DOCSLIB.ORG

Estudio3.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Estudio3.Pdf Los primeros impresos hebreos de Sefarad (ca. 1475–1497?) Early Hebrew Printing in Sepharad (ca. 1475–1497?) SHImOn IakErSOn Instituto de manuscritos Orientales y Universidad Estatal, San Petersburgo Institute of Oriental manuscripts and State University, Saint Petersburg Yo siempre me había imaginado el paraíso I have always imagined that Paradise bajo la especie de una biblioteca. will be a kind of library. Otras personas piensan en un jardín, Some other people think of a garden, otras pueden pensar en un palacio. some others of a palace. Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Luis Borges Primeros vestigios de la imprenta hebrea Earliest Evidence on Sephardic Hebrew 125 en Sefarad Printing n la actualidad, no podemos dar una res- E have today no precise and adequate puesta precisa y adecuada a la pregunta answer to the question of who the Ede quiénes fueron los primeros impreso- Wfirst Hebrew printers were, or even res de textos hebreos. De hecho, ni siquiera sa- whether they were Sephardic, Italian or bemos si estos fueron de origen sefardí, italia- ashkenazi. On the basis of the earliest avail- no, o askenazí. a partir de los primeros datos able evidence we can only say that the first de los que disponemos, podemos únicamente de- dated Hebrew incunabulum to survive was cir que el impresor del primer incunable hebreo printed by a Sephardic master. I am of course que ha sobrevivido era de origen sefardí. natu- referring to one of the most popular texts pro- ralmente, me estoy refiriendo a uno de los li- duced in the middle ages and probably in bros más populares no solo de la Edad media, the history of Jewish books in general—the sino probablemente de toda la historia del libro Commentary on the Pentateuch by rashi hebreo: el comentario de rashi (Salomón ben (Solomon ben Isaac, 1040‒1105), printed by Isaac, 1040‒1105) al Pentateuco, impreso por abraham Ben Garton in reggio di Calabria, abraham Ben Garton en reggio di Calabria, del only one copy and one small fragment of que solo nos han llegado una copia y un peque- which have survived. 1 according to the ño fragmento1. Según el colofón, se terminó de colophon, its printing was finished on 2 adar imprimir el 2 de adar del año 5235 (17 de febre- 5235 (February 17, 1475). 2 The Calabria re- ro de 1475)2. La región de Calabria, al sur de los gion, in the southern apennines, was at that apeninos, estaba entonces bajo la time under the cultural and polit- 1 1 La copia influencia cultural y política del rei- ical influence of the kingdom of The copy is held se encuentra en in the Biblioteca no de aragón. Desde el punto de vis- aragon. The Jewish paleographi- la actualidad Palatina di Parma, en la Biblioteca ta paleográfico, se consideraba que cal tradition refers to this region and the fragment 3 3 Palatina di Parma, pertenecía al ámbito de Sefarad . En as a Sephardic one. This edition in the Library y el fragmento efecto, las características que pre- is Sephardic in all respects: it was of the Jewish en la biblioteca senta la edición del comentario de printed by a professional Sephardic Theological del Jewish rashi al Pentateuco hacen de ella scribe using type modeled on typ- Seminary Theological una edición sefardí por derecho ical Sephardic semi-cursive script, of america. Seminary propio: fue impresa por un escri- features which are typical for most 2 In-folio. 118(?) ff. of america. ba profesional sefardí, que usó tipos of the books that were in use in printed on paper. 2 In-folio. 118(?) ff. modelados a partir de una semicur- Spain. This is, in fact, the only See Offenberg and impreso sobre moed-Van siva sefardí, características propias Sephardic edition that was printed papel. Véase Walraven 1990, Offenberg y de los primeros libros impresos en in Italy. n 112; Iakerson moed-Van Sefarad. Se trata de la única edición 2004‒2005, n 9. Walraven 1990, sefardí impresa en Italia. Facs. ed. rashi n.º 112; Iakerson The Beginning of Hebrew [1475] (1968?). 2004‒2005, n.º 9; Printing in the Iberian Peninsula: 3 From the 126 Ed. facs. rashi Breve historia de los comienzos a Historical Survey paleographical [1475] (1968?). de la imprenta hebrea point of view, 3 Desde el punto de en la Península Ibérica Castile and aragon which can be used vista paleográfico, for the first printed que puede aplicarse books, Sepharad Castilla y aragón The first appearance of Hebrew también a los would include primeros libros book printing is more difficult today’s Spain, impresos, el área La fecha exacta de la aparición del to date. We have three kinds of Portugal, de Sefarad primer impreso hebreo es más difícil sources: legends with no obvious Provence and incluiría España, de determinar. Disponemos de tres historical roots, dated editions, Bas-Languedoc, Portugal, tipos de fuentes: leyendas sin base his- and groups of editions sine an- morocco, algeria Provenza, el bajo tórica probada, ediciones datadas y no et loco. The situation is fur- and Tunisia Languedoc, ediciones sine anno et loco. El hecho ther complicated by the fact that (Beit-arié [1977] marruecos, argelia 1981, 17). de que la mayor parte de los incuna- most Sephardic incunabula are y Túnez (Beit-arié [1977] 1981, 17). bles hebreos sefardíes sean hoy muy rarities today, as they have survived in on- raros (en muchas ocasiones solo se ly one or two copies or in small fragments. cuenta con pequeños fragmentos, o en el mejor nevertheless, despite these obstacles, a rough de los casos, con una o dos copias de los mismos) historical outline can be constructed. complica aún más la situación. aun así, y a pesar In the history of printing in the Iberian de las dificultades que ello supone, en este ensayo Peninsula, the Inquisition “case” against the trataré de ofrecer una panorámica general. converso Juan de Lucena is well known. Shimon Iakerson En la historia de los inicios de la imprenta en although De Lucena anticipated the danger la Península Ibérica, el proceso inquisitorial con- managed to escape questioning (fleeing first tra el converso Juan de Lucena es to Portugal and then to Italy), the 4 El último bien conocido. aunque De Lucena records of testimonies provided 4 The last interrogatorio al vaticinó el peligro en el que se en- during interrogations of members interrogation que fue sometida contraba y consiguió evitar ser in- of his family, neighbors and ser- of de Lucena’s Teresa, terrogado, huyendo primero a Por- vants, which lasted for fifty years poor daughter la desafortunada Teresa was held tugal y luego a Italia, las actas de las (1481–1531),4 show that in the ear- hija de De Lucena, in 1531. She was tuvo lugar en 1531. declaraciones que miembros de su fa- ly 1470s, Juan de Lucena engaged sentenced to Fue sentenciada a milia, vecinos y criados proporcio- in the secret printing of Hebrew imprisonment cadena perpetua naron durante los interrogatorios que books, first in his native town of for life for por «observar las la Inquisición condujo durante cin- Toledo and then in montalbán. “observing leyes de moisés», y cuenta años (entre 1481 y 1531)4 de- Under the pressure of the Inqui- moses’ más tarde relajada a muestran que a comienzos de la dé- sition his daughter confessed that commandments”, cambio de una alta cada de 1470, Juan de Lucena se in her father’s house they partly but was later suma de dinero. released in dedicaba a imprimir libros hebreos observed the miṣvot (command- murió en 1545/1546. exchange for en secreto, primero en Toledo, su ciu- ments of Judaism) and helped 5 Bloch [1938] a large sum of dad natal, y luego en montalbán. their father in the printing of He- 1976, por ejemplo, money. She died da información Hostigada por la Inquisición, su hi- brew books. However the inter- in 1545/1546. detallada sobre ja confesó que en la casa de su padre rogation records do not provide 5 For more 127 Juan de Lucena. observaban parcialmente los miṣvot any real evidence or facts con- detailed 6 Sobre los (mandamientos judíos) y ayudaban cerning which books may have information on problemas de a este a imprimir libros en hebreo. been printed by Juan de Lucena, Juan de Lucena identificación de la Sin embargo, las actas de los interro- not even mentioning the titles. no see, for example, fecha mencionada gatorios no aportan ninguna prue- surviving Hebrew incunabula Bloch [1938] 1976. 6 en el colofón como ba al respecto, ni señalan qué libros printed in Sepharad mention this On the problems un cronograma, pudieron haber sido impresos por legendary first printer whose im- of identifying véase Sonne the date Juan de Lucena. ninguno de los in- age has inspired so many re- 1937/1938, mentioned in 375‒376, y cunables hebreos impreso en Sefa- searchers and who (without any the colophon Iakerson rad que existen en la actualidad men- solid basis in fact) is regarded as as a chronogram, 2004/2005, 1:xxvi. ciona el nombre de este supuesto the printer of numerous anony- see Sonne primer impresor cuya figura ha lle- mous Sephardic incunabula and 1937/1938, vado a muchos investigadores, sin que en reali- fragments.5 375–376, dad exista ninguna base sólida que lo confirme, a The earliest surviving He- and Iakerson considerarlo impresor de numerosos incunables brew book with the date marked 2004/2005, 1:xxvi. sefardíes anónimos5. in the colophon—the aforemen- El libro hebreo datado más antiguo que se tioned commentary of rashi on the Penta- conserva, una edición del mencionado comen- teuch—appeared in Guadalajara, Castile, in tario de rashi al Pentateuco, se imprimió en Gua- 1476 (n 1 in the appendix below).6 The book dalajara en 1476 (apéndice, n.º 1)6.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Exegetical Craft of the Zohar: Toward an Appreciation
    THE EXEGETICAL CRAFT OF THE ZOHAR: TOWARD AN APPRECIATION ELIEZER SEGAL As a consequence of the specialization that thrives in current humanistic studies, it is not surprising that scholarship has tended to classify the literary creations of the past into fixed compartments. In the study of medieval Judaism, it is particularly common to follow the traditional division of disci- plines into philosophy, Kabbalah, and rabbinism-a categorization that was indeed promoted by the medievals themselves.' Following this way of thinking, the study of Rashi's biblical commentaries would be assigned to one class of scholars devoted to the study of rabbinic Judaism; Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed to experts in Jewish philosophy; and the Zohar to yet a third group consisting of specialists in Jewish mysticism. As helpful as such a division of labor may be, we should not lose sight of 1. Some aspects of the interrelationships between the three medieval Jewish disciplines of "talmudism," philosophy, and Kabbalah are explored by I. Twersky, "Talmudists, Philoso- phers, Kabbalists: The Quest for Spirituality in the Sixteenth Century," in Jewish Thought in the Sixteenth Century, ed. B. Cooperman (Cambridge, Mass., and London, 1983), pp. 431-457. The classification underlies the fourfold division employed in R. Bahya b. Asher's commentary to the Pentateuch (to which he adds the method of peshat interpretation). 32 ELIEZER SEGAL the fact that these kinds of classifications tend to obscure the individuality of sources which can often, when taken on their own terms, prove notoriously difficult to pigeonhole. In the specific context of medieval Judaism, we must bear in mind that philosophers and mystics alike saw themselves as operat- ing within the tradition defined by the Talmud and Midrash, whose more profound or mysterious contents they were venturing to expound.
    [Show full text]
  • The Participation of God and the Torah in Early Kabbalah
    religions Article The Participation of God and the Torah in Early Kabbalah Adam Afterman 1,* and Ayal Hayut‑man 2 1 Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel 2 School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: All Abrahamic religions have developed hypostatic and semi‑divine perceptions of scrip‑ ture. This article presents an integrated picture of a rich tradition developed in early kabbalah (twelfth–thirteenth century) that viewed the Torah as participating and identifying with the God‑ head. Such presentation could serve scholars of religion as a valuable tool for future comparisons between the various perceptions of scripture and divine revelation. The participation of God and Torah can be divided into several axes: the identification of Torah with the Sefirot, the divine grada‑ tions or emanations according to kabbalah; Torah as the name of God; Torah as the icon and body of God; and the commandments as the substance of the Godhead. The article concludes by examining the mystical implications of this participation, particularly the notion of interpretation as eros in its broad sense, both as the “penetration” of a female Torah and as taking part in the creation of the world and of God, and the notion of unification with Torah and, through it, with the Godhead. Keywords: Kabbalah; Godhead; Torah; scripture; Jewish mysticism; participation in the Godhead 1. Introduction Citation: Afterman, Adam, and Ayal The centrality of the Word of God, as consolidated in scripture, is a central theme in Hayut‑man.
    [Show full text]
  • Hebrew Printed Books and Manuscripts
    HEBREW PRINTED BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. SELECTIONS FROM FROM THE THE RARE BOOK ROOM OF THE JEWS’COLLEGE LIBRARY, LONDON K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY TUESDAY, MARCH 30TH, 2004 K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY . Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art Lot 51 Catalogue of HEBREW PRINTED BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS . SELECTIONS FROM THE RARE BOOK ROOM OF THE JEWS’COLLEGE LIBRARY, LONDON Sold by Order of the Trustees The Third Portion (With Additions) To be Offered for Sale by Auction on Tuesday, 30th March, 2004 (NOTE CHANGE OF SALE DATE) at 3:00 pm precisely ——— Viewing Beforehand on Sunday, 28th March: 10 am–5:30 pm Monday, 29th March: 10 am–6 pm Tuesday, 30th March: 10 am–2:30 pm Important Notice: The Exhibition and Sale will take place in our new Galleries located at 12 West 27th Street, 13th Floor, New York City. This Sale may be referred to as “Winnington” Sale Number Twenty Three. Catalogues: $35 • $42 (Overseas) Hebrew Index Available on Request KESTENBAUM & COMPANY Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art . 12 West 27th Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001 ¥ Tel: 212 366-1197 ¥ Fax: 212 366-1368 E-mail: [email protected] ¥ World Wide Web Site: www.kestenbaum.net K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY . Chairman: Daniel E. Kestenbaum Operations Manager & Client Accounts: Margaret M. Williams Press & Public Relations: Jackie Insel Printed Books: Rabbi Belazel Naor Manuscripts & Autographed Letters: Rabbi Eliezer Katzman Ceremonial Art: Aviva J. Hoch (Consultant) Catalogue Photography: Anthony Leonardo Auctioneer: Harmer F. Johnson (NYCDCA License no. 0691878) ❧ ❧ ❧ For all inquiries relating to this sale, please contact: Daniel E.
    [Show full text]
  • Remembering David Goldstein {1933-1987)
    REMEMBERING DAVID GOLDSTEIN {1933-1987) WITH the death of David Goldstein on 26 July 1987 the British Library lost one of its ablest and most productive curators. Nearly two years later this loss is still acutely felt by all his colleagues in the Hebrew Section, and in Oriental Collections, the department he had joined some twelve years earlier. The following is an attempt to record, briefly, his career, life, interests and achievements (both inside and outside the Library), to pay tribute to the inspiration he gave to all who worked with him and, sadly, to record the many unfulfilled promises and incomplete tasks left by his untimely death. David Goldstein was born in London on 31 January 1933, the youngest of five children, three sons and two daughters. His parents owned a drapery shop in Hackney. In 1939, when he was six years old, the family home was bombed and David, together with one of his brothers, was evacuated to the country. The two boys found a temporary home in the house of two sisters in the village of Upwell, in Norfolk. Both sisters were devout Christians but a gentleman's agreement was reached by which they undertook to abstain from any attempt to convert to Christianity the two little boys. They, in return, were expected to join the sisters at the local village church twice each Sunday; in David's case this also meant attending the Sunday school. The agreement was scrupulously adhered to by both parties. By the time David returned to London, at the age of eleven, he had not only gained firm and lifelong friends in the sisters who had recognized his intellectual potential, and who were to follow his subsequent career with interest and pride, he had most probably also received the basic grounding for an unswerving liberal outlook.
    [Show full text]
  • Title Listing of Sixteenth Century Books
    Title Listing of Sixteenth Century Books Abudarham, David ben Joseph Abudarham, Fez, De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae, Johannes Reuchlin, Hagenau, Adam Sikhli, Simeon ben Samuel, Thiengen, Adderet Eliyahu, Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi, Constantinople, Ha-Aguddah, Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen of Frankfurt, Cracow, Agur, Jacob Barukh ben Judah Landau, Rimini, Akedat Yitzhak, Isaac ben Moses Arama, Salonika, Aleh Toledot Adam . Kohelet Ya’akov, Baruch ben Moses ibn Baruch, Venice, – Alfasi (Sefer Rav Alfas), Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif), Constantinople, Alfasi (Hilkhot Rav Alfas), Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif), Sabbioneta, – Alfasi (Sefer Rav Alfas), Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif), Riva di Trento, Alphabetum Hebraicum, Aldus Manutius, Venice, c. Amadis de Gaula, Constantinople, c. Amudei Golah (Semak), Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, Constantinople, c. Amudei Golah (Semak), Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, Cremona, Arba’ah ve’Esrim (Bible), Pesaro, – Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Fano, Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Augsburg, Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Constantinople, De arcanis catholicae veritatis, Pietro Columna Galatinus, Ortona, Arukh, Nathan ben Jehiel, Pesaro, Asarah Ma’amarot, Menahem Azariah da Fano, Venice, Avkat Rokhel, Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid, Augsburg, Avkat Rokhel, Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid—Venice, – Avodat ha-Levi, Solomon ben Eliezer ha-Levi, Venice, Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira, Constantinople, Ayyalah Sheluhah, Naphtali Hirsch ben Asher Altschuler, Cracow, c. Ayyelet
    [Show full text]
  • Final Copy of Dissertation
    The Talmudic Zohar: Rabbinic Interdisciplinarity in Midrash ha-Ne’lam ​ by Joseph Dov Rosen A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley in Jewish Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Daniel Boyarin, Chair Professor Deena Aranoff Professor Niklaus Largier Summer 2017 © Joseph Dov Rosen All Rights Reserved, 2017 Abstract The Talmudic Zohar: Rabbinic Interdisciplinarity in Midrash ha-Ne’lam ​ By Joseph Dov Rosen Joint Doctor of Philosophy in Jewish Studies with the Graduate Theological Union University of California, Berkeley Professor Daniel Boyarin, Chair This study uncovers the heretofore ignored prominence of talmudic features in Midrash ​ ​ ha-Ne’lam on Genesis, the earliest stratum of the zoharic corpus. It demonstrates that Midrash ​ ​ ha-Ne’lam, more often thought of as a mystical midrash, incorporates both rhetorical ​ components from the Babylonian Talmud and practices of cognitive creativity from the medieval discipline of talmudic study into its esoteric midrash. By mapping these intersections of Midrash, Talmud, and Esotericism, this dissertation introduces a new framework for studying rabbinic interdisciplinarity—the ways that different rabbinic disciplines impact and transform each other. The first half of this dissertation examines medieval and modern attempts to connect or disconnect the disciplines of talmudic study and Jewish esotericism. Spanning from Maimonides’ reliance on Islamic models of Aristotelian dialectic to conjoin Pardes (Jewish ​ ​ esotericism) and talmudic logic, to Gershom Scholem’s juvenile fascination with the Babylonian Talmud, to contemporary endeavours to remedy the disciplinary schisms generated by Scholem’s founding models of Kabbalah (as a form of Judaism that is in tension with “rabbinic Judaism”), these two chapters tell a series of overlapping histories of Jewish inter/disciplinary projects.
    [Show full text]
  • COLLECTED TRADITIONS and SCATTERED SECRETS Eclecticism and Esotericism in the Works of the 14Th Century Ashkenazi Kabbalist Menahem Ziyyoni of Cologne
    Nordisk Judaistik • Scandinavian Jewish Studies Vol. 20, No. 1-2, 1999,19-44 COLLECTED TRADITIONS AND SCATTERED SECRETS Eclecticism and Esotericism in the Works of the 14th Century Ashkenazi Kabbalist Menahem Ziyyoni of Cologne HEIDI LAURA Copenhagen -c6- There are many examples of authors of mystical works who consciously chose to retreat to the role of copyists and collectors of already existing traditions. The emphasis in Kabbalistic works is on recording mystical traditions, while personal reports of mystical experiences or clearly individual expositions of mystical themes are rarely found in the large corpus of kabbalistic works. Jewish mysticism clearly favors tradition over originality. Even highly creative and innovative works such as the Zohar, the late 13th century classical work of the early Kabbalah, pose as ancient tradition untouched by medieval hands; the choice of a pseudepigraphic form for this work demonstrates how impor- tant it was for its authors to emphasize the traditional character of their work and to disguise themselves and their mystical efforts.1 The many kabbalistic works that were composed as anthologies or "mosaics" of tradition avoid such radical means of disguisement as pseudepigraphy, but still seem to present us with a remarkable void where we would expect to find an author. Exactly for this reason they have remained rather neglected in research: they seem secondary to the works they drew on, lacking in originality and individual force. We are very much trapped in our modern valuation of individuality and innovation. This article attempts to illuminate the special place of mosaic works and collectanea in kabbalistic literature and its specific character, using the works of an unjustly neglected 4th century kabbalist as a focus.
    [Show full text]
  • Sixteenth-Century Hebrew Books in the Library of Congress
    Sixteenth-Century Hebrew Books at the Library of Congress A Finding Aid פה Washington D.C. June 18, 2012 ` Title-page from Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim (Sabbioneta: Cornelius Adelkind, 1553). From the collections of the Hebraic Section, Library of Congress, Washington D.C. i Table of Contents: Introduction to the Finding Aid: An Overview of the Collection . iii The Collection as a Testament to History . .v The Finding Aid to the Collection . .viii Table: Titles printed by Daniel Bomberg in the Library of Congress: A Concordance with Avraham M. Habermann’s List . ix The Finding Aid General Titles . .1 Sixteenth-Century Bibles . 42 Sixteenth-Century Talmudim . 47 ii Sixteenth-Century Hebrew Books in the Library of Congress: Introduction to the Finding Aid An Overview of the Collection The art of Hebrew printing began in the fifteenth century, but it was the sixteenth century that saw its true flowering. As pioneers, the first Hebrew printers laid the groundwork for all the achievements to come, setting standards of typography and textual authenticity that still inspire admiration and awe.1 But it was in the sixteenth century that the Hebrew book truly came of age, spreading to new centers of culture, developing features that are the hallmark of printed books to this day, and witnessing the growth of a viable book trade. And it was in the sixteenth century that many classics of the Jewish tradition were either printed for the first time or received the form by which they are known today.2 The Library of Congress holds 675 volumes printed either partly or entirely in Hebrew during the sixteenth century.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reception of Rashi's Commentary On
    T HE J EWISH Q UARTERLY R EVIEW, Vol. 97, No. 1 (Winter 2007) 33–66 The Reception of Rashi’s Commentary on the Torah inSpain:TheCaseofAdam’s Mating with the Animals ERIC LAWEE WHILE R ASHI’S BIBLICAL COMMENTARY has profited from extensive and more or less uninterrupted scholarly inquiry,1 considerably less atten- tion has been devoted to the varied reactions over the ages to his scrip- tural exegesis.2 The sorts of questions rightly posed with respect to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah should also be asked about Rashi’s Commen- tary on the Torah: ‘‘Where and when did the book penetrate first? Who were its sponsors and opponents? What were the initial steps, or stages, in its adoption everywhere?’’3 This essay seeks to illumine an aspect of the Research for this article was made possible by a UCLA Center for Jewish Studies Maurice Amado Foundation Research Grant in Sephardic Studies and by grants from the Faculty of Arts of York University, Toronto. It was written while I enjoyed a Visiting Fellowship from the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Ephraim Kanarfogel, Martin Lockshin, and B. Barry Levy helpfully commented on a draft, while JQR’s anonymous readers significantly improved a later version. I wish to express my thanks to these individuals and institutions for their aid. 1. For bibliographic orientation, see Avraham Grossman, ‘‘The School of Lit- eral Jewish Exegesis in Northern France,’’ Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, vol. 1, pt. 2, From the Beginnings to the Middle Ages: The Middle Ages, ed. M. Sæbø (Go¨ttingen, 2000), 321–22.
    [Show full text]
  • VI Appendices
    VI Appendices AppendixA:The Hebrew Original of the Parable of the Pearl In this appendix, Iwould like to offer acritical edition of the Hebrew original of the entire chapter that serves as the basisofmostofthe discussions in the second part of this study; Ishallthen translate and analyse the lastpart of this chapter,paragraph [d], as part of the thematic approach Ihavedelineated above. Or ha-S´ekhel is one of Abulafia’smost popularbooks and it is extant in approximatelythirty manuscripts. I have chosen four manuscriptsinorder to checkthe variants that mayhaveanimpact on the meaning of the givenpassages. These manuscriptswerecopied between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, constitutingsome of the earliest manuscripts of the book, while the base manuscript,Ms. Firenze-Medicea Laurenziana Plut II. 20/1, is avery legible fifteenth-century codex, whose version was compared to another,un- identifiedmanuscript with the variants being marked in the margin. The printed ver- sion on pages 33–36 of Amnon Gross’sedition does not mention from which manu- script it wasprinted, but it is most probablyMs. Fulda, Oct.Ba2. וג הף קט טס לע יפ תכ יב פד רי צנה – אל רו צנ אי הנ PLUT.II.20/1 ףד 17א–18ב שה ני יו םי לע יפ תכ יב דיה : מ = כ " מי טנ בוה , קה יה הל 80, ףד 33ב–34ב. פ= כ" פי רי צנה – אל רו צנ אי הנ PLUT .44.16/7, ףד 76א–77א. ימ = כ " מי ני ןכ 40, ףד 174א–176א. פס אר רו שה לכ – לח גק ' לח לק ' נע יי בן ' יס ןמנ ' וכ לל וס הד של ןו מה בו רח בש לכ לה וש ונת : ]a[ נה כה רב וה עד ונ נע יי ינ כם לל יי בם של נו תו בו אי נר שו שה עפ אה הל מי ינ אע כת לו ון וה סא בי מת יצ וא ןת , הו או מה צו אי וא ןת ¹ ןמ כה אח הל ופ לע .
    [Show full text]
  • The Feminine Image in Kabbalah
    Divine Qualities and Real Women The Feminine Image in Kabbalah Long before women gained entry into the halls of Jewish learning, Jewish mystics explored and extolled feminine aspects of the Divine ithin the Jewish religious tradition, the literature of WKabbalah is second to none in its engagement with the feminine. The mystical authors of medieval Spain and southern France, the men who produced the Zohar and related texts, were averse to simplistic conceptions of gender. {By BITI ROI 62 | Summer 2010 Divine Qualities and Real Women /// Biti Roi Their sensitive attunement to sexual, as a synonym for God. Grammatically, it is mental, physiological and social aspects of a feminine Hebrew noun, but the Shekhinah female existence is strikingly manifest in initially lacked any female attributes or their imaginative contemplation of God and even a distinctive identity of its own. In the speculations about the interplay of the divine works of early kabbalists, however, it was and earthly realms. Indeed, the contemporary transformed into a queenly personification discourse on women in Judaism – which is of the Godhead, the Matronita: still bound up with Talmudic categories and How many thousands, how many myriads the strictures of halacha – can benefit greatly of holy camps does the blessed Holy One from the riches of kabbalistic imagery and have! … Above them He has appointed perceptions of women and femininity. Matronita to minister before Him in the Sefer Ha-Zohar – “The Book of Splendor” – is a sprawling masterpiece that presents palace … Every mission that the King a complex conception of divinity based wishes issues from the house of Matronita; upon an intricate exploration of the hidden every mission from below to the King meanings of the Hebrew Bible.
    [Show full text]
  • Interpretations of Tohu Wa-Vohu As Matter and Form
    1 Hannu Töyrylä: Slimy Stones and Philosophy: Interpretations of tohu wa-vohu as Matter and Form 7.11.2000 Copyright Hannu Toyryla 2000, 2004 email: [email protected] 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................2 2. The Biblical and Rabbinic Basis for the Interpretations.................................................................2 2.1 The Biblical basis...................................................................................................................2 2.2 Relevant interpretations in Talmud and Midrash: Chaos or created entities...........................3 2.3 Green line, slimy stones.........................................................................................................4 2.4 From Sefer Yetzirah to the book Bahir ...................................................................................6 3. Medieval Concepts of Matter and Form........................................................................................9 4. Bar Hiyya's Discussion on Matter and Form...............................................................................11 4.1 Bar Hiyya's theory of matter and form..................................................................................11 4.2 Matter and form as tohu and bohu .......................................................................................12 4.3 Bar Hiyya's cosmogonic exegesis........................................................................................13
    [Show full text]