St. Petersburg (Russia), Russian Museum of Ethnography: inv. no. 6396-101
About the Ilan
TextGrid URI of the Editiontextgrid:4b50v
FamiliesGreat Tree (Lurianic) ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot in this Family
Surfaces of the Ilan
Recto
About the Manuscript
Identifiers and Titles
IdentifierSt. Petersburg (Russia), Russian Museum of Ethnography: inv. no. 6396-101
Primary Manuscript TitlesThe Kitzes Ilan
Alternative Manuscript TitlesSt. Petersburg, Russian Museum of Ethnography, inv. no. 6396-101
Manuscript History
Origin
Date Informationlate 19thโearly 20th century
Provenance
Provenance PlacesEastern Europe
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 Description430 ร 52.5
Languages Used
Main LanguageRabbinic Hebrew ๐https://ilanot.org/voc/languages/he-x-rabbinic ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot with this Language
Additional LanguagesRabbinic Hebrew ๐https://ilanot.org/voc/languages/he-x-rabbinic ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot with this Language
Content Description
SummaryThis imposing Hasidic Great Tree of the VPaZW type was collected by S. An-sky during his ethnographic expedition to Volhynia and Podolia between 1912 and 1914. Executed in the late nineteenth century, it is exceptional for its massive scale, measuring 430 by 52.5 centimeters, which is roughly twice the size of comparable rotuli. The scribe exploited this width by enlarging the standard diagrammatic components (modules), resulting in a spacious layout that makes this Great Tree significantly wider than is commonly found. A distinctive feature of the work is its claim to include the glosses of the prominent Hasidic leader Rabbi Zev Kitzes of Mezhbizh, a close disciple of the Baโal Shem Tov. While this attribution added prestige to The Magnificent Parchment, its contents largely mirror the standard configurations of its family. It remains one of only two known examples of a VPaZW Great Tree produced in Europe rather than North Africa.
Further Information
Research LiteratureJ. H. Chajes, The Kabbalistic Tree (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2022), 214โ215.
Find more IlanotSearch for Ilanot on this Manuscript