The Four Who Entered Pardes

I. Mishna Hagiga 2:1 (Introduction to Restricted/Protected Information)

II. Tosephta Hagiga 2:1-7 (Elaboration of Mishna Hagiga 2:1)

A. The Term "Pardes"
B.  Short Bios of the Four Rabbis who Entered
C. The Four Verses cited by the Tosephta
D. A Possible Erotic Reading of the Tosephta Narrative
E. The Acronym "PaRDeS"
F. Rabbinic Typologies of Four
          1.  Charts of Rabbinic Typologies
          2. Proposed Typological Read of Pardes
G. Rabbinic Pardes Parables

III. Palestinian Talmud Hagiga 9a

A. Additional Aher Stories (Coming Soon!)
B. Cutting of Plantlings (Coming Soon!)

IV. Babylonian Talmud Hagiga 14b-15a

A. Enoch to Metatron
B. Literary Sources of Metatron (Coming Soon!)
C. Metatron Etymology and excerpt [an excerpt from A. Orlov, The Enoch-Metatron Tradition (TSAJ, 107; Tuebingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2005)
D.  Metatron in the Babylonian Talmud

V.  Canticles Rabba 1:27

VI. Comparing/Contrasting Classical Rabbinic Texts

A. The Pardes Story
          1. English Synoptic Chart
          2. Hebrew Synoptic Chart (Coming Soon)
B. The Parables
          1. English Syntoptic Chart
          2. Hebrew Synoptic Chart

VII. Hekhalot Literature

          A. Hekhalot Sections 337-348 (Hekhalot Zutarti)
          B. Hekhalot Sections 258-259 (Hekhalot Rabbati)
          C. Hekhalot Sections 409-412 (Hekhalot Zutarti)
          D. Hekhalot Sections 597 (Razo Shel Sandalphon)
          E. Hekhalot Section 228 (Hekhalot Rabbati)
                    1. Synoptic Comparison of the Divine Multiplicity Error Hebrew
                    2. Synoptic Comparison of the Divine Multiplicity Error English

VIII. Pardes Background
          A. How Many Heavens? (Coming soon).
          B. Heavenly Temple (Coming soon).

IX. Paul's Ascent into Paradise

X. Gaonica
          A. R. Hai Gaon

XI. Non-Kabbalistic Medieval Philosophy
          A. Maimonides

XII. (Tikunei) Zohar

A. Zohar I: 26b
B. Tikunei Zohar: Tikun 40
C. Rabbi Moses Cordovero

XIII. Hasidic Perspectives

XIV. Modern Reworkings