Merkabah Rider: The Mensch With No Name
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The moans of the creatures at their heels carried to them across the sand, and beyond that, laughter as DeKorte and the other two riders carefully began to make their descent.
Glossary
Numerous Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic and Ethiopian terms necessarily find their way into the chronicles of The Rider. An updated and alphabetized lexicon is here included for the convenience of the reader.—E.M.E.
Aleph/Resh – The first and twentieth letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
beinoni (plural: beinonim)—‘The intermediate ones.’ The bulk of humanity. The undecided, who are neither wholly good nor wholly evil.
Belimah—(‘silence’) The cosmic silence that existed prior to God’s first words, “Let there be light.’
cheder—(‘room’) A Jewish elementary school, where lessons were usually taught in the home of the teacher, or melamed.
devekut b’otiyot—(‘cleaving to the letters’) A mystical prayer technique in which a mantra-like effect is achieved, with little or no pause in sound.
dybbuk (plural: dybbukim)—The departed soul of an evil or sinful person, imprisoned in Gehenna.
Gehenna—Hell. One of the four precincts of Sheol. A place of torment reserved for wicked souls.
hamin—(also cholent) A traditional stew simmered for twelve hours and eaten for lunch on the Sabbath, so as to avoid the prohibition against cooking on the Sabbath.
hekhalot—‘palace.’ One of the seven holy halls a mystic must pass before approaching the Divine chariot.
Igzee’abihier—‘Lord of the Universe.’ Ethiopian name for God.
ishim—A class of angels with bodies of snow and fire.
kaddish—In this use, the Mourner’s Kaddish. A prayer over the dead.
kedosh/kedoshim—Holy ones. In Merkabah Rider, the highest of the Hidden Saints (tzadikim nistarim).
kelipot—‘husks.’ Shells of evil which encase the scattered sparks of Divinity which existing in all things.
mazurka - A Polish folk dance.
melamed—(‘teacher’)—Specifically, an elementary education teacher, usually appointed by a community.
Midrash—Interpretive, rhetorical studies of the Bible and Jewish law.
mikvah—A naturally fed ritual bath used for purposes of purification.
Nazirite—An aesthetic described in the Book of Numbers. A Nazirite abstains from wine, grapes, and vinegar, cutting one’s hair, and who avoids graves or corpses.
Nehar Dinur—‘River of Fire.’ Created on the first day from the sweat of seraphim, angels and stars emerge from its flow. It is the passage from higher to the lower worlds, and all dead souls must immerse themselves within it before entering Paradise.
Olam ha-Tohu—‘World of Chaos.’ The universe which existed prior to the creation of light.
Parashat Eliezer - A commentary by Rabbi Eliezer Fischl of Strizhov, on an ancient study of the end times called “Karnayim,’ attributed to Rabbi Aharon of Kardina
rekel (plural rekelech)—Black wool frock coat worn by Hasidic men. Buttoned right over left.
ruah/ruhin—‘spirits.’ Demonic entities without perceivable physical forms, dedicated to the destruction and corruption of mankind. They are the children of Lilith and the succubi, who mate with mortal men through erotic dreams. Capable of possessing physical bodies for a time.
Sar-ha Cholem—‘Prince of Dream.’ An angel who specializes in dream visions.
Sefer ha-Chayyim—‘The Book of Life.’ The heavenly book in which the names of Jews are recorded for life in the coming year. Not being recorded means a person will die in the next twelve months. In the Merkabah Rider series, the tzadikim nistarim of the Sons of the Essenes maintain and actual, earthly Book of Life which contains the true names of their members.
Sefer ha-Goralot—‘Book of Lots.’ A medieval book on demonology.
shamash –‘helper.’ The ninth candle holder of a Hanukkah menorah, used to light the other eight candles.
shed (plural: sheddim)—Half mortal half demon, physically conceived and born from the union of a mortal man and a succubus. Able to perceive the spirit world, but cannot enter or affect it. They are faster, stronger, and more personally magnetic than mortals. They are nearly immortal themselves and cannot be killed by normal physical means. They sustain themselves on a diet of water and slime.
shel Elyon – The heavenly Garden of Eden.
Sheol—The netherworld. A formless realm where departed souls (the rephaim) await the coming of the Messiah either in comfort (sometimes called the Bosom of Abraham—particularly by Christians) or in torment. (see Gehenna).
shinnui shem—‘changing of a name.’ A custom of changing the name in the hope that it will change that person’s fate.
shofar—A ritual trumpet made from the horn of a ram.
Sitra Achra—‘Other Side.’ The demonic realm.
The Sons of the Essenes—A secret mystic order of Jewish scholars who claim descent from the Essenes, an ancient Hebrew monastic sect mentioned by Philo of Alexandria and Pliny The Elder from around the time of Christ. Their central teachings culminate in the Merkabah Riders. There are nine enclaves located in cities across the world, with the main enclave located at Ein Gedi in Palestine.
tallit katan—‘small prayer shawl.’ A four-fringed poncho like undergarment worn beneath the shirt.
tartaruchus (plural: tartaruchi)—Torturer angels of hell.
tefillin—Prayer phylacteries. Black leather straps which are wrapped around the arm (shel yad) and head (shel yosh) and bear two small leather boxes containing parchment scrolls inscribed with Bible verses.
tikkun—”Repair’ or “rectification.’—The notion that adherence to the commandments will repair the imperfect cosmos and strengthen the Divine.
Torah—(“teaching’) The Pentateuch—the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) in the Tanakh (Bible).
tzadik nistari/tzadikim nistarim—‘hidden righteous one.’ One of the fabled thirty-six Hidden Saints. Every generation there are born thirty-six righteous Jews whose presence in the world justifies the continued existence of mankind in the eyes of God, even in the face of barbarism. It is said that if even one of the Nistarim dies the world will end. Tradition holds that a tzadik is not aware of his own nature. In the Order of The Sons of the Essenes, the ruling rebbes of each enclave are bestowed the title tzadik and are thought to be actual Nistarim, although there are only thirty two.
tumat met—Contact with a dead body, which results in the state of ritual impurity.
Yenne Velt—The ‘other world.’ The astral plane perceived and navigated by mystics. A shadowy spirit world mainly inhabited by lost ghosts, a reflection of the physical world, but not heaven, not hell.
yeshiva—‘academy.’ A school for the study of the Torah, Talmud, and Hasidic mysticism.
Yeshiva shel Malah—‘The Academy on High.’ The place where the righteous dead will study Torah under the tutelage of the angel Zagzagel.
yored merkabah—A merkabah rider who successfully reaches the Divine Throne.
About the Author:
Edward M. Erdelac was born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, and now lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, two kids, and four cats, who he suspects would suck the life out of him at night if he didn’t mention them.
Ever since a childhood vacation to Deadwood, South Dakota, he has had an abiding love for real and imagined history, and firmly believes the marriage of the two makes for the most satisfying sort of tale, just as peanut butter and chocolate are both better together.
Write what you know you love is the best advice he’s ever given or gotten. Besides penning fiction and frequently contributing to Star Wars canon, he’s also an award-winning screenwriter, an independent filmmaker, a chain reader, and a closet gamer.
He maintains a Facebook page where those interested can keep abreast of his various projects. Readers can get a hold of him at - EMErdelac@gmail.com
Table of Contents
Episode Five - The Infernal Napoleon
Episode Six - The Damned Dingus
Episode Seven - The Outlaw Gods
Episode Eight - The Pandæmonium Ride
Glossary
About the Author: