':",

two adjoining links in the chain of transmission. Only later on, perhaps much later on, does the work ofa few individuals yield massive transforma­ tions, immense cultural alterations. Forexample, the appropriation ofMus­ lim neo-Aristotelianism by medieval was primarily the workofMaimonides; in Renaissance Europe, the whole corpus ofPlatonic, FOUR Neoplatonic and Hermetic writings was made available- translated, anno­ tated and published- by virtually one person, Marsilio Ficino. These great cultural changes are rarely a matter of the transmission of Transmission in Thirteenth-Century esoteric oral lore, or initiation in ancient theological or mystical doctrines; more often, they are effected by translation and general teaching ofwritten material. The role ofpersonal contact is rarely so crucial as in the transmis­ sion ofkabbalistic lore. In this case, we may designate contacts as "micro-chains:' in contrast to the "macro-chains" oflarge-scale cultural change. The latter often involves massive ruptures, abandonment of what had prevailed in the recent past, and consigning eternal verities to the proverbial "dustbin of history"­ often in an amazingly short space oftime. In the case ofthe former, trans­ mission involves more than trading information, translation of texts, and the appropriation of new ideas. As a precondition of all the above, and as the basis for what was to come, a certain type ofnew understanding ofthe Significanceof one's religious life had to be inculcated. Indeed, the crucial THE TRAIN OF TRANSMISSION role ofthe master-adept relationship has stood at the center ofa whole series The study of the transmission of elements of culture, and their role in ofstudies ofthe social context ofmystical knowledge.' intellectual, religious, and other cultural change, may be carried out from In the following, I will restrict my analysis of this phenomenon to one various angles. Two in particular provide a salutary contrast to students of century and one cultural orbit, namely, thirteenth-century Spain. In this culture. On the one hand, there is translatio studiiJ the translation of the way I hope to be able to draw some preliminary distinctions in an area subject from one cultural sphere to another, one school of thought to an­ which is still a terra incognita in the study ofJewish : the concept other. In the case of religious change, elements are transferred from one ofesotericism, and the manner in which esoteric concepts have been trans­ to another and cause change so great as to generate the recogni­ mitted, or have been conceived to have been transmitted. tion that another religion has been produced or, in cases of lesser change, My primary concern is to examine the importance of one type oftrans­ generate syncretistic phenomena. In any case, transmission is viewed ab­ mission, that is, oral transmission, during the first generation of Span­ stractly, in a gross way; systems impinge on one another, interact and be­ ish kabbalists. Kabbalah, the major form of medieval , come transmuted. emerged in the thirteenth century and produced a large variety of volu­ On the other hand, cultural transmission and change may be viewed on minous documents that can be studied in some detail," In these documents the individual level, from the point ofview of personal contacts, studying the direct transmission ofesoteric lore is mentioned time and again. But my 14-1

concern here is not to prove the existence of earlier esoteric concepts or universally available, kabbalistic traditions are frequently intended to be techniques, transmitted orally before being reduced to written form in the secret, restricted to a few initiates or illuminati. Secret religious doctrine thitteenth century, important as such a subject may be for the history and becoming availableto the masses is deplorable; on the otherhand, scientific prehistory of Kabbalah. knowledge which is restricted to a few practitioners signifies a defect in its Here I am primarily concerned with how the kabbalists themselves dissemination. Closely tied to this concern is the matter of misinterpreta­ viewed the importance ofsuch transmission, and not, at least at this point, tion. Scientific misunderstanding does not incur the dangers attributed to with the actual rituals oftransmission, on the one hand, or the question of kabbalistic misapprehensions: heresy, disintegration of the receiver's per­ to whatextent these ideas mirrored the reality oftransmission. 3 Inshott, my sonality, madness. Kabbalistic secrets are after all"secrets ofthe ?' The concern is more with the rhetoric oftransmission, the image ofan esoteric nature ofGod, ofreality, of the , or even of history, as in eschatological tradition, than its actual praxis. I shall thus ignore the question ofthe actual matters - all of these matters affect the initiate's understanding of sacred transmission of esoterica in early kabbalistic circles," and concentrate my SCripture. attention onthe meaning ofsuch transmission in various kabbalistic schools In short, science attempts to confer structure to inchoate reality; tradi­ ofthe thirteenth century. tion, however, confers meaning to lore or praxis that has already been In order to highlight the unique character of this transmission, I will fraught with meaning. Transmission, or the imaginary construction of such briefly compare some aspects of it to what transpires in modem scientific transmission, is a major means by which Jewish thinkers have linked the ex­ endeavor. Though these two areas of knowledge are radically different in ternal face of , chiefly,its ritualistic side, to its more inward aspects. terms ofboththe object ofresearch and the methodologies adopted to carry The importance ofthe concept of oral transmission and has forth that study, they are structurally similar in ways vital to both, and a a long and vital history in . Its importance in kabbalistic comparative approach similar to that proposed by Henri Atlan, may be of writings and thought merely carries on and perhaps intensifies that impor­ real benefit.5 tance. It may be worthwhile to delineate, briefly, some of the precedents Transmission ofbothreligious and scientificknowledge involves a learned which influenced the early kabbalists in their regard for the importance of Informant, the Content of the information, the process of Transmission oral tradition. itself, and last but not least, the Recipient." First, a kabbalist instructs his a. From its beginning, rabbinic Judaism held to primacy of its oral disciple, an actwhich at times has the character ofan initiation rite. Likewise, tradition, the "Oral Torah?' Its formative compilations, the Mish­ ascholar may informhis graduate students, or assistants, or colleagues, ofhis nah, the and various midrashic collections had their genesis recent findings. This takes place in a special environment, a symposium or a in the work of small study-circles whose traditions were passed on conference, involving highly ritualized forms ofdiscourse. orally.The restricted orality ofthese groups is reflected in the group Despite these surface correspondences, the differences between the two study ofthe early kabbalists. realms are profound. The kabbalist or religious teacher wishes to impart b. Oral transmission was thus both reliable and authoritative. Since sacred knowledge, with a clear realization of the transfonnative effect of religious traditions cannot be empirically verified, or duplicated for such knowledge onthe psyche ofhis studentor colleague. Insome kabbalis­ testing purposes, the identity of the Informant is almost as impor­ tic circlesthe imparting ofthe sacred, esoteric tradition establishes a bound­ tant as the content oftradition. While experiential kabbalistic lore, ary between initiates and outsiders; in some cases this involves the line as described below, depends more on repetition and praxis than on between and gentiles as well.7 explanation, religious esotericism is much more fideistic and experi­ Thus, while scientific information is, at least in theory, intended to be mental than other religious knowledge. c. Last but not least, the view that some religious knowledge, especially not least, . It is the latter who is portrayed as the prototype of both theological knowledge, must only be transmitted orally is al­ Recipient andInformantofsecret lore. Thus, kabbalistic teachings are often ready explicit in earlier rabbinic texts; indeed, this view inspired depicted as stemming from "the mouth ofMoses?' some ofthe kabbalists as well as , as in his Guide ofthe In conceptual transmission, as defined above, primordial knowledge has Perplexed.8 its own importance, quite independent of the importance of the current Informant; it must be accepted as authoritative, and must be perpetuated, because ofthe identity ofits original Informant- the initiatorofthe human CONCEPTUAL TRANSMISSION chain, behindwhom stands divine authority. Thecurrent Informantis more In this section I will attempt to uncover the differences between the a vessel for transmission than a creatorofesoteric lore. transmission of religious concepts, on the one hand, and that ofmodes of On the other hand, in those types ofesotericism or mysticism which are behavior and esoteric techniques, which are often transmitted mimetically," more experiential, and consist more of the knowledge of techniques for In the lattercase, a great deal ofemphasis is put on the identity and psycho­ inducing mystical experiences, the authority of the Informant, original or logical makeup ofthe Recipient, as well as the identity and authority ofthe current, is reduced, indeed, often drastically diminished, since the Recipient Informant. In this context, the mode ofTransmission serves, along with the may reproduce the experience. authorityofthe Informant, to ensure the religious validity ofthe Contentof Let me exemplify these two types oftransmission by means oftwo quotes the tradition. While some aspects ofthese pertain to scientific discourse as ftom a kabbalistic text composed by a thirteenth-century kabbalist, the well, the essential concern there is with the correctness of the information Castilian R. b. ha-. One deals with the reliability of an ttansmitted; the identity of the Informant and Recipient are of secondary experiential issue, the efficacyofmagic; the otherwith esoteric loreper se. importance. But beyond its informational value, religious traditions have According to the Kabbalah that was transmitted to the masters ofthis another dimension, which scientific data do not; religious doctrines so wisdom from the mouths of the ancient sages: We have known that transmitted must be congruent with the general outlook of the particular indeed R. Sherira and R. Hai,1O blessed be their memory, were compe­ religion concerned, and/or the worldview of the Informant. Moreover, it tent in and received this science'! as a tradition transmitted in their must be perceived as religiously Significant to the Recipient. hands, master from the mouth of master, and sage (zaqen) from the There is yet another aspect of the transmission of esoterica which does mouth ofsage, a gaonfrom the mouth ofa gaon.P and all ofthem have not occur in other realms, even non-esoteric religious ones. At some level, used the magical practices of Hekhalot Zutartei namely, the Shim­ an esoteric tradition must partake ofthe recalling of a certain aspect ofthe J musha de-Shedei in orderto climb the ladderofprophecies and powers primordial , a fragment of knowledge which reverberates in the J by means ofit. 13 very soul ofthe Recipient. Antiquity, which is not only irrelevant to scien­ tific exchange, but positively deleterious to the status of the information Elsewhere in the same treatise it is said that a certain esoteric topic imparted, enhances the tradition's authority in a religious context. Indeed, is transmitted in the nameofthe ancient sages who made magical use of novelty rather than antiquity is desired; the antiqui have long since lost out Shimmusha de-Hekhalei Zutartei and Shimmusha de-Shedei and it is to the moderni. J ladder by which they attained degrees ofprophecy and its powers.tt The authority ofthe Informant is derived from that ofthe founder ofthe religion, tradition, sect, or school; in the case of kabbalah, however, there It should be emphasized that these quotes both assume that the ancient are a number ofcandidates for this position: Adam, , and, last but masters indeed practiced both magical and mystical-here designated as I44 Mosheldel Transmission in Thirteenth-CenturyKabbalah I4S

"prophetical"- kabbalah. But- and this is crucial for the point I wish to the concepts or praxis of this allegedly ancient kabbalistic lore. Though make - despite R. Isaac's insistence on the importance ofthe chain oftradi­ Nahmanides does notmention ancient books to underscore the antiquity of tion he cites, the text has little if at all to do with the actual practice of a his kabbalistic knowledge, he does describe Moses as the single source for thirteenth-century kabbalist, at least in the way described. In other words, authoritative esoteric lore. thegrandeurofthe ancients, their unquestioned religious authority, is made It must be emphasized that although oral transmission is a prerequisite to confer an aura of holiness on the kabbalah as sublime lore; kabbalistic for understanding kabbalistic doctrine, this is not Nahmanides' sole re­ texts which promote this image are less concerned with the actual kabbalis­ quirement. Clearly, not everything which is transmitted orally constitutes tic praxis as such, at least as far as the kabbalist depicts himself in his own part ofkabbalistic teaching and esoteric discipline. Atleast one other aspect writings. The reliance on the achievements of the ancients as mystics and of the transmitted lore is essential: it must be related to hints concerning magicians was essential in order to foster the status of nascent medieval topics inherent in theTorah. In otherwords, the oral tradition must address kabbalah. It is this search for authority, more than anything else, including issues explicit or implicit in canonical writings. This is apparent from an­ its specific contents, that counts in these contexts. other ofN ahmanides' assertions. Let me adduce another text to illustrate my point, this one from one of the paragons ofmedieval Judaism, as well as one ofthe earliest promoters of Indeed, this matter contains a great secret ofthe secrets of the Torah, mystical lore, R. Moshe b. Nahman, Nahmanides. In his introduction, he which cannot be comprehended by the understanding ofa thinker, but warns the reader ofhis Commentary on the Torah ofthe futility ofattempt­ [only] by a man who acquires it, learning [it] from the mouth of a ing to understand this mystical lore, unless he has first been initiated into it reacher," going back to our master Moses, [who received it] from the 18 by a master. mouth ofthe Lord, blessed be He.

I adjure all who look into this book not to reason or entertain any It should be noted that here, unlike in the previous text, the emphasis is on thought concerning any ofthe mystical hints which I record regarding the Informant, while the qualities ofthe Recipient are not mentioned at all. the hidden matters ofthe Torah, for I do hereby firmly make known to In yet another text, his SermononEcclesiastes, Nahmanides declares that him that my words will not be comprehended nor understood at all by These issues'? and others like them cannot be understood properly in any means of reasoning or contemplation, unless [the one seeking to any essential way from one's own reason-" but by means ofkabbalah. understand such lore has received it] from the mouth of a discerning This issue is explained in theTorahto whomeverhas heard the meaning kabbalist [speaking] into the ear of an understanding recipient. Rea­ ofthe commandmentby kabbalah, as is proper- a receiver [meqabbel] soning about [such doctrines] is foolish; any irrelevant thought can from the mouth of [another] receiver,21 [going back] to our master cause much damage, without any [corresponding] benefit. IS Moses, [who received it] from the mouth ofthe Lord.P

Nahmanides stresses the need to receive the interpretation ofhis kabbalistic We may infer that, according to N ahmanides' rhetorical strategy,23and in hints from an expert master;16 otherwise, speculation as to their meaning my opinion, so too in his practice, esoteric issues included under the rubric will be damaging. Though different from the claims ofR. Isaac ha-Kohen, of"kabbalah" must be transmitted orally.24 However, it is importantto note who enlisted the titles of ancient books and extreme practices, such as that at times Nahmanides alludes to some theosophical doctrines, including magic and prophecy, in order to enhance the knowledge he was to impart, his explicit naming of the , without alluding to the fact that he is Nahmanides' argument is nevertheless based upon the same affirmation of revealing some esoteric lore. 2s In otherwords, it may be that the theosophi­ antiquity, without, at the same time, providing detailed information about cal content which serves modem scholarship as the principal criterion for 14-0 .iVl.05YJe iue:

the definition ofthis kind ofmystical lore did not serve Nahmanides in the In contrast to Nahmanides, however, all ofthese kabbalists are represen­ same way - it did not necessarily serve to demarcate the realm ofkabbalah. tatives of a distinct type: none ofthem, as far as I know, was an important It should also be noted that Nahrnanides has no other option than to halakhic authority, and none ofthem played a leading, or even important, declare Moses as the original human Informant; he alone is mentioned in role in the internal affairs of their respective communities. Moreover, de­ the quotes presentedabove. Moreover, his role is the one implied in another spite their achievements as kabbalists, it is far from clear whether they ever importantdiscussion, namely, N ahmanides' disquisition, such as it is, ofthe produced, orwere capable ofproducing, in-depth orwide-ranginglegalistic location of the supernal palaces, the heikhalot, orMa'aseh Merkal1ah. He studies." They mark the appearance ofa distinct, new type: the kabbalist. asserts that, despite the fact that he does notknow it, he assumes that"there These innovative kabbalists'" may well be described as members of a was an oral tradition which [extends to the time] when Ezekiel and Isaiah "secondary elite:' namely, educated individuals who were uncomfortable came and linked it [to the biblical text] :'26 with the more "mainstream" intellectual stance into which they had been This emphasis on the central role of orality for the transmission of kab­ educated, and were in more or-less continuous search of new types of balistic information seems to be the result oftwo different considerations. thought. Maimonidean philosophy most often constituted their starting One is the actual practice in the circle of Nahmanides.F the other is the points; less common was an involvement with the views ofNahmanides, conscious attemptofthe main halakhic elite ofCatalonia- the primaryelite The restless intellectual search which marked them stands in sharp con­ in thirteenth-centurykabbalah- to keep to itself the "secrets ofthe law."28 It trast to the role played by their contemporaries and seniors, the "primary is noteworthy that Nahmanides does not mention a term found in Jewish elite" of Catalonia and Castile, who managed to combine the roles of esoteric, and even talmudic, texts: roshei peraqim, "chapter headings:' authoritative halakhic authority and kabbalist. Nahmanides in Gerona, namely, general hints, or perhaps some principles concerning esoteric is­ R. Shelomo ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba) in Barcelonaj" R. Moses sues.29 His reluctance to employ, or his decision to marginalize, such an ben Simeon of Burgos, and R. Todros ben Joseph 'ha-Levi Abulafia in important term in this context reflects Nahmanides' view that kabbalistic Toledo were all accomplished kabbalists who were also active either as social lore should be transmitted or, more precisely, reproduced, in a faithful leaders or halakhic authorities; in all these cases there is no evidence of an manner and without elaboration.30 interest in systematic kabbalistic hermeneutics. In my opinion, this distinction between the two groups is highly signifi­ cantfor a properunderstanding ofkabbalistic conceptions ofthe nature and TRANSMISSION OR EXEGESIS role ofhermeneutics. On the one hand, we have a secondary elite strongly The last third of the thirteenth century saw the emergence of highly interested in the presentation of hermeneutic systems, and on the other, a elaborate kabbalistic systems. Some fourfold exegetical systems, such as primary elite which is not. The interests of the secondary elite mark the those ofIsaac ibn Latif,Joseph Gikatilla, Moses de Leon, the and the manner in which these kabbalists define their subject. Abraham Abulafia, Tiqqunei Zohar, and that ofBahiya ibn Bahya, on the one hand." and that for example, enumerates the three principles ofKabbalah as follows: ofAbraham Abulafia, on the other, is evidence for the period's deep interest ... letters, combinations [ofletters] and vowels....36 Their acronym is in hermeneutics, a much deeper and broader interest than before. Other 'AZN, whichcan be permutatedasTw'N. ...Thepermutationcontrols writers on Kabbalah- R. Joseph of Hamadan, late in the century, and the letters, the vowels control the permutation, and the spirit ofman, R. Isaac ben Samuel ofAcre, at the beginning ofthe next - show a strong given by God, controls the vowels until they cause the emergence and interest in exegetical methods, though not in all aspects ofthe hermeneutic illumination ofthe concept proper-" [for any] intelligent kabbilist.38 enterprise, nor as systematic an interest.32 According to otherkabbalists in Abulafia's circle, Kabbalah is defined not by The emergence of the fourfold exegetical system, at the end of the thir­ specific doctrines but by its linguistic methods. Among these weregema­ teenth century, is an essential ingredient of the nascent innovative Kab­ tria, notarikon, temurot, that is, the permutation of Hebrew letters; their balah. Historically considered, this connection is of vital Imporrance.v acronym, GiNaT, "the Garden of [the Nut];39 often serves as a metaphor Transmission has been reduced to handing down certain methods, exeget­ for mystical speculanons.w Both Abulafia's emphasis on language and the ical or technical, much more than instruction into doctrine or theory. It is various mechanical permutations of its elements, and his acquaintances' for this reason that the contents of N ahmanides' mystical tradition could emphasis on the more formal aspects oftextual manipulation, involve facile continue to constitute a distinct kabbalistic school which was perpetuated manipulation oftexts more than the interplay ofesoteric concepts, which in orally and in secret for at least three generations after his demise. This the past constituted and would later constitute the inner religious core of cannot be said of any of the systems of innovative Kabbalah ofhis juniors canonic kabbalistic writings. Though Abulafia was insistent, as were other and those ofthe next generation. kabbalists, on the importance of maintaining the esotericism of mystical knowledge, he is also aware ofhis own tendency to reveal it rather than to TRANSMISSION OF METHODS AND EXPERIENCE withhold it. Thus, he declares, in a rare example of conscious kabbalistic exotericism: Speaking abstractly, it may seem that tradition and experience stand at loggerheads, ascompeting methods ofacquiring esoteric knowledge. Given Though I know that there are many kabbalists who are not perfect [in the veneration with which tradition was endowed by the kabbalists them­ their knowledge], and think that withholding a secret doctrine [testi­ selves, the mystical insights achieved by experiential methods could easily fies] to their perfection [in this science], I care neither about their be overcome by traditional doctrines, even obliterating such knowledge. thought nor of their condemning me for disclosing [these secrets], Indeed, the question ofthe extent to which mystical experiences themselves since my view on this matter is very different from, and even in direct are shaped and determined by tradition, or alternately, have a status in­ contrastto, their own.v dependent of it, is part of an ongoing controversy in some academic cir­ Immediately after this declaration, Abulafia discloses his view that cles.44 However, since tradition as construed in that debate has a more Ma'asehMerkavah, the Account of the Chariot- one of the most impor­ general sense than that which forms the essential center of this paper­ tant esoteric topics in Jewish mysticism, and one which has strong rabbinic the matter of oral transmission, I will not advert to that general debate. supportfor its esoteric nature- should be understood neither as a visionary Rather, I shall focus my short discussion on the question of the status of experience, nor as an allegory for metaphysics, as in Maimonides, but as a experientially derived esoteric knowledge in the view of a few thirteenth­ matter ofletter permutations ofdivine names. It is thus not a doctrine, but century kabbalists. According to a treatise belonging to the realm ofecstatic an interpretative technique, and perhaps also amystical rechnlque.v Kabbalah: In sum, the various hermeneutic systems devised by late thirteenth­ The essence of this issue cannot be conceptualized, ex definitio, nor century kabbalists were deemed to extract new kabbalistic doctrines, or to discussed orally, and even less in written form; for this reason it forms elaborate upon existing doctrines, from Scripture. This type of Kabbalah, part of what is called Kabbalah, or "chapter headings,"45 namely, the with its emphasis on innovation, constituted a considerable departure from principles [of this knowledge].46 [This is because] the meaning [of the dominantperceptionofKabbalah as an ancient, precious fund ofesoteric these chapter headings] depends upon the [ability] ofthe recipient to lore, whichconsisted ofcertain concepts orexplanations ofcertain aspects of [understandit] in detail and [thus] divest [his soul from corporeality] Scripture, and which must be transmitted and preserved without change. 1ransmtsswn m 1 J:JtrteentJ:J-Century KaIJIJataJ:J lSI

and [then] delight. The Kabbalah is transmitted only [by means of] books called sifreiQabbalah, composed by the ancient sages, the kab­ "chapterheadings."47 balists, blessed be their memory, concerning the[se] wondrous mat­ ters,50 [together] with other [traditions] bestowed on me by God, Thus, the impossibility of transmitting the content of the Kabbalah in blessed be He, which came to me from ThY51 in the form of the detail, and the consequent transmission ofonlythe general principles, tends to devalue the importance ofdetailed kabbalistic doctrine, since the details "daughter of the voice:'52 these being the higher qabbalot [qabbalot elyonot] .53 willbe shaped by each andevery recipient according to his own understand­ ing. The experiential methods of acquiring such knowledge thus become This is one ofthe few instances in which Abulafia explicitly mentions his primary. The issue of delight and sweetness recurs several times in this reception of oral traditions from some masters. Only in one other case, treatise, and the author's assumption is that such knowledge is acquired when speaking ofthe esoteric traditions concerningthe secrets contained in experientially, and not dialectically. The emphasis is thus not on ratiocina­ Maimonides' Guide,that Abulafia again mentions an oral tradition.54 Aswe tion but on practical techniques for obtaining such lore. The anonymous have seen, he attributes a relatively low status to such orally transmitted kabbalist confesses that after his rather modest philosophical studies he lore. This is again demonstrated, thoughindirecdy, in an earlier workofhis, has encountered: where he defines the mevin, "the one who understands," as being higher a divine man, a kabbalist, who taught me the path of Kabbalah by than the J,akham, who receives his knowledge from books. "chapter headings." Despite my little knowledge of natural science, it Ifhe obtains it from the Kabbalah, that is, from one who has himself [ = the path of Kabbalah] seemed to me invalid [from a philosophic obtained it from the contemplation ofthe Divine Names or from an­ point of view], [but] my master said to me: "My son, why do you other kabbalist." he is called a mevin.56 reject an issue you have not experienced? Indeed, it would be worth­ while to experience it."48 Higher still is the da'atan, the "one who knows:' who received the content of esoteric knowledge from his own understanding. And still higher is the This emphasis on experiment andexperience is not unique to this kabbalist. rav, "the master," who has received his knowledge as a revelation from the R. Abraham Abulafia, who may be none other than the "divine man" men­ divine intellect. Thus, for an ecstatic kabbalist, orally received traditions tioned in the passage just cited, notes in one of his writings that the study are far lower in rank than those received from the "mouth of the Agent of mystical texts on his part did not induce mystical experiences in him; Intellect?' rather, it was onlywhen he received a revelation that his approach to mysti­ Indeed, the very resort to the metaphor ofthe "mouth" for the relation of cal texts, among them the two most important mystical sources for Abula­ the human to the cosmic intellect is very significant, because it transposes fia, SeferYetsirah and Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed, become more the image of transmission here below, viz., the horizontal, to a vertical, experiential.s? namely, the mystic's connection with the divine world by means of the In a passage from his Seferha-ijesheq, Abulafia classifies orally transmit­ intellect.57 Moreover, Abulafia's use ofthis metaphor may indicate that the ted kabbalistic traditions as the lowest form ofKabbalah. Agent Intellect was conceived of as a master, or even the masterpar excel­ In order to understand my intention regarding [the meaning of] the lence, in the manner in which Hindu mystics conceived of theguru as a cosmic power.58 This emphasis on the supernal spiritual source ofthe Kab­ qolot [voices], I shall hand down to you the well-known qabbalot, balah, in lieu ofthe more concrete flesh and blood teacher in Nahmanides, some ofthem [which have been] received from mouth to mouth from is just one of the differences between the conservative Kabbalah of the the sages of [our] generation, and others that I have received from the 152 MOSl1elaet 1. T"7"7'U~~W71 In 1. TJJneen~fJ-~en~ury A1U7fJatal1 153

Geronese master and the innovative Kabbalah as envisaged by Abulafia. While the image thatNahmanides wishes to project is thatofa reliable trans­ Revelation is not only the prerogative of the ancient masters, especially mitter ofesoteric traditions, as in the texts from his writings quoted above, Moses, as Nabmanides and his school would maintain, but also of the Abulafia would have been pleased to have been viewed as a recipient of medieval mystics, whose contemporaneous may be assigned to kabbalistic lore by means of divine revelation. Nahmanides' perception of an even higher plane than that ofthe ancient masters. 59 Kabbalah returns to the founding experience ofMoses in the glorious past, The passage quoted above is based upon two distinct approaches: the with Kabbalah constituting the essential reverberation in the present ofthis ancient Jewish one, found in the , whereby esoteric lore is transmit­ formative experience. ForAbulafia, however, this humanly transmitted lore ted only to one who is wise, J,akham, and understanding, mevin, and fur­ isa lowerform ofknowledge, whichcan and shouldbe transcended by resort ther, whose understanding is mi-da'ato, on his own, by his own mind.60 to higher forms of revelations in the glorious present, directly from the However, Abulafia has broken what are two talmudic phrases, J,akham, and source ofall knowledge, the Agent Intellect, and thus ultimately from God. mevin mi-da'ato, "onewho understands on his own:' into three, and further This latter form ofrevelation presents the recipient withdetailedknowledge attributed different meanings to each of the three, as though they signify ofesoterica, while thatwhich comes by tradition involves only the "chapter three distinct activities. These activities are further connected to the well­ headings." Abulafia wished to short-circuit the chain ofhuman transmission known distinction between acts performed in writing, those done orally, by establishing direct contact with the spiritual source. For him, the past is and purely mental endeavor, a division which is crucial for the propercarry­ significant onlyinsofar asit provides techniques which shortenthe way to the ing outofAbulafia's mystical techniques." Now, just as the mevin is greater divine, rather than certain fixed doctrines to be passively accepted and then than the J,akham, and the da'atan greater than both, so too are oral recita­ transmitted. His concern is with the present and immediate future. tions of the Divine Names and the written permutations of the letters in­ In sum, the role of the authoritative master who is expert in certain ferior to their inner, mental pronunciations.s- esoteric concepts, and was esteemed most highly by the primary elite - as Abulafia also mentions, as in the second passage quoted above, that he was N ahmanides - becomes ofmuch less moment within the value system has received traditions orally from "the mouths of the sages of his genera­ ofthe secondary elite. Members ofthat elite are concerned with the exam­ tion?'63Thus, though such traditions do playa role in Abulafia's Kabbalah, ination and preparation of future recipients, and the fostering of mystical it has only a limited one, and is oflower degree than Abulafia's own discov­ techniques which open the way to new revelations. eries, or revelations. Oral teachings provide him with the techniques for With the emphasis transferred to the future and future practitioners ofthe attaining mystical experiences, and not, as in N ahmanides, the passing kabbalistic arts, it is no wonderthatwe knowso very little aboutthe masters along ofsubstantive esoteric lore. The master, who plays an important role of the secondary elite, kabbalists such as Isaac ibn Latif, Joseph Gikatilla, in Abulafia's system, serves primarily as an external catalyst, a fairly limited Moses de Leon, Joseph of Hamadan, and Abraham Abulafia; indeed, in function.s" most cases their very names are unknown to modem scholarship- only Elsewhere, Abulafia describes Kabbalah as follows: their treatises remain, their authors anonymous. In the case ofthe concep­ tual Kabbalah, where the Informants, the masters, were all-important, we The purpose intended by the ways ofthe Kabbalalr" is the reception of know much more; we can trace their identities. R. Yehudah ben Yaqar, the prophetic, divine and intellectual influx from God, blessed be He, Nahmanides, R. Shlomo ibn Adret, R. Shem Tov ibn Gaon, R. Meiribn Avi by means of the Agent Intellect, and causing the descent of blessing, Sahulah, and R. Yom Tov Ishbili share the more conservative form ofKab­ and providing, by means ofthe [Divine] Name, for the individual and balah, which has been handed down from master to disciple for approx­ the community.66 imately a century and a half. While this conceptual Kabbalah is concerned JJ+ ISS with reconstructing the vestiges ofthose primordial experiences, by study­ lore, known as Kabbalah, is impossible to transmit in toto orally, nor ing and preserving the remnants ofthe secret tradition transmitred by God even in written form, even for thousands ofyears. And no matter how to Moses, the exemplary recipient ofrevelation, the kabbalists ofthe inno­ great the kabbalist's interpretive effort, everything [remains but] a hint vative, secondary elite, were more concerned with their own mystical expe­ and "chapter heading?'68 riences, or the avenues open to the realization of such experiences, namely, The emphasis upon the application ofintellectual understanding in order mystical techniques. to understand kabbalistic lore is a unique feature ofthis text, which on the In sum, while Nahmanides and his school primarily functioned as cura­ other hand criticizes philosophy as being too scholastic, and transmitting tors of esoteric lore, Abulafia, like some of the other innovative kabbalists knowledge without advancing it by an innovative approach. In a Platonic such as Gikatilla and de Leon, should be envisaged as "artists" ofKabbalah, vein, Kabbalah is conceived of as an invitation to decode, elaborate, and who transformed it into an art rather than a store oftraditional teachings. expand - rather than merely reproduce and repeat. The very resort to "chapter headings;' namely, the principles that are, by definition, them­ PARTICULAR VERSUS UNIVERSAL TRANSMISSION selvesstarting points rather than final statements, is quite representative of ecstatic Kabbalah. The recourse to philosophic methods, despite the ecstatic The shift from conceptual to technical transmission caused an important kabbalists' critique ofit, may beunderstood as the synthesis ofthe individ­ change in the very nature ofthe kabbalist's relation to SCripture.The more ual strand of the linguistic Kabbalah, which apparently preceded it, and conservative conceptual transmission was deeply related to the text, that is, neo-Aristotelian philosophy, especiallythat devised by Maimonides, which it exploited many ofthe idiosyncratic qualities of the Hebrew text, and was is part of the more general Jewish intellectual tradition imbibed by these closelyconcerned with its eschatological and ritual content. kabbalists. This is Abraham Abulafia's major contribution, as an ardent Technicaltransmission, on the otherhand, was much freer in its handling student, teacher and commentatorofMaimonides' Guide, butone who was of the text, since its reductionistic use of letter-permutations allowed the also profoundly influenced by the traditions associated with the linguistic same methods of interpretation to beemployed in any passage, no matter techniques ofSefer Yetsirah and the Ashkenazi Hasidim. what the ostensible content might be. A gifted kabbalist may manipulate the Let us return to the "chapter headings" themselves; Abulafia himself text, employing the more general hermeneutic either for exegetical pur­ writes in one ofhis epistles that poses, or to attain mystical experiences. Of course, as noted above, the emphasis on method over detail revolu­ Despite the fact that Kabbalah is transmitted to all the illuminati in tionized the very concept of Kabbalah. Let us examine two more passages general, not every listener and receiver is able to actualize it. [This is] dealing with the importance of "chapter headings" from the works of ec­ because what is transmitted from it are but "chapter headings" [and static kabbalists, one from a follower ofAbulafia, and one from the master intended only for] those who are wise, understanding and "from their himself. Let us begin with an excerpt from Sefer ha-Tseruf, by an anony­ own knowledge?'69 mous disciple. Kabbalah thus became, in many circles, a much more open-ended theory, Whatever is transmitted concerning this lore [merely, constitutes] whose contents may vary, become enriched and also reflect, to a certain "chapter headings;' and requires intellect [to understand]. [That is extent, the personality and concerns of the kabbalist, as much as the na­ why] it is called "intellectual Kabbalah.w and is unlike other sciences, ture of the religious tradition from within which it had emerged. The in­ that is, the propadeutic ones, which are transmitted alone.... But this troduction in this context of the Aristotelian epistemological concept of 150 .iVl.U5rJl: 1.un IS7

"actualization" is particularly significant, and is crucial for understanding of thatesoteric traditions must be transmitted onlygradually. In the case ofthe the relationship between philosophy and Kabbalah in Abulafia's thought: Nahmanides' school, some secret topics are not to be revealed before the Kabbalah is a type of information in potentia, which is intended to be recipient reaches the age offorty, and even then, as we might have expected, actualized by the recipient. Given the medieval valuation ofmatters in aetu they are to be transmitted orally, so as to maintain their secrecy," a policy over those merely in potentia, there can be no doubt that Abulafia consid­ not only reasonable in itself, but one which has strong support in rabbinic ered his elaborations of the traditional "chapter headings" to have been of tradition, to the effect that some issues should not be revealed until late in higher standing. We can easily understand why Abulafia considered these the program of studies.'? This is made explicit in Abulafia's Sefer Shomer elaborations inevitable. The ecstatic kabbalist would receive the proper in­ Mitsvah: terpretive methods by oral transmission, and then employ them to achieve The kabbalist may not reveal [kabbalistic secrets] and explain them in either a state of heightened consciousness or kabbalistic interpretation of writing, but he should disclose one handsbreadth while covering two. scriptural texts. But when [the kabbalist encounters] a person who is prepared and Let me adduce one more quote that emphasizes the great importance worthy ofhaving [these secrets] revealed to him orally, he should first given the preparation ofthe recipient: reveal two handsbreadth while covering one. And if [the recipient] Thesecrets oftheTorah, the secrets ofreality and the foundations ofthe will receive it, and really desire to complete what he has begun, some commandments, are only transmitted orally, face to face, from a perfect topics may be revealed, in accordance with [the recipient's] capacity to person to someone who merits receiving perfection, [but only] after receive them; these [topics] should not be hidden from him, though testing and trial [regarding his] intention, that is, [that of] the recip­ they are, by nature, hidden and occult and essentially concealed.P ient: ifhe is meritorious, it is right to transmit [them] to him, ornot.70 Elsewhere in the same treatise we learn that: It should be noted that the many quotes from Abulafia's Sefer Shomer Despite the fact that wondrous secrets'" emerge out oftheir numbers Mitsvah adduced here in the context ofour discussion ofmatters oftrans­ [gematriot] , these secrets" shouldbe taughtonlyorally, andonly after mission are not accidental; they are not the result ofmy decision to disinter much labor concerning the essence of the paths of Kabbalah, so that this forgotten treatise. In my opinion, the question ofthe proper methods the knowledge of truth should not be given to the recipient in a ran­ of transmission was central to the subject of this work, because it is dedi­ dom manner. But it is necessary that at the beginning he should put cated to one ofAbulafia's own students, R. Shlomo ben Moshe ha-Kohen, forth great efforts to [follow] the ways and paths ofKabbalah, which who left Sicily, apparently in order to return to his native . The are the ways which open to gates ofthe heart, in order to understand occasion ofAbulafia's composition ofthis treatise may explain his emphasis the truth. Whoever wishes to enter the depths'" oftruth, according to on the lower status of written, as opposed to oral, transmission. In other the Kabbalah, must at the beginning lay the foundations of wisdom cases, where it is Abulafia who left his students, and dedicated works to and understanding within his heart,"? them, we do not find this emphasis. The disclosure ofthe seventh and most advanced hermeneutical method is conditioned by Abulafia on the priororal reception ofthe knowledge ofthe GRADUAL TRANSMISSION Divine Names of42 and 72 letters, together with the transmission of"some Both conceptual and technical transmission take into consideration the traditions, even 'chapter headings? "78 Moreover, the emphasis on the im­ spiritual development ofthe recipient. Despite their differences, both agree portance ofsystematic study, including, it would seem, oral instruction and lJlI 159 technical exercises, which are mentioned in some ofAbulafia's writings and tury, as can be seen from the writings of R. Yobanan Alemanno- the eso­ those of his followers, assumes that these are more pertinent than more teric features of Spanish Kabbalah have been dramatically reduced. In the conventional religious behavior to the attainment of an understanding of case ofthe latter, this attenuation is not only a consequence ofhis study of kabbalistic secrets. Again, the end ofthis statement may imply the necessity kabbalistic texts without a teacher, but also ofhis sustained effort to offer a of philosophical study as an important step in the drive to attain such un­ philosophical interpretation ofthis lore, which generally encourages a more derstanding. Abulafia believed that philosophy- in particular that ofMai­ universalistic approach. Indeed, this approach is evident as late as the begin­ monides - can help in purifying some central theological concepts which ning ofthe seventeenth century.F? are generally misunderstood by some readers of the . His kabbalistic The ascent ofa rhetoric oftransmission is evident in the views ofR. Isaac approach therefore emphasizes a gradual intellectual and spiritual develop­ Luria, at least as represented by R. Hayyim Vital, and represents a much ment, culminating in a deeper penetration ofthe secrets ofthe Torah rather more exclusivistic view of such transmission.s" On the other hand, the than in cultivating the development of an elite into which the student will Christian kabbalists, who were inclined to accept claims of an ancient ped­ aspire to assimilate himselfin terms ofethos and behavior. igree for the object of their interest, were also more inclined to accept the authenticity of rather innovative kabbalistic texts.81 This is true also of R. Abraham Cohen Herrera, an early seventeenth-centuryAmsterdam kab­ LATER REPERCUSSIONS balist; he repeatedly emphasizes the importance oforal tradition from mas­ The dualityofconservative/ conceptual andexperiential/innovative types ter to disciple, but at the same time he offers strongly philosophical inter­ ofKabbalah is a crucial feature ofthis lore during the latter part ofthe thir­ pretations, which were inspired by scholastic and Renaissance types, as well teenth century. Without a commonly held point ofview, kabbalistic works as by a variety of Jewish philosophic works.P The absorption by the de­ would diverge, and the project which began in the late twelfth century, to veloping Kabbalah of philosophical concepts, as well as the full-fledged offer kabbalistic teachings as an attractive alternative to philosophical specu­ philosophical interpretations of Kabbalah, are palpable examples of an at­ lation, would soon dissipate, However, with the decline ofecstatic Kabba­ tenuation of the role of transmission and of the influence of individual lah, andtheconsequentneglectofits emphasis onhermeneutic methods and masters; these forms ofKabbalah represent a plug-in to the macro-chains of experientialtechniques, theKabbalahwouldsoonafter its emergence lose its cultural transmission. inertia andyield only fragmentary systems, combiningdifferent proportions ofthe two trends, varied according to place andcircumstance. Nevertheless, NOTES with its variegated hues, the kabbalistic systems which survived and/or developed became more popular, moving from the elite to somewhat larger 1. See, e.g.,Abba, GuidestoWholeness and Holiness Eastand West, ed. John R. audiences, and also from the periphery to a more central position. Sommerfeld (Kalamazoo, Mich., 1982); Le Maitre Spirituel selon lestraditions A somewhatmore universalistic cast in innovative Kabbalah facilitated its dJOccident et dJOrient = Hermes, Nouvelle serie, no. 3 (1983), Direction spi­ rituelleetpsychologie (Les Etudes Carmelitaines, 1951); Jacques Vigne, Le maitre acceptance by later Jewish kabbalists, who studied its texts independently of et letherapeute (Paris, 1991). a master and a guiding tradition, and then by Christian kabbalists, especially 2. On the concept oftransmission in Ashkenazi esoteric literature see Daniel insofar as the hermeneutical facets ofKabbalah are concerned. Abrams, "The Literary Emergence ofEsotericism in German Pietism;' 12 With the movement ofSpanish Kabbalah to Italy at the end of the thir­ (1994),72-73; Elliot R. Wolfson, Througha Shining Light, (Princeton, 1994), teenth century, mainly by means of written documents - as evident from 234-247· the writings of R. Menahem Recanati, and at the end of the fifteenth cen- IOO IOI

3. See Joseph Dan, TheEsoteric Theology oftheAshkenaziHasidism (, 10. This seems to be partofthe imaginaireofthe thirteenth-centuryKabbalists, 1968),74-75 [Hebrew]; M. Idel, "Defining Kabbalah: The Kabbalah of the who attributed to these sages a knowledge ofKabbalah. Indeed, some texts found Divine Names," inMysticsoftheBook: Themes, Topics, & TYPology, ed. R. A. Her­ in Ashkenazi writings also attribute to this figure mystical topics. See Dan, The rera (NewYork, 1993), 100-I 02, aswellas Wolfson, ibid. Formore on esotericism Esoteric Theology, II, 124-128; Scholem, Origins, 322. ina fourteenth-century Kabbalistic text written in central Europe, see M. Idel, '%1 I I. I;Iokhmah, a term that can be translated here as lore. Anonymous Kabbalistic Commentary on Shirha-Yihud" (forthcoming) 12. This term designates a medieval religious leader in the early medieval Middle 4. See, e.g., the texts quoted by , OriginsoftheKabbalah, tr, East. A. Arkush, ed. R.J. Zwi Werblowsky (Princeton, 1987), 40-41, 226; on the 13· Sullam ha-nevu'ot ve-kohoteiah. R. Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen, Ma'amar Hasidei Ashkenaz genealogies oftransmission see Dan, TheEsoteric Theology, 14­ ha-'Atsilut ha-Smalit, ed. G. Scholem, Mada'ei ha-Yahadut (Jerusalem, 1927), 20, and Ivan G. Marcus, Pietyand Society, TheJewish PietistsofMedierJal Germany 2:90. (Leiden, 1980), 122 and 85. 14. Ibid., 98. compare also 82, 92, 98, 107, IIO. The term Kabbalah mesura 5. HenryAltan,A tortet a raison (Paris, 1986). occurs several times in his treatises; see pp. 93, 103, II1. Gershom Scholem, 6. Moreover, the whole process should be viewed in the broader perspective of Major TrendsinJewishMysticism (New York, 1967), 120. the culture, which may encourage, foster, ordiscourage oral transmission. In fact, 15· Ch, D. Chavel, tr., Commentary on the Torah (New York, 1971), 15-17. different types ofcultures would host in different ways, ifat all, the transmission For more on Nahmanides' esotericism see M. Idel, ''We Have No Kabbalistic phenomena. Tradition on This;' in RnJJbi Moses Nahmanides (Ramban): Explorations in His 7. The more particularistic approach of Spanish Kabbalah was sometimes at­ ReligiousandLiteraryVirtuosity, ed. 1.Twersky (Cambridge, Mass. 1983),51-73. tenuated or even obliterated in Italian Kabbalah. Abraham Abulafia taught this 16. Compare the text quoted from a responsum ofR. Hai Gaon and analysed in lore to Christians, and was prepared even to discuss it with the Pope. About this Idel, "Defining Kabbalah;' 101-102. dichotomy between the two forms of Kabbalah, see M. Idel, "Particularism and 17· See also above in the passage quoted from the preface to the Commentary on Universalism in Kabbalah, 1480-1650" in Essential Papers onJewish Culture in thePentateuch. Renaissance and Baroque Italy ed. D. Ruderman (New York, 1992) pp. 324-344. 18. The CommentaryonJob, in Kitvei ha-Ramban, ed. Ch. D. Chavel (Ieru- See alsoMarcus, Pietyand Society, 85. salem, 1964), 1:23. 8. See bI:Iag 13a; Gershom Scholem,Jewish Gnosticism, Mekavah Mysticism 19. Traditions related to the cosmic cycles,shemittahandyovel. and Talmudic Tradition (New York, 1960), 58; G.A. Wewers, Geheimnis und 20. mi-da'at 'atsmo. Geheimhaltung in rabbinischen Judentum (, 1975); and Morton Smith, 21. Compare the responsum of R. Hai Gaon, discussed in more detail in Idel, ClementofAlexandria and a Secret Gospel ofMark (Cambridge, Mass., 1973), s.v, "Defining Kabbalah;' 101-102. secret, secrecy; Alexander Altmann, "A Note on the Rabbinic Doctrine of Cre­ 22. Kitveiha-Ramban, I:190. ation;'JJS 6-7 (1955-1956): 195-206, M. Idel, "Secrecy, Binah and Derishah", in 23· See Elliot R. Wolfson, "By Way ofTmth: Aspects ofNahmanides' Kabbalis­ Secrecy and Concealment ed. H. Kippenberg and G. Stroumsa (Leiden, 1995). On tic Hermeneutic"AJSReview 14 (1989), 103-178. medieval views of oral transmission see , "The Contribution of 24. This assumption has some antecedents inearlier periodinthe Rabbinic texts. Italian Sages to " Italia Judaica, Atti del I Convegno inter­ See Wewers, Geheimnis und Geheimhaltung; Smith, Clement of Alexandria; nazionale-Barri, I8-22 maggio, I98I (Rome, 1983), 386-387. Gershom Scholem,Jewish Gnosticism, MerkabahMysticismand TalmudicTradi­ 9. The existence of the famous rabbinic concept and praxis ofshimmush tal­ tion (New York, 1960) 58. midei hakhamim, namely a life in the presence ofthe great sages, attending them 25· I assume that it would be better not to automatically identify any recourse to and learning thereby how to behave as well as having the student's personality theosophical terminology with the esoteric Kabbalah Nahmanides claimed that he impressed by that ofthe master, is relevant for ourdiscussion. does not reveal. This is an issue that is worthy ofa detailed treatment in itself IOZ. 103

26. Kitvei ha-RJr,mban, I: 163. 43· On the last quarter of the thirteenth century as one of the most creative 27. See M. Idel, "On the History ofthe Interdiction against the Study of Kab­ period ofKabbalah see Idel,Kabbalah:NewPerspectives, 2Il-212. balah before the Age ofForty:'AJS RePiew 5 (198o): Hebrew Section, 6-9. 44. See the three volumes of studies edited by Steven T. Katz, Mysticism and 28. See M. Idel, "Kabbalah and Elites in Thirteenth-Century Spain;'Mediterra­ ReligiousTraditions (Oxford, 1983), Mysticismand Philosophical Analysis (Ox­ neanHistorical RePiew 9 (1994),5-19. ford, 1978) and Mysticismand Language (Oxford, 1992) as well as the opposite 29. See bl:Iag 13a. stand as presented in the studies edited by Robert KC. Forman, The Problem of 30. Fora differentview of'Nahmanides, which assumes thathe indeedwas much PureConsciousness, Mysticismand Philosophy (Oxford, 1990). more ofan interpreterthanhis rhetoric wouldallow,see the abovementioned study 45·RJr,shei peraqim.This term will occur again in a passage from this book to be ofWolfson (note 23 above). quoted here below. 31. Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives (New Haven, 1988), 210-218; idem, 46.Ha-kelalim. See the view ofRavHai Gaon, Otsarha-, ed. B. Levin, ": Some Reflections on Kabbalistic Hermeneutics;' in loan Culianu Me­ Hagigah, p. 12; Scholem,Jewish Gnosticism, 58. morialVolume, ed. J. Collins andM. Fishbane (Albany, 1995), 245-264; Daniel 47·SeferSha'areTsedeq, ed. Y.E. Porush (Jerusalem, 1989),9. Matt, ''The Old-New Words: The Aura of Secrecy in the Zohar," in Gershom 48. Sha'arei Tsedeq, 23. For another view ofIewish esotericism in terms of an Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, so Years After, ed. P. Schafer and experiential event, the unionwith God, see theview ofthe mid-eighteenth-century J. Dan (Tiibingen, 1993), 181-208. _ Hasidic master Menahem Mendel ofPremiszlany, quoted and discussed in 32. See M. Idel, "Prometheus in a Hebrew Garb;' Eshkolot, New Series, 5-6 Idel, Kabbalah: NewPerspectives, 58. (1981), Il9-123 [Hebrew]. 49. Sbeva: Netivot ha-Torah, in Adolphe Iellinek, Philosophie und Kabbala 33. See Idel, "Kabbalah and Elites?' (Leipzig, 1854),21. 34. On this kabbalistic type, in opposition to the conservative Kabbalah, see 50. A list of ancient mystical books appears in a similar context in his epistle Idel, ''We Have No Kabbalistic Tradition on This"; and Kabbalah:New Perspec­ Sheva: Netivot ba-Torah, 21. tives, 212-213, and the study mentioned in the following footnote. 5I. In the manuscript: MHTY; it is possible that this is one ofthe many errors 35. See Moshe Idel, "Nahmanides: Kabbalah, Halakhah and Spiritual Leader­ of the copyist of this manuscript that is, unfortunately, a unique one. If so, we ship" (forthcoming); idem, "Kabbalah and Elites" (note 28 above). should read the sentence as follows: ''which came to me in the form ofBat Qol." 36. See also ShomerMitsvah, MS Paris BN 853, fo1. 78b. However, it is possible thatAbulafia alluded to the Greekform THY, namelyGod, 37.Tsiyyur; on this medieval concept see H.A. Wolfson, "TheTerms Tasawwur and thenMTHYwould mean"from God?'Abulafia uses the form THYVin order andTasdiq in Arabic Philosophy and TheirGreek, Latin and Hebrew Equivalents" to point to God already in his earlier SeferGet ha-Shemot; see Idel, Language, TheMoslemWorld (April, 1943), 1-15· Torah, and Hermeneutics, 24. 38. SeferI;Iayyei ha-'Olam ba-Be', MS Oxford 1582, fo1. 45b. See also M. Idel, 52. BatQol. See above at the beginning ofthis text the mentioning ofthe Qolot, Language,Torah, and Hermeneutics in Abraham Abulafta (Albany, 1989), 3-11. voices. It is also possible that the similarity between the sounds and written forms On the influence of this quote on R. Mordekhai Dato's description of R. Moses ofQolotand Qabbalotis also implied in the idea that traditions coming from above Cordovero's kabbalistic activity see Idel, Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah (Albany, are voices. 1989),137. 53. Compare to his epistle Sheva' Netivot ba-Torah 21, where he counts the 39. That is,ginat ~oz revelation from the Agent Intellect as higher than the secrets he learned from 40. See the discussions of this acronym in R. Barukh Togarmi and Joseph various esoteric books. C£ M. Idel, "Maimonides and Kabbalah:' in Studies in Gikatilla's early SeferGinnat 'Egoz. Maimonides, ed. I. Twersky (Cambridge, Mass., 1990), 57-58. 41. Sefer'Otser 'Eden Ganuz MS Oxford 1580, fo1. 55a. 54. See Idel, ibid., 58-59 and 69 n.90. On the superiorityoforal transmission to 42. More on this issue see Idel, "Ma 'aseh Merkavah" written documents, see Abraham Abulafia's view discussed in Idel, Language, IVIOSrJt; sae» 164 lransmission in Thirteenth-Century Kabbalah 165

Torah and H ermeneutics, 46-55. For the Renaissance misunderstanding of the &(Camenaisbs~ce" inJewish Thought in the Sixteenth Century ed B D Coo identity of Abulafia's master as Maimonides himself see Chaim Wirszubski, Pica ndge,Mass 1983) 186 "M ' '." pettnan toni d'" ,-242, ajor Currems" 345-368' "Kabbalah PI della Mirandola's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism (Cambridge, Mass., 1988), omsm an Pnsca Theologia: The Case ofMenasse "', ' a- Israeland hisWorld ed Y. Ka H M h h ben mMenasseh ben 87-88,91-98. 1 ," pan, . es oulan andR n kin ' 89) 55. Later on he mentions "a genuine Kabbalist" as the necessary source, in the 207- 219. '. rOp (Leiden, 19 vein ofNahmanides' first passage quoted above. So, See his introduction to SeferEts H' able Kabbalah ' ' aYYJm, where he declares that the reli- 56. According to the translation of Scholem, Major Trends, 137· The Hebrew was transIilltted only until Nahm ld Kabbalah, printed in Sha'ar ha-Gi/ I' (P' ,anI es; cf. Shevahlfokhmat ha- original has been printed there on p. 376 note 75· .r.gu Jm remiszlany 19 ) fi 1 d 57. See also The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafta, (Albany, 1987), 81. See Wirszubsky: PicodellaM' ' 75, o. 26c . , Jrandola, 198-200, 262-263 82. Cf. Alexander Altmann "Luri ic Kabbalah t • 180-184. , arne ah in a Platoni Ke Ab Cohen Herrera's Puerta del Cielo" HUCA I C .Y:, raham 58. Scholem,Major Trends, 140. 21-324. Myth andMetaphor (Hebrew) (T al 53 ( 982), 3 Nissirn Yosha, 59. Studiesin EcstaticKabbalah, 50-51. jerus em, 1994), 60. See bI:Iag 12a. On the various varia and analyses of this text see Halperin, TheMerkabah in Rabbinic Literature (New Haven, 198o), II- 12. 61. See Idel, TheMysticalExperience, 24-37· 62. Ibid., 20-21. 63. See Idel, "Maimonides and Kabbalah, 69 n. 128. 64. See Scholem,Major Trends, 137· 65. Described previously as transmitted themselves orally. See below. 66. Shomer Mitsvah, MS Paris BN 853, fo1. 48b. On this view of Kabba­ lah, which assumes both mystical and magical aspects, see my discussion of the mystico-magical model, as exposed in Hasidism: BetweenEcstasy and Magic (Al- bany, 1995). 67.Qabbalah sikhlit.This view, characteristic of some ofthe innovative Kabbal- ists, has been reiterated by several Kabbalists, especially in the periodofthe Renais­ sance and later on. See also below n. 78. 68. MS Paris BN 770, fo1. 175b. 69.Sheva'Netivot ha-Torah 12. 70. ShomerMitsvah, fo1. 7~b. 71. See Idel, "On the History;' 6-9· 72. yAZ2.8 73.ShomerMitsvah, fo1. 48b. 74. sodotnifta'ot. 75.sitreihem. 76. On this term in relation to secrecy see Idel, "Secrecy, Binah and Derishah. " 77. ShomerMitsvah, fo1. 78a. 78.Sheva'Netivot ha-Torah, 20. 79. M. Idel, "The Magical and Neoplatonic Interpretations of Kabbalah in the EDITED BY YAAKOV ELMAN

CONTRIBUTORS AND ISRAEL GERSHONI

IS RA EL BARTAL HebrewUniversity ofJerusalem TransmittingJewish Traditions: MALAC HI BE IT-ARI E HebrewUniversityof Jerusalem Orality) Textuality) and Y A A K 0 VELMAN YeshivaUniversity

DAPHNAEPH RAT Open University ofIsrael and Tel Aviv University Cultural Diffusion

IS RA ELGE RS H 0 N I TelAviv University

J E F F R E Y G R 0 SSM AN University ofVirginia

M 0 SHE IDE L Hebrew University ofJerusalem

MARTIN S. J AF FEE University ofWashington

PAUL MAN DEL Haifa University

MARC SAP E RSTE IN George Washington University

E LLI OT R. WO LF SON NewYork University

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