CHARIOT — the name readers gave Ezekiel 1, though the word never appears in the chapter. Ma'aseh Merkavah, 'the Work of the Chariot,' is the oldest strand of Jewish mysticism, and the Mishnah restricts it as it restricts nothing else: it may not be expounded even to a single student unless he is wise and understands of his own knowledge (Hagigah 2:1). → first discussed at Ezekiel 1:15