particularly when the Hebrew word for “chariot” is “rakah” which is merely a means of transport under a power not your own.  Even today rakah is used for a jet plane but you do not hear CNN talk about flying chariots, they interpret right from the Hebrew – jet aircraft.   Horses in the Hebrew is “sus” which in it’s primitive state means a connection between two points.  The noun form evolved to mean horse as that was a common way means of transportation between two points.   And how did I get the idea of the Prince of God with open arms.   I just literally translated the word “Israel” which means Prince of God.  Does that make me a bad person?   Oh, yeah that out stretched arms business?   That comes from the word for horsemen which is “parash” which in it’s primitive state meant to spread your arms.  A horseman riding a chariot had his arm spread and thus the word evolved to mean a horsemen.   Am I amiss for believing that God will welcome us with open arms when we enter heaven.  I don’t know about you but the first thing I want to see when I get to heaven is not the pearly gates, not the streets of  gold, but Jesus with his arms spread open getting ready for that big hug.  By the way, I did Christianize this a little by indicating that the Prince of God in this context is Jesus.

But soft, I haven’t even gotten into the esoteric part yet. Esoteric rabbis believe that the esoteric aspect of the world is the “chariot.“ Rabbi Adin Steinsplitz said: “Pardes (the secret knowledge of God, the sod) is a dangerous place, and no man may find his way in it so long as he tries to grasp things as they appear to be.  The greatest difficulty in comprehending esoteric wisdom is that its symbols are viewed as realities and the allegory in not perceived.”  Rabbi Steinsplitz further states that “when the world is comprehended by esoteric allegory – he and all men may enter and leave the garden (the secret knowledge of God) safely.

I am only a novice in the Hebrew esoteric, but let me just share with you a taste of it.  The word “horse” (Heb. Sus) is spelled “Samek, Vav, Samek.”  Esoteric rabbis tell us that the Samek connotes the hidden realms around us.  The “Vav” shows us a connection between earth and heaven, or the natural and the supernatural.  Hence, Samek, Vav, Samek shows us a hidden spiritual realm in the natural that connects to a hidden spiritual realm in the supernatural.  Wasn’t that easy.    The word fire (Heb. Ish) is spelled “Aleph, Shin.”   The Aleph represents God and the Shin represents His peace, power and passion.   Thus fire or Aleph Shin is the peace, power and passion of God.   Having fun yet?  Then let me show you what the whirlwind is esoterically.   The word in Hebrew is “sarah” which means a tempest, storm etc.  But I have good news if your name happens to be Sarah. It is spelled “Samek, Ayin, Resh.”  As I indicated the Samek connotes the hidden realm.  Rabbi Nachman indicates that the Ayin moves us from he realm of possibility to that of actuality and the Resh is associated with a higher understanding of God. It is often used to refer to the Holy Spirit who brings us into this higher understanding of God.   In other words the whirlwind or Sarah is a vehicle to a high level of  understanding and knowledge of God. Perhaps it was the Holy Spirit himself.  It is in heaven that we have the fulfillment of our greatest desire, to reach the highest level of understanding of God.

Oh, yeah that gateway or portal business.  That is shown in the Chariot of fire or the passion of God separating Elisha from Elijah.   The word for separate is “Parad” which is spelled “Pe, Resh, Daleth.”    The Pe symbolizes that speech has the power to open portals, the Resh represents the Holy Spirit and the Daleth represent a gateway or portal. It is the speech or the “talk” between Elijah and Elisha, that opened this portal.  The word used in this verse for “talk” is “devar” which is speaking the heart of God.   This talk or devar allowed the Holy Spirit to  touch the Daleth or the Portal to an understanding of God.   Oh, by the way the word for separate, “take up” as in being taken up in a whirlwind, is “ya’al” which is  actually used more times to mean “an  offer” than it is rendered as divide or separate.  In other words Elijah was not taken to heaven in a whirlwind, he was separated from Elijah when he was shown a portal into heaven and given an offer to step through.  Since he disappeared it is obvious what choice he made.

That part about Elisha tearing his clothes to mourn the fact that he was not given such an offer, is my own idea.  I just put myself in Elisha’s place and if I saw my mentor stepping through a portal into the arms of Jesus and I was not given a similar offer, I would be renting my clothes in mourning also.

I know this is longer than most my devotionals, but I wanted to explain the joys of esoteric Hebrew.  Anyone ready for a class?

By the way, I do not believe in a rapture of the church, but if there is one, don’t jump off of your chair doing rapture practice.  Oh, you will be caught up in the air alright, but there will be a chariot of fire with horses on fire separating you from the unredeemed and your own personal portal will open with Jesus ready to receive you personally in His arms to personally give you His own personal hug (bad writing to use the word personal so much, but you get the point) as you will share with Jesus a journey not unlike the one that Elijah made.