Brescia - Biblioteca Queriniana - MS L FI 11
About the Ilan
TextGrid URI of the Editiontextgrid:3w52q
Surfaces of the Ilan
Recto
About the Manuscript
Identifiers and Titles
IdentifierBrescia (Italy), Biblioteca Queriniana: MS L FI 11
Primary Manuscript TitlesGikatilla Ilan
Alternative Manuscript TitlesBrescia, Biblioteca Queriniana, Ms. L FI 11
Manuscript History
Origin
Date Informationlate 14th century
Physical Description
MaterialParchment ๐Translucent or opaque material made from calf, sheep, or goat skin which has been limed, dehaired, scraped, and dried under tension to produce a thin, strong material for writing, bookbinding, or other uses. For finer quality calf parchment, use "vellum." The terms parchment and vellum sometimes have been and still are both confused and used interchangeably. ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot with this Material
FormRotulus ๐A roll of parchment or paper unrolled vertically for reading. ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot with this Form
Dimensions Description76 ร 56
Content Description
SummaryThe Brescia parchment was likely written by a Spanish scribe around the late fourteenth century. The text has been attributed to Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla (1248โca. 1305). It deploys a distinctive rota-augmented arboreal schema. The message of the schema is clear: Tiferet, the central hub of the entire sefirotic tree, is emblazoned just above the compass foot perforation mark at the center of the concentric circles. As in one of the Vatican ilanot (Vatican City, BAV, Ms. Vat. ebr. 530 III), atop the innermost circle is the Tetragrammaton in its โnormalโ letter order, along with inscriptions that stress the central position of Jacob. The rota ringing Tiferet has no parallel in its counterpart, however. It is devoted to orders of twelve: the signs of the zodiac, the Hebrew months, the tribes of Israel, and the possible sequences of the four letters of the Tetragrammaton. The cosmological valence of the rota is clear: Ein Sof may be the fount of all, but Tiferet is the center of creation. The inscription within the medallion (From Sefer yeแบirah) is consistent with this perception: โthe Holy Sanctuary corresponding to the centerโ (heikhal ha-kodesh mekhuvan ba-โemแบa). Although the inscriptions of the channels that connect Tiferet to the sefirot that surround it betray theosophical content, e.g., โthe pathways of แธคokhmah coming to Tiferet,โ the layout of these channels is unusual. Despite the undeniable impetus to represent the theosophical transvaluation of the ten sefirot and 22 letters of Sefer yeแบirah as an arboreal diagram with ten circles connected by 22 channels, most classical trees display fewer interconnections. The Brescia ilan has half the number of channels of its peersโand all eight radiate exclusively from Tiferet. Recalling the โTree of Wisdomโโnow in a theosophical keyโthe designer of this variation on the arboreal schema thought of Tiferet as the center-point not only of the divine sefirotic constellation but ultimately of three-dimensional space itself. The eight spokes of Tiferet reach eight hubsโnow implied verticesโof the tree, imbuing it with connotations of cubic structure.
Further Information
Research LiteratureJ. H. Chajes, The Kabbalistic Tree (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2022), 44โ46.
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