The Kedusha - Meaning & Background

The source text in Yeshayahu

(א) בִּשְׁנַת־מוֹת֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ עֻזִּיָּ֔הוּ וָאֶרְאֶ֧ה אֶת־אדושם יֹשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסֵּ֖א רָ֣ם וְנִשָּׂ֑א וְשׁוּלָ֖יו מְלֵאִ֥ים אֶת־הַהֵיכָֽל׃ (ב) שְׂרָפִ֨ים עֹמְדִ֤ים ׀ מִמַּ֙עַל֙ ל֔וֹ שֵׁ֧שׁ כְּנָפַ֛יִם שֵׁ֥שׁ כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאֶחָ֑ד בִּשְׁתַּ֣יִם ׀ יְכַסֶּ֣ה פָנָ֗יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֛יִם יְכַסֶּ֥ה רַגְלָ֖יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֥יִם יְעוֹפֵֽף׃ (ג) וְקָרָ֨א זֶ֤ה אֶל־זֶה֙ וְאָמַ֔ר

”קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ ה' צְבָא֑וֹת

מְלֹ֥א כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ“

Isaiah 6

שׁוּל = zoom, rand; הֵיכָֽל = paleis, tempel; יְעוֹפֵֽף = fladderen; מְלֹא = volheid

What are the Seraphim?

במדבר כ״א:ו׳

וַיְשַׁלַּ֨ח ה' בָּעָ֗ם אֵ֚ת הַנְּחָשִׁ֣ים הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים וַֽיְנַשְּׁכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיָּ֥מׇת עַם־רָ֖ב מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Numbers 21:6

ה' sent seraph serpents against the people. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died.

רש"י על במדבר כ״א:ו׳:א׳

את הנחשים השרפים. שֶׁשּׂוֹרְפִים אֶת הָאָדָם בְּאֶרֶס שִׁנֵּיהֶם:

Rashi on Numbers 21:6:1

את הנחשים השרפים BURNING SERPENTS — so termed because they burn (cause fever in) a person through the poison of their fangs.

ישעיהו י״ד:כ״ט

...כִּֽי־מִשֹּׁ֤רֶשׁ נָחָשׁ֙ יֵ֣צֵא צֶ֔פַע וּפִרְי֖וֹ שָׂרָ֥ף מְעוֹפֵֽף׃

Isaiah 14:29

...for from the stock of a snake there sprouts an asp, a flying seraph branches out from it.

אבן עזרא על ישעיהו י״ד:כ״ט:א׳

אל. צפע. הוא צפעוני והוא קשה מהנחש, והטעם כי חזקיה יהיה גבור מאביו והוא יזיק פלשתים כי כן כתוב במלכים, הוא הכה את עזה ואת גבולה ממגדל נוצרים ועד עיר מבצר (מלכים ב' י"ח ח'):

Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 14:29:1

צפע Cockatrice. It is the same as צפעני (11:8); it is more dangerous than the serpent.—Hezekiah shall be mightier than his father, and more dangerous to the Philistines (comp. 2 Kings 18:8).

אבן עזרא על ישעיהו י״ד:כ״ט:ב׳

והפרי שיתן שרף מעופף, והמעופף הוא קשה בשרפים:

Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 14:29:2

And his fruit. The fruit that he will bring forth, will be שרף מעופף a fiery flying serpent; the flying one is the most dangerous of the fiery serpents.

תרגום יונתן על ישעיהו ו׳

‏ שַׁמָשִׁין קַדִישִׁין בְרוּמָא קֳדָמוֹהִי שִׁיתָא גַפִין שִׁיתָא גַפִין לְחַד בִתרֵין מְכַסֵי אַפוֹהִי דִילָא חָזֵי וּבִתרֵין מְכַסֵי גִויָתֵיה דִילָא מִתַחזֵי וּבִתרֵין מְשַׁמֵישׁ׃ ‎3‏ וּמקַבְלִין דֵין מִדֵין וְאָמְרִין קַדִישׁ בִשׁמֵי מְרוֹמָא בֵית שְׁכִינְתֵיה; קַדִישׁ עַל אַרעָא עוֹבָד גְבוּרְתֵיה; קַדִישׁ בְעָלַם עָלְמַיָא יוי צְבָאוֹת מַליָא כָל אַרעָא זִיו יְקָרֵיה׃

Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 6

2 Holy servants were on high before Him; each had six wings. With two he would cover his face so that he would not see, and with two he would cover his body so that he would not be seen, and with two he would minister. 3 And they would listen to each other and say, “Holy in the heavens on high is the temple of His Shekhinah; holy on the earth is the work of His power; holy in eternity is the Lord of Hosts. All the earth is filled with the splendor of His glory.”

Here מקַבְלִין is in the Pa’el, where it means “to receive, accept,” and hence even “to listen.” Since these creatures’ eyes are covered, they are engaged in the activity of listening as they recite the “holy, holy, holy.” [R. Eldon Clem]

מדרש תנחומא, צו י״ג:א׳

וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְעוֹפֵף (ישעיה ו, ב). וְכִי בִּכְנָפַיִם מְעוֹפֵף. אֶלָּא מִכָּאן תִּקְּנוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה, לָעוּף אָדָם עַל רַגְלָיו בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאוֹמֵר שְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר, קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ ה' צְבָאוֹת (ישעיה ו, ג)... וְקָרָא זֶה אֶל זֶה וְאָמַר (ישעיה ו' ג), נוֹטְלִין רְשׁוּת זֶה מִזֶּה, שֶׁלֹּא לְהַקְדִּים הָאֶחָד וְיַתְחִיל וְיִתְחַיֵּב שְׂרֵפָה, אֶלָּא פָּתְחוּ כֻּלָּם כְּאֶחָד וְעוֹנִין וְכוּ'. וַיָּנוּעוּ אַמּוֹת הַסִּפִּים (ישעיה ו, ד), הֵם הַמְּזוּזוֹת, הַהֵיכָל. מִקּוֹל הַקּוֹרֵא (ישעיה ו, ד), מִקּוֹל הַמַּלְאָכִים הַקּוֹרְאִים.

Midrash Tanchuma, Tzav 13:1

"and with two he would fly." And does he [really] fly with the wings? Rather, it is as a result of this that they, may their memory be blessed, ordained that a man should hover on his feet when the prayer leader says (Isaiah 6:3), "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts."... "And one called to the other and said" (Isaiah 6:4) - they would get permission from one another, so that one not preempt the other and begin [alone], and [so] become liable for burning; rather they all started as one, and answered, etc. - "and the measure of the doorposts shook" - these were the doorposts of the chamber - "from the voice of the caller" - from the voice of the angels calling.

The source text in Yechezkel

יחזקאל א׳:א׳-ג׳

וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בִּשְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֗ה בָּֽרְבִיעִי֙ בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֣ה לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ וַאֲנִ֥י בְתֽוֹךְ־הַגּוֹלָ֖ה עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָ֑ר נִפְתְּחוּ֙ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וָאֶרְאֶ֖ה מַרְא֥וֹת אֱלֹקִֽים׃ בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ הִ֚יא הַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַחֲמִישִׁ֔ית לְגָל֖וּת הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ יוֹיָכִֽין׃ הָיֹ֣ה הָיָ֣ה דְבַר־ה' אֶל־יְחֶזְקֵ֨אל בֶּן־בּוּזִ֧י הַכֹּהֵ֛ן בְּאֶ֥רֶץ כַּשְׂדִּ֖ים עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָ֑ר וַתְּהִ֥י עָלָ֛יו שָׁ֖ם יַד־ה'׃

Ezekiel 1:1-3

In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. (On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, by the Chebar Canal, in the land of the Chaldeans. And the hand of the LORD came upon him there.)

The pivotal moment in Yechezkel's life was the deportation of King Jehoiachin/Jechoniah and the Judean elite (including Yechezkel himself) in 597 BCE, much more so than the eventual destruction of the First Temple ten years later in 587 BCE.

יחזקאל א׳:ד׳-ז׳

וָאֵ֡רֶא וְהִנֵּה֩ ר֨וּחַ סְעָרָ֜ה בָּאָ֣ה מִן־הַצָּפ֗וֹן עָנָ֤ן גָּדוֹל֙ וְאֵ֣שׁ מִתְלַקַּ֔חַת וְנֹ֥גַֽהּ ל֖וֹ סָבִ֑יב וּמִ֨תּוֹכָ֔הּ כְּעֵ֥ין הַחַשְׁמַ֖ל מִתּ֥וֹךְ הָאֵֽשׁ׃ וּמִ֨תּוֹכָ֔הּ דְּמ֖וּת אַרְבַּ֣ע חַיּ֑וֹת וְזֶה֙ מַרְאֵיהֶ֔ן דְּמ֥וּת אָדָ֖ם לָהֵֽנָּה׃ וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה פָנִ֖ים לְאֶחָ֑ת וְאַרְבַּ֥ע כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאַחַ֥ת לָהֶֽם׃ וְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם רֶ֣גֶל יְשָׁרָ֑ה וְכַ֣ף רַגְלֵיהֶ֗ם כְּכַף֙ רֶ֣גֶל עֵ֔גֶל וְנֹ֣צְצִ֔ים כְּעֵ֖ין נְחֹ֥שֶׁת קָלָֽל׃

Ezekiel 1:4-7

I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the north—a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance; and in the center of it, in the center of the fire, a gleam as of amber. In the center of it were also the figures of four creatures. And this was their appearance:
They had the figures of human beings. However, each had four faces, and each of them had four wings; the legs of each were [fused into] a single rigid leg, and the feet of each were like a single calf’s hoof; and their sparkle was like the luster of burnished bronze.

יחזקאל א׳:י׳

וּדְמ֣וּת פְּנֵיהֶם֮ פְּנֵ֣י אָדָם֒ וּפְנֵ֨י אַרְיֵ֤ה אֶל־הַיָּמִין֙ לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֔ם וּפְנֵי־שׁ֥וֹר מֵהַשְּׂמֹ֖אול לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֑ן וּפְנֵי־נֶ֖שֶׁר לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן׃

Ezekiel 1:10

Each of them had a human face [at the front]; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right; each of the four had the face of an ox on the left; and each of the four had the face of an eagle [at the back].

What are the Chayot?

Lamassu: Human-headed winged bulls from Sargon II's palace. They were royal protectors, and were placed as sentinels at entrances. (Louvre collection)

The words Demut - likeness - and Mar'eh - appearance - are insisted on again and again... the prophet wants to make clear that... what he has seen... can be represented only by analogy.
As the vision proceeds, it becomes progressively difficult to sort out visually what these creatures and the moving composite they make up, look like... A certain bewilderment may well have been Ezekiel's intention...
This four-sided moving structure, with wheels below and a kind of platform above, is what led tradition to call it a "chariot," Merkavah. To moderns, it may seem like a bizarrely composite hovering helicopter.
[Robert Alter]

אורח חיים צ״ה:א׳

יכוין רגליו זה אצל זה בכוון כאלו אינם אלא אחד להדמות למלאכים דכתיב בהן ורגליהם רגל ישרה כלומר רגליהם נראים כרגל אחד: (וי"א כשעומד להתפלל ילך לפניו ג' פסיעות דרך קירוב והגשה לדבר שצריך לעשות) (רוקח):

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 95:1

One should position one's feet next to each other as though they are one, in order to imitate angels, as it written regarding them: “their feet were a straight foot” [(Ezekiel 1:7)], which is to say their feet appeared as one foot. (Some say when one stands to pray one should take three steps forward in the way of coming close and approaching a matter that must be done.) (Rokeach)

What are the Ofanim?

יחזקאל א׳:י״ט-כ׳

וּבְלֶ֙כֶת֙ הַחַיּ֔וֹת יֵלְכ֥וּ הָאוֹפַנִּ֖ים אֶצְלָ֑ם וּבְהִנָּשֵׂ֤א הַחַיּוֹת֙ מֵעַ֣ל הָאָ֔רֶץ יִנָּשְׂא֖וּ הָאוֹפַנִּֽים׃ עַ֣ל אֲשֶׁר֩ יִֽהְיֶה־שָּׁ֨ם הָר֤וּחַ לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ יֵלֵ֔כוּ שָׁ֥מָּה הָר֖וּחַ לָלֶ֑כֶת וְהָאוֹפַנִּ֗ים יִנָּֽשְׂאוּ֙ לְעֻמָּתָ֔ם כִּ֛י ר֥וּחַ הַחַיָּ֖ה בָּאוֹפַנִּֽים׃

Ezekiel 1:19-20

And when the creatures moved forward, the wheels moved at their sides; and when the creatures were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne too. Wherever the spirit impelled them to go, they went—wherever the spirit impelled them—and the wheels were borne alongside them; for the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels.

The wheels are not physically attached to the creatures, but their movements are synchronized with them through a shared 'spirit.'
[Robert Alter]

סידור אשכנז, ימי חול, תפילת שחרית, ברכות קריאת שמע, יוצר אור ו׳

וְהָאוֹפַנִּים וְחַיּוֹת הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ בְּרַֽעַשׁ גָּדוֹל מִתְנַשְּׂ֒אִים לְעֻמַּת שְׂרָפִים לְעֻמָּתָם מְשַׁבְּ֒חִים וְאוֹמְ֒רִים:

Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Blessings of the Shema, First Blessing before Shema 6

And the Ofanim and the holy Chayos, with a mighty sound rise toward the Serafim. Facing them, they offer praise and say,

יחזקאל ג׳:י״ב

וַתִּשָּׂאֵ֣נִי ר֔וּחַ וָאֶשְׁמַ֣ע אַחֲרַ֔י ק֖וֹל רַ֣עַשׁ גָּד֑וֹל בָּר֥וּךְ כְּבוֹד־ה' מִמְּקוֹמֽוֹ׃

Ezekiel 3:12

Then a spirit carried me away, and behind me I heard a great roaring sound: “Blessed is the Presence of the LORD, in His place,”^-a

Yechechzel had just experienced through a vision how the Kevod Hashem - the Glory / the Merkava / the Presence of God / the Shechina - had left the Temple - even though it was not destroyed - and had physically travelled as Merkava all the way to Bavel to join the Jews in excile.

Comparion of Yeshayahu's vision and Yechezkel's vision

חגיגה י״ג ב:ה׳

אָמַר רָבָא: כׇּל שֶׁרָאָה יְחֶזְקֵאל, רָאָה יְשַׁעְיָה. לְמָה יְחֶזְקֵאל דּוֹמֶה — לְבֶן כְּפָר שֶׁרָאָה אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ, וּלְמָה יְשַׁעְיָה דּוֹמֶה — לְבֶן כְּרַךְ שֶׁרָאָה אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ.

Chagigah 13b:5

§ Rava said: All that Ezekiel saw, the prophet Isaiah saw as well, but the latter did not find it necessary to describe his vision in such detail. To what may Ezekiel be compared? To a villager who saw the king and is excited by all the extravagances of the king’s palace and everything it contains, as he is unaccustomed to them. And to what may Isaiah be compared? To a city dweller who saw the king. Such an individual focuses on the encounter with the king, and is oblivious to all the distractions.

רש"י על חגיגה י״ג ב:ה׳:א׳

ראה ישעיה - כששרתה עליו רוח הקדש כמה שנאמר ואראה את ה' יושב על כסא רם ונשא וגו' (ישעיהו ו׳:א׳) אלא שלא חש לפרש את הכל שהיה בן מלכים וגדל בפלטין ובן כרך הרואה את המלך אינו נבהל ואינו תמה ואינו חש לספר:

Rashi on Chagigah 13b:5:1

...

Yechezkel is in Bavel at a great distance of the Shechina, is overwhelmed by the experience and therefore describes it is great detail. He sees the Shechina as coming from a specific place (mimekomo)
Yeshayahu is in Israel and much more in touch with the Shechina, and both himself and his generation require much less detailed descriptions. He sees the Shechina as filling the whole world.

The Interpretation of Pirke de Rabbi Eli'ezer

פרקי דרבי אליעזר ד׳:ו׳

...ובשתים מעופפים ומעריצים ומקדישים את שמו הגדול זה עונה וזה קורא ואומרים (ישעיהו ו, ג): "קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ ה' צְבָאוֹת מְלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ".

והחיות עומדות אצל כבודו ואינן יודעות מקום כבודו, עונות ואומרות בכל מקום שכבודו שם ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו. וישראל גוי אחד בארץ שהם מיחדים שמו תמיד, בכל יום עונים ואומרים (דברים ו, ד): "שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד" והוא משיב לעמו ישראל: אני ה' אלקיכם המציל אתכם מכל צרה.

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 4:6

..with twain do they fly, praising and reverencing, and they sanctify. One answers and another calls, one calls and another answers, and they say, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa. 6:3). The Chajjôth stand at the side of the throne of His glory and they do not know the place of His glory; they respond and say in every place where His glory is, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place" (Ezek. 3:12). Israel, a nation unique on the earth, declares daily the unity of His great Name, saying, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one" (Deut. 6:4). He answers His people Israel and says to them, I am the Lord your God who has delivered you from every trouble.

The Pirke observes a threefold response within the Kedusha: 1st the angels, 2nd Israel, and 3rd God.