- For the modern Israeli main battle tank see Merkava.
Merkabah/
Merkavah mysticism (or
Chariot mysticism) is a school of early
Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE, centered on
visions such as those found in the
Book of Ezekiel chapter , or in the
hekhalot ("palaces") literature, concerning stories of ascents to the heavenly palaces and the
Throne of God. The main corpus of the Merkabah literature was composed in Israel in the period 200–700 CE, although later references to the Chariot tradition can also be found in the literature of the
Chassidei Ashkenaz in the Middle Ages. A major text in this tradition is the
Maaseh Merkabah (
Works of the Chariot).