When Going on a Heavenly Journey, Travel Light and Dress Appropriately

Abstract

How is it that when people on earth encounter heavenly beings these consistently appear in human guise; yet, when, in turn, humans enter the celestial world these selfsame human visitors seem to take on qualities of angelic beings? Could it be that the properties of the very different environments profoundly affect the nature of both residents and visitors? To answer these questions this article looks at the various texts dealing with epiphanies and heavenly journeys and descents from the perspective of the spaces that form the settings of these narratives. The sample texts will shed light on the correlation between the nature of heavenly angelic/divine and earthly human beings, on the one hand, and the substances that both realms are thought to consist of, on the other. The analysis of the texts will enable us to indicate a structure through which to create a paradigm by which other narratives of human—divine encounters may be tested and understood. In addition, this paradigm will be able to better explain the mechanics of both boundary crossings and transgressions.