The historical context of Yechezkel
(א) וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בִּשְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֗ה בָּֽרְבִיעִי֙ בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֣ה לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ וַאֲנִ֥י בְתֽוֹךְ־הַגּוֹלָ֖ה עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָ֑ר נִפְתְּחוּ֙ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וָאֶרְאֶ֖ה מַרְא֥וֹת אֱלֹקִֽים׃ (ב) בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ הִ֚יא הַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַחֲמִישִׁ֔ית לְגָל֖וּת הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ יוֹיָכִֽין׃ (ג) הָיֹ֣ה הָיָ֣ה דְבַר־ה׳ אֶל־יְחֶזְקֵ֨אל בֶּן־בּוּזִ֧י הַכֹּהֵ֛ן בְּאֶ֥רֶץ כַּשְׂדִּ֖ים עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָ֑ר וַתְּהִ֥י עָלָ֛יו שָׁ֖ם יַד־ה׳׃
(1) In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. (2) (On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— (3) the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, by the Chebar Canal, in the land of the Chaldeans. And the hand of the LORD came upon him there.)
(ה) אִ֣ישׁ יְהוּדִ֔י הָיָ֖ה בְּשׁוּשַׁ֣ן הַבִּירָ֑ה וּשְׁמ֣וֹ מׇרְדֳּכַ֗י בֶּ֣ן יָאִ֧יר בֶּן־שִׁמְעִ֛י בֶּן־קִ֖ישׁ אִ֥ישׁ יְמִינִֽי׃ (ו) אֲשֶׁ֤ר הׇגְלָה֙ מִיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔יִם עִם־הַגֹּלָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הׇגְלְתָ֔ה עִ֖ם יְכׇנְיָ֣ה מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֶגְלָ֔ה נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֖ר מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶֽל׃
(5) In the fortress Shushan lived a Jew by the name of Mordecai, son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite. (6) [Kish] had been exiled from Jerusalem in the group that was carried into exile along with King Jeconiah of Judah, which had been driven into exile by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
The pivotal moment in Yechezkel's life was the deportation of King Jehoiachin/Jechoniah and the Judean elite (including Yechezkel himself) in 597 BCE, much more so than the eventual destruction of the First Temple ten years later in 587 BCE.
Yechezkel's vision
The sublime character of this Haphtarah cannot be expressed in a translation
[S. Bamberger]
The words Demut - likeness - and Mar'eh - appearance - are insisted on again and again... the prophet wants to make clear that... what he has seen... can be represented only by analogy.
As the vision proceeds, it becomes progressively difficult to sort out visually what these creatures and the moving composite they make up, look like... A certain bewilderment may well have been Ezekiel's intention...
This four-sided moving structure, with wheels below and a kind of platform above, is what led tradition to call it a "chariot," Merkavah. To moderns, it may seem like a bizarrely composite hovering helicopter.
[Robert Alter]
(כה) וַיָּ֗סַר אֵ֚ת אֹפַ֣ן מַרְכְּבֹתָ֔יו וַֽיְנַהֲגֵ֖הוּ בִּכְבֵדֻ֑ת וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מִצְרַ֗יִם אָנ֙וּסָה֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כִּ֣י ה' נִלְחָ֥ם לָהֶ֖ם בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃ {פ}
(25) [God] locked the wheels of their chariots so that they moved forward with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for ה' is fighting for them against Egypt.”
(ד) וָאֵ֡רֶא וְהִנֵּה֩ ר֨וּחַ סְעָרָ֜ה בָּאָ֣ה מִן־הַצָּפ֗וֹן עָנָ֤ן גָּדוֹל֙ וְאֵ֣שׁ מִתְלַקַּ֔חַת וְנֹ֥גַֽהּ ל֖וֹ סָבִ֑יב וּמִ֨תּוֹכָ֔הּ כְּעֵ֥ין הַחַשְׁמַ֖ל מִתּ֥וֹךְ הָאֵֽשׁ׃ (ה) וּמִ֨תּוֹכָ֔הּ דְּמ֖וּת אַרְבַּ֣ע חַיּ֑וֹת וְזֶה֙ מַרְאֵיהֶ֔ן דְּמ֥וּת אָדָ֖ם לָהֵֽנָּה׃ (ו) וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה פָנִ֖ים לְאֶחָ֑ת וְאַרְבַּ֥ע כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאַחַ֥ת לָהֶֽם׃ (ז) וְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם רֶ֣גֶל יְשָׁרָ֑ה וְכַ֣ף רַגְלֵיהֶ֗ם כְּכַף֙ רֶ֣גֶל עֵ֔גֶל וְנֹ֣צְצִ֔ים כְּעֵ֖ין נְחֹ֥שֶׁת קָלָֽל׃
(4) I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the north—a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance; and in the center of it, in the center of the fire, a gleam as of amber. (5) In the center of it were also the figures of four creatures. And this was their appearance:They had the figures of human beings. (6) However, each had four faces, and each of them had four wings; (7) the legs of each were [fused into] a single rigid leg, and the feet of each were like a single calf’s hoof; and their sparkle was like the luster of burnished bronze.
(א) כיוון איבריו בשעת תפלה. יכוין רגליו זה אצל זה בכוון כאלו אינם אלא אחד להדמות למלאכים דכתיב בהן ורגליהם רגל ישרה כלומר רגליהם נראים כרגל אחד: (וי"א כשעומד להתפלל ילך לפניו ג' פסיעות דרך קירוב והגשה לדבר שצריך לעשות) (רוקח):
(1) The Position of One's Limbs at the Time of Prayer One should position one's feet next to each other as though they are one, in order to imitate angels, as it written regarding them: “their feet were a straight foot” [(Ezekiel 1:7)], which is to say their feet appeared as one foot. (Some say when one stands to pray one should take three steps forward in the way of coming close and approaching a matter that must be done.) (Rokeach)
(י) וּדְמ֣וּת פְּנֵיהֶם֮ פְּנֵ֣י אָדָם֒ וּפְנֵ֨י אַרְיֵ֤ה אֶל־הַיָּמִין֙ לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֔ם וּפְנֵי־שׁ֥וֹר מֵהַשְּׂמֹ֖אול לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֑ן וּפְנֵי־נֶ֖שֶׁר לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן׃
(10) Each of them had a human face [at the front]; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right; each of the four had the face of an ox on the left; and each of the four had the face of an eagle [at the back].
(יט) וּבְלֶ֙כֶת֙ הַחַיּ֔וֹת יֵלְכ֥וּ הָאוֹפַנִּ֖ים אֶצְלָ֑ם וּבְהִנָּשֵׂ֤א הַחַיּוֹת֙ מֵעַ֣ל הָאָ֔רֶץ יִנָּשְׂא֖וּ הָאוֹפַנִּֽים׃ (כ) עַ֣ל אֲשֶׁר֩ יִֽהְיֶה־שָּׁ֨ם הָר֤וּחַ לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ יֵלֵ֔כוּ שָׁ֥מָּה הָר֖וּחַ לָלֶ֑כֶת וְהָאוֹפַנִּ֗ים יִנָּֽשְׂאוּ֙ לְעֻמָּתָ֔ם כִּ֛י ר֥וּחַ הַחַיָּ֖ה בָּאוֹפַנִּֽים׃
(19) And when the creatures moved forward, the wheels moved at their sides; and when the creatures were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne too. (20) Wherever the spirit impelled them to go, they went—wherever the spirit impelled them—and the wheels were borne alongside them; for the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels.
The wheels are not physically attached to the creatures, but their movements are synchronized with them through a shared 'spirit.'
[Robert Alter]
(כה) וַיָּ֗סַר אֵ֚ת אֹפַ֣ן מַרְכְּבֹתָ֔יו וַֽיְנַהֲגֵ֖הוּ בִּכְבֵדֻ֑ת וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מִצְרַ֗יִם אָנ֙וּסָה֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כִּ֣י ה' נִלְחָ֥ם לָהֶ֖ם בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃ {פ}
(25) [God] loosened the wheels of their chariots so that they moved forward with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for ה' is fighting for them against Egypt.”
וְהָאוֹפַנִּים וְחַיּוֹת הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ בְּרַֽעַשׁ גָּדוֹל מִתְנַשְּׂ֒אִים לְעֻמַּת שְׂרָפִים לְעֻמָּתָם מְשַׁבְּ֒חִים וְאוֹמְ֒רִים:
And the Ofanim and the holy Chayos, with a mighty sound rise toward the Serafim. Facing them, they offer praise and say,
(יב) וַתִּשָּׂאֵ֣נִי ר֔וּחַ וָאֶשְׁמַ֣ע אַחֲרַ֔י ק֖וֹל רַ֣עַשׁ גָּד֑וֹל בָּר֥וּךְ כְּבוֹד־ה׳ מִמְּקוֹמֽוֹ׃
(12) Then a spirit carried me away, and behind me I heard a great roaring sound: “Blessed is the Presence of the LORD, in His place,”-a
וּנטַלַתנִי רוּחָא וּשׁמַעִית בָתְרַי קָל זְיָע סַגִי דִמשַׁבְחִין וְאָמְרִין בְרִיך יְקָרָא דַיוי מֵאֲתַר בֵית שְׁכִינְתֵיה
Then the spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of much shaking of those praising, and they said: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from the place of the house of His Shekhinah.”
Yechechzel had just experienced through a vision how the Kevod Hashem - the Glory / the Merkava / the Presence of God / the Shechina - had left the Temple - even though it was not destroyed - and had physically travelled as Merkava all the way to Bavel to join the Jews in excile.
(יח) וּלְמִזְבַּ֧ח הַקְּטֹ֛רֶת זָהָ֥ב מְזֻקָּ֖ק בַּמִּשְׁקָ֑ל וּלְתַבְנִ֣ית הַמֶּרְכָּבָ֗ה הַכְּרוּבִ֤ים זָהָב֙ לְפֹ֣רְשִׂ֔ים וְסֹכְכִ֖ים עַל־אֲר֥וֹן בְּרִית־ה'׃
(18) the weight of refined gold for the incense altar and the gold for the figure of the chariot—the cherubim—those with outspread wings screening the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD.
(טו) וָאָב֨וֹא אֶל־הַגּוֹלָ֜ה תֵּ֣ל אָ֠בִ֠יב הַיֹּשְׁבִ֤ים אֶֽל־נְהַר־כְּבָר֙ (ואשר) [וָאֵשֵׁ֔ב] הֵ֖מָּה יוֹשְׁבִ֣ים שָׁ֑ם וָאֵשֵׁ֥ב שָׁ֛ם שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים מַשְׁמִ֥ים בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
(15) And I came to the exile community that dwelt in Tel Abib by the Chebar Canal, and I remained where they dwelt. And for seven days I sat there stunned among them.
Tel Abib (Hebrew: תל אביב, Tel Aviv, "the hill of Spring", from Akkadian Tel Abûbi, "The Tel of the flood") is an unidentified tell ("hill city") on the Kebar Canal, near Nippur in what is now Iraq. Nahum Sokolow adopted the biblical place-name as the title for his Hebrew translation of Theodor Herzl's 1902 novel Altneuland ("Old New Land"), basing it on archaeologists' use of Arabic "tel" extracted from placenames to mean = "accumulated mound of debris" for "old", and "spring" (season) for "new", "renewal". Menachem Shenkin picked its name to mean a new Jewish village near Jaffa, which grew into the modern Israeli city of Tel Aviv. [Wikipedia]
Comparion of Yeshayahu's vision and Yechezkel's vision
אָמַר רָבָא: כׇּל שֶׁרָאָה יְחֶזְקֵאל, רָאָה יְשַׁעְיָה. לְמָה יְחֶזְקֵאל דּוֹמֶה — לְבֶן כְּפָר שֶׁרָאָה אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ, וּלְמָה יְשַׁעְיָה דּוֹמֶה — לְבֶן כְּרַךְ שֶׁרָאָה אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ.
§ Rava said: All that Ezekiel saw, the prophet Isaiah saw as well, but the latter did not find it necessary to describe his vision in such detail. To what may Ezekiel be compared? To a villager who saw the king and is excited by all the extravagances of the king’s palace and everything it contains, as he is unaccustomed to them. And to what may Isaiah be compared? To a city dweller who saw the king. Such an individual focuses on the encounter with the king, and is oblivious to all the distractions.
ראה ישעיה - כששרתה עליו רוח הקדש כמה שנאמר ואראה את ה' יושב על כסא רם ונשא וגו' (ישעיהו ו׳:א׳) אלא שלא חש לפרש את הכל שהיה בן מלכים וגדל בפלטין ובן כרך הרואה את המלך אינו נבהל ואינו תמה ואינו חש לספר:
...ואלו הדברים אפשר שיפורש בהם על דעת אומרם מה שזכרתי תחילה - והוא שישעיה לא היו אנשי דורו צריכים לבאר להם הפרוט ההוא אבל הספיק להם אמרו 'ואראה את אדוני וגו'' ו'בני הגולה' היו צריכים לפרוט הזה. ואולי שהאומר הזה חשב שישעיה יותר שלם מיחזקאל ושההשגה שנבהל עליה יחזקאל והיתה נוראה בעיניו היתה ידועה לישעיה ידיעה שלא היה צריך לספרה על דרך חידוש להיותה ענין ידוע אצל השלמים:
...these words can be explained in the manner which I have just mentioned, viz., the generation of Isaiah did not require the detailed description: his account, "I saw the Lord," etc., sufficed. The generation of the Babylonian exile wanted to learn all the details. It is, however, possible that the author of this saying held Isaiah as more perfect than Ezekiel, so that the vision might have overawed Ezekiel and appeared fearful to him; but Isaiah was so familiar with it that he did not consider it necessary to communicate it to others as a new thing, especially as it was well known to the intelligent.
There is a significant difference between 'Melo chol ha'aretz kevodo' and 'Baruch Kevod Hasheem Mimmekomo'. Yeshayahu in Eretz Yisra'eil experiences the Shechina to be present everywhere. Yechezkel, exciled in Bavel experiences that the Shechina is only present at a specific place. Sometimes we feel that God is near, and sometimes we feel a great distance. The beauty of the Kedusha is that it combines both experiences in the center of our daily prayer service [R. Joe Wolfson]
The Interpretation of Pirke de Rabbi Eli'ezer
...ובשתים מעופפים ומעריצים ומקדישים את שמו הגדול זה עונה וזה קורא ואומרים (ישעיהו ו, ג): "קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ ה' צְבָאוֹת מְלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ".
והחיות עומדות אצל כבודו ואינן יודעות מקום כבודו, עונות ואומרות בכל מקום שכבודו שם ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו. וישראל גוי אחד בארץ שהם מיחדים שמו תמיד, בכל יום עונים ואומרים (דברים ו, ד): "שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד" והוא משיב לעמו ישראל: אני ה' אלקיכם המציל אתכם מכל צרה.
..with twain do they fly, praising and reverencing, and they sanctify. One answers and another calls, one calls and another answers, and they say, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa. 6:3). The Chajjôth stand at the side of the throne of His glory and they do not know the place of His glory; they respond and say in every place where His glory is, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place" (Ezek. 3:12). Israel, a nation unique on the earth, declares daily the unity of His great Name, saying, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one" (Deut. 6:4). He answers His people Israel and says to them, I am the Lord your God who has delivered you from every trouble.
The Pirke observes a threefold response within the Kedusha: 1st the angels, 2nd Israel, and 3rd God.