Jerusalem (Israel), The National Library of Israel: Ms. Heb. 1257=4
About the Ilan
TextGrid URI of the Editiontextgrid:40qx8
Surfaces of the Ilan
Recto
About the Manuscript
Identifiers and Titles
IdentifierJerusalem (Israel), The National Library of Israel: Ms. Heb. 1257=4
Primary Manuscript TitlesKurdish ilan
Alternative Manuscript TitlesJerusalem, NLI, Ms. Heb. 1257
NLI ID990000447910205171
Manuscript History
Origin
ContributorsYehoshuสปa ben David (Scribe)
Date Information17th century
Provenance
OwnerThe National Library of Israel (current owner)
Provenance PlacesJerusalem (Israel)
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 Description450 ร 39
Languages Used
Main LanguageRabbinic Hebrew ๐https://ilanot.org/voc/languages/he-x-rabbinic ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot with this Language
Content Description
SummaryThis ilan was crafted by R. Joshua ben David (active early-seventeenth-century), a student of R. Samuel Barzani, the preeminent rabbinic scholar of Kurdistan in the period. The ilan was modeled upon the notion of the โFour Worldsโ of Aแบilut, Beriah, Yeแบirah, and โAssiyah, which was commonplace in kabbalistic thought from the sixteenth century and later. Between the arboreal diagrams additional diagrams were inserted, including drawings of the โHoly Chariotโ consisting of the four แธคayyot (beasts) of the Chariot. Midway down the rotulus a large circle features the name of its draftsman. The lower section includes a drawing of the orb of the zodiac, the planetary bodies, and the earth with the four elements. The top of the rotulus is no longer intact but would have included a tree of the sefirot of the world of Aแบilut, which we know from another work that R. Joshua composed with his colleague, R. David Sidkhani. The ilan is enriched with many texts throughout, most of which are extracts from the works of other authors. This anthological collection allows us to reconstruct R. Joshuaโs impressive kabbalistic library, which included many works published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The ilan is also distinguished for its โbottom upโ implied order of reading. It is imagined as a ladder by which the practitioner can enact an ascent from the lower to the higher worlds.
ColophonWithin the circle inscribed "Raki'a ke-Ein ha-Kerach" (the Firmament like the Color of Ice), the scribe signed his name: "Joshua, son of the honorable David." He is apparently the same scribe who copied portions of the Jerusalem manuscript, National Library of Israel Ms. Heb. 28ยฐ6247. A comparison of the contents of the Commentary on the Ten Sefirot (folios 13bโ51b) reinforces this hypothesis. The aforementioned manuscript was written in the region of Tabriz.
Further Information
Research LiteratureJ. H. Chajes, The Kabbalistic Tree (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2022), 75โ82.
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