Pico della Mirandola’s Encounter with Jewish Mysticism [Reprint 2014 ed.] 9780674863149, 9780674863132

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Pico della Mirandola's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism

Published in association with The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Pico della Mirandola's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism

CHAIM WIRSZUBSKI

Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England 1989

Copyright © 1989 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper, and its binding materials have been chosen for strength and durability. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Wirszubski, Chaim Pico della Mirandola's encounter with Jewish mysticism / Chaim Wirszubski. p. cm. Bibliography: p. ISBN 0-674-66730-1 (alk. paper) 1. Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, 1463-1494. 2. Cabala. 3. Cabala and Christianity. I. Title. B785.P54W57 1988 87-24515 230'.2'0924—dc 19 CIP

Foreword

C

HAIM WIRSZUBSKI achieved his eminence among scholars by virtue of varied accomplishments. He was steeped in the classics, he was an interpreter of Jewish mysticism, a scholar in the fields of Medieval and Renaissance Hebraism, and a distinguished teacher. He himself, however, would probably have wished to be primarily remembered for the contribution he made to the study of Jewish mysticism, a subject to which his commitment was profound. He sought to enhance the standing of Jewish historical studies, to increase the field's appeal to students as well as to enlarge its horizons.

Wirszubski began his scholarly pursuits in the classics. This primary interest manifested itself in his first book, Liberias as a Political Idea at Rome during the Late Republic and Early Principate (Cambridge, 1950). As the title indicates Wirszubski set out to analyze both the concept of Libertas and the various possibilities for its realization. He presented the history of the idea in a broad context and explored the impact of the idea on day-to-day behavior. This book also demonstrated Wirszubski's philological skill and textual precision, an approach he maintained in his later writings, among them his analysis of "Cicero's Cum Dignitate Otium" (1954). Likewise, his translation into Hebrew of Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-politicus (1961) successfully combined high philological precision with an idiomatic style and reflected his deep interest in the history of political ideas and in Spinoza's broad background, including the various aspects of medieval philosophy. Wirszubski was born in Vilna, Poland, in 1915. His earliest education was at the local "Tarbut" high school. His initial steps at the University of Vilna, where he pursued the study of ancient Roman Law, were interrupted in 1933 when he emigrated to Palestine. At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem he continued his classical studies together with Jewish philosophy and Kabbalah under the guidance of Professors Julius Guttmann and Gershom Scholem. The latter's personality and scholarship exercised a particularly profound and decisive influence on the young Wirszubski's scholarly development.

[v]

Foreword He thus brought to his study of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola both his own keen insight and his mastery of several scholarly disciplines, combining a command in Greek and Hellenistic ideas with his knowledge of Kabbalah. His multifaceted interests converge in the present volume. It is imbued with his devotion to exploring the meeting ground of various trends born in different cultural and philosophical traditions. Prompted by his sense of the importance of the topic, Wirszubski worked on this book for many years. He was assisted by Ms. Carmia Schneider and by Professor Moshe Idel who, after Wirszubski's untimely death in 1977, brought this volume to completion, by attending to the remaining lacunae and adding annotations and footnotes. On behalf of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, I wish to express our gratitude to them. It was our good fortune that Professor Paul Oskar Kristeller of Columbia University took great interest in the work and generously gave his advice and help at critical moments in the preparation of the manuscript, making possible the publication of this volume in its present form. We are all indebted to Professor Kristeller for his lucid introduction, explaining the significance of the present volume. Mr. Amitai Spitzer was kind enough to take upon himself the preparation of the indexes for the book. His work and devotion are much appreciated. I am pleased to add our gratitude to the Publications Department of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, directed by Mr. Shmuel Reem, for the work and time they invested in the preparation of this volume for publication. Finally, but not least, our sincere thanks to Ms. Margaretta Fulton of Harvard University Press for her guidance in bringing this project to completion. Nathan Rotenstreich

[vi]

Contents Foreword by Nathan Rotenstreich Introduction by Paul Oskar Kristeller

ν ix

Part One. Pico's Kabbalistic Studies 1. 2. 3. 4.

The The The The

Place of Hebrew in Pico's Kabbalistic Studies Nature and Chronology of the Extant Manuscripts Sources of the First Set of Theses Range and Progress of Pico's Kabbalistic Studies

3 10 19 53

Part Two. The Translations of Flavius Mithridates 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Kabbalist Translator Language Symbolism and Number Symbolism Maimonides: Kabbalist in Philosophical Guise Quodlibet in Quolibet Christianizing Interpretations Mock Mysteries

69 77 84 100 106 114

Part Three. What Kabbala Meant to Pico 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Mysteries of the Law Mysticism and Magic Mors Osculi The Old and the New in Pico's Kabbalistic Confirmation of Christianity Cabala Docet Nos Legere in Libro Legis New Relationships and Orientations [vii]

121 133 153 161 170 185

Appendices Index of Names and Subjects Index of Sources Index of Scriptural and Rabbinical Quotations Index of Quoted Manuscripts

[viii]

201 265 286 290 291

Introduction Paul Oskar Kristeller

P

ICO della Mirandola's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism, the fruit of many years of careful research and original thinking by Professor Chaim Wirszubski, fills a major gap in our knowledge of Pico and of Pico's Kabbalism. Wirszubski was uniquely qualified to undertake this study. An excellent philologist and intellectual historian, he was at home in both Hebrew and Western scholarship and had the rare ability to read, interpret, and compare difficult texts in several languages, to make judicious choices between subtle alternatives, and to clarify the meaning of passages that are often obscure and even abstruse but of great importance for the history of medieval and modern thought and learning. Wirszubski covers three major topics. The first is the history of the Jewish Kabbala during the Middle Ages, its different writings, authors, schools, and its doctrines. This difficult area has received much attention in recent decades, and its study owes much to the late Gershom Scholem and his circle, of which Wirszubski was a prominent member. Wirszubski's second subject is the Christian Kabbalism of the Renaissance, an area that is less widely known, but has also received much scholarly attention, especially from Joseph L. Blau, Fran?ois Secret, and Wirszubski himself. There has been some debate about the origin and history of Christian Kabbalism, but its significance has been widely recognized. There is general agreement that Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Johannes Reuchlin, and other important thinkers were involved in this movement and that their influence kept the movement alive until the early eighteenth century. Pico's role was especially important because he used the Jewish Kabbala for the confirmation of Christian theology and because he added Kabbalism (as well as Aristotelianism) to the universal syncretism envisaged by Marsilio Ficino and thus associated it with the currents of Platonism, Hermeticism, and magic studied by Frances Yates, D.P. Walker, and their followers. [ix]

Introduction Wirszubski tends to confirm this view of Pico as the main founder of Christian Kabbalism in the Renaissance. The third major topic covered by Wirszubski is Pico himself, his doctrine, and his sources. As an important and influential thinker, Pico has been the subject of extensive study for a long time, and his interest in the Kabbala is generally known and recognized. Yet the precise meaning of his Kabbalistic doctrines and the specific Hebrew sources of these doctrines have remained rather vague until now. Wirszubski fills this gap and clarifies once and for all the content and the sources of Pico's Kabbalism, as well as the individual shape which Pico gave to these doctrines. The book is divided into three major sections, followed by twenty-three appendices. The first section discusses Pico's knowledge of Hebrew and of Kabbalistic literature and describes in detail the content of the four extant manuscripts which contain the Latin translations of many Hebrew texts made for Pico by Flavius Mithridates, a Jewish scholar from Sicily who had been converted to Christianity. Wirszubski also identifies the sources of the first set of Kabbalistic theses included among the nine hundred theses, or Conclusiones, which Pico prepared for the public disputation announced by him in 1486 and then prohibited by Pope Innocent VIII. The second section discusses the translator Mithridates, the method and style of his translations, and the scattered interpolations, partly personal and partly doctrinal, added by him to the Hebrew texts. Here and later the Hebrew sources of all translations are clearly identified. The third section discusses the role of Kabbalism in Pico's thought and analyzes in detail the second set of Kabbalistic theses included among the nine hundred Conclusiones, as well as the Kabbalistic doctrines mentioned or used in his other writings, especially the Oration (written for the projected disputation and best known by its later title Oration on the Dignity of Man), the Apology (written in defense of the condemned theses in 1487), and the Heptaplus (an interpretation of the first lines of Genesis and published in 1489). Some of the chapters and appendices deal with specific and significant doctrines and historical connections. We learn that Pico's main Kabbalistic sources were Abulafia and Menahem of Recanati, how magic was involved in the mysticism of the Kabbalists, and how Pico understood some basic doctrines that also played a prominent role in later Christian Kabbalism, such as the 'Eyn-Sof and the ten sefirot. Interesting doctrines

[x]

Introduction and symbols such as the Holy Kiss, the four senses of Scripture, and Prayer are discussed. Wirszubski proves (what had been merely surmised in the past) that the doctrine of the three worlds, angelic, celestial, and elementary, as advanced in the Heptaplus,

is of Kabbalistic origin,

although it evidently presupposed both the Platonist distinction between the intelligible and visible and the Aristotelian distinction between the celestial and sublunar. We learn that even Maimonides was interpreted as a Kabbalist by some of his commentators, and that it was Pico rather than his Hebrew sources who linked the Kabbalistic teachings with the Chaldean Oracles, with the Orphic hymns, with Proclus and Cusanus, and even with Ramon Lull. We thus arrive at the conclusion that Pico, and not his Hebrew sources or his Christian predecessors, laid the ground for the Christian interpretation of the Kabbala which became so prominent with Reuchlin, Egidio da Viterbo, and other sixteenth-century thinkers. We also come to understand how Pico, with his study and praise of the Kabbala, added another important dimension to the Platonic syncretism founded by Ficino and based on ancient Platonism and also on the socalled Ancient Theology that went under the names of Pythagoras, Orpheus, Zoroaster, and Hermes Trismegistus. The main contribution of the book to Pico scholarship is its detailed and precise study, never attempted previously, of the Kabbalistic translations made for Pico, their content and sources, and all the texts and doctrines of Pico that are dependent on the Kabbala in both their content and sources. It appears that Pico, with the help of his Hebrew associates, and especially of Mithridates, was the first Christian scholar who attained an accurate and detailed understanding of the Kabbalistic writings and doctrines, and that he proved his originality not only in the choice he made among the manifold and often contradictory ideas, selecting those that suited his own beliefs, ideas, and preferences, but also in the way he restated these doctrines and combined them with either his own ideas or those derived from different sources. As a careful and critical scholar, Wirszubski leaves many points open or uncertain, but on many others he arrives at firm conclusions which show that many conventional or fashionable opinions on the subject are either too vague or are outright mistaken. Every serious historian of philosophy and of ideas should be grateful to Wirszubski for this solid and interesting contribution.

[xi]

PART ONE

Pico's Kabbalistic Studies

1 THE PLACE OF HEBREW IN PICO'S KABBALISTIC STUDIES

The beginning of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's interest in Kabbala is still a matter of conjecture, or largely so: we still do not know for certain when, where, how, or through whom he made his first acquaintance with Kabbala. One fact, however, that can be stated with certainty has only too often been submerged by the posthumous fame of Pico's Hebrew erudition: contrary to what has often been assumed or implied, Pico became interested in Kabbala before he knew Hebrew. He states in his Commento, and there is no reason to doubt or disbelieve his statement insofar as Hebrew is concerned, that he set out to study Hebrew and Chaldean solely for the sake of Kabbala.1 He is in fact the first Christian Hebraist of note known to have done so, and thus marks a watershed in the history of Hebrew studies in Europe. We happen to be fairly well informed about the early stage of Pico's study of Hebrew. On 8 September 1486, Marsilio Ficino wrote to Pico requesting the return of his Latin Koran. Pico's undated reply, written from La Fratta, is extant: Non poteras opportunius Maumethem tuum Latinum repetere quam hoc tempore, quo me propediem Maumethem ipsum, patria lingua loquentem, auditurum spero: postquam enim Hebraicae linguae, perpetuum mensem, dies noctesque inuigilaui, ad Arabicae Studium et Chaldaicae totus me

1

Commento sopra una canzona d'amore, book III, chap, xi, stanza 9, in G. Pico della Mirandola, De Hominis Dignitate, Heptaplus, De Ente et Uno, ed. Ε. Garin (Florence, 1942), p. 581 (hereafter cited as Commento, ed. Garin); Iohannis Pici Mirandolae, Opera Omnia [Basel, 1557], p. 920 [hereafter cited Pico, Opera]): "El desiderio solo del quale [della Cabala] mi mosse all'assiduo studio della ebraica e caldaica lingua, sanza le quali alia cognizione di quella pervenire e al tutto impossibile." As regards the study of Chaldean, Pico gave a different reason in his letter to Ficino (Opera Omnia, Basle, 1557, p. 367). For another important piece of evidence concerning Pico's study of oriental languages see his Oratio in E. Garin, ed., La cultura filosoflca del Rinascimento italiano (Florence, 1961), pp. 238-239.

[3]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

contuli, nihil in eis ueritus me profecturum minus, quam in Hebraica profecerim, in qua possum nondum quidem cum laude, sed citra culpam epistolam dictare. 2

Later in that letter, Pico writes: "Tuus Maumetes Perusiae est, quo cum rediero (absum enim ob pestis suspicionem) ibit ad te continuo." 3 Given that Pico's letter to Andrea Corneo of 15 October 1486 was dated f r o m Perugia, 4 whereas his letters of 10 November 1486 to Domenico Benivieni and to an unknown friend were dated from La Fratta, 5 it follows that he moved f r o m Perugia to La Fratta after 15 October. Hence his undated reply "ex F r a t t a " to Ficino's letter of September is not likely to be earlier than the middle of October, 1486. Granted its date, two things emerge from this valuable piece of evidence, both of which are important for the study of Pico's encounter with Kabbala. First, by the middle of October, that is to say two or three weeks before the completion of his Conclusiones early in November, 6 Pico could write an exercise in Hebrew prose composition moderately well. But to read a Kabbalistic book in the original his mastery of Hebrew would have had to be of an entirely different order which would take years to acquire. With a translation at his elbow Pico might at that time have struggled through some easy pages of Kabbala, and, better still, when Mithridates happened to be at his side, any passage would not have been too difficult. 7 But it is quite out of the question that Pico could at that time have read an untranslated Kabbalistic book unaided. Consequently, while the possibil-

2

Ficino, Opera (Basle, 1561), p. 879; Pico, Opera, p. 367; P.O. Kristeller, Supplementum Ficinianum, II (Florence, 1937), pp. 272-273.

3

Pico, Opera, p. 368.

4 5 6

Ibid., p. 379. Ibid., pp. 382 and 384-386. On 12 November 1486 Pico wrote to Girolamo Benivieni: "Disputanda per me publice dogmata ante tuum a me discessum 700is claudebantur. Postquam abisti, ad 900a excreverunt progrediebanturque, nisi receptui cecinissem, ad mille. Sed placuit in eo numero, utpote mistico, pedem sistere"; L. Dorez, "Lettres inedites de Jean Pic de la Mirandole," Giornale storico della

letteratura italiana, 25 (1895), p. 358. 7

Liber Redemptionis, Vatican Library, Cod. Chigi Α.VI. 190, fol. 286v: "Pice siue irascaris siue non quia scio te non posse intelligere hoc et forte contingeret quandoque me tecum esse et peteres a me expositionem suam. et quia in mea traductione latina non intelligeres earn sed ia hebraicos ideo scribo tibi earn hebraice totam licet prolixa sit habeas pacienciam. cum non placuerit mictere [mittere] ad docendum ne facias illud."

[4]

Hebrew in Pico's Kabbalistic Studies ity that Pico read some bits of Kabbala in Hebrew cannot and need not be denied, it is quite unlikely that he read any significant quantity of Kabbalistic texts in the original language before he wrote his Kabbalistic theses. In other words, the range of Pico's acquaintance with Kabbala in 1486 was not determined by his knowledge of Hebrew. Hence, even if he happens to quote or refer to untranslated books, 8 we must not assume that Pico read them unless he could read them in translation. Second, the whole drift of this passage, and in particular the tenses used by Pico in his description of his studies, show quite clearly that his study of Hebrew was a thing of the recent past at the time of writing, a matter of weeks or months, not of years. Pico went to Paris in the summer of 1485. He returned to Italy in March 1486. In May he was involved in a stormy love affair in Arezzo, after which he retired to Perugia, whence he moved to La Fratta, where he remained till November. He then went to Rome. 9 In view of these circumstances it is the likeliest conclusion that Pico set to study Hebrew in the summer of 1486. That same summer is the time when the Kabbalistic translations made for Pico by Mithridates flowed in great profusion. I shall in due course consider the chronology of those translations in greater detail. Here it will suffice to point out one fact. Almost all the manuscripts of the translations of Mithridates that Pico demonstrably used for his theses were demonstrably written between May and November 1486. None of the manuscripts is dated, but they all date themselves by their frequent references and allusions, inserted in the text in parentheses, to Pico's love affair with Margherita, the wife of Giuliano Mariotto de* Medici of Arezzo. That affair became common knowledge and common gossip on 10 May 1486, when Pico made away from Arezzo on horseback with Margherita in his saddle and was hotly pursued and eventually caught by the lady's husband and a company of Aretine riders.10 Since all the manuscripts used by Pico — and they amount to

8 9

10

The Zohar, for instance. For the chronology see E. Garin, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (Florence, 1937), pp. 24-30; P.O. Kristeller, "Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and His Sources," in L'Opera e iipensiero di Giovanni Pico delta Mirandola nella Storia deU'Umanesino, Convegno Internazionale, 2 vols. (Florence, 1965), I, p. 37, n. 2. See D. Berti, "Intorno a Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, cenni e documenti inediti," Rivista contemporanea, 16 (1859), 7 - 5 6 , pp. 13ff. and 49ff.

[5]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism approximately 3,000 pages in folio — were consequently written between that date and the completion of Pico's theses early in November, it is safe to assume that the translations of Mithridates flowed in great profusion during the summer of 1486. Thus is appears to be the likeliest hypothesis that Pico set out to study Hebrew for the sake of Kabbala at the very time when he could read Kabbala comfortably in the Latin translations of Mithridates. Hebrew, it is true, is indispensable for a serious study of Kabbala. But, given the translations of Mithridates, was it still true, and if so in what respect, that without Hebrew and Aramaic it was entirely impossible to know Kabbala, "senza le quali alia cognizione [della Cabala] pervenire e al tutto impossibile"? 11 The answer is by no means self-evident, because, as we shall see later, Pico learned a great deal from the translations of Mithridates, infinitely more than he might or could have learned from the Hebrew originals, had he attempted to read them without translations. At the same time, it is not a reflection on the quality of the translations of Mithridates to say that they kept reminding Pico he needed Hebrew in order to understand the Kabbala he was reading in translation. The principal doctrines of Jewish Kabbala by themselves can be stated as effectively in Latin as in Hebrew. But books written by Kabbalists, owing to their modes of thought and patterns of expression, are not equally translatable throughout: the dominant position of language qua language in Kabbalistic symbolism renders much that is essential in Kabbala inseparable from the Hebrew text of the Scriptures and the elements of the Hebrew language. According to Gershom Scholem: The process which the Kabbalists described as the emanation of divine energy and divine light was also characterized as the unfolding of the divine language. This gives rise to a deep-seated parallelism between the two most important kinds of symbolism used by the Kabbalists to communicate their ideas. They speak of attributes and of spheres of light; but in the same context they speak also of divine names and the letters of which they are composed. From the very beginnings of Kabbalistic doctrine these two manners of speaking appear side by side. The secret world of the godhead is a World of language, a world of divine names that unfold in accordance with a law of their own. The elements of the divine language appear as the letters of the Holy Scriptures. Letters and names are not only conventional means of communication. They are far more. Each one of them represents a concentration of energy and expresses a wealth of meaning which cannot be translated, or not fully at least, into human language... The process of 11

See above, note 1.

[6]

Hebrew in Pico's Kabbalistic Studies Creation, which proceeds from stage to stage and is reflected in extra-divine worlds and of course in nature as well, is not necessarily different from the process that finds its expression in divine words and in the documents of Revelation, in which the divine language is thought to have been reflected. 12

Almost all the demonstrable sources of Pico's Kabbalistic theses use symbolical language to a greater or lesser extent. The sole exception is a small book (not quite one quinternion in translation), Rabbi Azriel's Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus, which is written almost entirely in nonsymbolical language. All other books resort either to symbolical interpretation of the Scriptures, or to combinations of letters and isopsephic equations, or to both, as the case may be. They are not equally difficult books, nor are even the difficult ones equally difficult throughout. But, as regards translation, there is one thing that holds good for all of them, irrespective of their difficulty and of the kind of Kabbala they represent: arguments or interpretations that are inseparable from the letters of Hebrew words tend to become lost — to be literally invisible — or become unintelligible in a plain translation, unless it includes the Hebrew words. It is, for instance, a common view, and much older than Kabbala proper, that heaven and earth were created with the letter he. The scriptural authority for it is Gen. 2:4 ("These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created"), where, however, the word behibar'am (Dxnara) is interpreted as if it read behebra'am (DX"I3 ΓΟ); accordingly, the verse is assumed to mean, "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth: God created them with he." One cannot see the force and relevance of the argument, unless the word behibar'am is seen and understood. 13 Nor can one see isopsephic equations in an ordinary translation. "O Pice," Mithridates remarked in the margin of Codice

12 13

G. Scholem, On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, trans. R. Manheim (New York, 1965), pp. 35-36. By way of illustration, I quote Codice Vaticano Ebraico 190, fol. 176r: "et Ze est nomen eius in eternum ad ascondendum, quod scilicet scribitur per iod he vau he et legitur per aleph daleth nun iod, cum quo creauit superiores et inferiores ut scribitur [Isa. 26:4: DTJVIV n x mrr rra 'a] cum iod et he dominus formauit secula. hinc habetur quod cum his duabus licteris scilicet iod et he creauit iod he vau he duo secula, seculum hoc et seculum venturum. seculum quidem venturum cum iod, et seculum hoc cum he, ut scribitur [Gen. 2:4] cum he creauit eos quod dicunt sapientes nostri in dictione behibarham id est quando creauit eos."

[7]

Pico's Encounter

with Jewish

Mysticism

Vaticano Ebraico 190, fol. 75r, "magna sunt hec sed impossibile est ut intelligantur a te nisi in propriis Uteris et verbis hebraicis." H e was quite right. N o one, unless he knew Hebrew, would suspect, on reading in Latin "et q u e m a d m o d u m tradidit illam in manu intellectus agentis sic tradidit illam in manu Israel," that Intellectus Agens and Israel were isopsephic equivalents, as in fact they are in Hebrew: the sums resulting from the addition of the numbers represented by the Hebrew letters ^ y i s n b l O (sekel happo'el,

intellectus agens) and ^ f W (Israel), respectively, are in

each case 541. A n illuminating example of what could and what could not be seen without recourse t o the original is afforded by the last paragraph of the Liber Redemptionis,

where the Latin translation is followed by a quotation

of the Hebrew original and a detailed interpretation o f it by Mithridates (Vatican Library, Cod. Chigi Α.VI. 190, fol. 3 3 2 r - v (hereafter referred to as Cod. Chigi or the Chisianus): Dico igitur tibi quod magna est Cogitatio Intellectualis in Deo secundum debitum plus quam sit quecumque oratio et jejunium et vociferatio per probationes manifestas et claras. nec est dubium ut dixit doctor quod quando fit hec religio siue Cultus Cogitationis Intellectualis in deo et in proprietatibus eius et operibus eius et in nominibus eius indicantibus omnia hec quod in veritate hec est ilia religio vera que debetur illi a quocumque sapiente. Et hec dicitur Cultus et religio que debetur deo sancto et benedicto ex charitate. nec nomina eius scire poteris nec veram noticiam eius nisi per combinationem literarum. ideo si combinaueris tria nomina sua quorum unum alteri addes (cum rore) 14 et unum alteri (cum heie) inuenies in omnibus tribus necessitatem uel Causam Inuentionis et etiam ipse est Causa mundi et est Causa eius quod est et est secretum dei eterni. Hebraice κχηη τχι (πνιχ) ητ rm (VÜ) ητ bx ητ *pin u r o vmnw πεΛϊ; ηΊχι .oViy Vx πιο Nim "ixnrt ηνπ κιηι nVirn a r n sin on DJ nx'snn svn Dni^^D (Amore pici volo declarare hunc passum.) Combinatio eius trium nominum 15 ascendit ad 177 et continet Causam eius quod est que est hiiub amesiha, cuius numeri sunt 8.10.6.2.5.40.90.10.1.5. Collecti sunt 177. et totidem sunt numeri Cause mundi que dicitur hiubaholam, cuius numeri sunt 8.10.6.2.5.70.6.30.40. Collecti sunt 177 et totidem sunt Causa eius quod est que dicitur hiiyb amasuii uel Causa que est cuius numeri sunt

14 15

As may be seen from the Hebrew quotation, cum rore is due to the variant bu (tat) for Vl? ('at). The names are mir (YHWH), ' n x (Adonai) and εγγΛχ (Elohim), the numerical equivalents of which are respectively 26, 65, and 86. Hence, "combinatio eius trium nominum ascendit ad 177."

[8]

Hebrew in Pico's Kabbalistic Studies 8.10.6.2.5.40.90.6.10.[ 10.] Collecti sunt totidem. Et totidem sunt numeri dei sempiterni qui dicitur elholam quia 1.30.70.6.30.40 collecti sunt 177. reliqua intelligas per te.

What cannot be seen in the Latin translation without recourse to the original is the way in which the truth that God is the cause of all that exists is discovered or rather recognized through the combination of divine names. But unless one can see how Kabbala discovers or recognizes truth — and the ways of discovery or recognition are not always the same — one has failed to see the essential quality of Kabbala. If we bear in mind that the translations of Mithridates are shot through with Hebrew words and phrases and, occasionally, as in this instance, with whole passages in Hebrew, we can see now that even that modicum of Hebrew which Pico acquired in a month might improve his understanding of Kabbala. I am not suggesting that it removed or even eased all the difficulties Pico had to face. But it certainly helped him to see in detail how a Kabbalistic argument or interpretation proceeded. This is a matter of importance, because Pico's attraction by the Kabbalistic way of discovering or recognizing truth accounts for much that is entirely new in his Christian Kabbala.

[9]

2 T H E NATURE AND CHRONOLOGY OF THE EXTANT MANUSCRIPTS

Granted that Pico's study of Kabbala was not an extension of previous Hebrew studies but that, on the contrary, his study of Hebrew was from the outset subsidiary to Kabbala, it follows that Pico did not make his first acquaintance with Kabbala through untranslated Kabbalistic texts, unless they were texts translated to him viva voce. Nor is it likely, on the other hand, that Pico read much Kabbala in translation before the translations made for him by Flavius Mithridates began to flow in 1486. Not that the name and nature of Kabbala were in fact as unknown in the Christian world before Pico as Pico seems to imply.1 The notion that Jewish esoteric texts and doctrines confirmed Christianity was beginning to spread some time before Pico and may well have been gaining ground. 2 There was, however, not much Kabbala proper — whether genuine or adulterated — to be read in translation. Bits and pieces of both truly and ostensibly Kabbalistic texts in Latin translations were certainly in circulation, enough apparently to make Pico wish to know more, but hardly enough to satisfy his desire: what little is known for certain of truly Kabbalistic texts

1

Pico, Apologia {Opera, 1557), p. 175: "Volo autem et aliquid dicere latius de ista Cabala ... horrendum enim istis patribus uidetur hoc nomen, et ex ipso pene sono timendum, ita ut forte sint ex ipsis, qui cabalistas non homines, sed hircoceruos potius uel centaurum, uel omnino mostruosum aliquid esse suspicarentur. quinimo audi rem ridiculam, cum semel quidam ex eis interrogaretur, quid esset ista Cabala? Respondit ille, fuisse perfidum quendam hominem et diabolicum, qui dictus est Cabala, et hunc multa contra Christum scripsisse, inde sequaces eius dictos Cabalistas." Ibid., p. 180: "Haecest prima et uera Cabala, de qua credo me primum apud Latinos explicatam fecisse mentionem."

2

See G. Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," in Essays Presented to Leo Baeck (London, 1954), pp. 164 ff.; F. Secret, Les Kabbalistes Chretiens de la Renaissance (Paris, 1964), pp. 8 ff.; idem, "L'Ensis Pauli de Paulus de Heredia," Sefarad, 26 (1966), 79 ff.; "Pico della Mirandola e gli inizi della cabala cristiana," Convivium, n.s. 25 (1957), pp. 31-45.

[10]

Nature and Chronology of Manuscripts in translation at that time would scarcely fill one quire in the manuscripts of Kabbalistic translations made for Pico by Mithridates. Mithridates performed a remarkable feat of translation: he translated a small Kabbalistic library. The extant autographs of his translations in the Vatican Library — Codices Vaticani Ebraici 189-191, and Codex Chigi A. VI. 190 — do not represent the entire body of Kabbala translated into Latin by Mithridates. Three of the four manuscripts show substantial losses, and a whole large manuscript which was seen and described by Gaffarel 3 has not been recovered since. The extant four manuscripts in their present state of preservation amount to nearly 3,500 pages in folio. The extent of the losses can be approximately estimated at well over 2,000 pages of the same size. A corpus of some 5,500 pages with an average of twenty-six lines to the page and ten words to the line is roughly the size of Justinian's Digest and more than fifteen times the size of the Aeneid. It is not known, nor can it be established for want of conclusive evidence, whether Mithridates translated a chance collection of Kabbalistic books, or books selected for translation, and, if the latter, by whom the selection was made. At any rate, this impressive body of Kabbalistic literature in Latin translation comprises some forty books of varying size, quality, and interest, written by different authors, belonging to different periods, and representing different types of Kabbala. Before we consider those translations as sources, it will be useful to consider them briefly as manuscripts one by one. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189 originally contained a corpus of fifteen sundry writings usually attributed to Eleazar of Worms. The manuscript lost its beginning and end already before it was borrowed from the Vatican Library and was copied in its present state of preservation by Egidio da Viterbo in 1516. Another copy of this manuscript in its present state of preservation was seen and described by Gaffarel. 4 Three whole books and the beginning of the fourth are missing at the beginning, and the fifteenth book, except its first page, is missing at the end. The first missing quire of 3

4

Iacobus Gaffarellus, Codicum Cabalisticorum manuscriptorum quibus est usus Ioannes Picus Comes Mirandulanus Index (Paris, 1651), pp. 19-41. Reprinted in J. Christopherus Wolfius, Bibliotheca Hebraica, I (Hamburg and Leipzig: Christianus Liebezeit, 1715), Appendix, pp. 11-20. (Hereafter Index, pp. 11-20 [19-41].) See Flavius Mithridates, Sermo de Passione Domini, ed. C. Wirszubski (Jerusalem, 1963; hereafter Sermo de Passione), pp. 58-64.

[11]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism the first extant book (which is the fourth of the whole corpus) and five quires containing the missing fifteenth book are at present embedded in Cod. Chigi.5 Together with the recovered quires the manuscript now contains twelve complete books De Anima continuously numbered from IV to XV, each book having in addition its own title. The fifteenth book is stated in its incipit to be the last. Books eleven, twelve, and fifteen are attributed in their incipits to Eleazar of Worms. Whether, or to what extent, he is also the author of the remaining nine extant books is a question that need not be discussed here, because it hardly matters for the study of Pico's Christian Kabbala. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 is complete, except that its last three quires are at present embedded in the Chisianus. 6 It contains a mixed lot of eleven sundry works by different authors, but it was evidently written as one continuous manuscript: only three of those eleven pieces begin at the top of a recto page, and there is only one subscription, at the end of the last piece. Since the recovery, some years ago, of the missing end of Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189 and the missing end of Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, it is no longer a matter of opinion or inference that these two manuscripts are translations made for Pico della Mirandola by Flavius Mithridates: this is plainly stated in their subscriptions. 7 Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191 differs in some respects from the two other Vaticani. The subscription "Mithridate Interprete" appears six times (fols. 34v, 107v, 121r, 208r, 287v, 335r), and in three instances (the first, the second, and the last) it is followed by blank pages. It would seem therefore that, unlike the two other Vaticani, this manuscript was written piecemeal rather than continuously. Another noteworthy difference is that the subscriptions invariably state that Mithridates is the translator, but none of them mentions Pico as the recipient of the translations. The manuscript comprises twelve pieces and the beginning of a thirteenth. Some are anonymous; all others are by different authors. Cod. Chigi is a composite manuscript put together in obvious disarray. 8 5 6 7 8

See ibid., pp. 55-58. See ibid., pp. 52-55 and 57-58. For the subscription of Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189 see ibid., p. 57; for that of Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, ibid., p. 58. See ibid., pp. 55-58. See also P.O. Kristeller, Iter Italicum, II ( L o n d o n Leiden, 1967), p. 478.

[12]

Nature and Chronology of Manuscripts Apart from nine quires, six of which originally belonged to Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189 and three to Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, the Chisianus contains several Kabbalistic books or parts of them. The incipit of the first piece, Joseph Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae (Sa'arey Sedeq), mentions Pico as the recipient of the translation. It was in fact thanks to this incipit that the manuscript was rescued from oblivion over forty years ago by P.O. Kristeller.9 Of all the other pieces only one is complete but it has no subscription. Most of them, however, were demonstrably made for Pico, as will be seen in due course. All four manuscripts are written throughout in the same hand, which is demonstrably the translator's own. Not being myself a trained palaeographer, I have not attempted a comparative study of the Latin and Hebrew 10 hands of those manuscripts and the Latin and Hebrew hands of the authenticated autographs of Mithridates. I do not, in fact, rest my case for the authenticity of the translator's hand on the comparative study of his handwriting, but on textual criticism. In the text of several translations, each in a different manuscript, I have noticed corrections made by the first hand of errors which are due to the misreading or misconception of Hebrew words, some of which are not even detectable as errors without recourse to the Hebrew original. Since such corrections cannot be rationally explained except on the hypothesis that they are the translator's own corrections, their presence in the text argues conclusively that the first hand is the translator's. In the examples that follow, double square brackets indicate deletions in the manuscript. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189, fol. 485r: "Est autem respondendum ßcontradicendum] adhuc nonne decern generationes vixerunt," etc. The first hand wrote respondendum, then deleted that word and wrote contradicendum instead, then deleted the latter and restored the former by setting a row of dots under it. It was the translator, not the copyist, who wavered between respondendum and contradicendum: the Hebrew phrase o n in the original text" can by itself mean either est autem respondendum or est autem contradicendum, but the former is what the context requires.

9 10

11

P.O. Kristeller, "Lector," Civiltä moderna, 10 (1938), 334. In a few instances there are words written in Arabic and in Greek. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 415v, has a marginal note written in Arabic characters, but the language is almost certainly Hebrew. Bodleian MS 1566 [Opp. 111], fol. 277r.

[13]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 80r: "et litere in dictione flches sedesfl", with bam id est in eis written above the line. The error is due to the misreading of the Hebrew word D2 (bam, in eis) as DD (kes, sedes), which is easily understandable considering that the letters beth and kaph are almost indistinguishable in manuscripts, as are also final mem and samekh. The translator apparently caught himself erring by the time he reached the next sentence: "et continencia omnium est quod Arbor vite in eis uiuit hes aiim bam hai." Ibid., fol. 109v: "et intellige quod omne quod est in sphera sine puncto est sine anima": the words in italics were added by the first hand between the lines, and in the margin the same hand noted: "deest in heb[raice] et ego supl[e]ui quia mihi uidetur sic." Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 20r: JRam id est excelsus quod estfl Dam id est sanguis et est ieled." The cancelled Ram id est excelsus is undoubtedly an error, 12 but it cannot be the copyists error, because it was evidently occasioned by the text of the Hebrew original and not by the text of the Latin translation. 13 The first hand in this instance is plainly the hand of the translator, who caught himself erring soon enough to cancel his error and start again. Cod. Chigi, fol. 292v: "Verum si remoueris ilium ab omni corporeitate et cogitaueris eternitates suas et sempiternitatem et antiquitatem suam sine mundo aliquo, et quomodo [with vel quod written above the line and non est added by the first hand in the margin] [nomen entis] ibi aliud ens [written above the line by the first hand] preter ilium." Thus we have in the last clause the alternative translation non est for quomodo and the correction ibi for nomen. The Hebrew original of this clause is quoted in the translation of fol. 293r in the form inVtt x x a j DW f x i . Now, in ordinary Hebrew writing without points (vowels) the words for nomen (sem) and ibi (sam)'look exactly the same, DU7, because they have the same consonants with a different vowel. It was obviously the translator, and not the copyist, who misread the word DW as sem, and then caught himself erring: hence

12 13

Because the Hebrew word ram is not the isopsephic equivalent of the word ieled, t^', as the context requires, whereas dam is. For the present purpose it does not very much matter whether the error was occasioned by the presence in the Hebrew original of the faulty variant m (ram) beside the correct reading m (dam) or, more likely, by the close similarity of the letters 1 (daleth) and Ί (resh), owing to which m (dam, sanguis) might be easily misread as DT (ram, excelsus).

[14]

Nature and Chronology of

Manuscripts

the deletion of nomen entis, and the superscript correction ibi aliud ens. He also realized that "pNI (et quomodo) in the Hebrew original ought to be fXI (et non est); hence the alternative translation vel quod non est for et quomodo. Proving by textual criticism that the manuscripts are autographs is a roundabout method, but it has its advantages and compensations. What the internal evidence of the text here reveals is not only that the extant four manuscripts are written in the translator's own hand, but also that they were written while the translator was actually translating the Hebrew originals into Latin. And since they were all demonstrably written for Pico after 10 May 1486, it follows that none of them would qualify for identification with any of the three Kabbalistic books said to have been translated into Latin before the death of Sixtus IV in 1484, except of course on Gaffarel's hypothesis that Pico, having failed to obtain the books translated for Sixtus, had those books translated again by the same translator. 14 It is, however, not too difficult to see that Gaffarel's hypothesis, being the child of wishful thinking, has no foundation. 1 5 In three of the four extant manuscripts there are numerous personal notes written by the first hand in parentheses in the text or, less frequently, in the margins. 16 The exception is Vaticanus 191, which has only three

14 15

See Gaffarel, Index, p. 9 [15], No reader of Gaffarel's Index can fail to see that he was only too anxious to prove that his three manuscripts were not only the manuscripts used by Pico but also the three books translated for Sixtus IV. But, uncritical though he was, Gaffarel was no fool: anybody can see that translations in which the translator, on Gaffarel's own showing, addresses Pico and abuses the pope cannot be the translations made for Sixtus IV. Hence the hypothesis of a second translation by the same translator. It is just possible that Gaffarel knew something about Pico's effort to obtain certain books from the papal court through his friends in Rome. In a letter addressed to Niccolo Michelozzi, Lorenzo's secretary, in Rome and dated from Florence on 17 November 1489, Pico made the following request: "Se voi potete con destro modo cavare dal Maestro di Casa del Papa li libri di Mitridate, mi farete cosa gratissima et ve Ii rimandaro in uno mese; pagaro le vetture e gabeile et ogni spesa: ma non bisogna mostrare di volerli per me che non ve li darebono. Ad vui mi raccomando" (Garin, La cultura ftlosofica, p. 276). What those books were is not yet known, nor does it matter for the present purpose. What does matter is the date of the letter: almost three years after the publication of Pico's theses.

16

Some of the notes in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189 were published by J. Dukas, "Recherches sur l'histoire litteraire du XVe siecle," Bulletin du bibliophile et [15]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism short personal allusions in parentheses and none in the margins. If Gaffarel's description of his first manuscript is correct, there were personal notes also in the now lost translation of Menahem Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch,17 Most of the notes in all the manuscripts clearly identify themselves by their phrasing or contents as notes addressed by Mithridates to Pico. Some of them, however, could not be so identified unless we knew that the first hand is the translator's. Sometimes his remarks do not appear to be addressed to anybody in particular, but are more in the nature of ejaculations that reflect his moods and preoccupations. Considered as a whole, the notes are an invaluable source of information: they throw light on Mithridates, on his relations with Pico, on Pico's studies. They also help to date the manuscripts in which they appear. A remarkable case in point is Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189. Owing mainly to the fact that Gaffarel described a direct descendant of this manuscript in the seventeenth century, the works of Eleazar of Worms rank high in most discussions of Pico's Kabbalistic sources. But some notes of Mithridates reveal an unsuspected fact: when Mithridates was translating the extant twelve books De Anima for Pico, the latter was already in Rome. The shortest and clearest of them all appears in parentheses at fol. 483r: Et sunt multi sapientes et ingeniosi uiri et boni et dediti virtutibus qui semper mendicant et sunt pauperes et vilissimi omnium hominum prout scriptum est [Eccl. 9: 16] sapiencia pauperis non reputatur nec verba eius exaudiuntur (Si picus esset pauper tot honores rome non haberet).

As we cannot be sure that this large manuscript was delivered to Pico all in one piece, I shall quote another note which appears in the first extant book, at fol. 157r: Quamvis enim mulier vi predata sit licita Dauidi qui est rex non tamen conuenit ut coeat cum concubinis suis postquam coiuit cum eis Absalom

17

du bibliothecaire, 42 (1874), 342 ff., and by F. Secret, "Qui etait l'orientaliste Mithridate," Revue des etudes juives, 16 [CXVI] (1957), 96-102. Another selection of notes from Cod. Chigi was published by Secret, "Nouvelles precisions sur Flavius Mithridates maitre de Pic de la Mirandole et traducteur de commentaires de Kabbale," in L'Opera e ilpensiero di Giovanni Pico della Mirandola nella storia dell'Umanesino, Convegno Internazionale, II (Florence, 1965), 169 ff. See Gaffarel, Index, pp. 5 - 6 [8].

[16]

Nature and Chronology

of

Manuscripts

postquam dicerent viri seculi sua sponte fecerunt ut coirent cum eo propter pulchritudinem suam (sicut fit cum Pico hodie propter cuius pulchritudinem mulieres concurrunt ut coeant secum precipue Margarita quam unus se offert homo mane ducere earn usque Romam si voluerit Picus quamvis sit pregnans). Margarita is of course the heroine of the famous abduction or elopement from Arezzo, as the case may be. It is not necessary to assume a serious purpose behind this note to see that it does not make sense, even as a jest, except on the assumption that Pico was in Rome at that time. My third example, at fol. 269r, helps to date the manuscript with greater precision: et tribus de quibus non licet homini loqui et ideo abstineat'-os suum ne loquatur (et ideo dicitur in Luciniano 18 quod picus est carceratus in castro sancti angeli quia voluit reuelare secreta non reuelanda asinis que non sine misterio occultarunt sapientes). Mithridates observed on fol. 173v: "asinos omnes (appellatione quorum intelligitur Malfecta cum cardinalibus suis)." "Malfecta" is of course Giovanni Battista Cibo, Cardinalis Melfitensis, the former patron of Mithridates, 19 who, as Innocent VIII, succeeded Sixtus IV. Since the public debate of Pico's theses was meant to take place not just in Rome but at the papal court, 20 one could say with regard to that debate that Pico "wanted to reveal secrets not to be revealed to asses," meaning by "asses" the reigning pope and his cardinals. Pico, it is true, was not imprisoned in Rome, but he had been in danger of imprisonment ever since the publica-

18 19 20

Cf. Cod. Chigi, fol. 64r: "Et hie est ager in quo reuelantur turpitudines et fiunt coitus illiciti (prope Lucinianum ubi captus fuit picus cum margarita)." See Sermo de Passione, p. 79. See L. Dorez and L. Thuasne, Pic de la Mirandole en France (Paris, 1897), p. 114: "Cum nuper nobilis et magnificus vir dominus Johannes Picus, Concordiae comes, quam plurimas et diversas variarum facultatum conclusiones in Romana curia disputandas illasque defendendas in pluribus locis almae Urbis publice affixerit et imprimi fecerit etc." See also the Bull of Innocent VIII condemning Pico's theses: "Nuper siquidem, cum dilectus filius nobilis vir Ioannes Picus, Concordiae Comes, noningentas Conclusiones variarum facultatum publice affigi et in diversis locis publicis almae urbis, in qua cum Romana Curia residemus, et aliis mundi partibus publicare fecisset, offerens se, ut moris est, contenta in illis in publicis desuper habendis disputationibus in eadem Curia substentare"; G. Pico della Mirandola, De Hominis Dignitate, Heptaplus, De Ente et Uno, ed. Ε. Garin (Florence, 1942), p. 63. [17]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism tion of his Apology provoked the papal breve of 6 June 1487.21 Thus while some details remain obscure, it is at any rate plain enough that the note presupposes the consequences of the publication of Pico's Conclusiones. It follows that the manuscript cannot be anterior to 1487. That Pico read this manuscript, or part of it, need not be denied: he quotes Eleazar of Worms once in his Disputationes adversus Astrologiam.22 But he could not possibly have read it before he completed his Conclusiones early in November 1486: no one can read a manuscript which has not yet been written.

21

Dorez et Thuasne, Pic de la Mirandole en France, p. 145: "Cum autem, sicut accepimus, idem Johannes Picus ... nova scripta super huiusmodi conclusione [s/c] assertione addiderit, eaque a nonnullis sacre theologie professoribus parum consideratis subscribi fecerit ... committimus per presentes, ut super hujusmodi scriptis et subscriptione diligentius inquirendo ... contra actores et subscriptores scriptorum huiusmodi more inquisitorum heretice pravitatis ... procedatis, dantes vobis plenam auctoritate presentium facultatem citandi, capiendi et carcerandi carceratosque examinandi et juxta sanctiones canonicas puniendi."

22

Pico, Opera, p. 697: "Heliazer Garnozensis (= Gormazensis) uir Hebraeus in lib. de Anima Cancro manus et pedes assignat."

[18]

3 T H E SOURCES OF THE FIRST SET OF THESES

The elimination of Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189 leaves four manuscripts — three extant and one lost — as possible sources of Pico's Kabbalistic theses. Some of the writings included in the extant manuscripts Pico certainly used: the Bahir1 (in the Vaticanus 191) and the Liber de Radicibus

seu

Terminis Cabala (Sefer ha-Sorasim)2

(in the Vaticanus 190). It is also

certain that some theses secundum

opinionem propriam

argue Pico's

acquaintance with the writings of Abraham Abulafia, 3 two of which are included in the Vaticanus 190 and one in the Chisianus. But it still remains to be seen whether Pico also used other writings included in the three extant manuscripts, as well as the lost manuscript of Menahem Recanati's Commentary

on the Pentateuch.

Gaffarel, who saw and described the

manuscript, states that Pico used Recanati's commentary for his Kabbalistic theses. This is possible and credible, but nobody can rely on Gaffarel as the sole authority. Fortunately, there is no need to rely on Gaffarel: the

1

See Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," p. 167: "Und wie so oft, lässt sich viel aus einem Fehler lernen! In den conclusiones secundum propriam opinionem über Zoroaster und die Chaldäer (d. h. auf Grund der sogenannten Chaldäischen Orakel) heisst es nämlich: 'Was bei Zoroaster unter Ziegen zu verstehen ist, versteht, wer im Buch Bahir liest, welches die Affinität der Ziegen und welches die der Schafe mit den Geistern ist.' Nun steht keine solche Stelle im Buch Bahir, wohl aber ist sie unter Stücken zu finden, die in einigen Manuskripten (wie Cod. München 209) auf den Text des Bahir folgen. All diese Stücke befinden sich, ohne jede deutliche Abhebung vom Bahir, und vom Übersetzer in derselben Zeile wie das Ende des Bahir begonnen, am Ende der lateinischen Sammlung des Mithridates in Cod. Vatic. 191, wo Bahir auf fol. 326r endet, aber das Zitat Pico's im fortlaufenden Text fol. 331v in der Tat steht!"

2

See C. Wirszubski, "Giovanni Pico's Companion to Kabbalistic Symbolism," in Studies in Mysticism and Religion Presented to Gershom G. Scholem (Jerusalem, 1967), pp. 353-362. See Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," p. 164, η. 1.

3

[19]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Hebrew original of the lost translation is extant, which can be confronted with Pico's theses, and the evidence of the theses themselves should decide the issue, here as elsewhere. Pico's use of the Bahir and of the Liber de Radicibus was established by the derivation of texts, or, in other words, on the internal evidence of the theses themselves. This is indeed the only way to ascertain which of the known manuscripts Pico actually used for his Kabbalistic theses. Derivation of texts is also the only way to settle another question. Can we be reasonably certain that those four manuscripts contain all that matters for the interpretation of Pico's Kabbala? The wealth and variety of the texts included in them do not by themselves render this question superfluous. It is of course true that no other Kabbalistic translations are known to have existed at that time. But the Chisianus, unknown and as good as non existent until it was discovered by Kristeller not so long ago, is a timely reminder that, where so much depends on the chances of preservation and discovery, we must not assume as a matter of course that the known translations are all that existed. Moreover, some of his Kabbalistic theses seem to argue Pico's acquaintance with books which are not included in the known manuscripts of his Kabbalistic translations, and had not yet been translated by the time he published his nine hundred Conclusiones. The Zohar is a case in point. A significant number of Pico's theses unmistakably reflect not only recognizable doctrines but also identifiable passages of the Zohar. Does it follow that Pico read considerable parts of the Zohar even if not the whole book? The answer, to my mind, depends entirely on the derivation of the texts. If the theses that argue Pico's acquaintance with the Zohar can be satisfactorily derived from quotations of the Zohar in the known translations, notably in Recanati, then it would be unreasonable to infer from those theses that Pico read a book which had not yet been translated and which he could not possibly have read in the original. If, however, those theses cannot be derived from quotations in the known translations, then the conclusion that Pico read the Zohar, or parts of it, is inevitable, all arguments to the contrary notwithstanding. If we want then to establish with reasonable certainty whether, or to what extent, the four known manuscripts contain the texts that matter for the interpretation of Pico's Kabbala, we must try to pinpoint the direct sources, or at least the likeliest direct sources, of individual theses. There is no other way: the inventory of Pico's library, the names of the authors [20]

Sources of the First Set of Theses Pico mentions, the titles of the books he quotes, and, as we have seen in the previous chapter, even a translation that was made for him may all lead us astray. The only evidence that can be absolutely trusted is the internal evidence of the theses themselves. Pico wrote two sets of Kabbalistic theses: one secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum, and another secundum opinionem propriam.4 The latter theses may or may not be original; the former do not even claim originality and, consequently, are not likely to be far removed from their sources. I propose, therefore, to consider the theses of the former set one by one, in order to see whether they can be accounted for without recourse to Kabbalistic texts not included in the known manuscripts. If they can be satisfactorily accounted for, there is no need to assume Pico's acquaintance with sources not included in his manuscripts. If not, we shall have to cast about for missing sources.

CONCLUSIO I

Sicut homo et sacerdos inferior sacrificat deo animas animalium irrationalium, ita Michael sacerdos superior sacrificat animas animalium rationalium.

For want of a single source, I suggest that this thesis was inspired by two different texts and that it combines two distinct elements: (a) the likeness between the archangel Michael as celestial priest and the priest on earth; (b) the sacrificial offering of human souls by the archangel Michael. The relevant texts are: Expositio Decern Numerationum, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 78v: et Michael est archangelus maior qui stat in hierarchia Diuinitatis a latere dextro et procedit a pietate et ideo quaerit clemenciam pro Israel et est sacerdos Dei altissimi5 nihil enim est inferius qui [iic] non habeat suum simile superius et hoc secretum manifestum in particula factum est die octaua ubi dicitur [Lev. 9:4] quod hodie dominus apparet vobis hebfraice] DD^K π κ υ nam litere nirah indicant hunc numerum 50.200.1.5. et tot

4

5

Conclusiones Cabalisticae numero XLVII secundum secretam 'doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum, Opera Omnia (Basel, 1557), pp. 80-83; Conclusiones Cabalisticae numero LXXIsecundum opinionem propriam, ibid., pp. 107-113. Cf. Bab. Talmud, Menahot, fol. llOr.

[21]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

indicant litere prtN id est Aaron, scilicet 1.5.200.50. similiter dictio D3,I7K indicat numerum hunc 1.30.10.20.40. et totidem indicant litere V w ö [Michael] scilicet 40.10.20.1.30. et hi duo Aaron et Michael docent merita. 6 Recanati, Commentary

on the Pentateuch (Venice, 1545; hereafter cited as

Recanati), fol. 131va:7 Our Masters, blessed be their memory, said in Midrai Yelamdenu: this is [the meaning of] what Scripture says [Ps. 89:7] 'Π1? - p r pnttO Ή Ό [which is here taken to mean] "For who in the sky shall set [an offering] for the Lord" — the Holy blessed be He says: If I were asking a sacrifice, would I not tell Michael to offer a sacrifice? And from whom do I ask a sacrifice? From Israel. You know already [Recanati goes on to say] that Michael is the High Priest above, because his power is from [the sefirah called] Charity, and it is said in the Midrash that he sacrifices the souls of the just like continual burnt offerings.

CONCLUSIO II

Nouem sunt angelorum hierarchiae quarum nomina Cherubim, Seraphim, Hasmalim, Haiot, Aralim, Tarsisim, Ophanim, Tephsraim [Tephsarim], Isim. The unusual number of angelic hierarchies, nine instead of ten, and the unusual form Aralim, for 'Er'elim, D'^XIN, help to identify the likeliest direct source of this thesis, namely Abraham Axelrad's Corona

Nominis

Boni, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 177r: Unde procedere fecit lumen ad firmamenta quando dixit [Gen. 1:6] sit firmamentum quod est Iehi et postea prolongauit et tetendit in formatione corporearum rerum ut dicunt sapientes nostri decern verba sunt gradus decern honorabiles, submisse a causa superiore procedentes et unus gradus est'superior alio et tales dicuntur hierarchia celestis. Quarum nomina sunt haec: hisim, id est humani; Malachim seu tafsarim, id est angeli uel principatus; hirin uel Tarsisim; Aralim; xeraphim; ofannim; cherubim; aioth; chisse uel asmallim; et decimus est sanctus et est fundamentum denarii ideo dixit quod superiores creati sunt cumjod scilicet denario. Jod uero testatur de unitate creatoris et subtilitate cogitationis que est sine imagine et sine forma de quo scribitur [Isa. 40:25] et ad quem assimilabitis me cui equari possim?

6 7

Docent merita is a Hebraism — ΓΠ3Τ D'löVö — meaning "they plead for." All translations into English are my own unless indicated otherwise.

[22]

Sources of the First Set of Theses It does not really matter that "fundamentum [yesod] denarii" represents a false reading and ought to have been "secretum [sod\ denarii." What matters is that the tenth grade cannot possibly be taken to denote an angelic hierarchy. Hence the obvious inference from this text is that there are nine hierarchies of angels, whereas the usual number in Jewish sources is ten. 8 This being so, the Corona Nominis Boni is the likeliest direct source of Pico's thesis, the different order of the names notwithstanding, because it accounts for Pico's notion that there are nine angelic hierarchies secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum (just as there are nine celestial hierarchies in Dionysius Areopagita). The words printed in italics in the Latin quotation are an interpolation: they have no counterpart in the Hebrew original.

CONCLUSIO I I I Quamuis nomen ineffabile 9 sit proprietas clementiae, negandum tarnen non est quin contineat proprietatem iudicii.

The direct source is Liber Combinationum, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 41r: Et percipe de nomine essencie 10 quod est nomen Dei tetragramaton, quod quamvis vocatur apud sapientes nostros proprietas clementie continet tarnen proprietatem judicii.

It is noteworthy that this passage is marked in the margin with a perpendicular line surmounted by two points placed horizontally to each other. Similar marks appear also in other manuscripts known to have been owned and used by Pico. Quite likely, therefore, Pico himself marked this passage.

8 9 10

Cf., e.g., Code of Maimonides, bk. I, chap ii. § 7; the Zohar, part II, fol. 43r; Ma'areket ha-'Elohut (Mantua, 1558), fol. 19412. Nomen ineffabile is the Tetragrammaton, YHWH. Nomen essencie is a literal translation of m n DC (Sem hawayah), i.e., the Tetragrammaton.

[23]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

CONCLUSIO IV Peccatum Adae fuit truncatio regni a caeteris plantis. The prohibition of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, or, more precisely, Gen. 2:16, "And the Lord G o d commanded the man saying," etc., is interpreted in the Talmud [Bab., Sanhedrin,fol.

56v] and Midrash [Beresit

Rabba, xvi. 16] as implying six or seven prohibitions, namely, the word commanded

implies the prohibition of idolatry; the Lord, of blasphemy;

God, of the perversion of justice; the man, of bloodshed; saying, of adultery; and so forth. The Zohar, part I, fol. 36r, takes up this interpretation and restates it in a Kabbalistic manner in terms of "the severance of the plants," that is, the separation of the seflrot: Rabbi Yose said: as regards the saying of our teachers that God prohibited to Adam idolatry, blasphemy, perversion of justice, bloodshed, etc., why should all this be necessary considering that man was alone in the world? But in truth all these prohibitions concern the tree because they are involved in it, seeing that whoever partakes of it by itself causes severance ... He is guilty of idolatry in respect of the great prefects; of bloodshed, because it depends on that tree which is of the side of Geburah (Might), and Samael is in charge of it; and of adultery because it is the woman and is called "wife," and it is prohibited to meet a woman alone, without her husband, to avoid the suspicion of adultery. All prohibitions were thus included in the prohibition of that tree, and when he ate of it he transgressed them all. R[abbi] Yehudah says: certainly this is so and it is prohibited to consort with a woman alone except in the presence of her husband. Having quoted this passage from the Zohar, Recanati goes on to say (19vb-20ra): Although it is true that the seven commandments were enjoined upon the children of Noah, it is nevertheless true that they are implied in the said mystery, for the prohibition of idolatry means that he must not sever the plants, and likewise the prohibition of bloodshed, because he who separates her [the "woman" or "wife," namely the Shekinah or Malkut (Kingdom), the tenth seflrah] renders himself guilty of bloodshed. Also the prohibition of adultery, namely that he must not unite with her alone... And as regards the word "saying" pax 1 ?], which was said to imply adultery, you will understand this from [Isa. 5:24], "they have despised the word [ m a s ] of the Holy One of Israel," and [Lam. 2:17] "he fulfilled his word." Hence you can understand the meaning of the word "saying" [löN1?] in the whole of the Law, namely that it alludes to the Shekinah. "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden", namely when they are all united, for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, who were the legs of the Merkabah (Divine Chariot), [24]

Sources of the First Set of Theses each of them ate of the fruit of the Garden of Eden and their teeth were not set on edge, because they ate them when they were all united. Seferha-Zohar [part I, fol. 35v]: '"You may freely eat of every tree of the garden' — he was permitted to eat them all together, for we see that Abraham ate, Isaac and Jacob ate, and they remained alive. But this tree is the tree in which death dwells, whoever partook of it by itself died, because he partook of deadly poison, hence 'for in the day that you eat of it you die,' because he severs the plants." This means [Recanati observes] that the prohibition was not only that he must not eat of it by itself, but that he must not sever the plants.

CONCLUSIO V Cum arbore scientiae boni et mali in qua peccauit primus homo creauit deus saeculum. The direct source is Recanati, fol. 23vb, quoting the Zohar, part I, fol. 36r: "The serpent said to the woman: With this tree God created the world ... Rabbi Yehudah observed that this was not what the serpent said, for if he had said that God created the world with this tree he would have spoken correctly. What the serpent said was that God ate of this tree." Be careful [Recanati adds] to understand the saying of Rabbi Yehudah. He says that it is true that God created the world with this tree, because everything is created by mediation, but God did not eat of it, as the serpent, the seducer, said!

CONCLUSIO VI Magnus Aquilo fons est animarum omnium simpliciter, sicut alii dies quarundam et non omnium. The interpretation of this thesis depends entirely on the precise location of the source of all souls, or, in other words, on the precise symbolical meaning of Magnus Aquilo. The latter, however, cannot be determined with certainty, because Magnus Aquilo, unlike Aquilo, is still unparalleled in Kabbalistic sources. I do not myself think that the meaning of Magnus Aquilo is beyond probable interpretation. But a probable interpretation is not enough for the identification of sources. The thesis as a whole must therefore count as still unexplained and unaccounted for.

[25]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism CONCLUSIO V I I Cum dicit Salomon in oratione sua in libro Regum [1 Kings 8:32,34,36,39] Exaudi, ο coelum, per coelum lineam uiridem debemus intelligere quae gyrat uniuersum.

The "green line that encircles the universe" is the third sefirah ("numeratio"), which is normally called Intelligentia, as may be seen from the Liber de Radicibus, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 258v: "piT 1p Cau hiaroch id est linea viridis uel liuida uel pallida, ut dicunt sapientes nostri quod Informe \Tohü\ est linea viridis uel liuida que girat totum mundum, indicat Intelligentiam." A text that directly bears upon Pico's thesis is Expositio Decern Numerationum, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fols. 73r-74r: Celi superiores hec numeratio dicitur sic quia scribitur [Gen. 1:1] In principle creauit deus celos et terram. Iam enim indicaui tibi supra quod dictio In principio indicat Sapienciam et celos indicat Intelligentiam ... et Tu ο celi exaudi. non enim dixit "de celis" sed "o celi" et sic habes quod nomen celorum est nomen dei benedicti," et est Intelligentia ... Linea liuida que girat mundum Rubedo et nigredo quando simul conjunguntur constituunt colorem liuidum, et hec numeratio procedit a corona que est fusca et obscura, et a sapientia que proprie habet colorem rubeum, et ideo vocatur liuida et girat mundum quia est lex de ore nata.

CONCLUSIO V I I I Animae a tertio lumine ad quartam diem, et inde ad quintam descendunt; inde exeuntes corporis noctem subintrant.

In the Kabbalistic sources with which Pico was acquainted the prevalent view is that souls descend from Intelligence, the third sefirah, to Kingdom, the tenth, through one or more intervening stages which are often enumerated with greater or less detail. But regardless of the number of the intervening sefirot through which they pass, it is always from the tenth that the souls go out to be embodied in the sublunar world. Bearing in mind that the distinction between lumina and dies as representations, respectively, of the upper and the lower sefirot is common, there can be no doubt whatever that by tertium lumen Pico means the third sefirah. It is, however, 11

The ultimate source of this interpretation of 1 Kings 8:32 is the Bahir, s 68 ed. Scholem.

[26]

Sources of the First Set of Theses by no means obvious what he means by the fourth and the fifth days. Considering that the souls, having descended to the fifth day, "go out from there and steal into the night of the body," the fifth day ought to be the tenth seflrah, but no known Jewish Kabbalist has ever called the tenth sefirah the fifth day: in the scheme of days the tenth seflrah normally (though not always) counts as sabbath, whereas the fourth and fifth days represent either the seventh and the eighth seflrot, or the sixth and the seventh, or else the fifth and the seventh. 12 We are thus faced with the following alternatives: either Pico's terminology is correct but his thesis untrue secundum secretam

doctrinam

sapientum

Hebraeorum

Cabalista-

rum, or his thesis is true but his terminology improper. To make the choice between these alternatives easier, it will be useful to ascertain where Pico's count of days begins. Where in fact do "the lights" end and "the days" begin? Disregarding niceties, it is by and large true to say that the ten seflrot can be divided into upper and lower seflrot in two different ways: three upper and seven lower, or five upper and five lower. As there are seven days of the week, it is quite obvious that the distinction within the ten seflrot between lights and days normally presupposes the

12

By way of illustration, I quote Liber de Radicibus, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 241r-v: "Quomodo autem attribuuntur sex dies geneseos ad numerationes est disceptatio inter sapientes cabalistas antiquos et posteriores. Nam antiqui dicunt quod dies prima indicat pietatem [fourth sefirah], dies secunda indicat timorem [fifth], dies tertia tiphereth [sixth], dies quarta eternitatem [seventh], dies quinta decorem [eighth], dies sexta fundamentum [ninth], dies septima diadema [tenth] cum conjunctione fundamenti quia est filia matrimonialis eius [nil ΓΟ], Posteriores vero dicunt quod dies prima indicat tres superiores spirituales. et respondent ad dictum sapientum antiquorum dicentium quod in tribus superioribus non cadit nomen diei, dicunt quod verum est quod in aliqua trium superiorum per se non cadit nomen diei; in omnibus autem tribus non est uerum. et postea dicunt quod dies secunda indicat pietatem, dies tercia timorem, dies quarta tiphereth, dies quinta eternitatem dies sexta decorem, dies septima fundamentum cum unitate tiphereth et regni." The fourth and fifth days are identified, respectively, with the fifth and seventh seflrot in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fols. 90v ff. and lOOv ff.; and in Cod. Chigi, fols. 142r and 143v. See also Liber Dictus Porta Secretorum Rabi Theodori de Toleto, ibid., fol. 218v: "Notum est quod numerationes dicuntur dies et vocantur verba, in tribus prioribus nomen diei non cadit sed bene sex earum dicuntur dies respectu dierum Geneseos quibus omnia educta sunt de potentia in actum in superioribus et e regione illarum in inferioribus, septimum autem sabatum est domini quia in eo quieuit ab omni opificio suo."

[27]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism configuration of three and seven. Pico, however, seems to have superimposed the distinction between lights and days on the configuration of five and five; hence what ought to be the tenth sefirah counts as the fifth day. Strictly speaking this is an error. But the error, I venture to suggest, is not Pico's own. In the first paragraph of Genesis 1 (v. 1-5) the word "light" occurs five times; likewise, "water" occurs five times in the second paragraph (v. 6-8). Here is Recanati's comment (fol. 8va): You will find in this [the first] paragraph [parasah] five lights analogous to the five upper seflrot, and in the second paragraph five waters analogous to the five last seflrot.

Recanati's Hebrew text has m u x won for "five lights," but D'a 'Π for "five waters," which might easily, almost imperceptibly, become D'OTi or Ο'ΰ' Π, that is, "five days." The printed editions have the correct reading CTO 'Π (five waters). But my suspicion that Pico's error might have been inspired by a false reading was corroborated by a chance lot of five manuscripts, two of which have the reading D'a' 'Π (five days) without variants. 13 This being so, it seems to me the likeliest hypothesis that Pico's misconception of the symbolical meaning of the fifth day is due to the false reading "five days" in the Hebrew manuscript of Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch that Mithridates translated and, consequently, in the Latin translation that Pico read. On this hypothesis, the fourth day in Pico's thesis is the ninth sefirah, Yesod (Foundation), and the fifth day is the tenth sefirah, Malkut (Kingdom). A little further in his commentary (fol. 9vb), Recanati interprets a passage of the Bahir (§104 ed. Scholem) concerning souls: The intention of this passage is that Tiferet [the sixth sefirah], which is indicated by the spinal cord, sucks from the upper source, which is indicated by the brain... and the emanation of blessing [proceeds] from there to the Second Arbiter [otherwise called Yesod, Foundation], which is indicated by the [organ of the] covenant [of circumcision]. And the souls flow from the said emanation. In the beginning their place is in Tesuvah [Return or Penitence, the third sefirah, otherwise called Binah, Intelligence], as it is said [Job 38:4] "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you know binah." And it is from there that they [the souls] emanate, as it is said [1 Chron. 4:23] "they dwelt there with the King for his

13

Bodleian MS Canon. Or. 85, fol. 6r; Sassoon Collection, MS 67 (pagination invisible in microfilm).

[28]

Sources of the First Set of Theses work." Now Binah is called King, as it is said [Job 32:8] wenismat sadday tebinem [which is here understood as meaning] "and the breath [or soul] of Sadday puts Binah into them." And from there they slip down to the Foundation of the World [the ninth sefirah], as it is said [Hos. 14:9] "I am like an evergreen cypress, from me comes your fruit." And from there to the Garden of the King's Palace [the tenth sefirah]. And from there they go out and clothe themselves [in bodies] in the inferior [sublunar] world. I submit that this passage is the direct source of Pico's thesis, only that Pico restated the doctrine of his source in differept terms which he used improperly through no fault of his.

CONCLUSIO IX Per sex dies geneseos habemus intelligere sex extremitates aedificii procedentes a Bresith sicut procedunt cedri a Libano. Cf. Recanati, fol. 14vb: In the Zohar [part I, fol. 3 lr] Rabbi Yose asked [Rabbi Simeon]: "those six days of beresit [creation] which we have been discussing, what are they? He replied: they are as it is written [Ps. 104:16] 'the cedars of Lebanon which He planted.' As those cedars issue from Lebanon, so those six days issue from Beresit. And the six are specified in the verse [1 Chron. 29:11] 'Thine, Ο Lord, is the greatness [gedullah] and the power [geburah] and the glory [tiferet], and the victory [nesah], and the majesty [hod]; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom [malkut], Ο Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.'" [Recanati adds his own comment] He [Rabbi Simeon] indicated that they emanate from Hokmah [Wisdom], which is called Resit, and that they are called plants. Sex extremitates

aedificii is a common technical term. By way of illustra-

tion, I quote the Kabbalistic glossary Liber de Radicibus,

Cod. Vat. Ebr.

190, fol. 261r: mxp W1D Xex Kesauoth, id est sex extrema, considerantur duobus modis, uel in universali uel in particulari. In universali quidem est Thiphereth [sixth sefirah] solus, quia est ornatus et universalizatus ex sex extremis, et hoc indicatur per illud quod dicitur in textu [Eccl. 1:7] Omnes torrentes tendunt ad mare, quia scilicet per Tiphereth tendunt sex extrema quae dicuntur torrentes contenti in eo ad Athereth [Diadem, the tenth sefirah] quae dicitur mare [cf. Conclusio xxvii]. Si uero considerantur in particulari sunt pietas [Hesed, otherwise called Gedullah, the fourth sefirah], potentia, eternitas [Nesah, Eternity or Victory], decor, fundamentum seculi, et diadema.

[29]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

CONCLUSIO X Rectius dicitur quod paradisus sit totum aedificium quam quod sit decima; et in medio eius est collocatus magnus Adam qui est Tipheret. Cf. Recanati, fols. 17va-18ra: "And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed" [Gen. 2:8] ... "A garden in Eden" — the garden is the cluster of trees which are the Greatness, the Power, etc. ... "And there he put the man whom he had formed". Superior Man indicates Tiferet and he is in the middle of the said garden. The garden [also] indicates the Congregation of Israel [the tenth sefirah] as it is said [Song of Sol. 4:12] "A garden locked is my sister, my bride."

CONCLUSIO XI Dictum est ex Heden exire fluuium qui diuiditur in quatuor capita ad significandum quod ex secunda numeratione procedit tertia, quae in quartam, quintam, sextam et decimam diuiditur. Cf. Recanati, fol. 18va-b: [Quoting the Zohar, part III, fol. 290v] "And the world to come was created by yod, as it is written [Gen. 2:10] 'And a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden.' What is 'Eden'? It is the Superior Wisdom which is yod. 'To water the garden': this is waw. 'And from there it divided and became four heads': this is dalet and it comprises everything in yod and for this reason it is called father of all." Now according to this saying [Recanati goes on to say] "Eden" indicates Hokmah [Wisdom, the second sefirah], and "River" Binah [Intelligence, the third sefirah], and "Garden" the First Arbiter [otherwise called Tiferet, Beauty or Glory, the sixth sefirah], and the "Four Heads" the large daleth in the word 'ehad,1* which indicates the Congregation of Israel [otherwise called Malkut, Kingdom, or Shekinah, the tenth sefirah], and this is the order of emanation [or influx] from Hokmah to Binah, and from there to the First Arbiter, and from there to the Shekinah ... "And from there it divided": the word "there" [Sam] indicates the Congregation of Israel... and this indicates that from here begins the world of separate beings, while up to this point everything was united without separation at all. "And it divided into four heads": they are the four camps of the Shekinah·, we have already observed that they receive from the Merkabah and they are indicated by the names of the rivers that are

14

In Deut. 6:4, "Hear, Ο Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord," the Hebrew word 'ehad (one) is written with a large daleth.

[30]

Sources of the First Set of Theses mentioned [in the text] before us, and they are the mystery of Gedullah [Greatness, the fourth sefirah], Geburah [Might, the fifth sefirah], Tiferet [Beauty or Glory, the sixth sefirah], and Malkut [Kingdom, the tenth sefirah].

CONCLUSIO XII Verum erit omnia pendere ex fato, si per fatum, fatum supremum intellexerimus. The source of this thesis can be either of two remarkably similar texts. One is Recanati, fol. 57rb: A great mystery is indicated in the verse [1 Sam. 1:10] "and she was bitter of soul and she prayed above YHWH ('alyhwh)," in that Hanna prayed above ('at) YHWH, and not to Cel) YHWH; for, as you know, "above YHWH" is EHYeH (Π'ΠΚ), whom the Zohar calls mazalha-'elyon [Superior Fate],This is in fact what the Rabbis meant when they said that "everything depends on fate, even a scroll of the Law in the shrine." The alternative source is Joseph Gicatilla, Portae

Iustitiae

(Sa'arey

Sedeq), Cod. Chigi, fols. 80v-81r: Scisne usque ad quern locum intendit Hanna in sublimatione orationis sue? usque quidem locum fati superioris quod dicitur mazal ahelion quod notum est in secreto tresdecim proprietatum clementie que fixe sunt in corona superiore. A quo quidem fato superiore et in eo omnes res pendent etiam liber legis, quia liber legis ipse idem haurit ab eo loco et ab eo recipit et hoc est quod dicunt sapientes nostri quod omnia pendent in fato Mazal etiam liber legis qui est in adytu hechal V d t o m i n TDD lV>BXl Vtm ' Λ η Van. Itaque quando intendit in oratione sua ascendit usque ad locum fati Mazal superius superius, et hoc est secretum textus [1 Sam. 1:10] dicentis Et ipsa erat amara anima et orauit super dominum Jod he vau he. Considera quidem quod non dixit ad dominum Jod he vau he sed [ri cod.] super dominum. Iam enim nosti quod tria nomina quatuor litterarum sunt unum superius, aliud in medio, aliud inferius. et inferius quidem est nomen dei tetragramaton Aleph daleth nun jod 'ΠΚ. In medio vero aliud nomen dei tetragramaton Jod he vau he mrt\ Superius vero aliud nomen dei tetragramaton Aleph he jod he ΓΡΠΧ. In secreto quidem haleph he jod he pendet fatum quod dicitur Mazal et hoc est quod dicitur in textu et orauit super mrr, equidem super ipsum Jod he vau he, scilicet ad nomen Aleph he jod he ΓΡΠΧ.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

CONCLUSIO X I I I

Qui nouerit in Cabala mysterium portarum intelligentiae, cognoscet mysterium magni Iobelei. The substance of this thesis, namely the notion that the year of jubilee is a mystical representation of the sefirah called Intelligence, is by itself a Kabbalistic commonplace. But the form in which this commonplace is stated — if you know the mystery of the gates of Intelligence, you will know the mystery of the Jubilee — is characteristic, and, being characteristic, can be traced to a specific source. Compare Gicatilla, Portae

Iusti-

tiae, Cod. Chigi, fols. 128v-129r: Et qui nouit secreta harum indictionum intelliget secretum textus [2 Sam. 22:37] dicentis dilatabit gressus meos sub me quod scribitur hebraice cum nun contra morem ydiomatis ubi dicitur tarhib saadi tahteni ΉΪΧ 3ΤΠ0 '3ΠΠΠ cum debuisset dicere tahtai ΤΙΠΠ sed quod sit nun sub me quia nun numero est quinquaginta et est secretum quinquaginta portarum intelligentiae et locus hie vocatur Geulla id est redemptio quia ab hoc loco trahit deus uiuus el hai et ideo debet conjungi redemptio ad orationem vel philacterium quod dicitur teffilla. Si uero intellexeris secretum Iobelei et secretum quinquaginta portarum Intelligentiae intelliges hoc misterium intellectu perfecto. Et jam volo tibi declarare. Scias quod ... Et scias quod hec numeratio vocatur Iobeleus et sic textus [Lev. 25:11] dicit Jobeleus est annus quinquagesimi anni erit vobis, equidem quinquaginta quod est secretum quinquaginta portarum Intelligentiae.

CONCLUSIO X I V

Qui nouerit proprietatem meridionalem in dextrali coordinatione, seiet cur omnis profectio Abraham semper fit uersus austrum. Either of the following texts could be the source of this thesis. One is Recanati, fol. 44ra: "And Abraham journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb [South]" (Gen. 12:9) indicates that Abraham adhered to the property [middah] of charity [or mercy], which is the south of the world, and for this reason all the journeys of Abraham our father peace be upon him were toward the south. The other is Gicatilla, Portae Iustitiae,

Cod. Chigi, fols. 121v-122r:

Et similiter hec numeratio vocatur dextra et ab ea meruerunt Israel habere legem in secreto textus dicentis [Deut. 33:2] a dextris eius igne legem dedit [32]

Sources of the First Set of Theses eis. quia Abraam pater noster cepit trahere virtutes, que oculte sunt in latibulo superiore, inferius, quia tempore Adam primi hominis allectus est justus ad perdictionem [cf. Isa. 57:1], Et venerunt viri diluvii et etas uel generatio diuisionis linguarum, et corruperunt fluuios et syphonas et obturarunt omnes fontes, et ascenderunt omnes numerationes sursum sursum nemine querente et nemine investigante, ideo deus sanctus et benedictus non erat notus in mundo ex quo syphones habitatricis obturati sunt per manus malorum operum quae fiebant quousque venit Abraam pater noster et ordinauit syphonas ad hauriendum aquam uiuam ab intelligencia que est secretum coronarum superiorum. Et ideo scriptum est [Gen. 12:8] et transtulit exinde montem ex Oriente ad beth el hebraice ex Kedem, quod est quod protraxit eas ex Kedem ad beth el intantum protrahaxit per unum syphonem qui vocatur pietas et est dextra et ideo omnes profectiones ipsius Abraam erant ad dextram et hoc est secretum textus dicentis [Gen. 12:9] Et profectus est Abraam eundo et proficiscendo ad meridiem. It is of course possible that Pico read both texts. But while his thesis is perfectly explicable without the text of Recanati, it is not equally well explicable without the text of Gicatilla, because only the latter accounts for the presence of dextralis coordinatio in the thesis. I would therefore opt for Gicatilla as the direct source in this instance.

CONCLUSIO X V

Nisi nomen 15 Abraam , id est he addita, fuisset, Abraam non generasset. Compare Recanati, fol. 46rb, where he quotes the Bahir (§6 ed. Scholem) and adds his own comment: The book Bahir [queries]: "Why did God add the letter he to the name of Abraham rather than any other letter? Surely in order that all the limbs of man may be worthy of eternal life: the edifice was so to speak completed in him, as it is written [Gen. 9:6] 'For in the image of God [beselem 'elohym] He made man.' 16 But [says Recanati] in truth [or according to the way of 15

16

This is the correct reading of the editio princeps and must not be interfered with: editors who failed to realize that "he addita" is ablative, not nominative, made the text read "Nisi nomini Abraam he addita fuisset," etc. Here and elsewhere, I have filled the blank space that the first printer left, obviously for want of Hebrew type, indicating these omissions with angled brackets. The Hebrew words DTI1?« oVsa (beselem 'elohym, in the image of God) and Dn-QX (Abraham) are isopsephic equivalents, each amounting to 248, which is also the traditional number of human limbs.

[33]

Pico's Encounter

with Jewish

Mysticism

truth, that is, by way of Kabbalah proper] this he is the second he of the Tetragrammaton [YHWH], and the reason it was added is that without it Abraham would not beget.

CONCLUSIO X V I

Omnes ante Moysen prophetarunt per ceruam unicornem. The thesis is a commonplace expressed in unusual language, and what it states is merely that unlike the prophecy of Moses (which was inspired by a higher sefirah), the prophecy of the Patriarchs before him was inspired by the last sefirah in descending order. Cerua Unicornis, as I have suggested elsewhere, 17 is simply 'Ayalah, the Hind, which is an appellation of the tenth sefirah. In the extant translations of Mithridates, 'ayalah is rendered either unicornis or cerua uel unicornis,18

This accounts for Pico's unusual

expression. A n d as for the notion that "all before Moses," namely the Patriarchs, prophesied by the tenth sefirah, see Recanati, fol. 83va-b: Though the prophecy of Moses was by the property of Compassion [Rahamim, the sixth sefirah, commonly called Tiferet, Glory or Beauty], everything was nevertheless by the Shekinah [tenth sefirah]... as it is written [Job 33:14] "For Έ Ι speaks in [or by] one," that is to say ΈΙ, or the property of Compassion, speaks with the prophets through the Diadem ['Atarah, the tenth sefirah], which is one of the sefirot ... And although the Patriarchs conducted themselves each with the property peculiar to him, 19 they prophesied by the last.

17 18

19

Wirszubski, "Giovanni Pico's Companion to Kabbalistic Symbolism," p. 357. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 34v "unicornis dilectionis" DOHN nV'S (Prov. 5:19). Cod. Ottob. Lat. 607, fol. 57r (Job. 39:1): "Numquid nosti tempus partus bechesteine in rupe? Dolores unicornium (mV'K) observasti?" Cod. Vat. Lat. 190, fol. 227v: "nV'X ai'ala id est cerua uel unicornis ubicumque scribitur in genere feminino siue cum lictera he in fine ut nV'N ai'ala siue cum lictera thau in fine ut n^'K ai'eleth semper indicat diadema." For the translation of Job by Mithridates see C. Wirszubski, "Giovanni Pico's Book of Job "Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 32 (1969), 171 ff. Thus, for instance, Charity or Love is peculiar to Abraham (see Pico's Conclusion xxxix, Fear to Isaac, Truth to Jacob; cf. Micah 7:20. [34]

Sources of the First Set of Theses CONCLUSIO XVII Vbicumque in scriptura fit mentio amoris maris et feminae nobis mystice designator coniuncto Tipheret et Chieneseth Israel, uel Beth et Tipheret. Cf. Recanati, fol. 171 va: "Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and wash them off into the water of bitterness" [Num. 5:23], Hence you can understand the eminence of the love between man and his wife: the Law tells to wash off God's name into the water, for their pairing signifies the bipersonal union, and restoring peace between them is like building the palace on high. And particularly ibid., fol. 212ra: "If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman" [Deut. 22:22]: I have already made known to you that the secret of the union of a man with his wife is the union of Tiferet with the Shekinah, and whoever separates the one from the other is called "a whisperer separating close friends" [Prov. 16:28], and he causes injury on high. This is the secret of "the man who lies with the woman," and "the woman" signifies two women, the woman below and the woman above. What the last clause means is that the word woman considered as a mystical representation of the female potency in the godhead signifies two sefirot: "the woman below," namely Malkut or Shekinah, orKeneset Israel (the Congregation of Israel), the tenth sefirah', and "the woman above," namely Binah (Intelligence), the third sefirah. N o w we ought to bear in mind that Pico was familiar with texts in which the names of the sefirot were sometimes represented by initials only, as in the anonymous interpretation of the tensefirot

in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 30r: "De tertia quae est

2. numerus tertie est 2 quia dicitur mater superior sine magnus Iobeleus habens quinquaginta portas et est Thesuua." Obviously the figure 2 represents the Hebrew letter beth, which is the initial of Binah, the third sefirah. It should by now be quite plain that in Pico's thesis Beth stands for Binah, and what the thesis states is that the love of man and woman in the Scriptures is a mystical representation of the union of Tiferet and Malkut or of Binah and

Tiferet.

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CONCLUSIO X V I I I

Qui media nocte cum Tipheret copulabitur, prospera erit ei omnis generatio. Cf. Recanati, fol. 213rb-va: The proper time for the union of man with his wife is midnight, as our Masters say in the treatiseKalah [i. 10] with regard to 'Imma Salom, the wife of Rabbi Eliezer [who, being asked why all her children were beautiful, replied], "he [Rabbi Eliezer] does not consort with me except at midnight." According to the plain meaning, the reason is that then the heat generated by the food has cooled, and man begets a clean seed. However, according to the truth [the Kabbala], the reason is that then the Holy Blessed be He [conventionally identified with Tiferet] unites with his Shekinah, etc.

CONCLUSIO X I X

Eaedem sunt litterae nominis cacodemonis qui est princeps mundi huius et nominis dei Triagrammaton, et qui sciuerit ordinäre transpositionem deducet unum ex alio. Cf. Comentum Sepher Iesire, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 23r: Et hie mundus creatus est cum litera he, que est quinarius, et iam indicauimus secretum denarii ideo indicatur nunc secretum quinarii quia cum denario et quinario dominus formauit secula.20 quod sic patet per dictionem sur ΠΧ cuius litera vau conjungitur cum denario et quinario et sic est denarius quinarius et senarius qui est deus triagramaton in' qui formauit secula, scilicet duo, hoc et venturum. Itaque ex hoc scies quo modo seculum venturum creatum est cum denario et seculum hoc creatum est cum quinario quos cum combinaueris inuenies in utroque quinarium senarium et denarium quod est Ή η siue hoi 'IS quod indicat leticiam gemitum et suspirium nam he cum aleph id est nomen ipsius dei triagramaton quod est in' cum unitate combinato et cum he id est quinario continet in secreto cacodemona qui est princeps mundi huius in veritate sed non habet quicquam in seculo venturo nec partem in vita eterna.

20

Isa. 26:4: D'BViJ? mx mn 1 ΓΡ3 'D. Cf. Midras Beresit Rabba, xii. 10 (pp. 107-110 ed. Theodor-Albeck); see also Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. lr: "Seculum venturum creatum est cum numero denario; seculum hoc creatum est cum numero quinario." An easier Latin translation of a similar passage is Corona Nominis Boni, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 176r, quoted below in Chapter 6, p. 82.

[36]

Sources of the First Set of Theses Comparison with the Hebrew original reveals that the translation contains two impossible readings, an omission (the first set of italicized words), and an interpolation (the second set of italicized words). 2 1 1 leave it an open question whether Mithridates misread the original and then interpolated the translation, or translated a faulty and interpolated Hebrew text. In any case, the translation "nomen ipsius dei triagramaton ... continet in secreto cacodemona qui est princeps mundi huius" sufficiently accounts for Pico's thesis, even if it leaves one wondering whether Pico in fact knew precisely how to deduce the name of Satan from the nomen dei

triagramaton.22

CONCLUSIO X X Cum fiet lux speculi non lucentis sicut speculi lucentis, erit nox sicut dies, ut dicit Dauid. Kabbalistically speaking, this thesis states a truism. To pinpoint the source of a truism is admittedly a hazardous undertaking. Nevertheless, I venture to suggest that the thesis was inspired by two close passages in Recanati. One is at fol. 83rb: Our Masters say [Bab. Talmud, Yebamot, fol. 49v]: "All the prophets prophesied from a mirror that does not shine whereas Moses prophesied

21

22

Π Τ ϊ ' Ί50 urrra, MS Paris, B.N. Heb. 768, fol. l l r : -nx Vir v i D'tp .craViy n x ·"'' ma ό ή n o nns n m : ρ t v -no i : r m naai snn m m .xan aVism ητπ aViyn .doVis p x ] mx ""> ima rum m"» ds? o'oViy , τ χ ι τιπ a r r w a xxan Dsnxncoi / n a xna: ητπ oVism "a xnaa xan oVisn 'a s i m fünrt dtio xxnn nu^nn dst ν"π ds s"n n:m .ππικι nraiz; .xan oViyV pVn V? ρχ ·?3Χ ,naxa mn oViyn bv The clause "id est nomen ipsius dei triagramaton quod est ΊΓΡ" is without equivalent in the Hebrew text and does not make sense: two letters, he and aleph, cannot possibly be the Triagrammaton, in'. Nor can the combination of yod (denarius) and he (quinarius), in the previous sentence, result in ΉΠ (5+6+10) or ΉΧ (1+6+10). The Hebrew original does not deduce Satan from the Triagrammaton (YHW), but from ma (BYH), "with which this world and the world to come have been created." Gematria (isopsephy) need not always involve the full numerical values of letters: it can be established per numeros minores, i.e., by counting tens and hundreds as units. Thus ft3U7 (Satan)per numeros minores amounts to 17 (3+9+5), which is equivalent to ma, 2+10+5. And see below Appendix 22 note 5. [37]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

from a shining mirror." You ought to know that all the ten sefirot are called mirrors, and the tenth is called the mirror that does not shine ... All the prophets except Moses received their prophecy from the last [sefirah], which is called the property of Night, except Moses, who received from the property of Compassion, which is called Day.

The other passage is at fol. 85rb: In the Midras Smot Rabba [xix. 6 ] " 'For you shall not go out in haste' [Isa. 52:12]: Formerly [says God] I and my court of justice [literally, house of judgment] went before you, as it is said [Exod. 13:21] 'And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud ... and by night in a pillar of fire,' [that is to say] I and my court of justice; but in the times to come, I alone shall go before you, as it is said [Isa. 52:12] 'For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rearguard.'" The mystery of this Midrash is, as I have explained, that in the redemption from Egypt the Holy blessed be He was with them in daytime, and his court of justice was with them at night, but in the times to come the Shekinah will be like the curtains of Solomon [Song of Sol. 1:5] as it is written [Ps. 104:2] "who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent" and [Ps. 139:12] "and the night is bright as the day for darkness is as light with thee," and everything is with the property of special Compassion.

CONCLUSIO X X I Qui seiet proprietatem quae est secretum tenebrarum, seiet cur mali demones plus in nocte quam die nocent.

The direct source is most probably Recanati, fols. 7vb-8ra: "And God called the light day" [Gen. 1:5]: the word "called" here means "drew" and "invited." Accordingly, the meaning of the verse is: he drew the property of the day to the day and the property of the night to the night. And because the property of strict judgment rules at night, its emissaries roam the world [at that time], this being the reason why the dominance of evil spirits is greater at night than in daytime. 23

23

In Gen. 1:14, "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens," the word for "lights," me'orot, is spelled without waw, namely ΓΠΚΟ (m'rt) instead of r m x a (m'wrt). Now, insofar as the spelling of the Scriptures is itself the subject of anagogical interpretation (cf. Conclusio xxxiii), the defective spelling of the word me'orot poses a problem, because whereas ΓΠ1ΝΏ, with waw, can derive only from the root ΠΧ, meaning "light," the word m x n , without waw, might derive from the root "HX, meaning "curse." Two short fragments from Recanati's long interpretation of Gen.

[38]

Sources of the First Set of Theses CONCLUSIO XXII Licet fiat multiplex coordinatio curruum, tamen inquantum attinet ad phylacteriorum mysterium, duo sunt currus ordinandi, ita ut ex secunda, tertia, quarta, quinta fiat unus currus, et sunt quatuor phylacteria quae induit Vau; et ex sexta, septima, octaua et nona fit secundus currus, et sunt phylacteria quae induit ultima He. The ultimate source of this thesis is the Zohar, part III, fols. 262r-263r. Its direct source, however, is Recanati, fols. 86rb-87vb, where the Zohar is quoted in extenso. There is no need to quote Recanati's long interpretation of the mystery of phylacteries in full; three short passages will suffice: "It shall be as a mark on your hand and frontlets between your eyes" [Exod. 13:16], You ought to contemplate the mystery of phylacteries and its meaning. The four parasiyot [lessons or portions of the Law] included in the phylactery of the head indicate four sefirot: Wisdom [the second sefirah], Intelligence [the third], Greatness [the fourth], Might [the fifth] ... And it is with those four sefirot that the Beauty [or Glory] of Israel, indicated by the letter waw of the Tetragrammaton, is crowned, and it wears them; and this is the mystery of the verse [Deut. 28:10] "that you are called by the name of YHWH," the name YHWH sensu stricto. And it has been taught [Bab. Talmud, Berakot, fol. 6r] "Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: these are the phylacteries of the head." But the fourparaSiyot that are [included in the phylactery worn] on the arm indicate Beauty [the sixth sefirah], Eternity [the seventh], Majesty [the eighth], and Foundation [the ninth], and by them is crowned the Congregation of Israel, which is indicated by the second he of the Tetragrammaton. [Quoting the Zohar.] Rabbi Isaac taught: One holy superior chariot are the four "houses" 24 of phylacteries which waw wears, as it has been stated;

24

1:14 (fols. 10va-llrb) are pertinent to Pico's thesis. Fol. 10vb: "When primordial light recedes and is hidden, the property of judgment is harsh, being deprived of blessing, and is called ΓΠΝΟ [m'rt], without waw; it is then full of 'the waters of bitterness that brings the curse' [Num. 5:18] and from it emanate all the powers and spirits that cause harm at night to children and also to adults if they are alone, as the Rabbis said: 'whoever sleeps alone at night is seized by Lilit'; and all maladies induced by spirits at night come from there." Fol. 1 lra-b: "Now according to the Zohar [part I, fol. 19v], the word mXD [m'rt] is spelled without waw, because waw indicates the property of clemency; thus [without waw] the word indicates the property of judgment which rules at night, and it is that time that its emissaries roam the world." Batey tefillyn. In the extant translations of Flavius Mithridates this expression in usually translated domunculae or casulae phylacteriorum. Hence my translation "houses."

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another holy chariot are the other four ["houses" of phylacteries] that are united together and are worn by the second he, as it has been stated.

CONCLUSIO XXIII Supra proprietatem penitentiae non est utendum uerbo dixit. Cf. Recanati, fol. 6rb-va: Our masters of blessed memory consider in the Sefer ha-Zohar why "saying" was not expressly mentioned with regard to the first word [beresit, "in the beginning"] despite the fact that it is one of the ten logoi [with which the world was created].25 The reason is that "saying" may not be applied above Penitence, or Return [Tesuvah, the third sefirah}. It is noteworthy that Tesuvah is not explicitly mentioned in the Zohar passage to which Recanati refers. Hence, Pico's direct source is not the Zohar itself, but Recanati. 26

CONCLUSIO X X I V Cum dixit lob [25:2] qui facit pacem in excelsis suis, aquam intellexit australem et ignem septentrionalem, et praefectos illorum, de quibus non est ultra dicendum. This interpretation of Job 25:2 is traditional: it is incorporated in the Aramaic version of Job and also in Rashi's biblical commentary. Pico

25 26

Cf. Misnah, 'Abot, v. 1; Midras Beresit Rabba, xvii. 1 (p. 151 ed. TheodorAlbeck); Bab. Talmud, Ros ha-Sanah, fol. 32r; Megillah, fol. 21v. Cf. the Zohar, part I, fol. 16v, English translation by H. Sperling and M. Simon, I: 68-69: "And God said. Let there be light; and there was light. From this point we can begin to discover hidden things relating to the creation of the world in detail. For up to this point the Creation has been described in general, and lower down the general description is repeated, so that we have a combination of general-particular-general. Up to this point the whole was suspended in the void in direct dependence on the limitless. When, however, energy had been extended through the supernal palace alluded to in the name Elohim, the term 'saying' is used in connection with it, in the words 'And God said.' For to that which is beyond no detailed saying is ascribed; for although the word bereshith is a creative utterance (ma'amar), the actual words 'and said' are not used in connection with it."

[40]

Sources of the First Set of Theses could read it in three of his manuscripts: in the Chisianus which once contained the whole of De Proportione Divinitatis (Ma'areket

ha-'Elohut),

fol. 194v ed. Mantua, 1558; fol. 258red. Ferrara, 1558; in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, which includes the Bahir (§9 ed. Scholem); and in the lost translation of Recanati, who quoted this passage of the Bahir, loc. cit., at fol. 4vb. As the first and the third translations are lost, I shall refrain from suggesting which of the three was Pico's direct source. I quote the only extant translation merely by way of illustration. The Bahir, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 289v: Quid est [Eccl. 7:14] etiam hoc e regione alterius fecit elohim? Creauit formabile [bohu] et posuit locum eius in pace. Creauit informe [tohu] et posuit locum eius in malo. Formabile quidem in pace, quia scribitur [Job 25:2] faciens pacem in excelsis suis. Docet quod Michael archangelus dextre dei sancti et benedicti Aque et Grandinis, et Gabriel archangelus sinistre eius et ignis, posuit pacem inter eos, Arbiter est. Et hoc est quod scribitur faciens pacem in excelsis suis.

CONCLUSIONES X X V and XXVI Idem est bresith, id est in principio creauit, ac si dixisset in sapientia creauit. Quod dixit anchelos chaldeus becadmin, id est cum aeternis uel peraeterna, triginta duas uias sapientiae intellexit. Notwithstanding the fact that the first thesis is an ancient commonplace ultimately derived from the Aramaic Targum Yerusalmi and recurring in several Kabbalistic texts, the translations of which are included in the extant Vaticani, it seems to me the likeliest hypothesis that both theses derive from Recanati, fol. 2ra: And our Masters also said in the book Bahir [§3 ed. Scholem] that resit [beginning] is in fact hokmah [wisdom]. It is for this reason that in the Targum Yerusalmi the word beresit [in the beginning] is rendered behokmeta [with (or by, or in) wisdom]... Also Onqelos translatedbeqadmin alluding to thirty-two paths of wisdom, and it is for this reason that he did not translate beqadmita.21

27

Qadmita' being singular, qadmyn plural. [41]

Pico's Encounter

with Jewish

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CONCLUSIO X X V I I

Sicut congregatio aquarum est iustus, ita mare ad quod tendunt omnia flumina est diuinitas. Cf. Recanati, fol. 9va: The "gathering together of the waters" is Yesod Olam [Fundamentum Saeculi, otherwise called Saddiq, Iustus; see Prov. 10:25]; it draws all beings to itself, and thence [they flow] to the Shekinah, as it is written [Eccl. 1:7] "All streams run to the sea." The Shekinah is called Sea because its waters are salty, indicating the property of judgment, and also because the Shekinah is in the west which is called Yam [sea], Sefer ha-Zohar [part I, fol. 33r]: " 'the gathering together of the waters': this is the house of assembly of the waters from above, for it is there that all waters gather together and thence they flow and issue. Rabbi Hiyya said: 'the gathering of waters'; this is Saddiq, the Righteous, for when the gathering of waters is reached it is written [Gen. 1:10] 'And God saw Ki tob [that it is good],' and it is [also] written [Isa. 3:10] "Tell [understood as call] the righteous Ki tob.'" The Zohar accounts for the first half of the thesis. But it does not account for the second half, whereas Recanati does. It follows that Recanati is here Pico's direct source.

CONCLUSIO X X V I I I

Per uolatile quod creatum est die quinta, debemus intelligere angelos mundanos, qui hominibus apparent, non eos qui non apparent nisi in spiritu. While the ultimate source of this thesis is certainly the Zohar, the very expression "mundane angels" proves that Pico's direct source in this instance was Recanati, fols. l l v b - 1 2 r a : Our Masters of blessed memory interpret this verse [Gen. 1:20] as concerning angels. Here is what they say in the Zohar [part I, fol. 34r]: " ' a n d let birds fly above the earth' [Gen. 1:20]: these are the messengers to the world 28 who appear to men in actual human shape, as it is written 'to fly on earth,' because there are others who are not visible except by the spirit proper according to the intelligence of men."

28

The reading in Recanati's quotation of the Zohar is HO^V, "world," whereas the text of the Zohar itself has J'xVy, "supernal," i.e., messengers from above. [42]

Sources of the First Set of Theses CONCLUSIO XXIX Nomen dei quatuor litterarum, quod est ex mem, sade, pe, et sade, regno Dauidis debet appropriari.

The strange name fSXö MS PS is not a meaningful Hebrew word, but a vox mystica or magica: its four elements, mem, sade, pe, sade, are the substitutes for the four elements of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH,>oJ, he, waw, he, according to the method of substitution commonly known as the sequence atbash wanx. This method consists in the substitution for each letter of a given word or phrase of the corresponding letter in the inverse order of the alphabet (hence the name of the sequence): X (aleph, the first letter) is substituted for Π (tau, the last letter), or vice versa; 3 (beth, the second letter) for Ό (sin, the last but one), or vice versa; and so on throughout the alphabet, always proceeding boustrophedon: n n ^ u n u ' D

When this method of substitution is applied to the Tetragrammaton, the result is yssn. As regards the thesis as a whole, I submit that Pico inferred his conclusion from theBahir(§SOed. Scholem),Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191,fols. 305v-306r: Sedit Rabi Aholai et inquisiuit quid est Π1Π1 rex est, ΓΠΓΡ regnauit, mrr regnabit in holam vahed? hoc scilicet xem amphoras de quo conceditur licentia memorari et referri ut scribitur [Num. 6:27] Inponent nomen m e u m super filios Israel et ani [=ego] benedicam eos. et est duodecim litterarum sicut in benedictione sacerdotum sunt 12, benedicet te dominus etc. quae sunt tria et sunt 12. eorum quoque punctatio est talis hiafaal, hiafoel, iphol Vv?', Vsd^, Vys? ... At uero [hiafaal] siue mn[]3], ViiD' [hiafoel] siue n^rtT, Vv'd1 [iphol] sive Π1Π,1 repraesentant tria nomina dei oculta in textu dominus rex est, dominus regnauit, dominus regnabit et sunt in dictione mrr id est dominus rex est, fBXa masopes. In dictione ΠΊΓΓ id est dominus regnauit, f DXO id est masphes. In dictione ^Vq1 nm 1 id est dominus regnabit est fBXö [msapes]. Et omnia continentur in corde celorum.

From his reading of the Liber de Radicibus Pico would have known that cor celorum denotes the tenth seflrah, usually called Kingdom or Diadem, and sometimes also the kingdom of the house of David. But it is not necessary to insist on Pico's acquaintance with the symbolical meaning of cor celorum in order to see that the text of the Bahir, which connects MSPS, in three different vocalisations, with God's kingship present, past, and [43]

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future, sufficiently accounts for Pico's thesis. It is noteworthy that Pico — a careful and precise writer — says debet appropriari, and not

appropriatur.

This may be because he was aware that MSPS was sometimes used differently. 29

CONCLUSIO X X X

Nullus angelus habens sex alas unquam transformatur. Though the ultimate source of this thesis is undoubtedly the Zohar, part I, fol. 34v, there is no need to look for its immediate source beyond Recanati, fol. 12va, where the Zohar is quoted: Rabbi Yose says: they all have six wings and never change, and this is why it is written [Gen. 1:21] "and every winged bird according to its kind." What does "according to its kind" mean? According to its kind on high. It is these who fly and glide through the world observing the doings of men and reporting them above, and of them it is written [Eccles. 10:20] "for a bird of the air will carry your voice or some winged creature tell the matter."

CONCLUSIO X X X I

Data est circumcisio ad liberationem a uirtutibus immundis, quae in circuitu ambulant. Cf. Recanati, fol. 47va: You ought to consider the mystery of uncovering the glans penis, as our Masters, blessed be their memory, said [Misnah, Sabbat, xix.6] "Circumcision without uncovering does not count as circumcision." Because the foreskin that surrounds the corona is a figure of the powers of impurity, as it is written [Hab. 1:4] "For the wicked surround the righteous," namely the Righteous sensu stricto, and it is written [Ps. 12:9] "In circuitu impii ambulant."

29

The numerical value of MSPS (40+90+80+90) being 300, it is equated with the letter sin, which sometimes denotes Intelligence (see Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 52r), or with the word Ο'ΒΠΙΠ (with clemency or compassion), which denotes the sixth seflrah (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 182r). [44]

Sources of the First Set of Theses CONCLUSIO X X X I I Ideo circumcisio fit octaua die, quia est superior quam sponsa uniuersalizata.

Recanati, fol. 47vb: Circumcision takes precedence over the sabbath because it is above the sponsa ornata vel universalizata, and it is for this reason that circumcision is performed on the eighth day, in order that a sabbath should intervene; for there can be no span of eight days without a sabbath.

I have taken the liberty of including in my translation the Latin rendering "sponsa ornata vel universalizata" for the Hebrew nVlVsn nVs, not because I wished to follow Pico, but because I feel quite certain that I am following Mithridates, the author of the lost translation that Pico read. We can infer from his extant translations how Mithridates translated the phrase nVf?Dn nV3 into Latin. Thus the Liber deRadicibus, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 245r: Van ρ nVlVDH n"?D challa achlulla min achol id est sponsa ornata uel universalizata ex omnibus uel ex chol indicat diadema,

Diadem being the tenth sefirah.i0 What is meant by circumcision being above the "universalized bride" is simply that in the hierarchical configuration of the ten sefirot, the ninth sefirah, Yesod, the "foundation" of all creative potencies, represented by the phallus, is above the tenth.

CONCLUSIO X X X I I I Nullae sunt litterae in tota lege quae in formis, coniunctionibus, separationibus, tortuositate, directione, defectu, superabundantia, minoritate, maioritate, coronatione, clausura, apertura, et ordine decern numerationum secreta non manifestent.

This is a word-for-word quotation from Recanati, fol. 48ra: Now all the letters of the Torah — in their forms, and their conjunctions, and their separations, and in inclined letters, and in twisted letters, in missing and superfluous, small and large, crowns of letters, closed letters,

30

See also ibid., fol. 261r: "[Tiphereth] est ornatus et universalizatus ex sex extremis."

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open letters, and their order — are [indicative of] the ordination of the ten seflrot.

See also Recanati, fol. 113vb, where, however, the crowns of letters are not mentioned.

CONCLUSIO X X X I V Qui intellexerit cur sit dictum quod Moyses abscondit faciem suam, et quod Ezechias uertit facies suas ad parietem, seiet quae esse debeat orantis habitudo et dispositio.

Cf. Recanati, fol. 48vb: "And Abram fell on his face and God said to him" [Gen. 17:3]. As regards prostration, there is a great mystery in it which I shall touch upon deo volente when I come to the verse Hear, Ο Israel. According to the plain meaning, it [Abram's prostration] was in order to make himself ready for prophecy. Also to indicate that which is written [Exod. 3:6] "And Moses hid his face," namely to do homage to the Shekinah, and it is for this reason that after Abram fell on his face it is written "and God said to him." And in the Sefer ha-Zohar [part III, fol. 260v]: "The prayer that man prays to God ought to be so intended as to be a supplication. This we can gather from Moses, as it is written [Deut. 3:23] 'And I besought the Lord,' for this is an excellent prayer. He who is praying ought to cover his eyes in order not to look upon the Shekinah. It is said in the book of the Grand Old Man Rav Hamnuna: 31 He who keeps his eyes open during prayer and does not look down to the ground hastens his own death, because certainly the Shekinah is present before him; it is said accordingly [Isa. 38:2] 'Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall [and prayed to the Lord].'"

CONCLUSIO X X X V Nulla res spiritualis descendens inferius operatur sine indumento.

The direct source is Recanati, fol. 50ra: All spiritual things that operate and go on a mission in this inferior world are all of them clothed as the occasion requires, and afterward they are stripped and leave off their clothes.

31

A mythical figure in the Zohar.

[46]

Sources of the First Set of Theses CONCLUSIO X X X V I

Peccatum Soddomae fuit per truncationem ultimae plantae. Cf. Recanati, fol. 51ra-b, interpreting Genesis 18:20-21: Scripture here reveals that although by the measure of [strict] judgment they [the Sodomites] were guilty, God intended to judge them now with an admixture of mercy ... "I will go down to see," with mercy, "whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me" by the measure of [strict] judgment; and because the sin of the Sodomites was that they severed the last plant, therefore...

CONCLUSIO X X X V I I

Per secretum orationis antelucanae, nihil aliud debemus intelligere quam proprietatem pietatis. Cf. Recanati, fol. 52va: "And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord" [Gen. 19:27], Hence the Rabbis say that it was Abraham who instituted the prayer at daybreak, because it is written "where he had stood before the Lord" and standing means praying ... Now the secret of the prayer at daybreak is that it indicates the property of Hesed, Charity or Piety.32

C O N C L U S I O N E S X X X V I I I and X X X I X

Sicut extrinsecus timor est inferior amore, ita intrinsecus est superior amore. Ex praecedenti conclusione intelligitur, cur in Genesi [22:12] a timore laudatur Abraham, quem tarnen scimus per proprietatem pietatis omnia fecisse ex amore. While the former thesis can equally well derive from either of the following two texts, the phrasing of the latter thesis recalls the first text rather than the second. 32

Pietas is used by Mithridates more often than Charitas as the Latin translation of Hesed. [47]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

Recanati, fol. 55rb: "For now I know that you fear God" [Gen. 22:12], Since we know that Abraham loved God, as it is written [Isa. 41:8] "the offspring of Abraham who loved me," it may be pertinently asked why did he not praise Abraham for his love but praised him for his fear, notwithstanding the fact that Abraham did everything out of love, and love differs from fear like light from darkness. You ought, therefore, to know the saying of the Kabbalists that there are two manners of fear [yir'ah]·. internal fear and external fear. The external fear is below love, and the internal is above love ... And it is with respect to the latter fear that it was said "for now I know that you fear God." Gicatilla, Portae Iustitiae,

Cod. Chigi, fols. 380v-381v:

Timor autem hirha [yir'ah] duobus modis consideratur uno modo quod sit timor hirha intrinsecus et alio modo timor hirha extrinsecus. Timor vero hirha extrinsecus inferior est quam Charitas, et timor intrinsecus maior est quam Charitas et ideo hie timor hira superior est quam proprietas charitatis ... Propter hoc autem scriptum est quia nunc noui quod timens elohim es tu [Gen. 22:12]. Et hie est timor intrinsecus hira propter quem Abraam pater noster ... meruit ut de eo diceretur [Isa. 41:8] Abraam amicus meus.

CONCLUSIO X L Quotienscunque ignoramus proprietatem a qua est influxus super petitione quam petimus, ad dominum naris recurrendum est. While the notion of prayer to the "master of the nose" ultimately derives from the Zohar, part III, fol. 130v, the direct source of Pico's thesis might be either of the following two texts, both of which quote the Zohar. Recanati, fol. 65ra: In the Sefer ha-Zohar [loc. cit.]: "When Rav Hamnuna the Old wished to pray he would say, I pray to the master of the nose, I beseech the master of the nose ..." The matter is this [Recanati explains]: He said "to the master of the nose" and not "to nose," because [the fulfillment of] his request depended on the property of judgment. He therefore asked the cause of all causes to infuse that property with His blessing so that the request may be fulfilled. Commentum

Voluminis de Proportione Diuinitatis, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol.

53v: Dominus nasi id est ens ultimum attribuitur in hoc nomine et dictio dominus significat virtutem id est quia ens superius virtus est ab ente ultimo et

[48]

Sources of the First Set of Theses propter hoc intendit rabi symeon filius Iohai quando dicebat domino nasi preces effundo. Verum esset attribuere dominum nasi unitati et 40" illuc enim nos preces effundimus quia est fons scaturiens qui nunquam cessat et ad hoc intendebat sapiens qui hoc adjectiuo utebatur. 34

CONCLUSIO XLI Omnis anima bona est anima noua ueniens ab Oriente. The source of this thesis, as Gershom Scholem pointed out to me, is the Bahir (§104 ed. Scholem), Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 312v: Septimum namque est tamquam oriens seculi et inde venit semen Israel quia filum spine est trahit a cerebro hominis et venit ad fontem unde est semen, et scribitur [Isa. 43:5] ab Oriente educo semen tuum. quando Israel sunt boni et ex hoc coram loco educo semen tuum et innouabitur tibi semen nouum. Quando uero Israel sunt mali educo a semine quod iam uenit in mundum, ut scribitur [Eccles. 1:4] generatio vadit et generatio venit. Docet quidem quod iam venit.

CONCLUSIONES XLII and XLIII Ideo Ioseph ossibus tantum sepultus est et non corpore, quia eius ossa erant uirtutes et militiae arboris superioris uocati Sadich influentis ad terram superiorem. Ideo Moysis sepulchrum nemo nouit, quia exaltatus est in Iobeleo superiore, et super Iobeleum misit radices suas. The Zohar, part I, fol. 21v, considers the question why it was that, while the whole body of Jacob and the bones, though not the body, of Joseph were buried in the Holy Land, neither the body nor the bones of Moses were buried there and no man knew the place of his burial. These differences in respect of their burial are then interpreted as representations of the different grades of unio mystica attained by each of them. Recanati quotes the Zohar in full and recapitulates the long passage, though using some33 34

Mithridates translates a false reading, D"X, instead of D"N, i.e., Ensoph. TXinnn osnn, which the author invariably uses in the sense of sapiens supradictus. Mithridates failed to grasp this peculiar usage. [49]

Pico's Encounter

with Jewish

Mysticism

what different terms. His recapitulation, fol. 75rb, in so far as it concerns Joseph and Moses, reads as follows: As for Joseph the just [ha-saddiq], his bones were buried there [in the Holy Land] but not his body, because his bones were the powers and hosts of the Superior Tree, which is called Saddiq and which influences the Superior Earth. Moses was raised to the Superior Jubilee [yovel], "and he sends out his roots by the stream" [Jer. 17:8; the word for stream, yuval without points, can be read also as yovel, jubilee]. Though he was the man of God and the servant of the Lord, that is, the husband of the Royal Lady, and the servant of the great Lord in his lifetime, no man knew the place of his burial after his death and he was raised higher than all of them. Given that neither the "Superior Tree" nor the "Superior Earth" nor Jer. 17:8 appears in the Zohar passage, their presence in Pico's theses argues conclusively that the direct source of these theses is Recanati, not the Zohar.

Moreover, the translation of Jer. 17:8 in the form "et super

Iobeleum misit radices suas" shows the touch of the same expert hand that translated the Liber de Radicibus,

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 241r, s.v.

YWBL: "iobel id est Iobeleus, uel Cornu, uel Riuulus, indicat Intelligenciam." Hence, Pico's direct source is Recanati in the translation of Mithridates.

CONCLUSIO X L I V

Cum anima comprehenderit quicquid poterit comprehendere, et coniungetur animae superiori, expoliabit indumentum terrenum a se, et extirpabitur de loco suo, et coniungetur cum diuinitate. The direct source is Recanati, fol. 7 8 a - b : Know that just as the fruit when it is ripe falls off the tree, not being any longer in need of conjunction with it, so is the conjunction of the soul with the body: for when the soul has comprehended what it is capable of comprehending and adheres to the superior soul, it will divest itself of its terrestrial garment, withdraw from its place, and adhere to the Shekinah. And this is mytat nesiqah [mors osculi}.

[50]

Sources of the First Set of Theses CONCLUSIO X L V Sapientes Israhel, post cessationem prophetiae per spiritum, prophetarunt per filiam uocis. Compare Recanati, fol. 83va-b: Know that prophecy proceeds from the 'Atarah [Diadem, the tenth sefirah] and is divided into three parts [divisions or degrees]. The first part is called Nebu'ah [Prophecy] and it was attained by the prophets. The second part is called Ruah ha-Qodes [the Holy Spirit]; it was attained by David, Solomon, Daniel, and other pious men, and it is below prophecy. The third part is called Bat Qol [the Daughter of the Voice]; it is below the holy spirit and it was attained by the wise men of Israel after the cessation of prophecy.

CONCLUSIO XLVI Non punitur 35 Rex terrae in terra, quin prius humilietur militia coelestis in coelo. What this thesis states is not, strictly speaking, a specifically Kabbalistic view, but a commonplace of the Midrash, which is sometimes quoted or alluded to in Kabbalistic books. Quite likely, Pico's direct source is Recanati, fol. 89ra-b: Know that when God wishes to extirpate and humiliate a nation, He first humiliates its prince in heaven, as our Masters said [in Midras SmotRabba, xxi. 5] "A nation does not fall unless its prince falls first," as it is written [Isa. 24:21] "On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the Kings of the earth, on the earth." An alternative source is Gicatilla, Portae Iustitiae,

Cod. Chigi, fol. 74v:

Scias quidem quod quando deus benedictus uult extirpare aliquam gentem uel humiliare earn, non humiliat earn nisi prius humiliaret Archangelum eius in celo sicut dicunt sapientes nostri nunquam aliquis populus ruit inferius nisi eius archangelus ruat prius superius ut scribitur [Isa. 24:21] In die ilia puniet dominus Iod he vau he superius miliciam celi in celo et postea reges terrae in terra.

35

This is the correct reading of the editio princeps. Later editions read ponitur.

[51]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

CONCLUSIO X L V I I

Per dictionem AMEN ordo habetur expressus quomodo numerationum procedant influxus. Recanati affords all that is needed for the interpretation of this thesis. He interprets the word amen twice: in his Commentary 93va) and in his Commentary

on the Prayers.

on the Pentateuch (fol.

Both interpretations being

almost identical, I shall cite the most pertinent passages from the latter text in the Latin translation by Mithridates, De Secretis Benedictionum

Orationum

et

Cabale, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 318v-319v:

Sequitur "Amen sit nomen eius benedictum" etc. Tenetur omnis qui audit respondere amen cum tota sua intentione et intendere ad protrahendum processionem a vena influencie prioris ad nomen magnum predictum. De expositione autem amen dicunt sapientes nostri Cabale quod significat sapienciam deorum et sapienciam Salomonis. Amen quidem indicat adonai elohim ... Dictio enim amen indicat processionem seu protractionem que protrahitur a pedagogo qui dicitur jTDN emun 36 siue connutrito qui nutrit omnia sine aliqua intermissione, et semper intencio benedicentis est effundere et diffundere benedictionem ad proprietatem que indiget ilia ... Quidam autem alii dicunt quod in dictione amen continentur tres lictere Aleph men nun. et Aleph indicat illud quod cogitatio nequit comprehendere. men vero quia est apertum indicat illud quod scribitur in textu dicente [Deut. 28:12] "aperiet tibi dominus thesaurum suum Tob", id est bonum. nun longum indicat continenciam masculi et femine. Sunt autem quidam alii qui exponunt quod amen derivatur ab emun, id est connutrito quod dicitur p a x et est nomen sanctum quod invenitur in libris sapiencie huius que dicitur pars nominalis, et sapientes periti sciunt illud et virtutes eius. Quidam autem dicunt quod amen indicat trinitatem trium superiorum in unitate una que dicuntur i n s ΓΠΠ' m r r mrr id est dominus dominus dominus unus est ... et intencio est quod qui respondet amen confitetur quod deus benedictus fuit ante creationem seculi. The italicized words are without equivalent in the Hebrew original. 37

36 37

Rather p i x , 'omen. Fol. 35v: n n s n '3 χ τ ι m r a m ι π χ '"•> •""' nViy ' a n a p x Ό Ο'ΪΠΒΏ m oVirn n x n a o n p rr>n TP χ τ α η Ό r m » p x

[52]

4 T H E RANGE AND PROGRESS OF PICO'S KABBALISTIC STUDIES

The figure of Pico that presents itself to the reader's mind, when his Kabbalistic theses are read without acquaintance with the texts that directly inspired them, is as puzzling and paradoxical as the theses themselves. Young Pico seems to be moving with ease and assurance over the slippery ground of a vast and strange literature, quite at home in a tradition which he neither inherited nor lived long enough to acquire. What looks like a paradox is merely the distorting effect of a false perspective; and it is not the least important outcome of the preceding inquiry into Pico's sources that it counteracts that distorting effect and thus enables us to see his Kabbalistic studies in their true dimensions. The following list summarizes the findings of that inquiry.

Theses

Sources

I

Expositio Decern Numerationum (Vat. 191) + Recanati, fol. 13 Iva. Corona Nominis Boni (Vat. 190) Liber Combinationum (Vat. 190) Recanati, fol. 19va-b Recanati, fol. 23vb ?

II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII

Expositio Decern Numerationum (Vat. 191) Recanati, fol. 9vb Recanati, fol. 14vb Recanati, fols. 17va-18ra Recanati, fol. 18va-b Recanati, fol. 57rb, or Portae Iustitiae (Cod. Chigi), fols. 80v-81r Portae Iustitiae, fols. 128v-129r [53]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism

Theses

Sources

XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV

Recanati, fol. 44ra, or Portae Iustitiae, fols. 121v-122r Recanati, fol. 46rb Recanati, fol. 83va-b Recanati, fols. 171va + 212ra Recanati, fol. 213rb-va Comentum Sepher Iesire (Vat. 191) Recanati, fols. 83rb + 85rb Recanati, fols. 7vb-8ra Recanati, fols. 86rb-87vb Recanati, fol. 6rb Bahir (Vat. 191) or De Proportione Divinitatis

(Cod. Chigi) or Recanati, fol. 4vb XXV & XXVI Recanati, fol. 2ra XXVII Recanati, fol. 9va XXVIII Recanati, fol. llvb-12ra XXIX Bahir (Vat. 191) XXX Recanati, fol. 12va XXXI Recanati, fol. 47va XXXII Recanati, fol. 47vb XXXIII Recanati, fol. 48ra XXXIV Recanati, fol. 48vb XXXV Recanati, fol. 50ra XXXVI Recanati, fol. 51ra-b XXXVII Recanati, fol. 52va XXXVIII & XXXIX Recanati, fol. 55rb, or Portae Iustitiae (Cod. Chigi), fols. 380v-381v XL Recanati, fol. 65ra, or Comentum Voluminis de Proportione Divinitatis (Vat. 191) XLI Bahir (Vat. 191) XLII & XLIII Recanati, fol. 75rb XLIV Recanati, fol. 78va-b XLV Recanati, fol. 83va-b XLVI Recanati, fol. 89ra-b, or Portae Iustitiae (Cod. Chigi), fol. 74v XLVII Recanati, fol. 93va [54]

Pico's Kabbalistic

Studies

The unrivaled predominance of Recanati among the sources of the first set of theses stands out as clearly as one can wish. Recanati alone is demonstrably the direct source of some twenty-five theses and the likeliest source of another dozen, while all other books between them account for ten theses. Pico could not have had a better guide to Kabbalah secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum than Recanati. A wellmeaning, patient, and somewhat long-winded eclectic and a great admirer of the Zohar, Recanati was exceptionally well suited to make Kabbalah understandable to a would-be Kabbalist: his Commentary on the Pentateuch is a rich storehouse of authentic Kabbala competently presented by a genuine Kabbalist. As he goes along following the order of the Scriptures, Recanati discusses a great variety of subjects, always quoting and interpreting earlier texts. He quotes midrashim, preKabbalistic esoterics, and particularly Kabbalistic writings, notably the Bahir and more often the Zohar. It was from Recanati, not from the biblical commentary of Moses ben Nahman of Gerona or the writings of Eleazar of Worms, that Pico learned that all peculiarities of the Masorah represented mysteries of the ten seflrot (Conclusio xxxiii). It was likewise in Recanati, and not by his own wits, that Pico found the shrewd combination of texts that brought out some particular points, such as the proper attitude at prayer (Conclusio xxxiv). And, above all, it was because he read it with the eyes of Recanati that Pico understood the Zohar so well. We have seen not only that all such theses as argue Pico's acquaintance with the Zohar can be derived from Recanati, but also that about half of them cannot be derived from the Zohar itself, because they presuppose the text of the Zohar as it is quoted and interpreted by Recanati. The importance of Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch for the interpretation of the first set of theses can hardly be overrated. If all the extant translations of Mithridates had been lost, it would still be possible to account satisfactorily for forty-three theses from Recanati alone. If all the extant translations had never existed, a few theses could not have been written, but the set as a whole would be very much the same. Without Recanati, however, the first set of theses is entirely inconceivable in its present form: there are no alternative sources in the extant translations for nearly half the theses, including all but one of the theses that ultimately derive from the Zohar. Moreover, the dominant influence of Recanati can be seen not only in [55]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism the subject matter of individual theses but also in their arrangement. I have added page references to Recanati in my list above so that anyone can see for himself that the haphazard order of Pico's theses quite often reflects the meanderings of his principal source. In particular three blocks of theses, namely viii-xi, xxxi-xl, xlii-xlvii, in which the individual theses follow each other in exactly the same order as their respective sources follow each other in Recanati. What cannot be seen from merely scanning the conspectus of sources is that the location of individual theses seems to be determined sometimes by the incidence of cognate subject matter in Recanati even when the direct source of the theses is in all likelihood not Recanati. Conclusio xxix, which was inspired by the Bahir, is a case in point. It treats of the proper application of the name MSPS and is located between two theses both of which treat of angels. The source of Conclusio xxviii begins in Recanati at fol. llvb, and the source of Conclusio xxx at 12va. The name MSPS is discussed in Recanati at fol. llva. Thus it appears that while the phrasing of Conclusio xxix was inspired by the Bahir, its location reflects the arrangement of the subject matter in Recanati. Another case in point is Conclusio xli. It treats of new souls and its source is the Bahir, either directly or indirectly through the quotation in Recanati at fol. 9va. Its location is remarkable: it is inserted between two blocks of theses all of which derive from Recanati seriatim. The source of Conclusio xl, the last of the first block, is Recanati, fol. 65ra. The source of Conclusio xlii, the first of the second block, is Recanati, fol. 75rb. Now, halfway between fols. 65 and 75, Recanati discusses transmigration of souls, old souls, and new souls, and quotes part of the passage of the Bahir which is the ultimate source of Pico's thesis. So here again, while the phrasing of the thesis was inspired by the Bahir, its location certainly reflects Recanati. The sources of the first set of theses in Recanati are not distributed equally throughout his book: most of them are in the commentary on Genesis and Exodus. At the same time, the principal sources of Conclusiones xvii and xviii are two close passages in the commentary on Deuteronomy: one at fol. 212r and the other at fol. 213r-v. We must therefore reckon with the possibility that Pico read the whole commentary for his first set of theses, even though he may have skipped or made little use of most of the commentary on Leviticus and Numbers. I shall now consider the other sources one by one. Joseph Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae (Cod. Chigi) is the likeliest direct source of at least two [56]

Pico's Kabbalistic

Studies

theses (Conclusiones xiii and xiv). Consequently, it is highly probable, and, in fact, almost certain, that Pico read it. The title of the book in the Latin translation is Saare Sedech Id Est Porte Iusticie seu de Diuinis Nominibus. As far as I am aware there is no manuscript authority for the subtitle, and the possibility that it was meant to recall the De Divirtis Nominibus of pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita cannot be ruled out. At any rate, the subtitle is not improper: the book discusses the names of the sefirot. Moreover, it is an essential feature of Gicatilla's Kabbala that he considers the whole Torah as an explication of the name of God in the sense that the whole text of the Torah is in fact a texture of different divine epithets which are themselves variations of the name of God. 1 We must reckon with the possibility that Pico also used, or at least read, the De Proportione Divinitatis (Ma'areket ha-'Elohut), the beginning of which survives in the Chisianus. The book is an alternative source in one instance and a possible alternative source in another instance. In both instances, however, the decision between the alternatives is primarily a decision between alternative Latin translations of almost identical Hebrew texts. Most of the Latin translation of this book being lost, we are not in a position to decide which is the likeliest choice, so that the possibility that the lost translation of the De Proportione Divinitatis was the direct or the likeliest direct source at least in one instance cannot be ruled out. I come now to the sources included in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191. This manuscript begins with four different commentaries on the Sefer Yesirah (the Book of Creation) and an unknown short interpretation of the ten sefirot inserted between the third and the fourth commentaries. That Pico read them, or at least two of them, is quite certain. In a letter adignotum amicum, dated 10 November 1486 from La Fratta, Pico writes: nuper legi in commentariis libri quem pater antiquus Abraham de Creatione edidit, dum enim duas illas et triginta portas, quarum meminit, authores interpretantur, dicunt numerum ilium ex decern numerationibus ac duabus et uiginti litteris conflari. Reliquas autem literas quae sunt mem tzade pe caph et nun quae 2 duplices dicuntur quarum characteres sunt

1 f D ab episcopis siue perfectis additas fuisse. 3

1 2 3

See Scholem, On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, p. 42. Nun quae is my correction of the nonsensical "nunquam," which is obviously a printer's error. Opera, p. 385.

[57]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism What Pico read is quite clearly not the Book of Creation itself but commentaries on that book, and what he quotes is a famous rabbinic dictum which appears in one of them, and in one only, namely the commentary on the Sefer Yesirah by Rabbi Moses ben Nahman of Gerona, known also as Moses Gerundinensis. 4 That commentary is the last of the four I have mentioned. It begins at fol. 39r: Incipit Comentum Sepher iesire. Triginta duabus viis: unde procedunt decern numerationes et viginti due litere • | f η [mem, nun, sadhe, pe, kaf] Speculatores uel episcopi dixerunt eas.

The second commentary is the direct source of Conclusio xix: "Eaedem sunt litterae nominis cacodemonis, qui est princeps mundi huius et nominis dei Triagrammaton, et qui sciuerit ordinäre transpositionem deducet unum ex alio." It is remarkable that the only thesis in the entire first set which deals with names and transpositions of letters without any reference to sefirot derives from a commentary on the Book of Creation. It is certain that Pico read the Bahir: Scholem proved it beyond doubt. 5 But of the three theses that reflect recognizable passages in the Bahir only one (Conclusio xxix) derives in all likelihood from the Bahir itself, whereas the other two might equally well derive from quotations of the Bahir in Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch. The Bahir is the penultimate piece in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191. It is the earliest extant text of Kabbala proper. Old Gnostic elements dwell in it side by side with the incipient theosophical doctrine of the sefirot.6 I have already mentioned that the Vaticanus 191 was probably written piecemeal. Hence, the fact that Pico certainly read the beginning and the end of the manuscript does not warrant the conclusion that he read all the intervening pieces. His theses, however, afford evidence of his acquaintance with the anonymous Expositio Decern Numerationum. The book is a systematic discussion of the symbols of the sefirot.

4

5 6

The Hebrew original of this text was published by G. Scholem in Kirjath Sefer, 6 (1929-30), 401 -410. In the Latin translation the text is anonymous. I owe its identification to Scholem. See above, Chapter 3, note 1. For a detailed discussion of the Bahir see G. Scholem, Ursprung und Anfänge der Kabbala (Berlin, 1962), pp. 42-174. The text is available in German translation with commentary by Scholem, Das Buch Bahir (1923; reprint, Darmstadt, 1970). [58]

Pico's Κ abba Iis tic Studies Finally, the Vaticanus 190. The first piece included in this manuscript is the anonymous Liber Combinationum. Pico certainly used it for his first set of theses: it is the direct source of Conclusio iii. The book, in Scholem's opinion, is a fourteenth-century popular version of Abraham Abulafia's combinational and philosophical Kabbala. 7 It is almost certain that Pico also used the Corona Nominis Boni (see Conclusio ii). The author of this book, Abraham Axelrad of Cologne, moved from Germany to Spain, and his Kabbala blends the numerological speculations of the German Hasidim with the Spanish Kabbalists' doctrine of the ten sefirot} The demonstrable sources of Pico's first set of theses are seven books: Menahem Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch Joseph Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae (Cod. Chigi) Comentum Sepher Iesire (Vat. 191) Expositio Decern Numerationum (Vat. 191) The Book Bahir (Vat. 191) Liber Combinationum (Vat. 190) Abraham Axelrad's Corona Nominis Boni (Vat. 190) I can envisage that as a result of further research or new discoveries of manuscripts the De Proportione Divinitatis might be securely established as a source of the first set of theses, or that the Corona Nominis Boni might drop out from the list of sources. I can also envisage certain modifications concerning the possible or alternative sources, and a few readjustments of the balance between Recanati, on the one hand, and all the other sources, on the other. But, with more than half of the theses demonstrably deriving directly from Recanati, his position as the dominant source of the first set of theses is not likely to be challenged. Thus the salient facts that the inquiry into the sources of the first set of theses has revealed are the unrivaled predominance of Recanati, on the one hand, and the limited number and modest part of the subsidiary sources, on the other. A significant enlargement of the range of Pico's sources is noticeable in the second set of his Kabbalistic theses, the Conclusiones Cabalisticas

7

8

G. Scholem with the assistance of B. Joel, Catalogus Codicum Hebraicorum in Bibliotheca Hierosolymitana, Part I: Kabbala (in Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1930), pp. 50 ff. See Scholem, Ursprung und Anfänge, p. 392.

[59]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism secundum opinionem propriam. I shall consider those theses and their sources in due course. A few essential facts will suffice for the present purpose. It must not be expected that what was done in the previous chapter for the first set of theses will or might be repeated for the second set. It is impossible to pinpoint the direct sources, or to identify the likeliest direct sources of all the theses of the second set, simply because most of them have no direct sources. They are for the most part Pico's own speculations which cannot be traced to identifiable sources, even when they start from recognizable principles or doctrines. Some theses, however, sufficiently numerous to form a significant body, can be shown to derive either from identifiable direct sources or from possible alternative sources. Among the identifiable direct sources Recanati is still important, though no longer dominant. The Portae Iustitiae and Proportione Divinitatis are in some instances likely alternative sources. But it is not the alternative sources that primarily affect the relative importance of Recanati as a source of the second set of theses. Other influences make themselves felt throughout that set. I have identified six different books which are direct sources of some of the most important theses of the second set. They differ from each other in authorship, form, and substance. But the six have one thing in common: all are included in one manuscript, the Vaticanus 190. One of them, the Liber Combinationum, is also used once in the first set of theses. The other five are never used in the first set. The following list reflects the order of their appearance in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190. Summa Brevis Cabala Que Intitulatur Rabi Jeude (fols. 120v-132v), Abraham Abulafia's epistle to his disciple Yehuda Salmon, in which Abulafia defines his own Kabbala in contradistinction to cabala numerationalis, or Kabbala of the sefirot, numeratio being the standard Latin rendering of sefirah. Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus cum Responsionibus Suis (fols. 165-173), by Rabbi Azriel of Gerona. "In seinem Scha'ar ha-Scho'el, das bei späteren Autoren 'Erklärung über die zehn Sephiroth' heisst, besitzen wir einen Katechismus, der die Sephirothlehre in Frage und Antwort unter Benutzung neu-platonischer Logik vorträgt." 9

9

Ibid., p. 330.

[60]

Pico's Kabbalistic Studies Liber de Radicibus vel Terminis Cabale (fols. 222r-275r), an elaborate glossary of the Kabbalistic symbols of the ten sefirot.10 Liber de Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabale (fols. 275v-336r), Menahem Recanati's mystical interpretation of the prayers. Liber de Secretis Legis (fols. 336v-469v + Cod. Chigi, fols. 232-261), the last item in the collection, is Abraham Abulafia's mystical interpretation of Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed Thus it appears, on the internal evidence of the theses themselves, that the principal repositories of the direct sources of both sets of Pico's Kabbalistic theses are two manuscripts: the lost Latin translation of Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch and the extant Vaticanus 190. The salient facts concerning those two sources are, first, that Recanati is the dominant source of the first set of theses and an important, though no longer dominant, source of the second, while the Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 is about the least important source of the first set and an outstandingly important source of the second. Second, while the whole commentary of Recanati was in all likelihood used for the first set, the whole of Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 was used only for the second set, whereas for the first set only two writings were used, both of which are in the first half of the manuscript. These findings are particularly important, because what little is known about the chronology of the translations used by Pico does not encourage the assumption that Pico first read all the translations and then set to write his theses. It will be remembered that all the manuscripts used by Pico for his theses were written by Mithridates in his own hand between May and November 1486. Mithridates was admittedly a fast worker: he once remarked that he worked at the rate of two quinternia (40 pages in folio) a day. 12 Even at this high rate he would have needed more than three months to produce upward of 3,500 pages of translations. In the parentheses of

10 11 12

Cf. Wirszubski, "Giovanni Pico's Companion to Kabbalistic Symbolism," pp. 353-354. For the correct order of leaves in this translation see my discussion in Sermo de Passione, Appendix II, pp. 52-55, 57-58. In the Liber Redemptionis (Cod. Chigi, fol. 310r): "Itaque septima pars vite hominis sit in delectatione et quiete a labore et fatigatione quam non potest euadere nec maior nec minor (praecipue ego nunc ad duos quinternos in die)."

[61]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Mithridates which are scattered throughout his manuscripts there is enough evidence to show that he worked away from Pico and sent in his translations successively.13 This being so, it seems to me the likeliest hypothesis that Pico read the translations as they came in and wrote his theses as he went along. We do not know, it is true, which theses in each set were written first and which last. Nor can we rule out the possibility that Pico began work on his second set of theses before the first set was quite complete. But while we cannot assume that all the theses of the second set are invariably later than all the theses of the first, it is nevertheless true that the first set and the second set, each considered as a whole, represent two successive stages of Pico's Kabbalistic studies. It follows, in view of the findings concerning the relative importance of Pico's principal sources in each set of theses, that thorough acquaintance with Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 marks the main difference between the earlier and later stages of Pico's Kabbalistic studies. I hope I shall not be misunderstood. It is not the only difference, but the main difference insofar as it can be expressed in terms of wider acquaintance with Kabbala; nor is it the difference between the successive sets of Kabbalistic theses, but between the successive stages of Pico's Kabbalistic studies. Acquaintance with the Vaticanus 190 meant in part meeting old acquaintances: Recanati's Commentary on the Prayers is not different from his Commentary on the Pentateuch, and the Liber de Radicibus differs only in form, not in substance, from other discussions of the symbolism of the ten sefirot. At the same time, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 is also the principal source of a different Kabbala, clearly and vigorously presented in the writings of Abraham Abulafia, whose prophetic Kabbala blends metaphysical interests inspired by the Aristotelian philosophy of Maimonides 13

Cod. Chigi, fol. 286v: "Pice, Siue irascaris siue non quia scio te non posse intelligere hoc et forte contingeret quandoque me tecum esse et peteres a me expositionem suam; et quia in mea traductione latina non intelligere earn sed in hebraico, ideo scribo tibi earn hebraice totam licet prolixa sit habeas pacienciam cum non placuerit mictere [mittere] ad docendum ne facias illud." Fol. 227v: "Ex libro de radicibus filij eius. Pice hie allegat et ponit circa tres cartas ex libro illo sed quia habes ilium translatum nolui transferre iterum est enim a principio litere aleph usque ad illam psalmi filiorum Corhe completam." The passage referred to appears in the Liber de Radicibus, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 222v-225r. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 415v: "ego nolo ut scias hec secreta nisi ambo fuerimus." Ibid., fol. 445r: "In hoc passu habui literas tuas quod Petrus Leo noluit accomodare libros."

[62]

Pico's Kabbalistic

Studies

with methods of combinational Kabbala ultimately derived from the Book of Creation. 14 Recanati's mystical commentary on the Pentateuch and Abulafia's mystical commentary on Maimonides represent two quite different orientations, and in fact two quite different kinds of Kabbala. Recanati's Kabbala is mainly concerned with the ten sefirot as divine emanations, and its vehicle is a symbolical exegesis of Scripture as the way to unravel the mysteries of the sefirot. The Kabbala of Abulafia is concerned, not with the sefirot, but with the name, or names, of God, and it resorts to combinations of letters as a spiritual discipline by which man can attain union with God. The Kabbala secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum as reflected in Pico's first set of theses is almost exclusively Kabbala of the sefirot. I have already observed that in the entire first set there is only one thesis, derived from a commentary on the Book of Creation, which would not fit into the Kabbala of the sefirot. By contrast, the second set begins with the distinction between Kabbala as scientia sefirot and Kabbala as scientia semot (names), the latter being conceived of as speculative Kabbala. This distinction, as Scholem saw long ago, 15 derives from Abulafia. Commentaries on the Book of Creation (which is the fountainhead of combinational Kabbala) and the Liber Combinationum are, it is true, identifiable sources of isolated theses in the first set. But the findings concerning Pico's use of his sources in both sets of theses argue strongly, even if they do not prove, that it was not until Pico read the writings of Abulafia that he fully realized the difference between those two kinds of Kabbala and in particular the speculative character of combinational Kabbala. Pico's study of the manuscripts that are the sources of his Kabbalistic theses was admittedly brief, having begun only some five or six months before the completion of the theses. With so much crowded into so short a time it is too much to hope that we may recover more than the main outlines of the progress of Pico's studies. But as regards the sources of the second set of his Kabbalistic theses, the evidence of the theses themselves is quite unambiguous, even if it is not as complete as was the case in the first 14

15

See G. Scholem, "Abraham Abulafia and the Doctrine of Prophetic Kabbalism," in Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York-Jerusalem 1941) (hereafter MTJM). G. Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," p. 164, η. 1.

[63]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism set. The identifiable direct sources of the second set of theses are the lost translation of Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch and six pieces included in the extant Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, namely: Liber Combinationum Abulafia's Summa Brevis Cabale Azriel's Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus Liber de Radicibus Recanati's Liber de Secretis Orationum Abulafia's Liber de Secretis Legis Probable additions are Axelrad's Corona Nominis Boni in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 and the anonymous Commentum Voluminis de Proportione Divinitatis, in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, as well as Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae and the anonymous De Proportione Divinitatis, both of which are in the Chisianus. The list is incomplete and likely to remain so even if some probable additions are made; the nature of the second set of theses and the losses that the Chisianus and Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191 sustained render completeness unattainable. But the precise number of the identifiable sources matters much less than the fact that they have been identified on the internal evidence of the theses secundum opinionem propriam. This is to my mind a fact of cardinal importance for the interpretation of Pico's own Kabbala, that is to say the Kabbala Pico made his own. Pico is the first Christian by birth who is known to have read an impressive amount of genuine Jewish Kabbala. That Kabbala passed not only through Latin translation, but also through the creative mind of a Christian thinker who was trained in the schools of philosophy. As might be expected, Kabbala was transformed in the process. But the Kabbala that Pico read is still recognizable in the Kabbala that Pico wrote. At times, it is true, what is recognizable is no more than just Kabbala, vague, unidentifiable Kabbala; at others it is precisely the Kabbala that Pico read. Whereby is it recognizable? Primarily by Pico's Kabbalistic vocabulary and usage. The principal Kabbalist authors whom Pico read include several daring religious thinkers who share the common lot of all thinking men at all times: they are sometimes divided by a common language and a common tradition. Precisely for this reason the identification of Pico's direct sources helps a lot. I am not suggesting that sources settle interpretation. Far from it. I can see no conceivable reason why a man who refused to be the [64]

Pico's Kabbalistic Studies docile follower of any particular philosopher should be considered the docile follower of any particular Kabbalist. But, granted that Pico transformed Kabbala to suit his own tastes and ideas, it helps a lot to understand what Pico is saying, if we can trace back to where he picked up his language. Pico's approach to Kabbala is admittedly unhistorical. But Kabbala has a history, in the course of which similar doctrines and identical concepts were differently treated in different schools or by different authors. It is precisely for this reason that it matters a great deal for the correct interpretation of Pico's own Kabbala to know as exactly as possible whence derive the doctrines that loom behind the succinct phrases of Pico's Kabbalistic theses.

[65]

PART TWO

The Translations of Flavius Mithridates

5 KABBALIST TRANSLATOR

No student of Pico's encounter with Kabbala can afford to ignore the translations that Pico read, and no reader of those translations can avoid their author, even if he would: Flavius Mithridates is rarely unobtrusive. Nor is it only through his numerous parentheses and marginal notes that his presence makes itself felt in his translations. He was a competent but arbitrary translator, and his opinions, prepossessions, attitudes, and whims show in his translations no less than his skill and learning. Until quite recently Mithridates was known only as a distinguished teacher of oriental languages and translator from Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew. 1 New evidence has brought to light an unsuspected fact: the translator whom Pico employed to translate Kabbala for him was in a sense Pico's forerunner as regards the latter's notion that the esoteric tradition of the Jews confirmed Christianity. 2 The translations through which Pico made his acquaintance with Kabbala are thus neither the products of mere literary drudgery nor the works of disinterested scholarship. There are significant differences of substance, emphasis, and presentation between the extant Latin translations and the Hebrew originals of Pico's Kabbalistic sources. Not all the differences are equally important. Some of them, however, bear in one way or another on the interpretation both of individual theses and of Pico's view of Kabbala as a whole. For this reason, it will be useful to consider the translations in some detail before we approach Pico's Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam. Mithridates is the first known translator of Kabbala on a large scale. He had to find out for himself how to translate Kabbala in intelligible form. 1

2

See Sermo de Passione, Appendix II, pp. 49 ff. It is noteworthy that he translated the so-called Aurea Dicta of Pythagoras, and that his translations from Arabic include an astrological treatise. On the Hebrew and Arabic translation of the Aurea Dicta see M. Plesner's article by that name in Eshkolot, 4 (1962), 68. See Sermo de Passione, pp. 25-28.

[69]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism By and large he acquitted himself of this difficult task remarkably well. His skill as translator and his knowledge of Kabbala combined to produce readable, literal translations of a large body of texts few of which are easy and some of which are uncommonly difficult. To the latter class belong the writings of Abraham Abulafia, who, next to Recanati, matters most for the interpretation of Pico's Kabbala. It is noteworthy that the translations of those difficult texts are — interpolations notwithstanding — remarkably good translations. Abulafia may well have been the translator's favorite. Mithridates, in his parentheses, treats everything and everybody with reckless disrespect. The only exception I have noticed so far is Abraham Abulafia. Near the end of the second part of his De Secretis Legis, Abulafia writes (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 445v): "Et qui direxit me ad eum, formator inquam omnium, ad scribendum tibi que licuit mihi scribere, diriget te ut peruenias ad hunc gradum et scies quia [Gen. 24:1] 'dominus benedixit Abraamum cum omnibus,' quod est bachol." Whereupon Mithridates remarks: "Scias Pice quod non intelligit Abraamum patriarcham solum sed etiam se ipsum quia sic vocabatur et vere magnus homo fuit." The incipit of the Latin translation of Abulafia's book is also noteworthy (fol. 336v): "Incipit liber de secretis legis quem composuit Abraam (Mihi videtur abulhafia) super 36 secretis," etc. The correct identification of the author's surname presupposes previous acquaintance with the author and his work. It stands to reason that Mithridates studied Abulafia with his father, Nissim Abul-Farag, 3 in Sicily before his conversion. He happens to mention that he was acquainted with local traditions about Abulafia in Palermo. In the De Secretis Legis (fol. 458v), in the course of his discussion on the question whether the world was created or preexistent, Abulafia states, among other things, that "numerus annorum annorum eius [mundi] apud nos hodie sunt quinque milia et quadraginta anni [A.D. 1280]." In the margin, Mithridates notes: "Ego scio quod hie auctor fecit multa mirabilia Panhormi hoc anno et celebratur in monumentis Hebreorum Panhormitanorum in Sicilia mirum in modum et scio que sunt." What makes the writings of Abulafia uncommonly difficult is his associative thinking and allusive, in fact cryptic, style: he thinks and expresses himself in scarcely indicated isopsephic equations. What makes

3

See ibid., p. 12, n. 2. [70]

Kabbaiist

Translator

t h o s e w r i t i n g s r e a d a b l e in t r a n s l a t i o n is t h e t r a n s l a t o r ' s built-in interpretations of speculations founded o n gematria or isopsephy. There

are

h u n d r e d s o f t h e m in t h e t r a n s l a t i o n s o f M i t h r i d a t e s : m a n y , it is true, are e a s y a n d trivial; s o m e , h o w e v e r , p r e s u p p o s e s p e c i a l i s t k n o w l e d g e . M i t h r i d a t e s p r i d e d h i m s e l f in his u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f i s o p s e p h i c s p e c u l a t i o n s , a n d I b e l i e v e t h a t h a n d l i n g g e m a t r i a w a s in f a c t his f o r t e . W h a t f o l l o w s is h i s m o s t e l a b o r a t e s h o w p i e c e , w h i c h I q u o t e in full f r o m t h e Liber ns,

Redemptio-

C o d . Chigi, fols. 273r-274r: Itaque secretum nominis filii4 quadraginta duarum literarum cuius signum est dominus in eis sinai in sancto. hebraice Adonai bam Sinai baccodex CHp3 T D D3 'ΠΚ (Dico tibi Pice quod non est possibile inuenias hominem qui ita optime interpretaretur hec que cum non sunt intelligibilia vix in hebraico redit ea intelligibilia in latino, ideo si intelligis refer gratias Mithridati. et experiare hoc cum aliis et inuenies esse verum, volo scribere prius hebraice et postea traductionem ut videas difficillima facilia) dicitur quidem sic '31K1? 2 niDl» Τ T D Ό BHp3 Τ Ο DD 'ΠΧ m d s n a n Vdd ' x m d'Vdd onw mrrV m Vsd x m w ' n x V a mrr1? m o w n Vud own 'ΧΠ Ό S I T η η ν π DS7 ' x m D H i n a - m o . D o m i n u s in eis sinai in sancto, quia sinai Septem n o m i n a sunt d u o d o m i n i et q u i n q u e d o m i n i d o m i n i d o m i n i duplicati et q u i n q u e d o m i n i duplicati in d u p l u m et dimidium et m e m e n t o c u m h o c temporis et t e m p o r u m et dimidium temporis q u o d scias etiam q u o d n o m e n 5 d o m i n i est ad t o t u m n o m e n . (vide tu si s e c u n d u m h a n c t r a d u c t i o n e m de v e r b o a d v e r b u m intelligis.) ( D o m i n u s in eis q u o d dicitur D3 b a m cuius numeri sunt 42 quia beth 2 et m e m 40 collect! sunt 42 Synai in sancto quia n o m e n sinai constituit Septem n o m i n a que sunt ΓΠΓΡ m r p Π1 ΓΠΓΡ Π1Π' TJX 'ΠΧ p r o b a t u r quia numeri Synai sunt T D samech 60, iod 10, n u n 50, iod 10, collecti sunt quot numeri d o m i n i t e t r a g r a m a t o n scripti per aleph daleth n u n iod duplicati semel quia aleph 1, daleth 4, n u n 50, iod 10, collecti sunt 65 duplicentur simpliciter sunt 130. et tot n u m e r i sunt synai quia 60, 10,50,10, collecti sunt 130. et totidem sunt n o m i n i s d o m i n i t e t r a g r a m a t o n iod he vau he duplicati bis que sunt q u a t u o r n o m i n a iod he vau he et d i m i d i u m eius q u o d est iod he IT p r o b a t u r quia iod 10, he 5, vau 6, he 5, collecti sunt 26. d u p l i c e n t u r sunt 52. fiat duplicatio bis et sunt 104. 6 Addatur illi d i m i d i u m n o m i n i s q u o d est hia q u o d q u a m u i s sit dimidium t a n t u m valet q u a n t u m t o t u m n o m e n . p r o b a t u r quia ΓΡ hia n u m e r o s h a b e t 15 quia iod 10 he 5, scribatur p l e n u m ΧΠIV habet n u m e r o s 10, 6, 4, 5, 1 collecti sunt 26 quot sunt litere totius nominis. itaque habes q u o d n o m e n ipsum d u p l i c a t u m bis et d i m i d i u m se habet quot n o m e n

4 5 6

This is a literal rendering of a Hebrew idiom. Nomen filius xlii litterarum means simply nomen xlii litterarum. It ought to be dimidium nominis. The MS reads "sunt 54 p a t duplicatio bis et sunt]]." I have restored the correct text. [71]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

adonai scriptum per aleph daleth nun iod et fiat duplicatio horum qui sunt 65. resultat numerus Synai qui sunt 130 posita in 42 literis hoc modo π' mrr mrr mrr mrr mrr mrr mrr mn1 >πχ ' π κ et hec est interpretatio mithridatis secunda secundum sentenciam.) Immediately after this showpiece, Mithridates observes: "sequitur alia [interpretatio] difficilior. primo ponitur hebraicum." Then, after the Hebrew quotation, he observes again: "transfero nunc de verbo ad verbum." Finally, at the end of the literal Latin translation, which is quite unintelligible — and I suspect that it is deliberately so — there appears a third parenthesis: "vide Pice et intellige. Ego autem nolo tibi exponere nisi rediero in urbem." We can now see that it was not out of sheer vanity that Mithridates was showing off his skill and knowledge: he wished to impress Pico with his usefulness because he tried to exploit Pico's interest in Kabbala for his own advantage. It is for this reason that he is at times helpful and obliging, 7 at others uncooperative and demanding, 8 and always reminding Pico that he cannot do without Mithridates. 9 Having touched upon his relations with Pico I might as well add that his return to Rome was not the only demand or expectation of Mithridates. A handsome boy was another. In Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 445r, he wrote the following parenthesis: "In hoc passu habui litteras tuas quod Petrus Leo 1 0 noluit accomodare libros. dico tibi si veneritlVJ [na'ar, boy] et concordaueris me volo docere te tan tum quod eris semper dominus suus. Scis tu

7 8

9

10

E.g., Cod. Chigi, fols. 332v and 265v: "Amore Pici volo declarare hunc passum" and "volo servire Pico ut ostendat Melfitensi." E.g., ibid., fol. 308r: "Putasne Pice te sine Mithridate intelligere posse? Amen dico tibi si non curaueris reditum nunquam exponam tibi hec et vade ad alios et docebunt te." E.g., Cod. Ebr. Vat. 190, fol. 76v: "O Pice si intellegeres ut credo te non posse"; fol. 81r: "nemo nisi mithridates intellexisset hec in heb[raico]"; fol. 366r: "nota Pice quod hie probauit magna probatione mundum habuisse principium et deum curare particularia et principium equinoctiorum secundum motum lune incepisse in mense septembris et secundum solem in mense marcii et quod prius creauit celum superius et animas in principio mundi omnes. et modum generationis per masculum et feminam et quod ad generationem hominis requiruntur tria Deus sol et homo, masculus et femina. si sapis intellige ego nolui hie dimictere te orphanum. licet frangam mihi caput ad optime interpretandum difficilia sunt tibi intellectu"; fol. 379r: "magnum secretum sed sine me non intellegas"; fol. 403r: "nolo intellegas sine me"; fol. 423r: "Pice videtur mihi scribere tibi hec verba omnia in hebraico; scio quod sine me non intellegas." See above, Chapter 4, note 13.

[72]

Kabbaiist

Translator

Mithridatem quando vult exercere ingenium suum." Pico relates, in November 1486, that Mithridates had refused to teach him Chaldean until he promised on oath that he would not impart that language to anyone. 11 Mithridates himself, somewhat earlier in the same year, made the instruction in Chaldean conditional on the arrival of a handsome boy: "lingua Caldaica (quam numquam Picus seiet nisi venerit naar iafe)." 12 There is enough evidence to show that Mithridates considered himself indispensable. But it is uncertain whether his bargaining position was in fact as strong as he thought it was. Hence, notwithstanding the fact that Pico was taught Chaldean by Mithridates, it remains uncertain who gave in: Pico or Mithridates. Likewise, the internal chronology of the translations of Mithridates is still too uncertain to admit any conclusions as to whether the na'ar iafe and Lancilotto of Faenza (sometimes referred to as lancea or lancea faventina), who was puer Mithridatis, are or are not the same boy. At any rate, na'ar is a recurrent theme in his parentheses, and more often than not Mithridates is querulous or indignant. Few books translated by Mithridates are as difficult as the Liber Redemptionis, and few passages in that difficult book are as difficult as the passage we have just seen. I have quoted that passage, not as a typical example of accurate translation with built-in interpretations, but as evidence of the translator's expert knowledge of Kabbala. Another striking example of what Mithridates was capable of doing when he was at his best is afforded by his translation of Joseph Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae (Sa'arey Sedeq), Cod. Chigi, fol. 114: Et scias quod omne opus geneseos et secretum decern numerationum sigillatum est cum nomine elohim a principio et usque ad finem quia secretum principii combinationis literarum est in creatione mundi et puncto scilicet medio, quia omnis literarum combinatio super quam numerat dominus libri Sepher iesire est secretum aleph. Et abraam pater noster notificauit illud quod in eo scriptum est omnibus intrantibus in mundum prout scribitur et vocauit ibi in nomine adonai Jod he vau he dei seculi dViS "?K ΠΙΓΡ Dtt>3. Et hoc est principium omnibus cognominibus coniunctis cum deo benedicto. et quando memorabis apud nomen el secretum decern graduum ad numerationes quia scilicet decern verba quibus mundus creatus est inuenies duodeeim ab his usque ad decern (Domine Pice non possum non facere quin etiam corrigam tibi librum hebraicum. vide quomodo scribitur in hebraico iV^n 3"Ti DNxan D^iyn n-d: Draw nnnxn ' '3 et est secundum quod transtuli supra. Sed magnus error est quia debet dicere quia decern 11 12

Pico, Opera, p. 385. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 344v. [73]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism verba quibus mundus creatus est inuenies continere e n literas, he iod mem, que sunt secretum decern numerationum ab aleph usque ad iod. Itaque quando coniunges apud el VX ipsum DTI fiet elohim DTIVK. quod autem sit ita probo quia secretum 10 numerationum est 55. nam aleph 1. beth 2. gimel 3. daleth 4. he 5. vau 6. zain 7. heth octo teth 9. iod decern, collige ilia et erunt 55. numera autem literas he que est 5. et iod 10. et mem 40. sunt 55. et sic ab aleph ad iod est D T ! et coniunctio cum el facit elohim • , Π 1 7 Ν ergo textus hebraicus deberet dicere, et nota illud gra[tia] mithry[datis], i v isn η1?«« DTI Dsson).

The corrected reading suggested by Mithridates does exist.13 We must therefore reckon with the possibility that it might have appeared as a textual variant in the manuscript he was using, or else that Mithridates simply remembered it, having seen it before. However, what I set out to illustrate was not the critical acumen of Mithridates, but his acquaintance with Kabbala. There is no need to assume that he arrived at the correct reading by his own wits in order to see that the convincing argument which proves his correction to be true proves also that he knew Kabbala. Joseph Gicatilla, whose Portae Iustitiae I have just quoted, was a pupil of Abraham Abulafia. Yet Gicatilla's Kabbala is not the combinational Kabbala of Abulafia, but the Kabbala that, in contradistinction to his own, Abulafia called cabala numerationalis, that is, Kabbala of the seflrot. The latter kind of Kabbala is strongly represented in the translations of Mithridates, and to that kind of Kabbala belonged also the lost translation of Pico's most influential source, Recanati's biblical commentary. The principal vehicle of that Kabbala is not isopsephy but symbolical interpretation of the Scriptures. It is therefore a matter of great importance that Mithridates as a rule translates scriptural quotations Kabbalistically,that is, his translations embody the symbolical interpretation of the quoted text. Speaking of the symbolical language of Kabbala, Scholem made the remark that divine language has no grammar. 14 What this means in practice is that the symbolical interpretation of the Scriptures by Kabbal-

13

14

In Cod. Monac. Hebr. 248, fol. 122v. The corrupt reading in the Hebrew text quoted and translated by Mithridates is identical with the reading of the Vatican MS Barb. Or. 110, fol. 67r. I owe this information about the Hebrew manuscripts of the Sa'arey Sedeq to the kindness of my colleague Professor Ephraim Gottlieb. G. Scholem, "The Name of God and the Linguistic Theory of the Kabbala," Diogenes, 79 (1972), 177-178; idem, "Traditio und Kommentar als religiöse Kategorien im Judentum," Eranos-Jahrbuch, 31 (1962), 34. [74]

Kabbaiist Translator ists disregards grammar — parts of speech, accidence, syntax, and vocalization — because the whole text of the Scriptures is conceived of as a texture of divine names. 15 Hence, any word in the biblical text, regardless of its form and literal meaning, might be conceived of and construed as a mystical symbol. Mithridates had a flair for the symbolical language of Jewish mystics. This is one reason why his translations are valuable as Kabbala, even if they might sometimes cause a mere Hebraist to raise his brows. "Cum denario et quinario Dominus formauit secula" 16 is a Kabbalistically impeccable literal translation of Isaiah 26:4. Similarly, "Quando igitur sunt in Israel intelligentes et scientes qui sciunt secreta nominis et gloriosi et eleuant manus suas statim exaudiuntur ut scribitur [Isa. 48:9] 'Az uocabis et dominus exaudiet,' si enim Az uocaueris Dominus exaudiet statim." 17 The adverb 'az (then) is treated as a proper noun. "Ain hec numeratio [Corona suprema, the first sefirah] dicitur ain [= non ens] quia nullum esse habet ob suam ocultationem, et ab ea procedit numeratio que uocatur sapiencia et secretum eius est in textu [Job 28:20] dicente et sapiencia ex ain ueniet.'" 8 The adverb me'ayin (whence) is interpreted and translated as a proper noun, 'Ayin, with the proclitic me, meaning "from." Similarly, "Et qui intelligit hoc intelliget secretum quomodo et quare vocatur hec proprietas [Intelligence] em id est mater. Et sic textus [Prov. 2:3] dicit quia matrem intelligentiam vocabis quod scribitur chi him labina ticra ΝΊρη ΓΟΌ1? DK Ό cuius puncti non debent esse per hiric ut dicatur im sed per seri ut legatur em.'" 9 A good illustration of this manner is the sustained use of the demonstrative pronoun zot (haec) as a symbolical representation of the tenth sefirah in Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae, Cod. Chigi, fol. 29: Hec autem proprietas Zoth specialiter vocatur Zoth ΠΧΤ de qua scribitur [Deut. 33:1] et Zoth est Bracha id est benedictio qua benedixit Moises vir elohim. Et similiter in alio textu [Gen. 49:28] scribitur et Zoth est de qua locutus est pater eorum ad eos et benedixit eis. Et signum huius rei indicatur in textu [Ezek. 44:30] dicente ut reliquatur bracha id est benedictio ad domum tuam. Et sic indicatum est in textu [Gen. 2:23] dicente Zoth

15 16 17 18 19

See Scholem, On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism, pp. 42-43. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 23r; see the discussion of Conclusio xix above in Chapter 3. Bahir, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 310r. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 64r. Cod. Chigi, fol. 371v. [75]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism vocabitur isca quia ab his WN id est viro capta est Zoth. et hoc est secretum magnum de secretis fidei quia fundamentum seculi vocatur Ze ΠΤ et regnum vocatur Zoth.20

The competence of Mithridates as a translator of Kabbala shows in his translations, and the quality of his translations is reflected in Pico's Kabbalistic doxography, the first set of his Kabbalistic theses. Forty-three of the forty-seven theses o f t h a t set are Kabbalistically impeccable. This high proportion of Kabbalistically impeccable theses, most of which deal with specific points of detail, is an index of the preponderant accuracy and remarkable intelligibility of the translations. But, as I have already said, there are significant differences between the Latin translations and the Hebrew originals of Pico's Kabbalistic sources, the preponderant accuracy of the former notwithstanding. The differences that matter for the present purpose are roughly of two kinds: differences born of translation or presentation, and differences born of interpolation. The former will be considered in the next chapter, the latter in the subsequent chapters.

20

Ze is masculine, zot feminine.

[76]

6 L A N G U A G E SYMBOLISM A N D N U M B E R SYMBOLISM

The symbolical language of Kabbala, and in particular the symbolism of the ten sefirot, is sometimes transformed in the translations of Mithridates almost beyond recognition: names denoting divine manifestations or properties are replaced with what look like symbolical numbers. A striking instance of this transformation is afforded by the anonymous De Proportione Divinitatis

(Ma'areket

ha-'Elohut), which is a comprehensive,

systematic treatise on the symbols of the ten sefirot. The passage I shall quote by way of illustration is from the fifth chapter, "De Nominibus Aequalibus", which treats of symbols representing two or more sefirot. The gist ofthat passage in the Hebrew original is that three different sefirot are each called Mispat (Judgment), namely the third sefirah (commonly called Intelligence), the sixth ( T i f e r e t , Beauty or Glory), and the tenth ('Atarah, Diadem). Similarly, three sefirot, Intelligence, Glory, and Mercy or Charity (Hesed, the fourth sefirah) are each called Rahamim, Clemency. What follows is the Latin translation of that passage, Cod. Chigi, fol. 221r: Similiter quoque septingentenarius et octingentenarius vocantur communi nomine misphath U01PÖ idest ius uel iudicium et hoc quidem quando iudicant de clemenciis prout scribitur in textu [Gen. 18:25] dicente numquid qui iudicat totam terram non faciet mispath? et iudicium cum clemencia? Et pro septingentenario dicimus nos in decern diebus penitentialibus Regem iudicii cum dementia DDU>nn η^ηη. Et sic exposuit magnus doctor Rabi Moise filius \filio MS] Naaman Gerundinensis quod est rex qui est misphath DDlPDn ΧΙΠΙΡ Ι^ΟΠ idest iudicium cum dementia, octingentenarius vero vocatur misphath prout dicit textus [Ps. 89:15] Sedech, idest iusticia, et misphath, idest iudicium, cum clemencia est habitaculum sedis tue, quia in hoc textu sedech indicat septuagenarium et misphath indicat octingentenarium. octingentenarius quidem sedes est septingentenarii, et uterque dicitur mispath. Etiam octingentenarius et septuagenarius dicuntur hoc nomine mispath quia mispath ad elohim pertinet Kin DTI^N1? BSlPan Ό. Similiter etiam Septingentenarius et octingentenarius et octonarius secundus dicuntur Rahamim idest clemencie uel vulve, sed differunt quia septingentenarius dicitur rahamim gemurim O'lTOJ D'Dm idest clemencie uel vulve absolute, octonarius vero secundus dicitur rahamim Gedolim [77]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism D'VTU D'arn idest clemencie maiores vel vulve magnifice. Et de eis testus [Isa. 54:7] dicit Et cum clemenciis magnis congregabo te. Octingentenarius vero dicitur Rahamim mezugim D'inö ΟΌΠΊ idest clemencie vel vulve1 temperate.

The Hebrew original leaves no room for doubt as to which four sefirot are called unheard-of names in this translation: septingentenarius is the third sefirah, octonarius secundus the fourth, octingentenarius the sixth, septuagenarius the tenth. But it is not only the Hebrew original that warrants these identifications; the translation of the previous chapter affords a key to the symbolical numbers. The fourth chapter of the De Proportione Divinitatis, "De Serie Nominum Proprietatum," presents the names of the ten sefirot in ten successive sections (particulae), each section dealing with the names of one sefirah. Eight of the ten sections end in the Latin translation with short remarks about the numerus or numeri, as the case may be, of the sefirah concerned. Those remarks are without counterpart, even if not without the semblance of a warrant, in the Hebrew Source. I shall quote them all; they afford the unique opportunity of watching the birth of newfangled symbols out of scribal conventions. First sefirah·. Second sefirah: Third sefirah'.

Fourth sefirah: Fifth sefirah·. Sixth sefirah: Eight sefirah: Tenth sefirah:

"numerus eius est 205 m n " (fol. 139r). "numeri eius proprii sunt duo primus octonarius et tricentenarius quinarius rrwn" (fol. 139v). "habet autem numeros proprios binarium et septingentenarium quod indicatur per litteras xin et tau rv'lfln" (fol. 141r). "numeri autem eius sunt primus trinarius et secundus octonarius Π j" (fol. 14lr). "numeri eius sunt secundus trinarius et octogenarius qui indicantur per SÜ" (fol. 142r). "ex numeris vero habet duo thau ΠΠ quarum numeri sunt octingenti [400 + 400]" (fol. 143r). "ex numeris vero habet quinarium absolute" (fol. 143v). "numerus eius est 70" (fol. 150r).

To understand the genesis of those numerical symbols we ought to reckon with the scribal conventions of Hebrew manuscripts no less than with the translator's penchant for numbers. Fiteenth-century manuscripts

1

The Hebrew words for clemenliae and vulvae consist of the same consonants, so that in ordinary writing without vowels they are indistinguishable from each other.

[78]

Language Symbolism and Number

Symbolism

teem with abbreviations, and the Hebrew manuscript of the Ma'areket ha-'Elohut used by Mithridates was demonstrably no exception. The Latin translation affords some glimpses of the actual form of the Hebrew original: "Nomina vero que sunt communia quinquagenario et quinario seu eternitati et decori sunt," etc. The translation clearly reflects a text in which the Hebrew words for aetemitas et decor, namely Tim ΠΧ] (nesah we-hod), were not spelled out in full but were abbreviated in the usual form r r u (nwh); hence quinquagenarius et quinarius, 50 being the numerical value of the letter nun, and 5 of he. At fol. 142r Mithridates writes: "Septimum est SaZ IS (nescio interpretari)." Eventually he realized, or rather thought he had realized, what TX meant, for at fol. 214v he writes: "et 97 TS (Dicit Mitrydates quod SaZ TS uidetur sibi significare iusticiam in masculino genere. et hoc amore Pici)." It does not very much matter for the present purpose that Mithridates is for once wrong: the letter sadhe is here the initial of sad (IX), "side," and not of sedeq (p"TX), "justice." What matters is that his original presented the words Ί3Τ "tx {sad zakar, "the male side") in the common abbreviation T"X, and Mithridates, though he was aware that those letters were the initials of two Hebrew words, represents them in double figures as 97. Bearing in mind that the names or designations of the ten sefirot were often abbreviated in the Hebrew original and that Mithridates treats abbrevations as numbers, we can see whence come the numeri or numeri proprii of the ten sefirot. First sefirah: Second seßrah·. Third seßrah: Fourth sefirah·.

Fifth sefirah: Sixth sefirah: Eighth sefirah·. Tenth sefirah:

205 = m n = Π[]11ΓΝ]1Π "the first" (1) primus octonarius = Π = [ΠΠ3]Π, Hokmah, Wisdom (2) 305 = rV'ttTt = n n i w n , "the second" (1) binarius = 3 = [ n r p , Binah, Intelligence (2) 700 n"tt>n = η[,ΒΓ'?]ΐΡΠ, "the third" (1) primus trinarius = I = [nVn]J, Gedullah, Greatness (2) secundus octonarius = Π = [10]Π, Hesed, Mercy or Charity (1) secundus trinarius = J = [ΓΤϊημ, Geburah, Might (2) octogenarius = D = [1Π]Β, Pahad, Fear duo thau = 800 = ΓΓΠ = npNS]n, Tiferet, Beauty or Glory quinarius absolute = Π = [Τ1]Π, Hod, Majesty 70 = V = [mt)]S, 'Atarah, Diadem

The names of two sefirot, Hokmah and Hesed, begin with the letter heth\ hence the former is primus octonarius and the latter secundus octonarius. Similarly, the names of two sefirot begin with the letter gimel: Gedullah and Geburah·, hence primus trinarius for the former and secundus trinarius [79]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism for the latter. It is in particular noteworthy that, in his notes concerning the numeri proprii of the third and fifth sefirot, Mithridates explicitly reverses the true order of things: he states that the numbers are indicated by letters, whereas in point of fact it is the numbers that are no more than numerical representations of letters. The substitution of numbers for the names of the ten sefirot in the Latin translation of the Ma'areket ha-'Elohut is noteworthy in particular because in that same translation the Kabbala of the sefirot is given a twist toward magic. In the Hebrew original of that treatise Kabbalists are usually called "masters of worship" {ba'aley ha-'avodah);2 in the Latin translation they are "master practitioners of the art": domini operantes, domini operantes in hac arte, domini qui operantur in hacsapientia etagunt. Here is, for instance, the beginning of the fifth chapter, fol. 150v: "Nomina autem equalia uel equipollentia dicuntur xemoth axauim D'UPH Et quidem sunt numerationes quibus utuntur domini qui operantur in hac sapientia et agunt vocantes eas uno et eodem nomine." The fact that the "master practitioners" use names is not in the least obscured, but, as we have seen, the names they use appear in the Latin translation as numbers. Considered as a whole, the translation of the De Proportione Divinitatis is certainly extravagant, but not unique: initials and abbreviations are treated similarly in several other pieces. Moreover, the tendency to treat letters as representations of numbers is almost universal in the translations of Mithridates. There are countless instances of letters being replaced with their numerical values even in contexts that are entirely unaffected by numerological speculations. This holds good for symbolical and combinational Kabbala alike. A sustained shift of emphasis from letters as elements of language to letters as representations of numbers thus makes itself felt in the presentation of Kabbala by Mithridates. This shift of emphasis from language symbolism to number symbolism is a matter of singular importance in view of the paramount place that language as such holds in speculative and practical Kabbala, that is, in Kabbalist mysticism and Kabbalist magic. With regard to the texts with which Pico was demonstrably acquainted, it is, I think, true to say that in Pico's Kabbalistic Hebrew sources the medium of creation and of the magical application of Kabbala is language. This dominant view is by no means obscured in the Latin transla2

a . Scholem, MTJM, p. 349, n. 8.

[80]

Language Symbolism and Number

Symbolism

tions. And yet, unless I am mistaken, there is a significant difference between the Hebrew originals and the Latin translations in this respect. The Hebrew texts leave no room for doubt that the letters, the combinations of which recreate or recapture the creative energy of the Creator, are elements of language, whereas in the translations the very same letters tend to become representations of numbers. By way of illustration I shall quote a text that bears directly on the magical application of combinations of letters. The Book of Creation (Sefer Yesirah) is the fountainhead both of combinatory Kabbala and of a great deal of Kabbalist magic. It will be remembered that Pico read and quoted commentaries on that book. 3 What follow are two adjacent passages from the second chapter of the first commentary, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fols. 5r-6v: Sic igitur xxii litere fundantur in rota per ducentas viginti unam combinationes, per revolutionem rote ante et retro hoc modo: scilicet ab unitate in trigenarium — ante; a trigenario in quadringentenarium — retro, et sunt ipse linee apud omnes per contrarium. et hoc est signum. unitas et quadragenarius in bonum. et probatur tarn in bonum quam in creando cum eis, si secundum ordinem processeris. si vero per contrarium corrumpes et in puluerem reduces, puta per discursum a trigenario ad quadringentenarium. et hoc est quod in bono nihil est sumum bonum maius voluptate que est per septuagenarium quinquagenarium et trinarium et per litteras dicitur oneg ain nun et gimel, quod est voluptas vel delectatio. Sumum vero malum nihil est maius tristitia vel dolore que fit per quinquagenarium trinarium et septuagenarium et per literas dicitur nega idest nun gimel ain et sunt ambo contraria honeg et nega idest voluptas et dolor uel tristitia ... Et intellige hunc amphorismum, et fundamentum precipue unitatis quadragenarii et tricentenarii quomodo potes convertere eas ad bonum vel malum, ad damnandum vel iustifkandum. et pronuntiacio lingue que etiam se habet ut lingua lancis iudicat tanquam arbiter. Si enim creare volueris masculum considera pronuntiacionem unitatis quadragenarii et tricentenari.4 Si vero feminam unitatis tricentenarii et quadragenarii. At vero si volueris utrosque corrumpere et ad pulverem reducere considera pronuntiacionem tricentenarii quadragenarii et unitatis. et sigilla per sex sigilla anulorum nominis dei Triagramaton Iod he vau, quo conuertuntur omnes res senarie. Numbers sometimes prevail over the elements of language in the symbolical interpretation of Scripture. Isaiah 26:4, D'aViy ΠΧ m r r ΓΡΠ Ό, is a case in point. The verse is interpreted in the Midrash 5 as a mystery of

3 4 5

See the discussion of Conclusio xix in Chapter 3. Aleph, mem, and sin: ttrax. Midras BereSit Rabba, xii. 10 (pp. 107-110 ed. Theodor-Albeck). [81]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

creation: God created the worlds with the lettersyodand he. There are two translations of this verse by Mithridates. One is in the Corona

Nominis

Boni, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 176r: et Ze est nomen eius in eternum ad ascondendum quod scilicet scribitur per iod he vau he et legitur per aleph dalet nun iod cum quo creauit superiores et inferiores ut scribitur [Isa. 26:4] cum Iod et he dominus formauit secula. hinc habetur quod cum his duabus licteris scilicet Iod et he creauit Iod he vau he duo secula, seculum hoc et seculum venturum, seculum quidem venturum cum Iod et seculum hoc cum he, ut scribitur [Gen. 2:4: Diaana] cum he creauit eos. quod dicunt sapientes nostri in dictione behibarham id est quando creauit eos. The other translation is in the Comentum Sepher Iesire, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 23r: Et hie mundus creatus est cum litera he, que est quinarius, et iam indicauimus secretum denarii ideo indicatur nunc secretum quinarii quia cum denario et quinario dominus formauit secula.6 quod sic patet per dictionem sur ΠΧ cuius litera vau conjugitur cum denario et quinario et sic est denarius quinarius et senarius qui est deus triagramaton in' qui formauit secula, scilicet duo, hoc et venturum. Itaque ex hoc scies quo modo seculum venturum creatum est cum denario et seculum hoc creatum est cum quinario ... In like manner, numbers invade the symbolical interpretation of the eminently important text Job 28:12. What follows is a quotation from the De Proportione

Divinitatis,

fol. 139v:

Primum nomen huius [tertiae] numerationis est Intelligentia, Bina ΠΓ3, de hac enim extat textus in agiographis ubi dicitur [Job 28:12] et unitas et denarius sunt locus intelligentiae, hebraice veze mecom bina. Et venio ad exponendum quod illud quod dicitur n r a Dlpa ΠΤ 'ST. ubi 1N indicans unitatem et denarium indicet numerum ducentenarium quinarium et tricentenarium quinarium, quia uterque numerus scilicet 205 et 305 sunt locus intelligentiae. Finally, a few interpolations in the second commentary on the Book of Creation in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191 may well be due to the translator's bias toward numbers. Fol. 12v: "Sed via vera apparebit per verum modum procedendi huius textus per numeros et indicationes." Fol. 13v: "et totum hoc coegit auctorem hunc per hunc modum procedendi per numeros indicare nobis secretum formationum quod est secretum 6

See the quotation and note 20 in Chapter 3.

[82]

Language Symbolism and Number Symbolism scientie naturalis et phisice quae dicitur opus geneseos per viam trium nu[merati]onum de quibus loquitur."

The italicized clauses are without counterpart in the manuscript of the Hebrew original. We ought to reckon with the possibility that the shift of emphasis from linguistic symbolism to numerical symbolism which makes itself felt throughout the translations of Mithridates is reflected in Pico's theses. Sicut caracteres sunt proprii operi magico, ita numeri sunt proprii operi cabalae, medio existente inter utrosque et appropriabili per declinationem ad extrema usu litterarum.7

Unless I am mistaken, Pico's notion that "numeri sunt proprii operi cabalae" is for the most part out of tune with the Hebrew originals of his Kabbalistic sources, but quite in keeping with their Latin translations.

7

Conclusiones Magicae 105-106.

secundum opinionem propriam,

[83]

No. 25, Opera, pp.

7 MAIMONIDES: KABBALIST IN PHILOSOPHICAL G U I S E

Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, the prince of Jewish rationalist philosophers, whom medieval Latin Christendom knew as Rabbi Moses Aegyptius, was sometimes claimed by Kabbalists to be one of themselves.1 As far as I am aware, he is nowhere transformed into a Kabbalist more effectively than in Mithridates' Latin translations of Abraham Abulafia's mystical commentaries on Maimonides' philosophical masterpiece, the Guide of the Perplexed. I shall consider these translations one by one with a view to illustrating the mechanism of this remarkable transformation, which left its mark on Pico's Kabbalistic theses and, through them, on all Christian Kabbala. The first to claim our attention is the hitherto unknown Liber Redemptionis, extant in Cod. Chigi.2 Its beginning is missing owing to the loss of at least one quire, but its name and nature are clearly indicated in the concluding paragraph, fol. 332v: Et hie inpono finem tribus partibus libri redemptionis quarum una vocatur more sedaca ηρΐχ ΠΠΏ doctor uel ostendens iusticiam que habet manum plenam T. secunda vocatur more misphat UDU7Q ΠΠΏ id est doctor iudicii uel ostendens iudicium contentum in libello repudii qui dicitur US. et tercia que vocatur more hesed 10Π m m id est doctor pietatis uel ostendens pietatem que descendit ut pluuia super vellus Tl Vs. Et nomen inposui eis more ob reuerenciam doctoris qui in eis reuelauit secreta more, vale et speculare. Finis.

The Hebrew words "Ρ, OX and U represent the numbers of the secrets or mysteries contained in each part of the book, namely 14,3 12, and 10, 1 2

3

See G. Scholem, "Maimonide dans l'oeuvre des Kabbalistes," Cahiersjuifs, 3 (1935), 103-112; translation from the Hebrew in Tarbiz, 6 (1935), 334-342. Readers who know Hebrew and are interested in details are referred to Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Hebrew series, 3 (1970), 135 ff. The first eight secrets of the first part are lost. The ninth secret begins on the recto page of the first extant leaf. Henceforth the translation is continuous

[84]

Maimonides: Kabbalist in Philosophical Guise making a total of 36 secrets. The structure of the book is also explained in simple language at the end of the first part, where it is stated, among other things, that the Guide of the Perplexed continet secundum reuolutiones suas ad omnia misteria capitulorum eius in summa 36 secreta. Et sunt hec. prima que continentur in parte prima sola sunt 14 secreta et in parte secunda sunt 12 secreta et in parte tercia sunt decern secreta. Et noli tu putare quod non sunt in eo secreta magis particularia quam hec sed quod sunt multa alia preter hec sed bene unumquodque illorum est pars ex his necessario uel ex specie propinqua uel ex specie remota uelut primum principium sexcentorum et 13 preceptorum 4 que non sunt nisi decern verba tantum sed partes eorum ascendunt ad numerum sexcentorum et tresdecim et intellige illud. 5

Thus, it is perfectly clear that the Liber Redemptionis is a commentary on the 36 main secrets assumed to be contained in the Guide of the Perplexed·, it is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three parts of the Guide, which contain 14, 12, and 10 secrets, respectively. The general structure of the book is therefore identical with Abraham Abulafia's known commentaries on the secrets of the Guide, which also contain interpretations of 36 secrets and are divided into three parts, containing 14, 12, and 10 secrets, respectively. Moreover, the titles of the 36 secrets and their order in Abulafia's known commentaries are identical with the titles and order of the secrets in the Liber Redemptionis. Two commentaries by Abulafia on the secrets of the Guide are known and extant in many manuscripts. One, titled Sitrey Torah (The Mysteries of the Torah) appears in the Latin translation of Mithridates as De Secretis Legis. The other commentary is titled Hayyey ha-Nefes (The Life of the Soul). A comparison of the texts proves beyond doubt that the Liber Redemptionis is neither the Sitrey Torah nor the Hayyey ha-Nefes under another name, but an entirely different book. Yet despite all differences in detail, great or small, between the commentary on the thirty-six secrets of the Guide of the Perplexed in the Liber Redemptionis, on the one hand, and the commentary on them in the Sitrey Torah and the Hayyey ha-Nefes, on

4 5

and complete. The Liber Redemptionis is at present preceded in the Chisianus by thirty leaves (232-261) which, though written by the same hand, evidently do not belong to it. As I have shown elsewhere, they originally formed the last three quires of Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190; see Sermo de Passione, pp. 57-58. The traditional number of all commandments contained in the Law of Moses is 613. Cod. Chigi, fol. 284v.

[85]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism the other, the Kabbalism of the Liber Redemptionis shows all the distinctive characteristics peculiar to the prophetic Kabbala as represented by Abulafia's known commentaries on the secrets of the Guide. According to the typological classification formulated by Abulafia himself, one may say that the Kabbalism of the Liber Redemptionis is "the knowledge of God by the path of the twenty-two letters" rather than "the knowledge of God by the path of the ten je/?roi." What is peculiarly characteristic of the Kabbalism of the Liber Redemptionis is that it combines premises and opinions derived from the rationalistic philosophy of the Guide of the Perplexed with a contemplative method based on the combination of letters expounded in the Sefer Yesirah. The Liber Redemptionis, not unlike the known commentaries of Abulafia, contains the doctrine of the Active Intellect as "the prince of the divine presence" (sar ha-panim) whose name is like the name of his master, with all that is involved in that identification and with all that it implies with regard to the actualization of the human intellect, its adherence to the active intellect, and its union with the latter in the sense that "he is his master and his master is he" (Sin i n n i m XW). Likewise, it contains the doctrine of the combination of letters as the only true path to the attainment of prophetic illumination, the latter being conceived of as an emanation from the Active Intellect to the rational soul.6 By way of illustration, I shall quote the conclusion of the last secret, the secret of the Worship of God from Love, which is said to be "ultimus finis omnium finium in formatione hominis," the ultimate end of the creation of man. Here is what the author says (fol. 332r-v): Dico igitur tibi quod magna est cogitatio intellectualis in deo secundum debitum plus quam sit quecumque oratio et jejunium et vociferatio per probationes manifestas et claras. nec est dubium ut dixit doctor quod quando sit hec religio siue cultus cogitationis intellectualis in deo et in proprietatibus eius et operibus eius et in nominibus eius indicantibus omnia hec quod in veritate hec est ilia religio vera que debetur illi quocumque sapiente. Et hec dicitur cultus et religio que debetur deo sancto et benedicto ex charitate. nec nomina eius scire poteris nec veram noticiam eius nisi per combinationem literarum. ideo si combinaueris tria nomina sua quorum unum alteri addes (cum rore) et unum alteri (cum heie) inuenies in omnibus tribus necessitatem uel causam inuentionis et etiam ipse est causa mundi et est causa eius quod est et est secretum dei etemi 7 ... Et iam poteris intelligere

6

See Scholem, MTJM, pp. 136-138.

7

For the interpretation of the numerological argument see Chapter 1, page 8. The reading cum rore obviously represents the variant Vo for bs.

[86]

Maimonides: Kabbalist in Philosophical Guise ex his tribus nominibus mirabilia cum secutus fueris scientiam ocultam misteriorum suorum.

This passage contains in a nutshell the Kabbalistic method of the entire book, which proceeds from rationalistic premises supported by isopsephy and by the combination of letters. While the Kabbala of the Liber Redemptionis thus shows an essential resemblance to the prophetic Kabbala of Abulafia as we know it from his commentaries on the Guide, there is a marked difference in literary form between the Liber Redemptionis in its Latin translation and Abulafia's known commentaries. Whenever the first person is employed in the Sitrey Torah and in the Hayyey ha-Nefes, it is Abulafia himself who is speaking. In the Liber Redemptionis, on the other hand, there are two speakers, both of whom employ the first person: one is the author and the other is the author's teacher. Moreover, the author repeatedly mentions the fact that he is writing what he has learned from his teacher, as, for instance, at the end of the second part (fol. 317r): "hec sunt que dixit mihi et hec dico tibi. Et sic perficitur secunda pars secretorum mihi traditorum ab eo." Usually, though not always, it is easy to distinguish between what the author says and what his teacher says, because the teacher's words are usually introduced with the phrase dixit mihi or its equivalents. This phrase occurs on nearly every page, sometimes several times on the same page. Once it is explicitly said at the end of the teacher's words (fol. 332r): "hec sunt que dixit mihi et que collegi ab eo de ore in os" (these are the things he told me and I received them from him by word of mouth). It is particularly noteworthy that apart from passages in which the author quotes his teacher, he also mentions in two occasions questions which he himself had asked with reference to his teacher's words, and adds the latter's answers. In another place he mentions several points discussed by his teacher which were not sufficiently clear to him until he reconsidered them after his teacher's death. The Liber Redemptionis, it is true, is not entirely presented as a direct quotation of the teacher's words. Many things — and it seems to me that these constitute the main bulk of the book — are written in a form that leaves no doubt that the author is speaking his own mind. At the same time, there can be no doubt that the Liber Redemptionis is, or at least purports to be, a book in which the author interprets secrets he has received directly from his teacher. Hence in determining the identity of the anonymous author of the Liber Redemptionis in its extant Latin translation, we are in fact dealing with two [87]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism interconnected problems. For if we assume that Abulafia is the author, then the question arises as to who is Abulafia's teacher? And if we assume that Abulafia is not the author, might he be the teacher who disclosed the secrets of the Guide to the author? With the help of the Latin translation, I was able to identify a considerable part of the Hebrew original of the Liber Redemptionis in a miscellaneous manuscript of the University Library in Leipzig (B.H. fol. 13/1).8 The Hebrew original is headed by the phrase "I shall begin to write down the secrets of the Guide," without any mention of the title Sefer Ge'ullah (The Book of Redemption). However, the titles of the three parts of that book, mentioned in the list of secrets preserved separately (in fol. 59v), are exactly the same as the titles of the parts of the Latin translation: Moreh Sedaqah, Moreh Mispat, Moreh Hesed (10Π ΠΎ1» ΓΠία ,ηρίχ mm). These titles afforded the first clue for the identification of the book. Only the first ten leaves (fol. 1-10) of the Hebrew original of the Liber Redemptionis survived, and even these are fragmentary, because the copyist, as he says at the beginning of the text, wrote down what he could "perceive and understand" in his exemplar, and whenever he could not understand he left a blank space, in case he or someone else would find another copy. The author's name is not mentioned in the heading of the Hebrew original. But elsewhere in the Leipzig MS, on fol. 58v, we find a "subscription" which begins with the following words: "Herewith are concluded the secrets of the first part of the Guide of the Perplexed written by Rabbi Zerakhia, who revealed his name at the beginning of his book." On the following page (59r) we find five verses inscribed: "The verses with which Rabbi Zerakhia prefaced his book." They contain, indeed, an acrostic which spell the name Zerakhia. 9 For textual reasons which I cannot discuss here, I am not sure whether Rabbi Zerakhia's verses appeared at the beginning of the manuscript from which the first ten leaves of the Leipzig manuscript were copied, and, consequently, I am not sure of the precise meaning of the copyist's statement. If, however, we assume for the sake of argument that the 8

9

For a detailed description of the MS see F. Delitzsch, Catalogus Librorum Manuscriptorum qui in Bibliotheca Senatoria Civitatis Lipsiensis Asservantur (Grimma, 1838), no. 39, pp. 301 ff. My thanks are due to the director of the Karl Marx University Library in Leipzig for his kind permission to have a microfilm of the MS made available for my use at the Jewish National and Hebrew University Library in Jerusalem. See Delitzsch, Catalogus, p. 301.

[88]

Maimonides: Kabbalist in Philosophical Guise copyist meant to say that the author of the Liber Redemptionis wrote these verses and that his name is spelled in their first letters, then, I suggest, we must conclude that the author of the Liber Redemptionis concealed, rather than revealed, his name at the beginning of his book. I am saying this because it is quite certain on internal evidence that the Liber Redemptionis was written in the year 5033 from the creation of the world, that is, A.D. 1273.10 Hence it stands to reason that the Liber Redemptionis is too early to be reasonably attributed to anyone but Abulafia himself. After all, the Liber Redemptionis is a commentary on the secrets of the Guide the form and contents of which are identical with those of Abulafia's known commentaries: the same secrets, the same order, the same references to the Guide of the Perplexed, the same peculiar combination of the rationalist philosophy of Maimonides with the lettercombinatory method of the Sefer Yesirak, everything is the same as in the two known commentaries, both of which are later than the Liber Redemptionis. In addition to the identical systematic structure, one finds formulations and ideas in the Liber Redemptionis which appear also in Abulafia's Sitrey Torah, written seven years later. The author of the Liber Redemptionis says of his book that it is "liber natus ex tribus partibus libri more." In like manner, Abulafia, in his introduction to the Sitrey Torah (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190), says, at fol. 336v: "quia pes eorum pes rectus est in expositione libri secretorum legis quem quidem librum genuit et peperit director perplexorum qui dicitur idest more anebuchim." And again, at fol. 342: "Dividitur hie liber a nobis tamquam filius libri More sicut ille in tres partes sic et hie in tres partes seu libros." Furthermore, the author says about the title Sefer Ge'ullah (nVxi) that it expresses in one word the import of the entire book, so that it could not have been stated more succinctly. He explains that the first letter, J, stands for the three parts of the Guide, while the letters stand for the 36 secrets included in them. To prove this he refers to the Scriptures: "et adhuc extat auctoritas eius a textu dicente hoc.'" 1 The text referred to is not quoted, but what he has in 10

11

Cod. Chigi, fol. 296r: "Et supputatio que habetur in manibus nostris hodie ab eo tam secundum opinionem rabi Iesue dicentis quod in mense texri [Ήίρη] creatus est mundus quam secundum opinionem rabi Eliezer dicentis quod in mense nisan creatus est mundus sunt anni quinque milia et triginta tres hodie." Ibid., fol. 268r-v: "continet totam intencionem libri in uno verbo quod non est possibile manifestare illam breviore intentione quam hec. Et est scilicet quod lictera prima est gimel indicans tres partes libri More, et relique sunt eile

[89]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism mind is Leviticus 25:31: iV ΓΡΠΠ nVxa, the pronoun iV being, of course, conceived of as the numeral 36. The identification of the scriptural text is quite certain, because the same theme is taken up again in Abulafia's long introduction to his De Secretis Legis at Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 340r-v: et dicemus quod summa secretorum in universali est 36. et qui apponet animum suum super eis ad scienda ea per speculationem et comprehendere intencionem ex eis ut dixit discipulus ille qui recepit in libro redemptionis, quod redemptio erit ei hebraice Geulla tihie lo, iV ΓΡηη n^KJ quod gimel continet tria que sunt tres partes deinde aleph unum, lamed 30, he 5, collecti sunt triginta sex quotus est numerus I1? lo, idest ei, nam lamed est 30, vau 6.

It thus appears that Abulafia's idea of redemption in its spiritual sense — namely that he who contemplates and understands redeems himself by his true knowledge of the divine secrets — is not only found in the Liber Redemptionis, but is even hinted at in the title of the book, a title which contains, so the author avers, the whole import of the book in one word. Finally, there is one element in the Liber Redemptionis which, unless I am mistaken, is characteristic of Abulafia himself, even if not of prophetic Kabbala as such. What I have in mind is his interest in Christianity.12 The author of the Liber Redemptionis explicitly refers to Christian dogma. In one place he refutes at some length the view that the unity of the knowledge, the knower, and the known is identical with the Christian dogma of the Trinity.13 Elsewhere he says that the Christians told him that Shefa', that is, emanation, is called the Son.14 To sum up: it stands to reason that a book which contains all this, and was written in the year 1273, was written by none other than Abulafia, the name Zerakhia in the Leipzig MS notwithstanding.15

12

13

14 15

nVx quorum numeri sunt 36 ... Et adhuc extat auctoritas eius a textu dicente hoc. Cf. Scholem, MTJM, p. 127, and in particular his mimeographed Hebrew lectures on Abulafia, The Kabbala of Sepher ha-Temunah and of Abraham Abulafia (Jerusalem, 1965), pp. 112-113. Cod. Chigi, fol. 292r: "et dixit de misterio intellectus et intelligentis et rei intellecte quod hec tria in deo sunt unum et unde habet ipse quod Nazareni non dicant simile huic et vocant intellectum patrem et intelligentem filium et rem intellectam spiritum sanctum." Ibid., fol. 294r: "Et sic Christiani dixerunt mihi quod ilia influentia est que vocatur filius." This conclusion squares with everything we know about Abulafia's life and work. He was born in the year 1240. In one of his books he mentions that he

[90]

Maimonides:

Kabbalist

in Philosophical

Guise

Granted that Abulafia is the likeliest author of the Liber we must now consider his teacher. For, as I have said, the Liber

Redemptionis, Redemptio-

nis in its Latin translation is, or purports to be, a book whose author reveals secrets that were handed on to him by his teacher. The author's teacher is mentioned once by name. In discussing the secret of the Creation of the World, the author says that, after having heard his teacher say that one should not rack one's brains for this question, he decided that in this matter it was preferable to accept the opinion of a famous and reliable sage, "cuius modi est apud nos Moises legislator noster, et Rabenu Moxe Et cuius modi est doctor ipse rabi Moises super quibus tribus sit pax quia sunt tres Moses fideles testes sapientes et Cabaliste qui dixerunt nobis mundum esse innouatum.'" 6 Rabbi Moises, the faithful and reliable witness who said the world was created, is none other than Maimonides. This necessarily follows from dozens of places in the Latin translation of the Liber Redemptionis

where the teacher quotes, or briefly mentions, his own

words from his Guide of the Perplexed.

As an example I shall quote one

passage from Rabbi Moises on the secret of the Worship of God from Love (Cod. Chigi, fol. 33 lr): Et iam manifestaui tibi hoc in misteriis virtutum anime memoratarum in octo capitulis que preposui in libro de patribus nec oportet ut repetam illud

spent the third decade of his life wandering and studying the Guide of the Perplexed. In the year 1271, when he was thirty-one, a change came over him, which he describes as follows: "When I was 31, in the city of Barcelona, God woke me from sleep and I studied the Sefer Yesirah with its commentaries, and the hand of God was upon me, and I wrote ΓΠ03Π TDD [book of wisdom] and wondrous books of prophecy." I do not know whether the correct reading here is ΓΠΠ3Π 1D0 or 1ΎΙΏ3Π 'TDD, (Books of Wisdom) as in another book by Abulafia, where he says that until the year 1279, which is the ninth year since the beginning of his prophecy, "he did not write any book which he regarded as prophetic, although he wrote many other ΙΠ03Π 'TDD, some of which dealt with the secrets of the Kabbala." At any rate, the Liber Redemptionis, as the author explicitly states at fol. 268r, is a mDDn Ί30: "Itaque notum est omni intelligenti quod ego qui conveni vocare hunc librum per hoc nomen proprium, postquam innotuerit ei quod est liber sapiencie [ΓΠ03Π TDD] eqs." Hence it is highly probable that in the Liber Redemptionis we have a sefer hokmot from the early period of prophetic Kabbalism, apparently written while Abulafia was still in Spain, or, at any rate, before he came to Italy. This book is an early version of a commentary on the secrets of the Guide of the Perplexed using methods based on the Sefer Yesirah. 16

Cod. Chigi, fol. 296r.

[91]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism hie. 17 Et quidem intentio mea est hie Ad notificandum tibi illud quod dixi de misterio culture dei in capitulo 32 et est quod memini dixisse quod impossibile est exire de uno contrario in aliud contrarium subito et propter hoc impossibile secundum naturam hominis quod relinquat ilia in quibus est assuetus subito. 18

Is it necessary to adduce further proof that the teacher Rabbi Moises is Maimonides? It is possible to account for the notion that Maimonides was the teacher of the author of the Liber Redemptionis, although he died about thirty-five years before Abulafia was born. It should even be possible at a pinch to make out how the author was able to record some saying directly from his teacher, the meaning of which, as he tells in one instance, he did not thoroughly understand until after the teacher's death. What has to be accounted for, however, is not the conclusion that the author's teacher is Maimonides, but rather the text of the Latin translation from which this conclusion follows. For the Latin translation and the Hebrew original, though at one in all other matters, do not tally precisely in those passages where, according to the translation, it appears that the teacher himself disclosed the secrets of the Guide to the author. Instead of the phrase dixit mihi, which is repeated time and again in the Latin translation, the corresponding passages in the Hebrew original read "the teacher (or the Guide) said," and this phrase is sometimes followed by a reference to the relevant chapter in the Guide of the Perplexed. Similarly, whenever the teacher's words appear in the translation in the first person, such as dixi, ut iam dixi, ut ibi memini, the corresponding passages in the original appear in the third person, namely "the teacher said," "as the teacher said," "as the teacher recalled." Moreover, in that part of the Liber Redemptionis which can be compared with the Hebrew original, we often find in the translation phrases to the effect that the author heard secrets from his teacher; some of these phrases refer to what the teacher said while others are direct quotations of his sayings, but none of them can be found in the original. To give some idea how the Liber Redemptionis was transformed in the Latin translation, I shall quote the beginning of the tenth secret, which is the Secret of the Adjective (Cod. Chigi, fols. 262v-263r): 17

18

"Eight Chapters" — tamaniat fusulin the Arabic original or semonahperaqim in the Hebrew translation — is the title of the short treatise on ethics which Maimonides prefixed to his commentary on the tractate 'Abot of the Misnah. Cf. Maimonides, Guide, part III, chap. 32.

[92]

Maimonides:

Kabbalist

in Philosophical

Guise

Nomen autem qualitatis siue adiectiuum notificatum est in capitulo 20 quod est in prima parte. Et considera bene illud quod dixi in eo. Et forte difficile tibi videbitur sermo meus quem dixi ibi de magnitudine gradus et excellence et celsitudinis19 ...et dixit mihi lege totum illud capitulum vicessimum et videbis clare misterium hoc. Secundo dixit mihi Et hoc secretum prolixius de misterio nominis qualitatis dixi in decern amphorismis quos adduxi unum scilicet post alium in prima parte et sunt hi. Comparison of this passage with the corresponding Hebrew original reveals that the translation is heavily interpolated: the italicized words have no counterpart in the Hebrew original. 20 According to the Hebrew original it is perfectly clear that the author of the Liber Redemptionis

is

quoting his teacher's words in one chapter of the Guide and referring to ten other chapters of that book. The translation, however, makes it equally clear that the author is repeating what his teacher actually said to him. Another remarkable example of the transformation of the text is to be found in the Secret of the Substantive, which is the eleventh secret of the first part. The speaker is the author and he refers to the words of Maimonides (fol. 266v-267r): Et ego dico tibi quod dixit mihi indicasse ea hoc est per nomina extranea et remota. Et quidem ita est. In illis nominibus sunt indicia remota et profunda nimis et oculta que nos non possumus intelligere de his que ipse memoravit in libro suo quid intelligere voluit per ea et que fuit intencio sua in eis nisi illud quod dixit manifeste de nomine quadraginta duarum licterarum quod indicat comprehensionem divinam ... Et verba eius clara sunt modica speculatione secundum misterium suum in nomine substantie quod ipse indicavit quod illud nomen est proprium sive peculiare omnibus nominibus divinis. Et Veritas est hec et ideo non oportet ut sim longus ut scribam tibi circa hoc aliquid secundum viam more, sedbene dicam tibi illud quod circa hoc dixit mihi in secreto sub his verbis. Et quidem ego secundum modum meum cabale seu receptionis de nomine non est possibile quod non indicem tibi mentem meam sub brevitate prout feci hoc in nomine qualitatis. The italicized clause is an interpolation which breaks the continuity of the text, thus changing its meaning. The Hebrew original leaves no doubt that the author is about to explain the secret of the substantive according to his own Kabbalistic method, as distinct from Maimonides' philosophical method in the Guide, whereas the translation creates the impression that 19 20

Cf. ibid., part I, chap. 20. The text of the Hebrew original is quoted in Proceedings of the Israel Academy, Hebrew series, 3 (1970), 143.

[93]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism the author will proceed to relate things secretly revealed to him by Maimonides, as distinct from the latter's explicit doctrine. This impression is strengthened by the sentence which appears on the next page (267v): "nec propter eos relinquam ego necessitatem hanc qua cogor secundum illud quod dixi in libro more quin manifestem tibi misterium suum." Since no one but Maimonides can reasonably say "secundum illud quod dixi in libro more," one cannot but infer that the words immediately preceding and following this phrase are Maimonides'. As a matter of fact they are demonstrably Abulafia's: the person offering the Kabbalistic interpretation of the Secret of the Substantive refers a little later (fol. 268r) to the Liber Redemptionis as "this book" and his own work. 21 The difference in literary form between the original and the translation of the Liber Redemptionis is quite plainly the result of deliberate interpolation. And the cumulative effect of the metamorphosis wrought by the interpolation throughout the Latin translation is equally plain: the mystical interpretation of the Guide was thereby made to appear as Maimonides' own interpretation, and Maimonides was made to appear as a genuine Kabbalist in philosophical guise. Unlike the Liber Redemptionis, Mithridates' Latin translation of Abulafia's Sitrey Torah (De Secretis Legis) was not subjected to a sustained tampering with its literary form. But the tendency to make Maimonides appear a true Kabbalist is also perceptible in the latter translation, right from the beginning (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 336v): Incipit liber de secretis legis quem composuit Abraam (Mihi videtur Abulhafia) super 36 secretis que reuelauit Rabi Moises tempore sui obitus.22 In nomine domini dei Israel intendo scribere expositionem triginta sex

21

22

Liber Redemptionis, Cod. Chigi, fol. 268r: "Et vocavit scriba nomen proprium notum et manifestum omnibus librum ilium innovatum si innovavit eum ex sua sapientia et non est de his qui transferuntur. Et convenit vocare nomen suum gratia exempli librum redemptionis secundum nomen huius libri. Itaque notum est omni intelligent! quod ego qui conveni vocare hunc librum per hoc nomen proprium." The continuation of this passage is quoted above, note 15. Cf. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 340r: "Incipiemus nunc ad scribendum adhuc summam secretorum que inveniuntur in illo libro secundum quod recepimus de ore sapientum huius generationis et etatis doctorum meorum quos vivere faciat deus qui receperunt de ore [ad] os per successionem a rabi Moise reuelante tempore sui obitus." The italicized clause has no equivalent in the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew original.

[94]

Maimonides:

Kabbalist

in Philosophical

Guise

secretorum que ocultauit sapientissimus Rabi Moises filius Maimon in suo libro uenerabili qui dicitur More per viam cabale, et licet dixit ea ibiper viam philosophie alibi innuit ea esse per viam cabale uncle voco librum hunc de secretis legis. Manuscripts containing the Hebrew original of Abulafia's De

Secretis

Legis can be counted by the dozen. I have not seen them all, nor does it matter. What matters is that none of the oldest Hebrew manuscripts of Abulafia's Sitrey Torah which I have seen contains the equivalent of the italicized clauses in the Latin quotations. Moreover, it is not only the negative evidence of manuscripts that proves the italicized clauses to be interpolations: what those clauses state is demonstrably at variance with Abulafia's image of himself as a Kabbalist. Abulafia, it is true, did not fail to acknowledge his debt to Maimonides, and, as we have seen, he described his Sitrey Torah as an offspring of the Guide of the Perplexed. At the same time, writing as he did with a sense of urgency born of his poignant awareness that the advent of the Messiah was near, Abulafia considered himself the prophet or apostle of a liberating and saving message discovered by his own efforts. The following quotation from the De

Secretis

Legis is found at fols. 347v-348v: due necessitates coegerunt nos eodem iureiurando ligatos et vinctos23 ad revelandum illud quod revelabimus in hoc libro et in aliis libris quos scripsimus. quarum una est quia iam incipit appropinquare finis dextre24 et influencia fortificabitur et vagabuntur multi et multiplicabitur scientia. secunda est ad sciendum omnes quod nos excitabimus corda dormientium in pulvere et rebus terrenis et elevare ea ad res sublimes et celestes ... quamvis tarnen totum non videbunt revelatum sed partem eius tantum, dicimus bene quod quam primum incepit revelari hec sapientia per orbem scient omnes quod prope est tempus finis redemptionis, ut scribitur [Dan. 12:9] oculta remanebunt omnia et sigillata usque ad tempus finis hebraice kes pp idest adventus messie ... Itaque he due necessitates coegerunt et compulerunt me Razielem25 filium Xamuelis Abulaphie, cuius memoria sit semper in bonum, necessitate naturali ut scriberem illud quod scripsi de misteriis huius sapiencie apertissime et revelare ex ea quedam secreta in

23

24 25

This interpolation harks back to the subject touched upon at fol. 347r: "et hie quidem unus oportet ut sit talis qualis fuit ille cui magnus magister rabi Moises qui scripsit More reuelauit secreta sua sub vinculo coniurationis et iurisiurandi, quod quidem iusiurandum sciat indicasse ipsum magnum magistrum in principio tercie partis libri praedicti More." Cf. Leguide des egares, ed. S. Münk, I (Paris, 1856), 23. The translator slipped: qes hayyamim here means "the end of days." Raziel (VNTI) is the isopsephic equivalent of Abraham (Dimx) — 248. [95]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

scripta quod nullus ante me ita manifeste ausus est facere ... Sunt autem decern iam anni quibus separavi me a loco nativitatis mee scilicet ab opido Tudele que est in regno Navare in provincia Ispanie, et migravi de loco in locum, non peperci corpori nec laboribus solum ut invenirem tradentem mihi secreta sapiencie huius et ocultamenta eius. Et tandem quod quesivi inveni. Et in tanta perfectione quam nemo crederet me potuisse habere. The presence of interpolations in the Latin text of the De Secretis Legis to the effect that Maimonides himself revealed the secrets contained in his Guide should no longer be a matter of doubt. Nor is the purpose of those interpolations (shown in italics here) solely a matter of inference and conjecture: the interpreter inadvertently affords the decisive clue. Immediately after the passage I have just quoted, Abulafia goes on to say (fols. 348v ff.) that he has four disciples, and that they approached him with the request to interpret for them the secrets of the Guide (fol. 349r-v): adsteterunt coram me deprecantes et gratiose petentes, et quesiverunt a me ut declararem eis secreta libri more que revelavit Rabi Aloises discipulis suis et in eis continerem quandam partem ocultorum legis de his que in manu nostra sunt ex misteriis profundis, ut esset eis probatio quedam quod etiam in libro more Cabala est et in meritum et Interpretern et patronum contra omnes obloquentes. Of the three italicized clauses which have no counterpart in the oldest Hebrew manuscripts, the second is undoubtedly the most remarkable: first, because it states flatly that Abulafia interpreted the secrets of the Guide in order to prove "quod etiam in libro more Cabala est"; second, because the notion that Maimonides was a Kabbalist is stated expressis verbis in a brief note that Flavius Mithridates wrote in the margin of the De Secretis Legis, at fol. 461 v, by way of inference from Abulafia's commentary on the Guide in the course of his interpretation of the secretum opere

de

currus. Secunda est quia venit ad notificandum nobis per earn quod prophete prophetantur et locuntur per nomina comunia et equivoca et per nomina derivata ab illo quod indicant intenciones prime et veniunt ad indicandum per ea intenciones alias, ut ocultent ilia a multitudine vulgari et etiam ab illis doctis viris qui vocantur rabanim qui non sunt cabaliste et non traduntur eis secreta legis (cuius modi sunt legiste). Et meminit partem ex illis, et adhuc indicavit ea in capitulo 43 in parte secunda et ibi meminit mirabilia per que nos possumus considerare perfectionem doctoris huius et potentiam sapientie sue etiam in his que putant huius docti viri ignorasse. Et ibi dixit verbum tale quod volo scribere sub his verbis, dixit et mirabilius hoc est quod fit excitatio per unum nomen et lictere nominis illius sunt lictere

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Maimonides: Kabbalist in Philosophical Guise alterius nominis per mutationem ordinis licterarum tantum, quam vis non sit ibi derivatio inter ilia duo nomina nec conveniencia seu comunio vel equivocatio misterii inter ea.26

In the margin, against the sentence "et mirabilius hoc est... per mutationem ordinis licterarum tantum," there appears a note written in the hand of Flavius Mithridates: "ex quo est clarum quod rabi moises fuit cabalista." It is not too difficult to see why this particular passage in the Guide was assumed to prove that Maimonides was a Kabbalist: the interpretation of Scripture by means of transpositions or substitutions of letters was almost always considered to be Kabbala par excellence. This being so, it will be well worth looking at the interpretation of the Guide, part II, chap. 43, in the Liber Redemptionis. That chapter is referred to in the concluding secret of the second part of the Liber Redemptionis, namely the secretum de confusione religionum et idiomatum (fols. 277r ff.). In the course of that secret the mystery of letters is touched upon, and Maimonides is made to say (Cod. Chigi, fol. 280v): Et tu qui non curas ad comprehendendum aliquid de misterio intentionis divine contente in forma lictere illius et non in nomine suo, nec in numero suo quod secretum earum est VtiS, aleph mem sin, in signis suis vel DIPS, aleph sin mem. ideo non curabimus nos te ad notificandum tibi hoc, nec etiam intendimus tibi contradicere nec etiam volumus te cogere ut recipias aliquid verbum ex tota sapiencia cabale. Et hec est causa principalis quare nullo modo voluimus in libro more cabalistice procedereP

The last sentence is a downright interpolation. It is noteworthy that, notwithstanding the assurance that Maimonides did not by any means wish "in libro More cabalistice procedere", he is made to say somewhat later (fol. 284v): "Et iam non potui me abstinere quin dixissem hoc manifeste in capitulo 43 in parte secunda in misterio conversionis literarum ban in ^rn." This text, too, is interpolated: the corresponding passage in the Hebrew original states only "and the master had already hinted at this in chapter 43 of the second part in respect of the conversion of the letters into 28 Vm." Thus it appears that the interpolator of the Liber Redemptionis and the glossator of the De Secretis Legis see eye to eye. This is a fact of some 26 27 28

For the Hebrew original of this passage see Proceedings of the Israel Academy, Hebrew series, 3 (1970), 148. For the Hebrew original see ibid., p. 144. See ibid., pp. 144-145.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism importance, because the Liber Redemptionis is explicitly referred to in the interpolated text of the preface to the Latin De Secretis Legis, but not in the Hebrew original of Abulafia's Sitrey Torah. The passage I have in mind has already been quoted but will bear repetition in view of its importance (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 340r-v): et dicemus quod summa secretorum in universal! est 36. et qui apponet animum suum super eis ad scienda ea per speculationem et comprehendere intencionem ex eis ut dixit discipulus ille qui recepit in libro redemptionis, quod redemptio erit ei hebraice Geulla tihie lo, l"? ΓΡΠη nVxJ.

The interpolated clause (in italics) makes it clear that the interpolator of the De Secretis Legis considered the author of the Liber Redemptionis a disciple. He does not explicitly say whose disciple, nor does it matter. What matters is that the difference between the fragment of the Hebrew original of the Liber Redemptionis and its Latin translation consists precisely in this, that from the former the author appears to be a Kabbalist writer in his own right, whereas from the latter he appears to be a disciple who writes secrets revealed to him by his master. The interpolator of the De Secretis Legis and the interpolator of the Liber Redemptionis evidently see eye to eye. They might well be the same person. The identity, to be sure, cannot be positively proved on the available evidence. But nobody mindful of Occam's Razor should disdain the economy of assumptions: "entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem." And if it is conceded that the same hand interpolated both translations, Mithridates is the likeliest choice. Be that as it may, what matters most for the understanding of Pico's view of Kabbala is not the authorship of those interpolations but their effect. The latter can be seen in the sixty-third Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam, which states: Sicut Aristoteles diuiniorem philosophiam, quam philosophi antiqui sub fabulis et apologis uelarunt, ipse sub philosophicae speculationis facie dissimulauit, et uerborum breuitate obscurauit, ita Rabi Moyses Aegyptius in libro, qui a Latinis dicitur Dux Neutrorum, dum per superficialem uerborum corticem uidetur cum philosophis ambulare, per latentes profundi sensus intelligentias mysteria complectitur Cabalae.29

Pico, it is true, was of the opinion that there were mysteries everywhere beneath the plain meaning of all great documents of religion, philosophy,

29

Opera, p. 113.

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Maimonides: Kabbalist in Philosophical Guise and poetry. 30 Moreover, he was demonstrably familiar with the Guide of the Perplexed31 and rated Maimonides as the foremost philosophical interpreter of Scripture among the Jews. 32 At the same time, the fact alone that Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, which includes the De Secretis Legis, proves to be one of the two principal repositories of Pico's Kabbalistic sources, is a forceful warning against the assumption that Pico's image of Maimonides as a Kabbalist in philosophical guise is in fact secundum opinionem propriam, in other words, is in fact his own conclusion from his reading of the Guide. The balance of evidence is definitely in favor of the alternative view, namely that, excepting the comparison between Aristotle and Maimonides, Pico owed this image of Maimonides to the Latin translations of Abulafia's mystical commentaries on Maimonides' philosophical classic. The Guide of the Perplexed was translated into Latin and left its mark on scholastic philosophy long before Pico.33 Since Rabbi Moses Aegyptius was known to be an outstanding representative of the application of Aristotelianism to Jewish theology, a commentary that linked Maimonides with Kabbala eo ipso linked Kabbala with the Peripatetic tradition. Precisely for this reason it is not the least remarkable feature of the Latin translation of Abulafia's De Secretis Legis that it links Kabbala also with Platonism, though not principally through Maimonides but in an altogether different way.

30 31

32

33

Commento, book III, chap, xi, stanza 9, p. 580 ed. Garin, Opera, p. 921. See also E. Wind, Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance (London, 1968), p. 17. Pico's Conclusiones include three theses secundum Moysem Aegyptium\ see Opera, p. 71. A manuscript of Maimonides' Dux Neutrorum (Vat. Lat. 4274) with a note in Pico's hand was identified by Giovanni Cardinal Mercati, Codici Latini Pico GrimaniPio, Studi e Testi 75 (Citta del Vaticano, 1938), pp. 21-22, n. 72; cf. Kristeller, "Pico della Mirandola and His Sources," p. 120. Pico, Apologia, Opera, p. 178: "Tropologicus [modus exponendi Bibliam] dicitur [apud Hebraeos] Sechel, quem sequuntur Abraham Abnazra ... et Leui Bengerson et multi alii, et ante omnes Rabi Moses Aegyptius." Jacob Guttmann, Die Scholastik des 13. Jahrhunderts in ihren Beziehungen zum Judenthum und zur jüdischen Literatur (Breslau, 1902), pp. 85-120.

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8 QUODLIBET IN QUOLIBET

The translations of Flavius Mithridates are not always of the same stamp. At times they are so literal and accurate that they might be profitably used for the textual criticism of the Hebrew originals. At others they brim with surprises. The preface to Abraham Abulafia's De Secretis Legis belongs to the latter sort. Some of the surprising interpolations contained in that preface we have already seen in the previous chapter. Others, not a whit less important than the former, will be considered presently. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 341r-342r: Nunc vero incipio auxilio dei exponere unamquamque rem secundum veritatem suam et scribam quodcumque secretum in loco suo quod convenit ei ... Set ubi forte acciderit aliquod secretum quod erit magis occultum quam unum aliud et oportebit verificare illud per demonstrationes et probationes alienas a mente illorum qui philosophantur aliis modis demonstrandi et probandi, hoc est quod verificabo illud demonstrationibus et probationibus cabalisticis quibus procedunt sapientes nostri in lege et sunt in quibus continetur combinatio licterarum et secretum eorum, que quidem demonstrationes et probationes non verificabuntur apud illos qui philosophice speculantur ex quo non pervenerunt ad ocultationes et secreta eorum nec etiam ad percipiendum aliquid ex eis quomodocumque sit. et quidem verificabuntur dicte demonstrationes et probationes apud illos qui intelligunt cabalam divinam et qui procedunt per vias suas et sunt illi quos direxit intellectus dirigens omne tortuosum, intellectus inquam agens ille qui notificauit nobis finem sciencie veritatis per earn. Quod si aliquis obiceret nobis et diceret quomodo nostis vos qui sequimini cabalam et modum procedendi eius quod intellectus agens notificauit illam et quod non habuit originem a mente hominum et non ab eius scilicet intellectus agentis revelatione? quia per hunc modum procedendi vestrum faciam ego multas demonstrationes et probationes que probabunt et demonstrabunt falsum et mendacium et distans a veritate? quia secundum quod dicunt Cabaliste in suis primis principiis quod quodlibet est in quolibet et nihil est extra se. et secundum hunc modum modus procedendi per combinationem continebit bonum et malum, veritatem et mendacium que sunt quodlibet in quolibet. et hoc modo ego ostendam vobis per viam probationum et demonstrationum vestrarum quod Veritas est falsum et falsum est Veritas, bonum erit malum et malum erit bonum et tandem unum contrarium erit

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Quodlibet in

Quolibet

reliquum quia duo contraria oportet contineantur sub uno quod dicatur quodlibet. Et sic non est bonus modus procedendi per combinationem secundum veritatem nec etiam per reliquos modos suos ut possit praecise verificari per illos aliquid aut discernere verum a falso seu bonum a malo sed quod potius omnia erunt confusa et sine distinetione aliqua. dicemus et respondebimus ei nos quod verum est haben pro primo prineipio apud nos et omnes cabaiistas quod quodlibet est in quolibet et nihil est extra se, sed non erit aliquid illorum quod contradicit veritati. non enim domini veritatis sunt de summa illarum sectarum quae convertunt vias et modos propheticos et cabaiistas in alium sensum quam illum quo intelligi debent. Iam enim pro illis qui hoc faciunt dixit propheta: ve illis qui dicunt bonum esse malum et malum esse bonum qui ponunt tenebras in lucem et lucem in tenebras, qui faciunt amarum dulce et dulce amarum et generaliter qui dicunt unum contrarium esse aliud sed bene novimus in veritate per tres modos demonstrandi apud sequentes sapienciam divinam cabale qui sunt apud nos demonstrations absolute et sine aliquo dubio verissime in summa claritate et certitudine que sunt demonstrationes sensibiles et sensu perceptibiles et etiam demonstrationes intelligibiles et intellectu perceptibiles per ea intelligere et pereipere possunt homines primis inquam prineipiis humanis. Et demonstrationes cabaliste ab ore archangeli praefecti super hierarchia angelorum qui dicuntur hisim, qui dicitur intellectus agens, sive Mattatron, reeepte, quod quiequid ascendit ad manus nostras conclusive ex modo procedendi praedicto est illa res que inducit nos ad discernendum verum a falso non solum in hac scientia cabale que in se nullam falsitatem continet nec aliquod mendacium quia divina est et deum qui non habet contrarium sequitur sed etiam in omnibus aliis scientiis hic modus procedendi in idiomate nostro semper faciet discernere verum a falso et bonum separare a malo et per unum contrarium cognoscetur reliquum quia hec scientia universalis de omnibus considerat, et hec est veritas inventionis modi procedendi qui dicitur Sirruph idest combinandi. Scias autem quod ideo inveniuntur contraria in quolibet quae dicuntur quodlibet ad examinandum per ea corda et animos et ideo vocatur hic modus procedendi in hac sapientia sirruph idest examen quia est masreph idest examen scientiarum et opinionum et est experiens corda et renes sicut facit deus. de quibus ambobus dixit textus [Prov. 17:3] Argentum examen habet et aurum pariter examinatur vel probatur et deus examinat corda et animos. De hac autem sciencia dictum est [Ps. 18:31] loquela seu dictio vel verbum himrath domini examen est defendens omnes qui sperant in eum. Itaque et nos faeimus licet modus procedendi sit universalis et contineat duo contraria bonum scilicet et malum, nos ex eo reeipimus bonum et malum autem non reeipimus. Sicut testatur scriptura dicens [Job 2:10] bonum reeipiemus a deo malum autem non reeipiemus? Quamvis creator utriusque sit utscribitur f Isa. 45:7] faciens pacem et creans malum et ideo sequemur deum per hunc modum procedendi et postquam est ita sperabimus in eo, et ineipiemus procedere in hoc libro. None of the italicized words being warranted by the Hebrew original, it follows that the doctrine of the coincidence of opposites was superim[101]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism posed by way of interpolation upon Abulafia's explanation of the dialectical nature of his ars combinandi. The remarkable phrase "quodlibet est in quolibet et nihil est extra se," which is said to be one of the first principles of Kabbala, appears again in a similar context at fol. 363r: Nec seducant te verba fatuorum et non habentium intellectum dicentium tibi non esse procedendum per combinationem licterarum ex quo quodlibet est in quolibet et nihil est extra se quod ita possint fieri consequentie sive probationes [pr'obatione MS] vere sicut false et per consequens quod scientia hec non est vera que probat duo contraria quorum unum oportet esse falsum secundum mentem eorum et opiniones non veraces apud fidem eorum falsam. quia de his omnibus iam pridem tibi responsum est et cautum et monui iam te de illo nec oportet ut hie repetam sed ut revocem in memoriam.

"Quodlibet est in quolibet" in the Latin translation of Abulafia's De Secretis Legis argues the translator's acquaintance — not necessarily first hand — with the De Docta Ignorantia of Nicolaus Cusanus.1 At the same time, acquaintance with Cusanus alone will not account for the second half of that remarkable phrase, "et nihil est extra se." Why extra se and not, as one would expect, extra Deuml And what does extra se mean in this context? The phrase "nihil est extra se" occurs elsewhere in the translations of Mithridates. It will be well worth the effort to consider the other instances. I have already mentioned in Chapter 2 that the same manuscript — Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 — which contains the Latin translation of Abulafia's De Secretis Legis contains also the Latin translation of Rabbi Azriel's short treatise Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus. I have also mentioned that the manuscript was continuously written from beginning to end. The De Secretis Legis begins at fol. 336v, while the Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus begins at fol. 165r. Hence it is a safe assumption that Mithridates translated Azriel's treatise shortly before Abulafia's book. This point of chronology would not be worth knowing were it not for the fact that Rabbi Azriel of Gerona happens to be the outstanding thirteenth-century Jewish exponent of the doctrine that all opposites coincide in God. 1

Chapter V of De Docta Ignorantia is titled "Quodlibet in Quolibet." It begins: "Si acute iam dicta attendis, non erit tibi difficile videre veritatis illius. Anaxagoricae quodlibet esse in quolibet fundamentum fortassis altius Anaxagora." Cf. Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, Anaxagoras, fr. 4.

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Quodlibet in Quolibet In the opening paragraphs of his treatise Azriel discusses what Kabbalists call 'Eyn-Sof;2 it is, in his opinion, the undifferentiated and limitless unity "and nothing exists apart from it" i:qd f i n I'XI. This Hebrewphrase exactly corresponds, as Scholem pointed out, 3 to John the Scot's "praeter eum nihil est." Mithridates, however, translated it in the form "nihil est extra se." 4 What matters for the present purpose is that the second half of the phrase "quodlibet est in quolibet et nihil est extra se" in the interpolated translation of Abulafia's De Secretis Legis is unintelligible without the Latin translation and the Hebrew original of Azriel's treatise. If this is conceded, it follows as a matter of course that in this instance the translator and the interpolator are the same person. Another conclusion follows, less obvious than the former but not a whit less important: the sentence which is said to state a fundamental principle of Kabbala consists of two elements, one of which derives from Nicolaus Cusanus and the other from Azriel of Gerona. It is difficult to see why Mithridates put them together, unless he realized that they went together well. If this is true, it follows that, thirty years before Johannes Reuchlin's De Arte Cabalistica, Flavius Mithridates realized that the doctrines of Nicolaus Cusanus and Azriel of Gerona were similar, or at least relevant to each other, insofar as concerns the coincidence of opposites in God. 5 The texts I have discussed so far are not the only instances of Geronese Kabbala showing through the Latin translation of Abulafia's work. Soon after the passage in which he warns his readers against the objection that his ars combinandi is not a reliable method because it involves paradoxes, Abulafia interprets the mystery of creation ex nihilo. He begins by considering the mystery of a famous phrase in the New Year's liturgy, hayyom harat 'olam (hodie conceptus seu genitus est mundus). To that phrase he returns at the end of his long discussion. I shall quote the concluding part, 2 3 4

5

See Appendix 14. Scholem, Ursprung und Anfänge, pp. 387-388, η. 154. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 165v: "Et si est sine terminatione non est extra se." Fol. 166r: "quod omnes numerationes ipse procedant ab ensoph extra quem nihil est." Fol. 168r: "et propter hoc igitur non est dicendum quod fuit innovatio sc[ient]ie apud eum quamvis non sit extra se quicquam." Fol. 169r: "Quis coget me credere in ensoph quod non cadit sub imaginatione quanto minus in sermone quamvis habeat indicium in unaquaque re quod non est extra se." Fol. 169v: "et testis qui testatur quod non est extra se via licterarum est ehie aser ehie." Scholem, Ursprung and Anfänge, p. 389.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism omitting the detailed isopsephic calculations which were obviously added by Mithridates, in fol. 366v: Et aperi oculos tuos et tui cordis leb [aV = heart] et vide et intellige et considera super quem lapidem tu stas ne titubes seu commovearis. Quod nihil aliud est quod hodie dicimus haiom arath holam id est hodie conceptus vel genitus est mundus non aliter ac si diceremus quod hac die J'Sö IP1 TVQ DIM aiom mesaier ies meain id est hodie format ens ex non ente sicut patet per numerum licterarum que sunt totidem quot superiores 6 ... Scias autem frater meus quod secretum DVn id est hodie haiom est J1 Κ ain 7 ... et intellige illud bene et ex eo intelliges secretum textus dicentis [Num. 6:27] et ponent nomen meum super filios Israel, quod est 'ölD xemi id est nomen meum, vaani ^Xl id est et ani benedicam eos. et hoc quidem quia cum coppulaveris xemi id est nomen meum cum 'IN ani id est ego intelliges secretum textus [Isa. 42:8] dicentis OX ani id est ego iod he vau he est 'DIP xemi nomen meum, cuius secretum est f x a W hies meain 8 id est ens ex non ente vel sapientia a corona.

"Vel sapientia a corona" is without counterpart in three of the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew original. Nor is it only the negative evidence of the Hebrew manuscripts that argues this clause to be an interpolation. Abulafia looked down upon the Kabbala of sefirot as a kind of introductory study; he was not likely to restate a glorious achievement of his own combinational Kabbala in terms of sefirot. But while the equation of ens ex non ente with sapientia a corona is quite out of keeping with Abulafia, it is a common doctrine in the Geronese school of Kabbala. 9 It is thus demonstrably true that "vel sapientia a corona" is an interpolation in the text of Abulafia. At the same time, it is impossible to say at the present state of research whether in this particular instance the interpolation reflects solely the enterprise of Mithridates, or a school tradition. Neither the transmission of Abulafla's writings nor the way they were studied in subsequent generations has yet been made the subject of detailed study. I happen to know, in part on good authority and in part by autopsy, that there exist fifteenth-century manuscripts written and annotated in Italian hands. Until they are sifted and studied, the question I have raised must

6 7 8 9

The identity of the Hebrew phrases for "hodie conceptus est mundus" and "hodie format ens ex non ente" rests on isopsephy, 812 in each case. Both words are isopsephic equivalents, each amounting to 61. The words 'DIP (ego nomen meum) and J'X» W (ens ex non ente) consist of the same six letters. Scholem, Ursprung and Anfänge, pp. 373-381.

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Quodlibet in Quolibet remain unanswered, and I have only raised it in the hope that it might catch the interest of some competent scholar who studies the history of Kabbala from primary sources. Whoever may be the interpolator in this instance, the interpolation bears directly upon the study of Pico's encounter with Kabbala, because it involves an emanationist interpretation of creation, or, to be more precise, the interpretation of creation ex nihilo (ens ex non ente) as the emanation of the second sefirah, called Wisdom, from the first sefirah, called Crown (sapientia a corona). Some years ago, I drew attention to the fact that in Job's praise of wisdom (28:12-28) Pico rewrote the first hemistich of verse 20 so as to make it mean "Sapientia ergo ab ain ueniet" and interpreted the first hemistich of verse 12 as though it meant "Attamen sapientia ab ain est."101 pointed out that Pico's interlinear corrections involved an emanationist interpretation of creation. At that time I was not yet sufficiently acquainted with the De Secretis Legis to point out the touch of irony in the fact that the most outspoken equation of ens ex non ente with sapientia a corona that Pico can be shown to have read is due to interpolation in Abulafia's mystical commentary on Maimonides." An emanationist interpretation of creation ex nihilo and the coincidence of all opposites in God are in themselves neither Jewish nor Christian, but mystical and Platonic. 12 Precisely for this reason, their superimposition, by way of interpolation, upon Abulafia's mystical commentary on the Guide of the Perplexed is a matter of importance. What an extraordinary feat of transformation was wrought by Pico's Kabbalist translator within the confines of Abulafia's preface to his De Secretis Legis: Maimonides became a Kabbalist, and coincidentia oppositorum a fundamental principle of Kabbala.

10 11

12

Wirszubski, "Giovanni Pico's Book of Job," pp. 193-194. Perhaps I ought to point out that it is common practice to equate 'Ayin (non ens) with Keter (Corona). Thus Liber de Radicibus, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 226r: "Ain id est non ens indicat coronam de qua scribitur et sapientia ex ain invenitur et sapientia ex ain veniet." Cusanus, Apologia Doctae Ignorantiae, fol. 64: "Cum nunc Aristotelis secta praevaleat, quae haeresim putat esse oppositorum coincidentiam, in cujus admissione est initium ascensus in mysticam theologiam." Cf. E. Cassirer, Individuum und Kosmos in der Philosophie der Renaissance (Leipzig and Berlin 1927), p. 12, n. 2.

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9 CHRISTIANIZING INTERPRETATIONS

Some five years before he produced his Kabbalistic translations for Pico, Flavius Mithridates preached his Sermo de Passione Domini before the pope and cardinals in the Vatican. 1 In that sermon Mithridates adduced what he presented as secret Jewish evidences from a pre-Christian "old Talmud" confirming the mysteries of Christ's Passion. 2 Bearing in mind how often and how deftly Mithridates contrived in the course of his sermon to make his Latin translations say what even his made-up Hebrew quotations do not always mean, it is hardly surprising that interpolations and notes designed to link Kabbala with Christian dogma occur in his Kabbalistic translations. One interpolation of that kind we have already seen in the text I have quoted at the end of Chapter 3 to illustrate the mystical interpretation of the word Amen in the forty-seventh thesis of the first series, namely Recanati's Commentary on the Prayers (De Secretis Orationum etBenedictionum Cabale), Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 319v: Quidam autem dicunt quod amen indicat trinitatem trium superiorum in unitate una que dicuntur INS MRR MRP ΓΠΓΡ id est dominus dominus dominus unus est et probant hoc per numerum literarum .... et intencio est quod qui respondet amen confitetur quod deus benedictus fuit ante creationem seculi .... Quidam autem alii roborantes hanc expositionem dicunt ita esse ex quo litere fuit est et erit unus habent in numero tantum quantum habent litere amen.

The italicized clause has no equivalent in the printed text of the Hebrew original. Its purpose is quite obvious: to make the Trinitarian interpretation an integral part of the text, which, in its original form, is not at all concerned with the unity of the three superior sefirot, but with the eternity of God. 1 2

The sermon was preached on Good Friday 1481; see Sermo de Passione, pp. 11 and 79. Ibid., pp. 15-28.

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Christianizing

Interpretations

A similar interpolation, though much better contrived, occurs in the Liber de Radicibus (Sefer ha-Sorasim),

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 226r:

TS AZ id est tunc vel subito ut in textu [Exod. 15:1] Az cecinit Moises, et in textu [Num. 21:17] Az cecinit Israel, et in alio textu [Isa. 60:5] Az uidebis et illuminaberis, indicat omnes decern numerationes secundum representationem suarum literarum Aleph indicat trinitatem trium superiorum corone sapiencie et intelligencie unitam in unitate essencie. Zain uero secundum numerum suum qui est septem indicat a pietate usque ad regnum. The words "trinitatem ... unitam in unitate essencie", which connect the symbolical interpretation of the Hebrew word 'az with the Catholic dogma of the Trinity, have no counterpart in the manuscripts of the Hebrew original. The effect of this interpolation can be seen in Pico's twentieth Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem

propriam:

Si interpretationem suam aduerterint Cabalistae super hac dictione ['αζ] quae significat tunc, de trinitatis mysterio multum illuminabuntur. 3 Another remarkable interpolation occurs in the Liber de Radicibus at fols. 249v-250r: rUttWi nbttfaa memxala rixona id est imperium uel potestas prima indicat tres superiores que sunt corona supprema sapiencia et intelligencia. r r w nVltföö memxala xnia id est imperium uel potestas secunda indicat pietatem et timorem. IVC'VC n^lPOn memxala xlixith id est potestas tercia indicat eternitatem decorem fundamentum et regnum et homo id est tiphereth habet eas et tunc dicitur piP>n 1POQ machria rixon id est arbiter primus. Sicut Arbiter secundus est fundamentum. Aliter Arbiter primus est decor. The italicized words are without equivalent in the corresponding passage in the extant manuscripts of the Hebrew original. Though they look quite harmless at first sight, they cannot possibly represent genuine variants of the Hebrew original. The notion that homo, 'adam in Hebrew, signifies the sixth sefirah, which is normally called Tiferet, orthodox; but, the Liber de Radicibus

is in itself correct and

being a glossary, the symbolical

interpretation of homo ('adam) ought to appear, as in fact it does, at fol. 225r, under the letter aleph,

3

whereas here it is sandwiched between two

Pico, Opera, p. 109. Cf. Wirszubski, "Giovanni Pico's Companion to Kabbalistic Symbolism," p. 358.

[107]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism different keywords beginning with the letter mem. Similarly, the words habet eas et tunc cannot represent a genuine variant because (considering that the pronoun eas can refer only to the three potestates) they link the incongruous homo with what went before it as well as with what comes after it, thus producing a continuous text out of several different entries in the glossary. Quite plainly, the text as it stands in the Latin translation was tampered with. I do not think I might have divined the purpose of this interpolation had not Mithridates himself afforded a valuable clue, quoting Matthew 28:18 in the margin of fol. 250r: "Data est mihi omnis potesta XPC." We can now see that the interpolation meant to link "homo id est tiphereth" with Jesus Christ, to whom all power was given. The interpolation is noteworthy for the interpolator's great skill: he achieved his aim with remarkably little interference with the text. Quotations from the New Testament appear once or twice not only as marginal notes, but also as textual interpolations. Thus De Secretis Legis (Abraham Abulafia's Sitrey Torah), Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 363v-364r: Quod si philosophi etiam gencium peruenirent ad huiusmodi nominis cognitionem liberabuntur et ipsi ab inferis in veritate quia pii gentium seculi habent partem in venturo seculo et est eorum pietas cum seruauerint septem precepta de quibus iussum est filiis Nouehe que quidem septem correspondent illis et valent quantum precepta omnia nobis que sunt ad similitudinem septenarii hoc modo: sex per se et unum per se constituunt septem que hebraice dicuntur "ΤΠΧ W sex unum, quorum secretum est ad equivalenciam THS garti id est habitaui quod est numerus preceptorum, quod sic probatur sin 300 sin 300 aleph unum, heth 8, daleth 4 collecti sunt 613 quotus est numerus garti quod sic probatur gimel 3, rex 200, thau 400, iod 10, collecti sunt 613 ad numerum preceptorum, et numerus omnium tarn nostrorum quam septem de quibus iussum est eis, equalis est numero literarum decalogon que sunt 620. nam 613 et 7 faciunt 620. et quando isti duo coniungentur simul erit unum ouile et unus pastor sub licteris decern preceptorum.

The whole sentence in which the quotation "unum ouile et unus pastor" (John 10:16) is embedded has no counterpart in the Hebrew original. In like manner, Kabbala and St. Paul are linked in the translation of Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae, Cod. Chigi, fol. 7v: Quod autem dixit deus sanctus et benedictus ad Abraam [Gen. 12:3] et benedicentur seu piscinabuntur per te omnes familie terre, per se manifestum est quia septuaginta populi seu familie concatenate sunt seu dependent in Abraam et significat verbum 13"Π21 venibrachu, id est et

[108]

Christianizing

Interpretations

benedicentur, inserentur sic oleaster inseritur et verbum principale eius est " p a n id est inserere fecit quod est 3ΌΊΠ id est componere fecit per numerum literarum nam hibrich habet numeros 5.2.200.10.20 et tot sunt hirchib id est composuit uel colligauit quia 5.200.20.10.2. collecti sunt quot superiores (Paulus ad Romanos [11:17 and 24] habet ad literam).

The Hebrew text speaks of grafting, but it does not use the simile of the wild olive shoot: "sic oleaster inseritur" is an interpolation. The quotation from John and the allusion to Paul are by themselves too vague to affect the texts in which they occur. Yet the attempt to link Kabbala with the sacred documents of Christianity may well involve more than at first meets the eye. Kabbala as conceived of by all Christian Kabbalists is ancient, pre-Christian, and divinely inspired. Consequently, the agreement between Kabbala and John or Paul might imply not only that Kabbala confirms or foreshadows Christianity but also that the apostles were familiar with Kabbala. That the latter implication ought to be reckoned with is borne out by another remarkable interpolation which occurs in the Latin translation of Abraham Abulafia's Summa Brevis Cabale, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 125v: propter hoc amice notifico tibi quod domini Cabale numerationalis tenent unitatem dei sub denario numero non sub trinario. qui numerus fugitur ab omnibus scientibus Cabale. est bene verum quod sunt Christiani qui sunt fundati super hac sciencia inperfecte quamvis auctores eorum perfecte earn nouerant. dicunt deum esse trinum et unum. et Trinitatem esse unam sic quidam domini Cabale credunt et dicunt quod diuinitas est denarius seu decern numerationes et denarius est unus.

The italicized clause is an interpolation: there is no trace of it in the Hebrew manuscripts of Abulafia's epistle. While there is no reason to suppose that Mithridates innocently translated an interpolated Hebrew text, the notion that the founders of Christianity were Kabbalists is certainly not his own invention. In fact, that notion is attested long before his time and forms, as Scholem observed, a negative Jewish counterpart to Christian Kabbala. 4 In the Jewish version, Jesus and the disciples were admittedly Kabbalists, only their Kabbala was vitiated by errors. Mithridates, as might be expected, redresses the disapprobation of Christian Kabbala: "auctores eorum perfecte earn noverant."

4

Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," p. 177.

[109]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Mithridates sometimes notes lacunae in his Hebrew originals. Such notes are particularly frequent in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189. At fol. 255v he fills in a lacuna, with a noteworthy result: Rursus Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram [Gen. 1:26] hebraice 13Π1!?13 ua'jxa D1K ΠΚ75/3 indicat quod futurum erat quod (hie deleuit Abraam multum. Ego autem lego hec verba) (heretici nostri facerent ex deo plura principia et dicerent numerum trinarium in eo per obliquum quem ad modum ille litere nun sunt torte et non directe hue usque) propter hoc quod scriptum est faciamus in plurali non autem dixit faciam.

The controversy between Jews and Christians concerning the plural forms of the noun elohim and the verb na'aseh in Genesis 1:26 can be traced from the Midrash to Ramon Marti, Alfonso de Valladolid (Abner of Burgos), and Ramon Lull. We can see in this particular instance that Mithridates, on his own showing, interpolated a Christianizing interpretation. But it does not by any means follow that all the interpolations I have discussed in this chapter are in fact Mithridates': the authorship of interpolations cannot be satisfactorily established by inferences from one interpolation to another. Jewish converts to Christianity who sought confirmation of their new faith in Kabbala existed long before Mithridates, and Christianizing interpolations in Jewish texts were not unheard of. Precisely for this reason it is necessary, in order to make sure whether Mithridates is in fact the author of all the Christianizing interpolations that occur in his translation, to establish the authorship of each single interpolation independently. At the present state of research this cannot be done: neither the transmission of the Hebrew original versions of Pico's Kabbalistic sources nor the apologetic literature created by Jewish converts is sufficiently well known to warrant valid conclusions in each particular case. Nor is it possible, in view of the incomplete preservation of the translations, to establish the extent of Christianizing interpolation in the texts that Pico read. Gaffarel, who read the lost translation of Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch, states that the messias "iam dudum venisse asseritur in eiusdem voluminis parte prima parascia nona contra pertinacissimum quendam Callirum." 5 I have no means of judging whether Gaffarel's statement is right or wrong. But the possibility that he is right must be reckoned with: it does not require much ingenuity to translate the said 5

Gaffarel, Index, p. 7 [11].

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Christianizing

Interpretations

passage in Recanati as if it meant that the Savior has already come. Mithridates, to judge by his Sermo de Passione Domini, was quite capable of far more remarkable feats of transformation. When reading the translations of Mithridates one is often reminded that the same Hebrew words carry different overtones depending upon whether they are read by Jews or by Christians. This is true not only of highly charged words, such as masiah (messias) or ruah ha-qodei (spiritus sanctus), but also of the humble pronoun ze, which in ordinary human speech means hie or iste. To a Jew who is reading, say, Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae, ze is either a demonstrative pronoun or else, when occasion offers, the name of the ninth sefirah. When in the Latin translation of that book ze is not translated but transliterated, it has ceased to be a pronoun and has been fixed as a symbol which a Christian Kabbalist would conceive of as the name of the ninth sefirah (commonly called Iustus or Fundamentum) and at the same time as a mystical representation or prefiguration of Jesus Christ. The Christological interpretation of Ze is attested long before the birth of Christian Kabbala and can be traced from the Pugio Fidei to the Sermo de Passione Domini and to the Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam. Conclusio xxi: Qui coniunxerit dictum Cabalistarum, dicentium quod ilia numeratio quae dicitur iustus et redemptor dicitur etiam Ze, cum dicto Thalmutistarum, dicentium quod Isaac ibat sicut ze portans Crucem suam, uidebit quod illud quod fuit in Isaac praefiguratum fuit adimpletum in Christo, qui fuit verus Deus uenditus argen to. 6

Bearing in mind the Christological interpretation of Ze, we can see why in Mithridates' translations Ze is used symbolically more often than the Hebrew originals either warrant or demand. Two examples should suffice to illustrate this point. Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae is a systematic interpretation of the ten sefirot in ascending order. Its guiding principle and central theme is the ascent of man to the vision of God through the sefirot. To make sure of the ascent it is necessary to know the gate through which to enter; hence the title Portae Iustitiae. The knowledge of that gate was granted to the patriarch Jacob (fols. 6v-8r): 6

Pico, Opera, p. 109.

[Ill]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

Postquam igitur notificaui tibi hec universalia principia debes scire quod secretum huius sacre porte quam meruit et dignus fuit Iaacob comprehendere est secretum numerationis decime que vocatur xechina id est habitatrix uel diuinitas ΠΤΟΙΡ quod habetur in textu [Deut. 33:28] dicente et habitauit Israel confidenter solus oculus Iacob ad terram. Et quando comprehendit Iaacob Ze portam hec quidem fuit habitatrix que vocatur sedec p i s et tunc textus vociferatus est proclamando dicens [Ps. 118:19] aperite mihi portas Iusticie Sedech intrans per eas gratias agam domino ... 7 Postquam uero et hec nosti debes scire quod ilia porta que uocatur sedech per quam itur ad Ze quamuis hereditauit Abraam illam numerationem non tamen nouit portam donee uenit Iacob et aperuit earn ... Et scias quod ab illo tempore quo Iaacob nouit hanc portam et accepit dauern in manu sua non est aliqua creatura in mundo que habet viam intrandi ad nomen Iod he vau he benedictum nisi permanus ipsius Jacob et filiorum eius hoc est quod efficiantur proselite et sint circumcisi et intrabunt sub alis diuinitatis ad Ze que quidem diuinitas ostendet eis locum et portam per quam intrare poterunt ad portas iusticie Sedech. Et propter hoc dictum est quod omnes gerim siue neophiti veri sunt gere id est proselite seu neophiti in sedech. quasi diceretur quod omnes gerim predicti qui intrant ad adytus domini Iod he vau he intrant per manus portarum iusticie seu Sedech. et hoc est secretum venibrachu id est et benedicentur quod inserti erunt in te seu plantati in te de novo et hi dicuntur neophiti. The symbolic Ze appears in both short interpolations (given in italics). Bearing in mind that Mithridates was demonstrably familiar with the Christological interpretation of Ze, we ought to reckon with the possibility that these interpolations had a purpose: if Gicatilla is understood as saying that through the gate Ze man enters upon his ascent to God, and that that gate leads to Ze, it makes possible a symbolic interpretation of the whole passage to the effect that the ascent of man to God is through Christ to Christ. My second example is the rendering of the talmudic phrase kazeh re'eh weqades (see the moon like this and sanctify) as "Ze vide et sanctifica" in Abraham Abulafia's De Secretis Legis}

I will not deny that a translator

working at the rate of "duo quinternos in die" is liable to become thoughtless and inattentive to detail through haste, weariness, and sheer boredom. At the same time, we ought not to lose sight of the fact that for Flavius Mithridates, as his Sermo de Passione Domini clearly shows, Ze was the

7 8

The part omitted here includes the passage in which the interpolation "sic oleaster inseritur" occurs; see above, pp. 108-109. Cod. Chigi, fols. 256v-257r: "et dicit unicuique de nostris imitantibus hanc sapienciam ut Ze vide et sanctifica." [112]

Christianizing

Interpretations

symbol not only of the ninth sefirah but also of him who carried his cross on his shoulder. Mithridates, in his translations, sometimes quotes whole passages in Hebrew. One such quotation affords the opportunity to see how, through the omission of a single letter, agnusdei takes the place of the ram that was sacrificed instead of Isaac (Gen. 22:1-13). What follows is the conclusion of the misterium temptationis in Abulafia's De Secretis Legis, Cod. Chigi, fol. 245r: Et sicut mutatus fuerit populus transiens per mare per aridam super aquas superiores in populum sumersum in mari rubro in abyssis aquarum inferiorum et hie salvatus est et hie periit sic mutabitur agnus in agnum dei qui vocatur Se el *?X HIP et est agnus ultimus. hie quidem imolabitur ad sacrificium et hie liberabitur et memorabitur in bonum.

But there are no counterparts to "agnus dei" and "agnus ultimus" in the Hebrew original, which Mithridates quotes in extenso at the end of the passage (fols. 245v-246r). The Hebrew text reads V1« ntP (agnus aries) and also j n n x V>X Kim (et est aries ultimus). "Agnus dei" thus proves to be here the translator's invention or mistake.

[113]

10 M O C K MYSTERIES

Flavius Mithridates, all his shortcomings notwithstanding, was a remarkable translator in an age of remarkable translators. He was also an author; but the author is a dim figure beside the translator. His only surviving work, the Sermo de Passione Domini, is dwarfed and overshadowed by the Pugio Fidei. Another work, on the accentuation of Hebrew, is known only from quotations. 1 The bare title is all that survives at present of his work on the Maccabees. 2 None of his Kabbalistic translations was printed, and only two of his manuscripts are at present known to have been copied. Yet the place of his translations in the cultural history of the Italian Renaissance is assured by their role as Pico's Kabbalistic sources. My subject, to be sure, is Pico's encounter with Kabbala, not the ambiguous figure of his Kabbalist translator. But, as I have said before, no student of the translations through which Pico made his acquaintance with Kabbala can avoid the translator, even if he would. This is my excuse for the parting glance that I propose to cast at the translator's parentheses, before I take my leave of his translations as translations. It has been known for quite a long time, in fact ever since his translations were first noticed by Jacques Gaffarel, that Mithridates made no secret of his pederasty, and the themes oina'ar (boy) and Lanciloctus or lancea faventina frequently occur in his notes and subscriptions. They sometimes occur in the most unexpected surroundings. What follows is a quotation from Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae, the central theme of which is the ascent of man to the vision of God through the ten sefirot. The passage, Cod. Chigi, fol. 68v, describes the initial stages of the mystical ascensio mentis ad deum: 1

2

Gaffarel, Index, p. 6 [9]: "Sed quid si propria flagitia spurcissimum hominem recensere non puduit? dum pagina secundi voluminis centesima octuagesima quinta carere se "ISJ conqueritur?" See Sermo de Passione, pp. 51, 56, 64.

[114]

Mock

Mysteries

Et scias quod hec est porta per quam intratur ad videndum faciem regis domini Iod he vau he ... et hec est porta omnium numerationum postquam homo intrat per regnum Ze est porta ad dominum Iod he vau he iusti intrabunt per earn. Et postquam comprehenditur homo in his duabus numerationibus, hoc est in regno et fundamento, iam ipse ascendit usque ad coronam supremam ... multe namque porte sunt que dicuntur xearim, sunt enim porte fundamenti, sunt etiam porte intelligentie que est directa et ordinata in lege. Et postquam homo intrat per fundamentum (lancee fauentine) [through the "bottom" of Lancilotto da Faenza], quia hie est locus iuramenti, non habet inpedientem nec prohibentem et hoc est quod scriptum est de porta fundamenti Ze est porta ad dominum Iod he vau he iusti intrabunt per earn. The context in which na'ar makes its — or perhaps I should say his — frivolous intrusion into Kabbala is a modest discussion of the mysteries of vocalization, but the intrusion itself, in Liber Redemptionis,

Cod. Chigi,

fol. 28lr, is in grand style: Et similiter a dextra in dextram et a sinistra in sinistram. A dextra quidem in dextram ut ab a in a velut TWV hasa idest fecit. A sinistra in sinistram velut ab a in a punctatio cum patha velut in dictione (vide magnum misterium Pice quod nahar punctatur cum patha quod est aperire quia debet ei aperiri nnn). What one needs in order to understand this mock mystery is less acquaintance with Kabbala than acquaintance with nonliterary Hebrew, in which the adverb tahat,

"below," is also used substantially to denote the

buttocks or the anal orifice, according to circumstances. Where there is one mock mystery there might be another. Near the end of "Secretum de Confusione Religionum," which concludes the first part of his De Secretis Legis, Abulafia writes, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 415v: Tu vero cum caueris tibi a confusione stabiliet te dominus sibi in populum sanctum et videbunt omnes populi terre quod nomen domini inuocatum est etiam super te hebraice sem adonai nikra. (et dicit Mithridates chaldeus quod etiam videbunt inimici tui et confundantur) et videbit te dominus in caput et non in caudam (absorbendam ut malfecta et J. Jacobus) et eris semper sursum supra. Mithridates normally includes Hebrew words or phrases in his translation when they are symbols of sefirot or the subjects of isopsephic equations. In this instance it was certainly with an eye to gematria

that Mithridates

included part of the Hebrew original of the verse, quoted by Abulafia, in his Latin translation, because he notes in the margin "cuius numeri sunt aer putrescet in quo ille est. mithridates..." Some words that followed are

[115]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism completely blotted out. I cannot say whether the ink with which those words were blotted out is or is not the same ink in which the text and the note are written. But as regards the meaning of the note we must reckon with two possibilities: those words were blotted out either in the course of writing or not in the course of writing. In the former case we must reckon with the possibility that Mithridates changed his mind and, consequently, the punctuation after est is a redundant survival. In the latter case the punctuation must stand. Accordingly, the note can mean either "The air will be foul where he is whose numbers these are. Mithridates ..." or else "The air will be foul where he, whose numbers these are, is Mithridates." It is not necessary to insist on the latter reading of the note in order to see that Mithridates has himself in mind. "Malfecta et J. Jacobus" are Innocent VIII and his majordomo Giangiacomo Sclafetano. Throughout his translations, Mithridates heaps abuses on Innocent VIII, his former patron, whom he apparently considered to be his archenemy. Granted that "inimici tui," in the first parenthesis, are the enemies of Mithridates, it is noteworthy that Mithridates translates Deut. 28:10 "quod nomen domini invocatum est etiam super te." It is difficult to see why Mithridates added "etiam" unless he thought or wished to imply that he too was called by the name of God. We can see that the person "cuius numeri sunt" must be Mithridates regardless of the punctuation of his note. Cuius numeri sunt is a phrase frequently used by Mithridates to introduce or explain gematriof, the modusprocedendi is thus quite certain. But in order to proceed by gematria one needs Hebrew words. Umberto Cassuto conjectured long ago that Mithridates' name before his conversion was Samuel. 3 It was not possible at that time to settle the question beyond doubt or dispute. But the reasons adduced by Cassuto are weighty enough to make his conjecture highly probable. On the hypothesis that Mithridates' Hebrew name was VxiQtt? (Samuel), all parts of the jigsaw puzzle fall into place. VxiW can of course be read as bx Wltf (his name is God). Moreover, the numerical value of all the letters of that name is 377, which is the equivalent of the sum resulting from the addition of all the numbers represented by the letters of the words K1p3 mn 1 (Adonai nikra), which can be taken to mean "he is called YHWH." This gematria affords an unexpected confirmation of Cassuto's brilliant 3

U. Cassuto, "Wer war der Orientalist Mithridates?" Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland, 5 (1934), 230-236.

[116]

die

Mock Mysteries hypothesis. It also affords half the solution of another puzzle, namely the equation of Adonai Elohim with "Mithridates et Picus." I quote from the translation of Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae, fol. 44r: "Post xem vere aliquod et ad Tiphereth quia thiphereth est linea media que conectit omnia inter hymnum et xem ad similitudinem adonai elohim scriptorum per has literas. DT^N mm (Mithridatis et Pici)." Seeing that the letters of the divine names Adonai Elohim are said to be "Mithridatis et Pici," it is obvious that equation by gematria is meant. We know already how the name of Mithridates fits into the scheme of divine names. And once the principle and method are known it is not too difficult to puzzle out how Pico's name fits into the same scheme. Pico's Christian name, Giovanni, derives ultimately from the Hebrew Yohanan ]3ΓΠ\ Plain gematria will not help; but gematria need not be plain; it can be applied together with temurah, substitution. One common form of substitution is the sequence 1D3 p'X. Mithridates knew it well. He explains the procedure as follows: "semper cum per unitate, denario, et centenario procedendo." 4 Perfectly correct: you substitute letters the value of which are units for letters the values of which are tens, and the latter for letters the values of which are hundreds, or vice versa, thus: 13 Π I 1 m

J3H

Χ Β V0 3Οb 3 '

rsjopncMp If this method of substitution is applied to the letters 3 3 Π V (Yohanan) the result will be Π Π D D X, the numerical equivalents of which amount to 151, which is also the sum resulting from the addition of the numerical equivalents of the letters ö ' Π V Χ ' Π Χ (Adonai Elohim). We can now see that Mithridates has to himself the ineffable Tetragrammaton, while Pico is "only" Adonai Elohim: proximus sed longo intervallo. The latest instance that I have noticed of this equation occurs in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189 at fol. 99r. Mithridates soon changed his mind: Pico could not be called elohim but only isc, "man." The reason Pico was thus demoted is noteworthy (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 189, fol. 257v): Et rursus omne tempus quod non fuit missus ad Israel aliquis, vir dictus est. at vero postquam dixit ei et tu nunc hie sta apud me, prohibuit ei uxorem et

4

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 20v.

[117]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism dictus est elohim prout scriptum est ecce constitui te elohim ad pharaonem (et ideo Picus non potest dici elohim sed isc).

What a pity! Poor Pico is told to say goodby to his divinity because he didn't or wouldn't leave women alone. The same page in Abulafia's De Secretis Legis that carries the notes and parentheses in which Mithridates is equated with the ineffable name of God, carries also another remarkable parenthesis. I have published and explained it elsewhere,5 so I can be brief here. In touching upon Christianity Abulafia remarks among other things that the Law called Jesus elohey nekhar6 (fol. 415v): et lex vocavit eum elohe nechar id est deum extraneum, hebraice 133 TiVx. Et intellege illud nimis nimis quia est secretum valde magnum (et dicit Mithridates [chaldeus written in the margin by the first hand] quod si addideris aliam dictionem que sequitur ad elohe nechar id est deum extraneum scies etiam maris amaritudinem que sua spuma genuit Eneam in monte Ericino. et intellege hoc nimis nimis quia est secretum magnum plus quam illud quod dixit auctor).

The gist of this parenthesis is that if you add to elohe nechar the word that follows this expression you will know also the "bitterness of the sea." By the latter Mithridates undoubtedly means D'la, Miriam, which is here represented by "bitterness" (1Ώ) and "sea" (D1). Now the word that follows elohe nechar in Deut. 31:16 is ρ κ π (ha'ares) "of the land," the numerical value of which (296) is equivalent to that of the word •ΉΏΊ, "and Miriam." Hence a remarkable fact emerges: almost twenty years after his conversion, Mithridates is parodying Abulafia's style and at the same time repeating an anti-Christian interpretation of the "strange gods of the land" as a prefiguration of Jesus and Mary. 7 I am not suggesting that the parentheses discussed in this chapter warrant clear-cut conclusions about the translator's faith or unbelief. But it is not necessary to strain the evidential value of his parentheses in order to see that they evince both skill and extravagance, and thus match to perfection his Kabbalistic translations, which, considered as a whole, are a strange compound of accuracy, extravagance, and make-believe.

5 6 7

Sermo de Passione, pp. 39-41. Deut. 31:16. Cf. Secret, "L'Ensis Pauli de Paulus de Heredia," p. 101.

[118]

PART THREE

What Kabbala Meant to Pico

Die Philologie einer mystischen Disziplin wie der Kabbala hat etwas Ironisches an sich.

G. Scholem Zehn unhistorische Sätze über Kabbala, I.

11 MYSTERIES OF THE LAW

An enthusiastic young philosopher in search of truth set out to acquaint himself with all sources of knowledge. His efforts included Kabbala. The results are embodied in his Conclusiones, which started Kabbala on its long career in the Christian world. From the standpoint of modern scholarship it is of course true that Pico, unaware of the true history of Jewish mysticism, launched Kabbala into the Christian world under a mythical flag. The myth, however, was not remote antiquity, but divine origin: Kabbala, as Pico meant to present it at the debate on his nine hundred theses, was the divinely revealed tradition of the Jews. There are, or seem to be, two noteworthy exceptions, which I shall consider presently. But, notwithstanding such exceptions, that Kabbala which Pico considered to be "prima et vera cabala" and which, on his own showing, was his Jewish witness to the truth of Christianity, emerges from Pico's discussion of the name and nature of Kabbala as the orally transmitted twin revelation on Mount Sinai. Jewish traditionalism throve on the idea that all true tradition is ultimately revelation. 1 The classic expression of that idea is that the whole body of Oral Law, all niceties and elaborations included, had been revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. The theme recurs throughout postbiblical Jewish literature, in the Talmud and Midrash as well as in Maimonides and in the writings of medieval Jewish mystics. There are, to be sure, differences of detail, style, emphasis, and orientation. But the underlying idea is always the same. Pico's encounter with Kabbala is thus an encounter not only with specifically Kabbalistic traditions, doctrines, and methods but also with the traditional Jewish view of tradition itself, namely the idea that all true tradition is orally transmitted revelation or 1

See Scholem, "Tradition und Kommentar als religiose Kategorien im Judentum," pp. 19-48; published as "Revelation and Tradition as Religious Categories in Judaism," in The Messianic Idea in Judaism (New York, 1971), pp. 282-303.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism divinely revealed Oral Law. The former are the keys to Pico's Kabbalistic theses; the latter is the key to his discussion of Kabbala in the Oration on the Dignity of Man and Apology. An eventful year in Pico's life passed between the Oration and the Apology, and, as a result of the intervening events, each was written from a different starting point and with a different end in view. The difference shows also in the discussion of Kabbala. What is at present known as the Oratio de Hominis Dignitate was meant to be Pico's opening address of the public debate of his nine hundred theses. And the discussion of Kabbala in the oration was evidently intended to introduce his Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity to the Christian audience. 2 Venio nunc ad ea quae ex antiquis Hebraeorum mysteriis eruta ad sacrosanctam et catholicam fidem confirmandam attuli, quae, ne forte ab his quibus sunt ignota commenticiae nugae aut fabulae circumlatorum existimentur, volo intelligent omnes quae et qualia sint, unde petita, quibus et quam Claris auctoribus confirmata, et quam reposita, quam divina, quam nostris hominibus ad propugnandam religionem contra Hebraeorum importunas calumnias sint necessaria. Scribunt non modo celebres Hebreorum doctores, sed ex nostris quoque Esdras, Hilarius, et Origenes, Mosern non legem modo quam quinque exaratam libris posteris reliquit, sed secretiorem quoque et veram legis enarrationem in monte divinitus accepisse.

He then goes on to explain that the divinely revealed interpretation of the Law was not made public, and that it is called Kabbala, receptio, because it was handed on by word of mouth in unbroken succession until it was set down in writing in seventy books at the time of Ezra. It was in the books of Kabbala, which Pico says he had acquired at great expense and studied with indefatigable exertion, that he found a religion more Christian than Jewish and, in addition, Platonism and Pythagoreanism. This is how Kabbala would have been presented to the Christian world, had Pico delivered his opening address. But, as we all know, the address was not delivered. 3 The Church intervened, the debate never took place, and Pico was summoned before an ecclesiastical commission appointed by Innocent VIII to examine the theses. Thirteen of the nine hundred 2 3

Pico, Oratio, in De Hominis Dignitate, Heptaplus, De Ente et Uno, ed. Ε. Garin, p. 154 (hereafter Oratio, ed. Garin); Opera, pp. 328-330. For the relevant documents see Dorez and Thuasne, Pic de la Mirandole en France, pp. 114-144.

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theses were condemned by the examiners. None of the Cabalisticae

Conclusiones

was condemned. But Kabbala is involved in one of the

thirteen condemned theses, namely the magical thesis which states that "nulla est scientia quae nos magis certificet de divinitate Christi quam magia et cabala." The reason it was unanimously declared by the examiners to be "de virtute sermonis falsa, erronea, superstitiosa et heretica" 4 is not far to seek: the thesis seems to set magic and Kabbala above the evidence of the Gospels. It was the condemnation of this magical thesis that occasioned Pico's "Quaestio quinta de magia naturali et cabala Hebraeorum" in his

Apology.5

Quarta conclusio per istos damnata fuit haec Nulla est scientia quae nos magis certificet de diuinitate Christi quam magia et cabala. Hanc conclusionem ego declarando dixi quod inter scientias quae ita sunt scientiae quod neque ex modo procedendi, neque ex suis principiis, neque ex suis conclusionibus innituntur reuelatis, nulla est quae nos magis certificet eo modo quo de hoc certificare possunt scientiae humanitus inuentae quam magia ilia de qua ibi ponuntur conclusiones, quae est pars scientiae naturalis, et pars ilia cabalae, quae est scientia et non est theologia reuelata. Pico was trained as a philosopher in Padua and Paris, the celebrated strongholds of Aristotelianism. Faced with a difficulty, he promptly produced the good old scholastic talisman distinguo. His declaratio

and

subsequent defense of the condemned thesis rest entirely on the distinction between revealed and nonrevealed science. Quam autem in se sit ipsa conclusio uera profecto euidentissime potest declarari, licet enim nulla sit scientia humanitus inuenta, quae nos certificare possit de diuinitate Christi, quia certificationem de diuinitate eius, ut in praecedenti diximus conclusione, 6 non habemus nisi ex modo faciendi miracula quae fecit, quae miracula et esse facta ab eo et esse taliter facta non nisi ex testimonio scripturae scimus. Tamen, si quid ad hoc nos possunt adiuuare scientiae humanae, sicut et adiuuant in cognitione multarum ueritatum supernaturalium, nulla est quae magis nos possit adiuuare quam magia et cabala quas diximis. Ad hoc enim ut miracula

4 5

6

Ibid., pp. 130-131. Opera, pp. 166 ff. In all quotations from the "Quaestio Quinta", I have checked the text against the Apology's editioprinceps ([Rome], 1487) correcting misprints, but retaining the spelling of the Basle edition. Namely, "Miracula Christi non ratione rei factae, sed ratione modi faciendi suae diuinitatis argumentum certissimum sunt"; ConclusionesMagicaeNo. 8, Opera, p. 105.

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Christi nobis suam testentur diuinitatem oportet cognoscere primo quod non potuerunt fieri in virtute naturali, sed solum in virtute Dei... In primo nulla scientia humana nos potest adiuuare magis quam ilia qua cognoscuntur uirtutes et actiuitates agentium naturalium... et quid possunt uirtute propria et quid non. Hoc autem inter scientias humanas magis cognoscit ista scientia quam ego uoco magiam naturalem, de qua positae sunt conclusiones, et ilia pars cabalae quae est de uirtutibus corporum coelestium ... Et ad pleniorem huius conclusionis declarationem, primo est sciendum quod, sicut supra dixi, per hanc conclusionem non intendo comparare magiam et cabalam ad scientias reuelatas, quia non accipio in conclusione scientiam generaliter, sed pro scientia quae neque ex modo procedendi, neque ex suis principiis, neque ex conclusionibus innititur reuelationi, neque etiam in praesenti conclusione loquor de certitudiae scientiae habitae ex reuelatione modo praedicto, sed de certitudiae scientiae inuentae uel acquisitae per demonstrationem, non a priori sed a posteriori per effectus, scilicet quare intendo dicere quod si aliqua scientia humanitus adinuenta et non reuelata certificet de divinitate Christi per miracula eius, hoc maxime facit scientia qua cognoscuntur uirtutes et actiuitates agentium naturalium et eorum applicationes adinuicem et ad sua passa naturalia, et per quas cognoscitur quid possunt agentia naturalia uirtute propria et quid non ... Cum ergo talia maxime cognoscat ilia pars cabalae quae est de uirtutibus corporum coelestium, et ilia pars scientiae naturalis, quam ego nunc voco magiam naturalem ... ideo non haeretice, non superstitiose, sed scientifice, sed uerissime, sed catholice dixi per talem magiam et cabalam adiuuari nos in cognoscenda diuinitate Christi. 7 The divinely revealed Kabbala of which Pico spoke in his Oration is by no means ignored; on the contrary, it is restated with greater precision and elaboration. But — and this is the essential difference between the Oration and the Apology — at the end of his long discussion of divinely revealed Kabbala Pico returns to the initial distinction between revealed and non-revealed Kabbala, or, as he puts it here, between Kabbala in its primary sense and Kabbala in its "transumptive" sense. Relinquitur ergo ut haec Hebraeorum doctrina cui doctores catholici ex Hieronymi testimonio tantum deferunt et quam adeo approbant sit ilia quam ipsimet nostri doctores fatentur et credunt a Deo Moysi et a Moyse per successionem aliis sapientibus fuisse reuelatam et est ista quae ex hoc modo tradendi dicitur Cabala quam saepe etiam uideo a nostris auctoribus hoc modo designari dicendo ut dicit antiqua traditio. Haec est prima et uera Cabala de qua credo me primum apud Latinos explicitam fecisse mentionem, et est ilia qua ego utor in meis conclusionibus quas cum expresse ponam contra Hebraeos ad confirmationem fidei nostrae nescio quomodo isti magistri habere potuerunt pro suspectis in fide. Verum quia 7

Apologia, Opera, pp. 167-168.

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iste modus tradendi per successionem qui dicitur Cabalisticus uidetur conuenire unicuique rei secretae et mysticae hinc est quod usurparunt Hebraei ut unamquamque scientiam quae apud eos habetur pro secreta et abscondita Cabalam uocent, et unumquodque scibile quod per uiam occultam alicunde habeatur dicant haberi per uiam cabalae. In uniuersali autem duas scientias hoc etiam [my italics] nomine honorificarunt. Vnam quae dicitur idest ars combinandi et est modus quidam procedendi in scientiis, et est simile quid sicut apud nostros dicitur ars Raymundi licet forte diverso modo procedant. Aliam quae est de uirtutibus rerum superiorum quae sunt supra lunam et est pars magiae naturalis suprema. Vtraque istarum apud Hebraeos etiam [my italics] dicitur cabala propter rationem iam dictam et de utraque istarum etiam aliquando [my italics] fecimus mentionem in conclusionibus nostris. Ilia enim ars combinandi est quam ego in conclusionibus meis voco alphabetariam reuolutionem. Et ista quae est de uirtutibus rerum superiorum, quae uno modo potest capi ut pars magiae naturalis, alio modo ut res distincta ab ea, est ilia de qua loquor in presenti conclusione dicens quod adiuuat nos in cognitione diuinitatis Christi ad modum iam declaratum. Et licet istis duabus scientiis nomen cabalae ex primaria et propria impositione non conueniat, transumptiue tarnen potuit eis applicari. 8 My excuse for quoting familiar texts at such length is the advantage this gives of presenting the crucial pasage, beginning "In universali autem duas scientias" in its true context. The whole drift of the "Quaestio Quinta" shows quite clearly that Pico's line of defense requires the distinction between the Kabbala which is the foundation of his Cabalisticae

Conclusiones

and the Kabbala which is involved in the condemned magical

thesis. Hence the distinction between "prima et vera cabala", on the one hand, and, on the other hand, two sciences, neither of which is Kabbala "ex primaria et propria impositione", but both are also called Kabbala by the Jews themselves and are also mentioned in Pico's theses. The nature of these two sciences and their relation to "true" Kabbala will be considered later. It is essential first to make sure we know as exactly as possible what was Pico's own view of Kabbala. There exists, in Pico's Commento

sopra una canzona d'amore di Giro-

lamo Benivieni, a remarkably short and accurate definition of Kabbala: "la loro (degli antichi Ebrei) scienzia nella quale la esposizione delli astrusi et asconditi misterii della legge si contiene Cabala si chiama." 9 If "the mysteries of the Law" were no more than yet another instance of Pico's 8 9

Ibid., pp. 180-181. Commento, book III, chap, xi, stanza 9, p. 580, ed. Garin (=Opera, p. 922). [125]

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view that there are mysteries everywhere, in all great documents of religion, thought, and poetry, I would entirely agree that there is nothing more to be said. But this is not the case. For one thing, sitrey

torah,

"mysteries of the Torah," is a familiar notion that appears in the Talmud, in Maimonides, and in Kabbala. For another thing, "mysteries of the Law" are the heart of the divinely revealed Kabbala as it emerges from Pico's discussion in the "Quaestio Quinta," and that discussion begins with a recital of illustrious Hebrew names: Est ergo sciendum opinionem esse non solum rabi Eliazar, rabi Moysis de Aegypto, rabi Simeon Benlagis, rabi Ismael, et rabi Ioda« et rabi Nach/wan, et aliorum quamplurium ex sapientibus Hebraeorum, sed nostrorum etiam doctorum, ut infra ostendam, praeter legem quam Deus dedit Moysi in monte et quam ille quinque libris contentam scriptam reliquit, reuelatam quoque fuisse eidem Moysi ab ipso Deo ueram legis expositionem cum manifestatione omnium misteriorum et secretorum quae sub cortice et rudi facie uerborum legis continerentur. Denique duplicem accepisse legem Moysen in monte litteralem et spiritalem. illam scripsisse et ex praecepto Dei populo communicasse. de hac vero mandatum ei a Deo ne ipsam scriberet... Ex quo modo tradendi istam scientiam, per successivam scilicet receptionem unius ab altero, dicta est ipsa scientia scientia Cabalae, quod idem est quod scientia receptionis... Quod autem ita sit ut supra diximus, quod Deus Moysi praeter litteralem legem quam ipse scripsit dederit etiam et reuelauerit mysteria in lege contenta, habeo ex nostris quinque testes Esdram, Paulum, Origenem, Hilarium et Euangelium... Sed praeter has litteras tradita sunt eis eloquia Dei, de quibus merito gloriantur, quae nihil aliud sunt quam quod apud Hebraeos dicitur Cabala id est uerus legis sensus ab ore Dei acceptus, unde et apud Hebraeos quandoque uocatur Π3 "7Ϊ2 ΠΠΠ [torah be'alpeh] quod idem est quod lex de ore nata, quae propter illam successiuam receptionem deinde dicta fuit Cabala... Quod autem et ista secretior et uerior de mysteriis legis expositio omnibus passim non publicaretur ... testatur etiam Origenes ... l0 The model from which this image of Kabbala was ultimately drawn is evidently the idea that Oral Law was revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and then handed on in an unbroken succession from Moses to Joshua, and from Joshua to the Elders, and from the Elders to the Judges, and from the Judges to the Prophets, and from the Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. 11 At the same time, there is a remarkable difference between the

10 11

Opera,pp. 175-177. Mishna, 'Abot, i.l.

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Mysteries of the Law model and the copy, the difference being due not only, nor even primarily, to the adaptation of the copy to the statements in 4 Ezra, but to a different conception of the substance or contents of the twin revelation on Mount Sinai. The precise content of any revelation is admittedly a delicate matter, and the precise content of a twin revelation is doubly so. Nevertheless, all shades of opinion notwithstanding, Jewish Oral Law is first and foremost the interpretation of the Law whereby Jews live. As such it exists in broad daylight and is meant for everybody. To be sure, there are exceptions. Certain matters count as "mysteries of the Law," sitrey torah. They may not be discussed in public, and their transmission is hedged about with restrictions. The precise extent and relative importance of those "mysteries of the Law" is a matter of emphasis and orientation. One thing, however, is quite certain: none of the Jewish authorities whose names head Pico's discussion ever suggested that Oral Law and the explanation of the mysteries of the Law were coextensive or interchangeable. By contrast, in Pico's discussion of Kabbala the latter is conceived of as both the divinely revealed explanation of the mysteries of the Law, and the equivalent of Oral Law. At a stroke, Kabbala has become the sole embodiment, or at least the heart, of the divinely revealed tradition of the Jews, and Moses, the Master of the Prophets, is also, if I may say so, princeps cabalistarum. I do not myself think that this image of Kabbala is due solely to Pico's inability, understandable in the circumstances, to distinguish between qabbalah in the general sense of Kabbalism and as the true interpretation of Oral Law, nor to his equally understandable unwillingness to admit the Talmud into the scheme of true tradition. 12 What makes me think of an intervening Kabbalistic source between the Talmud and Maimonides, on the one hand, and Pico, on the other, is the unerringjudgment that singled out the "mysteries of the Law" as the heart of Kabbala. And if there is indeed such an intervening source, Abraham Abulafia, the principal exponent of prophetic Kabbala, is the obvious and only choice.

12

Apologia, Opera, p. 180: "Talmuticos allegari ab antiquis doctoribus nostris non est credendum, tum quia Clemens et multi alii qui Hebraeos allegant fuerint ante compositionem ipsius Talmut, quae fuit post Christi mortem plus quam per 150 annos, tum quia doctrina Talmutica est totaliter contra nos conficta ab ipsis Hebraeis iam contra Christianos pugnantibus."

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In Chapter 7 I briefly considered Abulafia's mystical commentary on the principal thirty-six secrets or mysteries that Maimonides is said to have revealed in his Guide of the Perplexed. That commentary is entitled Sitrey Torah (De Secretis Legis). In his long preface Abulafia states summarily diverse points of method which he promises to explain later (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 343v-r): quemadmodum probabimus inferius de eo quod reuelauit magnus doctor Rabi Moises filius Mainion in compositione sua sermonis honorabilis libri More Anebuchim idest dirigentis perplexos vel perturbatos. In quo intentio expositionis eius et Veritas esse eius fuit ad revelanda secreta eius intelligentibus tantum. Et in medio eorum continuit et manifestavit ac etiam revelavit secreta legis quemadmodum tenent sapientes nostri cabaliste. nec plus nec minus. Et propter hoc vocaui ego expositionem horum secretorum, que ipse revelavit in dicto libro et tradidit ea discipulis suis, librum secretorum legis ... Quod autem ipse doctor excitauit nos per omnes hos modos indicasse, scilicet uel per mesalim idest allegorias vel syrruph octioth idest combinationem literarum et omnes alios modos quos superius nominaui, lege librum suum more et librum madah idest de scientia et capitulum helech quod exposuit, et invenies ipsum usum fuisse modo probandi per omnes hos modos. Then, after a series of examples, Abulafia goes on (fols. 345r-346r): n Similiter dicam de magno doctore rabi Moise filio Nahaman Gerundinensi qui dixit in principio legis expositionis quam ipse commentatus est in hec verba: 14 habemus in manibus nostris traditum a sapientibus cabale ipsius veritatis quod tota lex est plena nominibus dei sancti et benedicti et angelorum ordinis sacri celestis, et ut dixit ipse idem in dictionibus brexith bara elohim [ ΰ τ ή κ K13 ΓΡ27ΧΊ3] quod ibi sint quatuor 15 nomina que sunt 3JV ΧΊ D,n'?S Barox iathab ra elohim, quorum expositio est in capite sedit et vidit deos. et hec est intencio verborum eius sed de illo dubitandum non est quia hanc sapientiam profitebatur. Itaque ex his duobus sapientibus, per omnes has res et similes per hos quoque modos et vias asconderunt omnia secreta legis sapientes nostri, considerare potes. precipue ilia que testantur super secreta mesihuth idest essencie vel entis in veritate. deinde revelare et tradere ea dignis et idoneis tantum. et ideo lex nostra dicitur sancta et lingua sancta quia in ea omnia predicta nomina in lingua hac

13 14 15

Throughout this passage italics indicate interpolations. The quotation is from Moses ben Nahman's preface to his Commentary on the Pentateuch. This ought to be an unnecessary and improper addition by Mithridates. Neither Moses ben Nahman nor Abulafia says that there are four names, and the obvious division is into three: DTtVs ΚΊ3Π1 It looks as if the words were not clearly divided in the Hebrew original used by Mithridates.

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oculta sunt et que faciunt comprehendere et esse in corde et animo intelligencium comprehensiones divinas, et precipue quod res sunt profunde et quanto magis profunde sunt tanto magis ocultande sunt a vulgari populo et ab ignaris qui perdunt dies suos in cultura corporis sui quod colunt cibo et potu et voluptatibus (malfecta16 malfecta) sine vita aliqua et amant res finitas et consumabiles et odio habent perpetuitatem eternam nec curant utrum scientie et mentes et opiniones eorum sint debiles vel fortes, et ideo pascendi sunt cum rebus grossis in quibus ad perpetuitatem et durationem temporis ocultande sunt subtiles. Et quia Moises magister noster erat in summa perfectione perfectus, et erat princeps et pater in lege, et princeps et pater in sapientia, et princeps et pater in prophetia induxit eum influentia superior, in qua coniunctus est, ad recipiendum legem a deo sancto et benedicto similiter per duos modos, quorum unus est modus sciendi legem secundum intellectum suum ad sensum literalem secundum misteria sua et precepta sua cum expositione recepta et tradita que est de ea composita et est quam dicimus Talmud secundum se totum et quicquid imitatur modos eius procedendi quod dici possunt speciei sue. Secundus vero modus est sciendi legem secundum intelligencias suas cum suis secretis et ocultamentis in misterio scilicet secretorum nominum divinorum contentorum in ea et in rationibus precepti sui quod ore ad os traditur quod vocantur secreta legis, et hoc quidem ut proficiantur in ea et per earn due species hominum que in pronuntiacione non differunt sed bene in orthographia scilicet per sin et samech. (hoc volo declarare ego Pico quia ipse non intelligeret. homines quidem docti hebraice dicuntur sechalim et scribuntur •,l7Dt£> per sin. homines vero ignari dicuntur sechalim et scribuntur per samech hoc modo D'^OO. In pronuntiatione non differunt sed bene in orthografia, modo intelligere potes.) Et his quidem datur secundum opinionem suam quantum sufficit eis secundum imaginationem eorum, velut eis cibus lactis infantulis, his vero aliis datur secundum opinionem eorum quantum sufficit eis secundum intellectum eorum, ut est potus vini ad senes. The idea that the true interpretation of the Law is descended from Mount Sinai can be picked up anywhere in Hebrew literature; and the idea that Kabbala is the interpretation of the mysteries of the Law can be found in a variety of Kabbalistic books. In Abulafia's De Secretis Legis (and in no other book which Pico is known to have read before he wrote his Apology) those two ideas are coupled in the same context with two other ideas of capital importance for the interpretation of Pico's theses, namely that the mysteries of the Law are concealed in divine names, and that one can unravel the mysteries through combinations of letters.

16

"Malfecta" is a frequent nickname in the translations of Mithridates for Innocent VIII, Giovanni Battista Cibo, who as cardinal of Molfetta was Mithridates' patron.

[129]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism It is not necessary at this stage to take up the question whether Pico himself resorted to combination of letters as a means of discovering the mysteries of the Law. For the time being it will suffice to point out that he was demonstrably familiar with the view that divine mysteries were encoded, as it were, by Moses in the characters of the written Law: "sub ipsis litterarum characteribus et figuris, quibus nunc legem descriptam habemus, dissimulasse Mosern divina mysteria." 17 Needless to say, the mysteries of the Law cannot be unraveled unless the form in which they are embraced in the text of the written Law is known. But the mysteries of the Law as understood by Abulafia and by Pico are neither incomprehensible nor inexpressible: they can be known, in fact they ought to be known, but they must not be divulged: "sciri enim debent, revelari autem non, praecipue in scriptis.'" 8 God himself revealed them to the wise and concealed them from the ignorant (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 448v): Ex his quidem et similibus illis scies quod secreta legis et oculta eius non sunt ocultanda nisi ab insipientibus et ignaris quia iam revelavit ea deus sanctus et benedictus antiquus dierum sapientibus et intelligentibus. Et si texit ea, non texit nisi ab illis qui non habent sapientiam nec intelligentiam nec scientiam.

As might be expected, mysteries of the Law mean different things to different people. Precisely for this reason it is a matter of the greatest importance that the principal source in which Pico encountered the idea that the mysteries of the Law are the heart of Kabbala is Abraham Abulafia's mystical commentary on Maimonides. Abulafia considered himself a spiritual disciple of Maimonides and a 17

Epistola ignoto amico, Opera, p. 385: "Et ut ad ea ueniam quae de Chaldaeorum Hebraeorumque literis desideras, percunctatus sum ego saepe et [in Opera] Mithridatem et multos Hebraeos de his quae apud Hieronymum in Galeato prologo leguntur, ubi ille scribit eosdem olim fuisse Samaritanorum et Hebraeorum characteres, Esdram autem post instaurationem templi sub Zorobabel alias adinuenisse literas, quae nunc sunt in usu, nescios se huius mutationis omnes praedicant, et (quod est maius) pro comperto habent iisdem quibus nunc utimur in Hebraica literatura apicibus usos et Mosern et Patriarchas antiquos omnes, cui sententiae, ut nunc mihi subuenit, fidem maximam facit scientia Cabalae, cuius scriptores, qui cum ipso Esdra in synodo fuerunt, sub ipsis literarum characteribus et figuris, quibus nunc legem descriptam habemus, dissimulasse Mosern diuina mysteria, et uolunt et probant: quod esse nullo modo posset si aliis Moses ab his quibus nunc utimur characteribus usus fuisset."

18

De Secretis Legis, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 447r.

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continuator of his mysticism. 19 Small wonder that he conceived of the "mysteries of the Law" after the philosophical manner of the Master: Secreta legis nota sunt ex parte tercia ex principio premisse que ponitur in tercia parte eius. Circa misterium secretorum legis dicendum est quod iam considerasti et vidisti illud quod dixit doctor in premissa ilia nobilissima... Et intendit in ea dirigere ilium quem dilexit. et intencio sua finalis fuit ad illud quod notificavit in verbis suis primis ex ea. et dixit nobis quod articulus seu principalis intencio eius in libro suo fuit ad declarandum illud quod possibile fuit declarari de sapientia naturati et de sapientia divina20 ad illos qui intelligunt intelligenter, et dixit quod hoc est de summa et continencia secretorum legis. Et dixit illud quod dicunt sapientes nostri cabale quod secreta revelanda non sunt, et intellexit per secreta illud quod intelligunt sapientes nostri quod sunt secreta legis et sapientiae cabale 21 ... Itaque in veritate cum speculatus fueris in speculatione cabale intelliges secreta ipsius Torae idest legis vel iudicii et in veritate comprehendes per illam non solum ex secretis legis tantum sed etiam ex rebus naturalibus et mathematicis et universaliter de omnibus scientiis divinis et humanis manifestis et ocultis.22

19 20

See above, Chapter 7. This distinction between sapientia naturalis (hokmat ha-teva', natural science) and sapientia divina (hokmat ha-'elohut, theology) is a restatement in different terms of the distinction between ma'ase beresit and ma'ase merkabah, as may be seen from the discussion at fol. 36 lv: "Due autem sapiencie ille sunt sapiencia naturalis que apud eos dicitur phisica et alia est sapiencia elahuth que apud eos dicitur metafisica, que continent totum esse entis in quantum ens. Que quidem due sapiencie sunt duo membra huius nostre divine sapiencie Cabale. quorum unum vocatur mahase brexith idest opus geneseos, aliud vero vocatur maase merchaba idest de opere currus. Differentia autem que est inter nos et eos est duplex una in modo procedendi quia nos procedimus per principia sapiencie nostre cabale alia vero est quod nos vocamus has sapiencias nominibus talibus quibus indicatur novitas rerum creatarum," etc. The sentences printed in italics are interpolations.

21

De Secretis Legis, fol. 447r. The continuation, (fols. 447r-v) is also noteworthy: "Et dixit in prima parte etiam in capitulo 34 profecto verba per descriptiones et allegorias more sapientum nostrorum et quomodo distare ab eo dicuntur. Et que est f[or]ma et materia qualitatum que attribuuntur deo et quomodo dicuntur non pertinere ad eum et similiter verba de creatione sua quam creavit et in qualitate regiminis sui in seculum et quomodo et qualiter est Providentia sua in alio a se et misterium voluntatis sue et comprehensionis eius et sciencie sue de omni et quocumque quod seit illud. et similiter misterium prophetie et quomodo et qualiter sunt gradus eius. et que sunt misteria nominum suorum indicantium de uno. Et si sunt nomina multa. omnia hec sunt misteria profunda nimis et quidem sunt secreta legis et secreta cabale." 22 De Secretis Legis, ibid., fol. 362v.

[131]

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with Jewish

Mysticism

Pico's thesis that Maimonides was a Kabbalist in philosophical guise argues that Pico was acquainted with Abulafia's mystical commentary on the Guide of the Perplexed.

This being so, it is not in the least surprising

that there is a remarkable affinity between the contents of the divinely revealed Kabbala, as understood by Pico, and the mysteries of the Law, as understood by Abulafia. Pico, it will be remembered, maintained that the divinely revealed Kabbala was handed on in unbroken succession from Moses to Ezra, by w h o m it was set down in writing in seventy books: Que de re qui mihi non credunt, audiant Esdram ipsum sic loquentem: Exactis quadraginta diebus, locutus est altissimus dicens. Priora quae scripsisti in palam pone, legant digni et indigni, nouissimos autem septuaginta libros conseruabis, ut tradas eos sapientibus de populo tuo, in his enim est uena intellectus, et sapientiae fons, et scientiae flumen, atque ita feci. Haec Esdras ad uerbum. Hi sunt libri scientiae cabalae, in quibus merito Esdras uenam intellectus, id est ineffabilem de supersubstantiali deitate theologiam, sapientiae fontem, id est de intellegibilibus angelicisque formis exactam metaphysicam, et scientiae flumen, id est de rebus naturalibus flrmissimam philosophiam esse clara in primis uoce pronunciauit... Hos ego libros, non mediocri impensa mihi cum comparassem, summa diligentia, indefessis laboribus cum perlegissem, uidi in illis (testis est Deus) religionem non tarn Mosaicam, quam Christianam, ibi trinitatis mysterium, ibi uerbi incarnatio, ibi Messiae diuinitas, ibi de peccato originali, de illius per Christum expiatione, de coelesti Hierusalem, de casu daemonum, de ordinibus angelorum, de purgatoriis, de inferorum poenis eadem legi quae apud Paulum et Dionysium,apud Hieronymum et Augustinum quotidie legimus.23 Pico's notion that the Jews were in possession of a divinely revealed mystical interpretation of the Law was unheard of in the Christian world at that time, and, to judge by the history of Christian Kabbala, its effect was overpowering when it first burst upon an unsuspecting public.

23

Apologia, Opera, pp. 123 and Oratio, ibid., pp. 329-330 (= pp. 158-160 ed. Garin). [132]

12 MYSTICISM AND M A G I C

Two conceptions of Kabbala, one mystical the other magical, emerged from the discussion of Pico's "Quaestio Quinta de Magia Naturali et Cabala Hebraeorum" in the previous chapter: Kabbala as the divinely revealed interpretation of the mysteries of the Law, and Kabbala as a science de virtutibus rerum superiorum, which is the supreme part of natural magic. To judge by Pico's "Quaestio Quinta," the Kabbalistic witness for Christianity and the Kabbalistic ally of natural magic are two different things held together by a common name. This presentation of the matter is quite in keeping with Pico's line of defense. It does not by any means follow that it is also in keeping with Pico's own theses. Pico began his Kabbalistic theses secundum opinionem propriam by drawing a distinction between speculative and practical Kabbala. He then defined each. In the fifteenth century, practical Kabbala commonly denoted Kabbala applied to the practice of magic. I propose therefore to consider Pico's divisions and definitions of Kabbala in order to find out whether they might shed some light on the relationship between mysticism and magic in the Kabbala that Pico made his own. Pico's Kabbalistic theses were written as mysteries, "ex antiquis Hebraeorum mysteriis eruta"; 1 and mysteries, by definition, are not meant to be plain: "nec mysteria quae non occulta." 2 This being so, our best guide, in fact our only guide, to the interpretation of Pico's Kabbalistic theses is his own vocabulary. Unfortunately, it does not happen to be the kind of vocabulary that can be looked up in dictionaries. Hence, in order to understand and explain Pico's theses it is sometimes necessary to trace the descent of his vocabulary through the Latin translations to the Hebrew originals. In his first Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam he says: 1 2

Pico, Oratio, p. 154 ed. Garin (=Opera, p. 328). Pico, in De Hominis Dignitate, Heptaplus, De Ente et Uno, ed. Ε. Garin, p. 172 (hereafter Heptaplus, ed. Garin) (= Opera, p. 2).

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Mysticism

Conclusio i: Quicquid dicant caeteri Cabalistae, ego prima diuisione scientiam Cabalae in scientiam Sephiroth et Semot, tanquam in practicam et speculatiuam distinguerem. 3 The Kabbalist authors whose works Pico read are not much given to classifying and defining Kabbala. Abraham Abulafia is almost the only exception. 4 Pico's bipartite division of Kabbala "in scientiam sephiroth et semot" is in fact descended, as Scholem noticed, 5 from Abulafia's remarkable letter to his disciple Yehuda Salmon, which appears anonymously in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 (fol. 120v) as Summa Brevis Cabalae Que

Intitulatur

Rabi Ieude. Fol. 122r: Dico igitur nunc quod hec sapientia cabale oculta quidem est a multitudine doctorum nostrorum qui exercentur in sapientia alia nostra que dicitur Talmud, et dividitur quidem in duas partes in universali, que sunt scientia nominis dei tetragramaton per modum decern numerationum que vocantur plante inter quas qui separat dicitur truncare plantas.® et hi sunt qui reuelant secretum unitatis. Secunda pars est scientia magni nominis per viam viginti duarum licterarum a quibus et ab earum punctis et ab earum accentibus composita sunt nomina et Caracteres seu sigilla que nomina invocata sunt que locuntur cum prophetis in somniis et per hurim et tumim et per spiritum sanctum et per prophetas.

3

4

5 6

Pico, Opera, p. 107-108. Scientia cabalae is the equivalent of hokmat haqabala, as can be seen from Pico's Apology, Opera, p. 176, where he explains the notion scientia cabalae as follows: "Ex quo modo tradendi istam scientiam per successiuam, scilicet receptionem, unius ab altero dicta est ipsa scientia, scientia cabalae, quod idem est quod scientia receptionis, quia idem significat Cabala apud Hebraeos, quod apud nos receptio." Scientia receptionis is a literal translation of hokmat ha-qabbalah. The Hebrew phrase is one of the many designations by which Jewish Kabbalists denote their mystical discipline. The other instance which I have noticed in Pico's known sources is in the Libellus de Secretis Legis Manifestandis, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 209v: "Sed cum in sapientia Cabale tria considerantur unum est de numerationibus, secundum vero de merchaba idest curru, tertium vero de nominibus dei et angelorum." Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," p. 164, n. 1. Cf. Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum, iv: "Peccatum Adae fuit truncatio regni a caeteris plantis," Opera, p. 81. [134]

Mysticism and Magic Fol. 124r: Ante me enim nullus homo Cabalista inventus est qui composuisset aliquid in misteriis Cabale nec libros clariores quam ego composui secundum utrasque species eius predictas tarn in ipsis numerationibus tam in ipsis nominibus. et omnes probationes et demonstrationes meae [meas MS] edificate sunt secundum secreta legis tam Scripte quam legis de ore nate. Verum intencio mea in hac epistola ... est quidem ad indicandum ei [Rabi Ieudae] et notificandum ei et cuicumque videnti earn quod ego iam recepi partem scientiae prioris numerationalis predicte ante quam recepissem partem secundam, non enim invenitur pars secunda nisi postquam inventa fuerit prima, quamvis sit inter utrasque communio maxima talis qualis est communio anime Vitalis cum rationali.

The two parts into which Kabbala is divided atfol. 122r, namely "scientia nominis dei tetragramaton per modum decern numerationum" and "scientia magni nominis per viam viginti duarum licterarum," are referred to at fol. 124r as "utrasque species eius [cabalae] predictas tam in ipsis numerationibus tam in ipsis nominibus." The superposition of the relatively late distinction between speculative and practical Kabbala 7 upon the bipartite division of Kabbala into the science of sefirot and the science of names produced Pico's first division of Kabbala "in scientiam sephiroth et semot tanquam in practicam et speculativam." The theurgic or magical use of divine names in Judaism is older than the earliest known instance of the ten sefirot. The doctrine of the ten sefirot, as it developed in the Kabbala of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (to which the majority of Pico's identifiable sources belong), is a mystical theology. Viewed against this background, Pico's first division of Kabbala "in scientiam sephiroth et semot tanquam in practicam et speculativam" is by and large correct. What remains to be seen is whether that division is in fact as neat as is sometimes assumed. 8 I shall consider this question later. At this stage I would only draw attention to a remarkable dictum which, in my opinion, is well worth bearing in mind. Few Kabbalists were as conscious as was Abulafia of the difference between the Kabbala of the

7

8

Scholem, "Kabbalah" in Encyclopedia Judaica (Jerusalem, 1971), X, 633 (hereafter EJ[1971]); reprinted in Kabbalah (Jerusalem 1974), p. 183 (hereafter Kabbalah). E. Anagnine, G. Pico della Mirandola (Bari, 1937), p. 110, observes with regard to Pico's first thesis: "Ora tale scienza comprende, sotto la medesima denominazione, due scienze diverse: la prima puramente speculativa, l'altra pratica ο teurgica, che dir si voglia, che non vanno confuse."

[135]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism sefirot and the Kabbala of divine names. Precisely for this reason it is noteworthy that he described the relationship between them as "communio maxima talis qualis est communio anime Vitalis cum rationali." I am not suggesting that Abulafia can solve our problems for us. What Pico thought about the relationship between speculative and practical Kabbala must be sought in Pico. The quotation from Abulafia is a mere reminder that, if we wish to find the correct answer, we ought to avoid begging the question by assuming a neat separation between sefirot and divine names in Giovanni Pico's Christian Kabbala. The bipartite division of Kabbala in the first thesis secundum opinionem proprium is followed by the quadripartite division of speculative Kabbala in the second: Conclusio ii: Quicquid dicant alii cabalistae, ego partem speculatiuam Cabalae quadruplicem diuiderem, conrespondentes quadruplici partitioni philosophiae quam ego solitus sum afferre. Prima est scientia quam ego uoco alphabetariae reuolutionis, conrespondentem parti philosophiae quam ego philosophiam catholicam uoco. Secunda, tertia, et quarta pars est triplex merchiaua, conrespondentes triplici philosophiae particulari de diuinis, de mediis et sensibilibus naturis.

This quadripartite division of speculative Kabbala is less complicated than it seems: the second, third, and fourth parts are joined together under a common name. Speculative Kabbala thus appears to comprise two components: alphabetaria revolutio and triplex merchiava. Merchiava (merkabah), considered as a mystical term or symbol, is "the Divine Chariot." The latter can denote different things. Hence, as regards the interpretation of the second thesis, our principal task will be to find out precisely what Pico meant by triplex merchiava. As for the other component of speculative Kabbala, Pico states in his Apology that what he meant by alphabetaria revolutio was ars combinandi, the art of combining letters. It is in fact the most prominent feature of Pico's second thesis that the Divine Chariot and the art of combining letters form in it one whole — speculative Kabbala. I shall begin the interpretation of this thesis by considering its most prominent feature. In the entire corpus of Kabbalistic translations used by Pico for his theses, there exists only one book in which merkabah and combination of letters are inseparably linked: Abraham Abulafia's De Secretis Legis. Unlike most other Kabbalists of note, Abulafia was not too shy to speak of [136]

Mysticism and Magic himself. In his autobiographical digressions, in the epistle I have quoted and elsewhere, he singled out two remarkable books as the ancestors of his own prophetic or ecstatic Kabbala: Moses ben Maimon's Guide of the Perplexed and the anonymous Sefer Yesirah, the Book of Creation. Abulafia's De Secretis Legis is a mystical interpretation of the Guide by means of the letter-combinatory method derived from the Book of Creation. Maimonides discussed ma'aseh merkabah, "the work of the chariot." To him it meant metaphysics. Abulafia, his mystical commentator, treated the same subject at great length in the second secret of the third part. The incipit of that secret is "Secretum operis currus dicitur maase merchaba." 9 One remarkable feature of his discussion is that "the work of the Chariot," the art of revolving or combining the letters of the Law, and the Book of Creation are linked by means of gematria, a method in which Abulafia excelled (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 422r): Et quidem continet etiam opus currus Revolutionem legis seu spheram legis a qua poteris intelligere secreta omnia sua. probatur quia numeri utriusque correspondent nam mahase merchabe ut dictum est continet numeros 682 [Γ03-Ι» ntpsa = 40.70.300.5.40.200.20.2.5.]. Et tot continet sphera seu revolutio legis que dicitur Galgal attora probatur quia r m n n VJVJ 3.30.3.30.5.400.6.200.5. collecti sunt 682. Confirmatur ex libro venerando sepher iesire, qui incipit Abraam pater noster primum verbum dicitur bixloxim, idest cum triginta DTP^W cuius numeri [2.300.30.300.10.40] representant maase merchaba, nec aliud intellexit per vocabulum bixloxim idest cum triginta nisi opus currus divini.

The expression revolutio legis is the result of the exigencies of isopsephy. It means combination of letters (fol. 438r): principium autem eius quod operaturus es in comprehensione superiori hac divina est quod scias revolvere legem secundum hanc formam in scriptis quam vides EHpn nvrnx hothioth acodex id est litere sancte. Incipe autem revolvere has decern literas et coniunge omnes eas primo simul secundum numerum combinativum naturalem, quod pertinet ad eas ...

It therefore makes sense to assume that Pico's alphabetaria revolutio in the sense of ars combinandi was modeled on Abulafia's revolutio legis by means of which all the mysteries of the Law can be understood ("continet ... opus currus revolutionem legis ... a qua poteris intelligere secreta omnia sua"). On this assumption, both the universal character of alphabetaria revolutio, which is brought out by the fact that it corresponds to the 9

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 420r.

[137]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism "catholic" part of philosophy, and its speculative character, which is brought out by reason of its being the first division of speculative Kabbala, become perfectly intelligible (fol. 362v): Itaque in veritate cum speculatus fueris in speculatione Cabale intelliges secreta ipsius Tore idest legis vel iudicii et in veritate comprehendes per illam non solum ex secretis legis tantum sed etiam ex rebus naturalibus et mathematicis et universaliter de omnibus scienciis divinis et humanis, manifestis et ocultis.

While Pico's direct acquaintance with Abulafia's ars combinandi sufficiently accounts for the speculative and universal character of alphabetaria revolutio as well as for its association with the Merkabah, I do not think that it also accounts for the notion of triplex merchiava. Abulafia, it is true, treated of three visions of Ezekiel and three stages of being. But his elaborate interpretation of the Merkabah omits the sefirot, without which in my opinion triplex merchiava cannot be satisfactorily interpreted ad mentem Pici. Pico's fiftieth Kabbalistic thesis states: "Cum dicunt cabalistae a septima et octaua petendos filios, ita dicas in merchiaua inferiori accipi," etc. Since Eternity and Majesty ("septima et octaua") are said by Pico to be "in merchiava inferiori", it follows (a) that merchiava, as understood by Pico, embraces sefirot, and (b) that the sefirot form more than one merchiava. Hence I conclude that triplex merchiava is a triadic configuration of sefirot. Pico's thirty-seventh thesis bears out my conclusion: Qui intellexerit in dextrali coordinatione subordinationem pietatis ad sapientiam, perfecte intelliget per uiam Cabalae quomodo Abraam in die suo per rectam lineam uidit diem Christi et gauisus est. 10

Seeing that Pietas (Hesed, the fourth sefirah) is subordinate to Sapientia (Hokmah, the second sefirah) "in dextrali coordinatione," and septima et octaua are "in merchiaua inferiori," it is inevitable that the configurations of the sefirot are arranged as follows: Corona Intelligentia Sapientia [Potentia] Iudicium Pietas [Magnitudo] Gloria Decor Eternitas Fundamentum Regnum 10

Pico, Opera, p. 111. A detailed interpretation of this thesis is found in Chapter 14.

[138]

Mysticism and Magic This is in fact the common pattern of the triadic configuration of the ten sefirot. It is, furthermore, noteworthy that many Kabbalists conceived of these three triads of sefirot as representing or embracing the three stages of being, namely Intellect, Soul, and Nature. 11 The locus classicus is Azriel's Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 168v: Questio nona est si adderet petens ad interrogandum Quod est nomen earum, quis ordo et quis locus earum? dicendum est quod nomen spiritualis virtutis vocatur sapientia quia est principium intellectionis in se. tercia vero vocatur intelligencia et hue usque extenditur quod vocatur seculum Intellectus.

The rest of the text is marred by omissions. But the crucial point is restated at fol. 170r: "et totum hoc quidem esse non potest sine numerationibus et ordine earum sensibiliter, naturaliter et intellectualiter [be-murgas, uvemutba', uve-muskal]." In her Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition,12 Frances Yates conjectured, taking her cue from Scholem, that triplexmerchiava "with its allusion to the three worlds... would presumably correspond to the Path of the Sephiroth." If my argument so far holds good, her conjecture is borne out both by Pico's theses and by his identifiable sources. What has emerged from the preceding discussion of Pico's second thesis is that speculative Kabbala, as understood by Pico, comprises two distinct things: the art of combining letters and the doctrine of the ten sefirot. Pico defines practical Kabbala in his third thesis: Conclusio iii: Scientia quae est pars practica Cabalae, practicat totam metaphysicam formalem et theologiam inferiorem.

According to Pico's own division of Kabbala "in scientiam sephiroth et semot tanquam in practicam et speculativam," the practical part of Kabbala is scientia semot, the science of (sacred or divine) names. This much is certain. Nor is it surprising that Pico related practical Kabbala to metaphysics and theology: the connection between theurgy and theology is almost as old as Neoplatonism itself, not excluding Christian Neoplatonism. 13 But we are left wondering what are metaphysica formalis and theologia inferior, which are said to be "practiced" by practical Kabbala. 11 12 13

Scholem, EJ (1971), X, 571 (= Kabbalah, p. 107). F. Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (London, 1964), p. 95. See E. R. Dodds, "Theurgy and Its Relationship to Neoplatonism," Journal

[139]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Pico's writings elsewhere afford valuable aids to the interpretation of this thesis. In his Oration and Apology, Pico interpreted 4 Ezra 14:47 to the effect that the divinely revealed Kabbala comprised three things: "ineffabilem de supersubstantiali deitate theologiam," "de intelligibilibus angelicisque formis exactam metaphysicam," and "de rebus naturalibus firmissimam philosophiam." 14 1 would suggest, as a working hypothesis at any rate, that theologia inferior was conceived of by Pico in contradistinction to ineffabilis de supersubstantiali deitate theologia, and that metaphysica formalis was meant to denote the same thing as de intelligibilibus angelicisque formis exacta metaphysical So far, so good. But intelligible and angelic forms are, in terms of Kabbala, the sefirot. Hence a problem: is it at all likely that the sefirot are involved in the practice of practical Kabbala as understood by Pico? All Kabbala was divided, in the first thesis, "in scientiam sephiroth et semot tanquam in practicam et speculativam." We have seen furthermore that triplex merchiava, in the second thesis, was the triadic configuration of the ten sefirot. Is it likely, in view of the first and second theses, that the sefirot might be involved in the practice of practical Kabbala as it is defined in the third? Before we attempt a solution, it will be useful to consider Pico's own alternative definitions of the specific function of what he calls opus cabalae. In his twenty-fifth magical thesis Pico states: Sicut caracteres sunt proprii operi magico, ita numeri sunt proprii operi cabalae, medio existente inter utrosque et appropriabili per declinationem ad extrema usu litterarum. 16

Two undisputed facts are essential for the interpretation of this thesis. First, all Hebrew letters are also numerals. Second, speech, creation, and the name of God are inseparably linked in Kabbalistic ontology. 17 Given

14 15 16 17

of Roman Studies, 37 (1947), 55 ff.; J. Vanneste, "La theologie mystique du pseudo-Denys l'Areopagite," Studia Patristica, V, part III (Berlin, 1962), 409-410; I. P. Sheldon-Williams, in The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy, pp. 458-459 and 463. Pico, Opera, pp. 123 and 330. See also Appendix 19. Opera, pp. 105-106. See G. Scholem, "Der Name Gottes und die Sprachtheorie der Kabbala," Eranos, 39 (1970), 243-297 (= G. Scholem, Judaica III; Studien zur jüdischen Mystik [Frankfort ο.Μ., 1973] pp. 7 - 7 0 [Hereafter cited as Judaica 3]).

[140]

Mysticism and Magic these two facts it should not be too difficult to see that Pico's notions that numbers are appropriate for the work of Kabbala and that letters mediate between Kabbala and magic are quite in keeping with his notion that practical Kabbala is the "science of names." Names, letters, and numbers square with each other, because in Jewish Kabbala they all belong to language mysticism, or to language and number mysticism. Apart from the twenty-fifth magical thesis, there exists another definition of the proper or specific function of Kabbala, in the twenty-first Orphic thesis of the de modo intelligendi hymnos Orphei secundum magiam: Opus praecedentium hymnorum nullum est sine opere Cabalae, cuius est proprium practicare omnem quantitatem formalem continuam et discretam. 18

The context of the Orphic theses and, in particular, the noun opus and the verb practicare leave no room for doubt that Pico has practical Kabbala in mind. Practical Kabbala, as we have seen again and again, is scientia semot, the science of names. Names can of course be quantified, that is, they can be expressed as numbers by way of gematria. Nevertheless, it does not seem to me likely that quantitasformalis continua et discreta was meant to be a quantified name, in other words a number. Numbers, to be sure, are quantities. But a number is quantitas discreta,19 whereas we need something which is quantitas formalis continua et discreta. I suggest that, in terms of Kabbala, this is middah used as a synonym of seflrah. Middah, as a rule, is proprietas both in the translations of Mithridates and in Pico's theses. But there are some noteworthy exceptions. One occurs in the Liber Redemptionis, Cod. Chigi, fol. 265r: Et primum [nomen] proprietas clemencie. proprietas iudicii. Et mida est mensura seu

quod est magis propinquum attribuitur ad illud Secundo vero quod est remotius attribuitur ei secretum huius vocabuli proprietatis quod dicitur quantitas.

Another is found in Recanati, De Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabale, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 283r: lam enim in hoc sola auctoritas est sapientum nostrorum qui vocant nomina sancta midoth id est proprietates vel mensuras. 18 19

Opera, p. 107. Simplicius, In Aristotelis Categorias Commentarium (Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, VIII, Berlin, 1907), p. 124, line 14: ό δέ αριθμός π ο σ ό ν διωρισμένον.

[141]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism We can now see two things that bear directly on the interpretation of Pico's conception of practical Kabbala. First, the paradox of quantitas formalis continua et discreta makes sense on the assumption that quantitas is middah used as a synonym of seflrah: the middot are ten distinct entities which form one whole and must not be separated from each other. 20 As such they partake both of continuity and of individual distinctness. 21 Second, there exists a close relationship between divine names and middot. This relationship, which recurs again and again in Pico's Kabbalistic sources, is treated ex professo at great length and in minute detail in the anonymous De Radicibus and De Proportione Divinitatis as well as in Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae. What matters most for our purpose is that it can be seen not only in the books Pico read but also in the theses he wrote. Consider the third and twenty-ninth Kabbalistic theses secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum: Quamuis nomen ineffabile sit proprietas clementiae, negandum tamen non est quin contineat proprietatem iudicii. Nomen dei quatuor litterarum, quod est ex mem, sade, pe, et sade, regno Dauidis debet appropriari.

The relationship or correspondence between the ten sefirot and divine names is to my mind the most probable link between the first and third Kabbalistic theses secundum opinionempropriam. In the first thesis scientia semot is the counterpart of practical Kabbala. In the third thesis we are told that the practical part of Kabbala "practicat totam metaphysicam formalem et theologiam inferiorem." It will be remembered that, according to Pico's interpretation of 4 Ezra, Kabbala comprises among other things "de intelligibilibus angelicisque formis exactam metaphysicam." 22 Given that in Pico's Kabbalistic sources the sefirot are sometimes called forms, 23 it makes sense to assume, even if it cannot be proved, that, viewed

20 21

22 23

In the symbolic language of Kabbala, truncareplantas denotes the separation of the sefirot or middot from each other; cf. above, note 6. Iamblichus apud Simplicius, In Aristotelis Categories Commentarium, p. 135, lines 10-21. Cf. German translation by S. Sambursky, "Phänomen und Theorie. Das physikalische Denken der Antike im Licht der modernen Physik," Eranos-Jahrbuch, 30 (1966), 335-337; see also p. 325 (reprinted in S. Sambursky, Naturkenntnis und Weltbild [Zurich, 1977], p. 37). See above, p. 140. Recanati, De Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabale, Cod. Vat. Ebr.

[142]

Mysticism and Magic from the standpoint of Kabbala, metaphysica formalis and de intelligibilibus angelicisqueformis metaphysica, embrace sefirot. Consequently, it also makes sense to assume that practicare totam metaphysicam formalem and practicare omnem quantitatemformalem continuam et discretam denote the same kind of Kabbalistic practice. If my interpretation of quantitas formalis continua et discreta is conceded, it follows that the ten sefirot are somehow involved in Pico's conception of practical Kabbala. I am aware that this conclusion is at variance with what for want of a better designation might be called the communis via cabbalistarum. It also is, or seems to be, at variance with the neat division of all Kabbala "in scientiam sephiroth et semoth tanquam in practicam et speculativam." Nevertheless, I do not think that my interpretations of quantitas formalis continua et discreta and of triplex merchiava are mutually exclusive. Moreover, I submit that, Pico's first division of Kabbala notwithstanding, they are quite in keeping with what Pico says in plain Latin about that Kabbalistic science which he considered to be the supreme part of natural magic. Pico, it will be remembered, argued in his Apology that, apart from what he calls "prima et vera cabala," two sciences were also honored with the name of Kabbala by the Jews themselves: In uniuersali autem duas scientias hoc etiam nomine honorificarunt. Vnam quae dicitur idest ars combinandi... Aliam quae est de uirtutibus rerum superiorum quae sunt supra lunam et est pars magiae naturalis suprema. 24

The second, unnamed science can be identified. In the forty-eighth Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam, Pico outlined the complete correspondence between the ten sefirot and the ten spheres. In an earlier part of the Apology, the Kabbalistic ally of natural magic is referred to

24

190, fol. 292r: "Misterium autem sacrificiorum cotidianorum vocatur Corban id est Sacrificium vel appropinquatio ex quo appropinquare facit formas sanctas unam scilicet in aliam, etiam voluntatem inferioris ad voluntatem superioris. et per sacrificium siue appropinquationem illam descendit et unitur in formis sanctis." The source is the Bahir (§78 ed. Scholem), Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 304v: "Quare vocatur Corban id est appropinquatio? quia appropinquare facit formas et virtutes sanctas ut scribitur [Ezek. 37:17] Carab id est appropinquabis eas unam ad aliam et sint tibi arbor una." Apologia, Opera, pp. 180-181, quoted in full above, Chapter 11, pp. 124-125.

[143]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism as the science "de virtutibus corporum coelestium." 25 Hence I conclude that the science "de virtutibus rerum superiorum quae sunt supra lunam" is the equivalent or counterpart of the doctrine of the ten sefirot. If this is conceded, it follows that Pico's unambiguous definitions in his "Quaestio Quinta" hold good both for combinational and for numerational Kabbala: Ilia enim ars combinandi est quam ego in conclusionibus meis voco alphabetariam reuolutionem. Et ista quae est de uirtutibus rerum superiorum, quae uno modo potest capi ut pars Magiae naturalis, alio modo ut res distincta ab ea, est ilia de qua loquor in praesenti conclusione dicens quod adiuvat nos in cognitione divinitatis Christi ad modum iam declaratum. 26

Pico states, as clearly as one can wish, that the other science, namely that which is "de virtutibus rerum superiorum," can be comprehended in two different ways: "in one way it can be understood as part of natural magic, in another way as something distinct from it." 27 If it is true, as I think it is, that what Pico meant by the science "de virtutibus rerum superiorum quae sunt supra lunam" was scientia sefirot, it follows that in Pico's opinion scientia sefirot can be conceived of both as the supreme part of natural magic and as something distinct from it. But — I can almost hear the objection — if this is in fact Pico's opinion, why did he state it in a roundabout way? He mentioned the original name of one science; why did he leave the other unnamed? The reason, I think, is that in his Apology Pico could not state his views clearly and candidly, even if he would. As far as I am aware, it is not always realized that the distinction which Pico drew in his "Quaestio Quinta", between Kabbala which is revealed theology and Kabbala which is a science invented by man, sensible though it sounds to the uninitiated, does not make sense from the point of view of Kabbala, Jewish or Christian alike. This is because true Kabbala which is a science invented by man is, on Pico's own showing, a contradiction in terms. Given Pico's situation and the purpose

25

26 27

Ibid., p. 168: "Cum ergo talia maxime cognoscat ilia pars Cabalae, quae est de virtutibus corporum coelestium, et ilia pars scientiae naturalis, quam ego nunc uoco Magiam naturalem." Apologia, Opera, p. 181. Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, p. 96, missed the true meaning of this sentence: her English paraphrase in the text is inconsistent with the Latin quotation in the footnote.

[144]

Mysticism and Magic of his "Quaestio Quinta" there is an obvious difference, from Pico's point of view, between the art of combining letters and the doctrine of the ten sefirot: the latter, quite unlike alphabetaria revolutio or ars combinandi, is clearly involved in Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity. Consider the following Kabbalistic theses secundum opinionem propriam. Conclusio xxi: Qui coniunxerit dictum Cabalistarum dicentium quod ilia numeratio [my italics], quae dicitur iustus et redemptor, dicitur etiam Ze, cum dicto Thalmutistarum dicentium quod Isaac ibat sicut Ze portans crucem suam, uidebit quod illud quod fuit in Isaac praefiguratum fuit adimpletum in Christo, qui fuit verus Deus venditus argento.

Conclusio lxii: Qui profunde considerauerit nouenarium beatitudinum numerum de quo apud Mattheum in Euangelio uidebit illas mirabiliter conuenire nouenario nouem numerationum [my italics], quae sunt infra primam, quae est inaccessibilis diuinitatis abyssus.

Pico argued that the Kabbala he was using for the confirmation of Christianity against the Jews was the divinely revealed "prima et vera cabala", whereas the Kabbala he had in mind when he stated that no science afforded greater certainty of Christ's divinity than magic and Kabbala was a science called Kabbala "by transumption." It is therefore only too obvious that he could not possibly identify the science "de virtutibus rerum superiorum quae sunt supra lunam" as scientia sefirot, or the like, because no sooner had Pico done so than his distinction between revealed and nonrevealed Kabbala, or between Kabbala "ex primaria et propria impositione" and Kabbala "by transumption" would have vanished into thin air. I have argued that middah, used as a synonym of sefirah, shows through Pico's quantitas formalis continua et discreta. It will be worth our while to cast a brief glance at sefirah itself. The ten sefirot made their first appearance in the anonymous and undated Book of Creation, 28 in a context that was destined to resonate throughout Kabbala in endless variations. This influential little treatise, which inspired metaphysical and mystical speculations as well as magical practices, begins with the statement that God created the world "with thirty-two wondrous paths of

28

Cf. Scholem, Ursprung und Anfänge, pp. 22 ff. (= Kabbalah, p. 23).

[145]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism wisdom." We are then given to understand that the thirty-two paths consist of ten numbers — sefirot — and twenty-two letters, namely the twenty-two consonants of the Hebrew alphabet. The new word sefirot had come to stay. But in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Kabbala, to which the majority of Pico's identifiable sources belong, it shed its original meaning. This is in fact the reason why seflrah is hardly ever translated in modern studies of classical Kabbala: there exists an unbridgeable gap between the meaning of the Hebrew word and the connotation of the Kabbalistic term. In classical Kabbala the sefirot are divine manifestations, potencies, emanations, attributes, and several other things, beside numbers. But the common Latin translation numeratio, which retains the original meaning of the Hebrew word, endows the sefirot of classical Kabbala with a meaning which is barely audible in the Hebrew originals of classical Kabbala. Viewed against this background, the gap between the numeri of operative Kabbala and the sefirot of speculative Kabbala begins to dwindle, and all the more so because middah, the synonym of sefirah, is both a property and a quantity at the same time. My fellow tribesmen the grammatici are not in the habit of underrating the influence of words. Nor am I. Nevertheless, I do not wish to create the impression that Pico's view of the "practical" application of the ten sefirot is due solely to the renderings numeratio for sefirah and quantitas for middah. There exists, in my opinion, a more cogent reason. Unless I misjudge the evidence, the fiftieth Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam affords a glimpse of the way sefirot are involved in practical Kabbala. The thesis is concerned with an eminently practical end — procreation. Sefirot are involved in it. Conclusio 1: Cum dicunt cabalistae a septima et octaua petendos filios, ita dicas in merchiaua inferiori accipi, ut ab una petatur ut det, ab altera ne prohibeat. Et quae det et quae prohibeat potest intelligere ex praecedentibus conclusionibus qui fuerit intelligens in astrologia et cabala. 29

"Septima et octaua" are of course the seventh and the eighth sefirot. Their usual names are Nesah (Aeternitas) and Hod (Decor), but sometimes, in fact fairly often, they are called North and South. Pico was evidently familiar with the latter pair of names: his own interpretation of the specific function of each of those two sefirot unmistakably alludes to Isaiah 43:6, 29

Opera, p. 112.

[146]

Mysticism

and Magic

"I will say to the north, Give up [Vulgate: da], and to the south, D o not withhold [noli prohibere]."

In his forty-eighth Kabbalistic thesis Pico

outlined the correspondence between the ten sefirot and the ten spheres, which explains the concluding part of this thesis. H o w does one petition the seventh and eighth sefirot for children? I can suggest only one way to find the answer: to look at the original context of the dictum Pico is quoting. What follows is a quotation from Gicatilla's Portae lustitiae

(Cod. Chigi, fol. 80r-v):

Et omnes qui veniunt oratum coram deo sancto et benedicto pro filiis petendis iuxta eternitatem et decorem debet intendere ille qui orat, ad protrahendam virtutem ad nomen Adonai cum aleph daleth nun iod 'ΠΚ a quo omnes Sabaoth id est milicie celi et terre protrahuntur secundum species suas. Et ab eis venit influencia omnibus ideis ad germinandum et nasci faciendum unamquamque speciem secundum misterium suum. et liber generationis hominis in hoc loco pendet seu liber nativitatis hominis hebraice sepher toldoth adam 01N nnVn TDD. Et propter hoc quando coniunguntur eternitas et decor iuxta fundamentum [ninth seflrah] et apud regnum [tenth seflrah] ex hoc latere tunc intendunt omnes qui veniunt ad petendum a deo sancto et benedicto filios.30 It is not by chance that the verb intendo occurs in this passage twice: meditative concentration in prayer is known in Kabbala by the name Kawwanah,

the literal meaning of which is intention. It was by means of

Kawwanah,

as Scholem observed, that Jewish mystics transformed the

traditional liturgy of the community into a symbol of the mystical way and the way of the cosmos itself... In the words of the liturgy, as in the old Aggadoth, the Kabbalists found a way to hidden worlds and the first causes of all existence. They developed a technique of meditation which enabled them to extract, as it were, the mystical prayer from the exoteric prayer of the community the text of which followed a fixed pattern. The fact that this form of prayer was conceived not as a free effusion of the soul but as a mystical act in the strict sense of the term, as an act, that is to say, which is directly linked with the inner cosmic process, invests this conception of Kawwanah with a solemnity which not only approaches but also passes the border of the magical. 3 ' The Hebrew word Kawwanah

does not appear in either set of

Kabbalistic theses. But, given the numerous points of contact between

30 31

See also Appendix 11. Scholem, MTJM, p. 33. [147]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Kabbala and Pico's magical interpretation of the Orphic Hymns, it is noteworthy that animi intentio, which is the exact equivalent of Kawwanah, appears in the second Orphic thesis.32 Moreover, Pico's Kabbalistic theses secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum argue his acquaintance with the mysticism of prayer: Conclusio xl: Quotienscunque ignoramus proprietatem [middah] a qua est influxus super petitione quam petimus, ad dominum naris recurrendum est.

Conclusio xlvii: Per dictionem AMEN ordo habetur expressus quomodo numerationum procedant influxus.

Kawwanah is known to be consistent with the obtainment of practical ends, such as offspring, health, and sustenance. 33 Nevertheless, as far as I am aware, Kawwanah was not rated as practical Kabbala by Jewish Kabbalists. But it is a fact not to be lost sight ofthat mysticism of language and mysticism of prayer are by no means incompatible, and the transition from the one to the other is easy. A remarkable example of the transition from Kawwanah to combination of letters is afforded by the anonymous Tractatus de Revolutione Ducentarum Triginta Unius Portarum Alphabeti, which is included in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 139v, between Abulafia's epistle to Yehuda Salmon and Azriel's Quaestiones: prayer, intention {Kawwanah), combination of letters, and the "operative" use of the Tetragrammaton follow each other in close succession:34 Dixit auctor quamuis intencio men est loqui de misterio huius orationis tantum non debeo praeterixe misterium magnum qunte hoc est. et ideo loquar modicum in misterio combinationis cum parvo nutu. primum est aleph et thau hec dicitur prima combinatio .. .35

32

33 34 35

"Nihil efficacius hymnis Orphei in naturali magia, si debita musica animi intentio et ceterae circumstantiae quas norunt sapientes fuerint adhibitae," Opera, p. 106. See the quotation from Gicatilla's Portae Iustitiae, above, page 31. See Appendix 11. The original Hebrew version is found in British Library, MS. Or. Add. 16407 fol. 73v (G. Margaliouth, Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan MSS in the British Museum [London, (1915) 1965], III, no. 743, cf. no. 751).

[148]

Mysticism and Magic The intrusion of magic into the mysticism of prayer can also be seen in the Latin translation of Recanati's mystical Commentary on the Prayers, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 286v-287r (italics indicate interpolations): Et propter hoc debes scire quod quamvis sapientes nostri dixerunt quod deus clementissimus cor tantum curat habere et illi intendit nihilominus debet homo educere res de potentia ad actum per verba benedictionum et orationum et doctrine legis. Vide quod dicunt sapientes nostri in libro sepher Azohar et nota illud bene quia est de articulis seiende Cabale et multum prodest in misteriis orationis dicunt enim quod quicquid homo cogitat et quicquid considerat corde suo nihil facit nisi produxerit illam cogitationem per verba labiorum suorum illud quidem verbum quod educit dividitur seu effunditur per aera et it ascendens et volat per orbem vel per mundum et fit ex eo vox. Illam itaque vocem capiunt domini habentes alas et adducunt coram rege et introducunt earn in auribus suis hoc est quod scribitur [Deut. 1:34] et audivit deus vocem verborum vestrorum et propter hoc omnis oratio et omnis petitio quam petit homo a conspectu dei sancti et benedicti debet verba educere et pronunciare cum labiis suis. Si enim non educit nec pronunciat labiis oratio eius non est oratio nec petitio eius petitio dicitur. postquam autem verba exeunt pronunciata dividuntur diffusa per aera et ascendunt et volant et fiunt vox et capitur ab his quibus est capienda et unitur corone sancte in capite loci regis, haec ibi. Intellige autem hunc sermonem bene usque ad flnem eius et intelliges causam multarum operationum que fiunt per verba non solum via huius sanctissime seiende per nomina sancta et purificata sed etiam per viam artis magice que contrariatur illi in qua sunt nomina inmundicie.

I have not studied the manuscripts of Recanati's Commentary on the Prayers and consequently have nothing to say about the authorship of the interpolations. But their authorship is not the present point. The point is that the second interpolation, appearing as it does in a commentary on the prayers, illustrates the transition from the mysticism of prayer to the theurgic use of divine names, and even to demonic magic. The intrusion of magic into the mysticism of prayer in Pico's Kabbalistic sources helps us to understand two facts that bear directly on the interpretation of the literary results of Pico's encounter with Kabbala. One fact is that the dividing line between the sefirot of speculative Kabbala and the semot (names) of practical Kabbala is by no means as rigid as Pico's first Kabbalistic thesis might suggest. Pico's own divisions of Kabbala notwithstanding, sefirot and divine names are inseparably linked both in the Kabbalistic books that Pico read and in the Kabbalistic theses that he wrote. Pico's own theses, as will be seen in Chapter 15, suffice to prove that both sefirot and divine names are involved in his Kabbalistic [149]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism confirmation of Christianity. My argument concerning the interrelation between sefirot and names in Pico's Christian Kabbala is therefore likely to hold good, even if my interpretation of quantitas formalis continua et discrete fails to carry conviction. The other thing that the intrusion of magic helps us to understand is that the Kabbalistic witness for Christianity and the Kabbalistic ally of natural magic are descended from the same books of speculative Kabbala; in fact they are for the most part the same Kabbala seen or approached from different points of view: the mystical and the magical. Mysticism and magic are by no means strangers to each other in Jewish Kabbala. Seen from the inside, the history of Kabbala, as Scholem pointed out long ago, was an undecided contest, at times friendly, at others hostile, between the mystic attitude and the magical attitude. 36 He also pointed out that the self-effacement of the mystic and the self-assertion of the magician sometimes dwell side by side in the same person. This holds good for some of the most influential Kabbalistic sources that Pico read. Most students of Pico will be surprised to hear that straightforward magic is barely represented in the extant manuscripts that Pico actually used for his Kabbalistic theses.37 Furthermore, as far as I can see, no Kabbalistic, Magical, or Orphic thesis requires for its interpretation the hypothesis of Pico's acquaintance with Hebrew manuals of magic. But in the classics of speculative Kabbala that he read Pico met with two varieties of contemplative mysticism, both of which shade into magic: mysticism of language and mysticism of prayer. The former, in the translations of Mithridates, is overlaid with numbers; the latter is drawn toward magic. Both left their mark on Pico's conception of practical Kabbala. Small wonder that his theses concerning practical Kabbala cannot be reduced to

36 37

Scholem, "Der Begriff der Kawwana in der alten Kabbala," Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums, 78 (1934), 508. A truncated treatise representing practical Kabbala in Pico's Kabbalistic manuscripts is to be found in Cod. Chigi, fol. 360: "Incipit liber misteriorum venerabilium. Nomina hec transtulit Rabi Iaacob filius Phataie ex textu antiquissimo qui erat in Horon. Et in principio uniuscuiusque capitum erant scripta hec nomina sacra et sigilla eorum cum utilitatibus operativis in pratica Cabale. et ex eis edidit librum hunc vocatum hinianim noraim seu ximuxe Tora id est usus legis in opere m i n 'ttnnw D'XTiJ DTJtf." The treatise stops at the end of fol. 360v, where Mithridates notes: "reliqua Abraam truncauit et non est ibi amplius. Finit quod inuentum est Mithridates." For magical elements in speculative Kabbala see Appendix 10.

[150]

Mysticism and Magic a single formula: the Kabbala that Pico encountered in his books cannot be reduced to a uniform doctrine or system either, because — as Scholem warned us all — "so etwas wie die Lehre der Kabbalisten gibt es nicht." 38 The variety in the Kabbala Pico read is reflected in the theses he wrote. The upshot of this long chapter is that the relationship between mysticism and magic in Kabbala, as it emerges from Pico's own theses, does not quite tally with his neat division of Kabbala in "scientiam sephiroth et semot tanquam in practicam et speculativam." Kabbala, being a mystical discipline, has never been plain sailing; to be baffled and confused by it is no reproach to anyone. At the same time, it seems to me that three considerations help us to understand the background of the inconsistencies and confusions that show in Pico's view of Kabbala. First, Pico's Kabbalistic theses were not written as a kind of ars cabalistica ordine geometrico demonstrata. It is a matter of some interest that none of his Kabbalistic theses from the fifth to the seventy-second presupposes the distinctions, divisions, and definitions of Kabbala given in the first four. Bearing in mind that the Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity (which is the declared purpose of Pico's Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam) does not begin until the fifth thesis, we ought to reckon with the possibility that the first four theses were added at a time when the other theses, or most of them, had already been written in a haphazard way. Second, the translations of Mithridates, owing to the intrusion of numbers into the symbolism of the sefirot and the intrusion of magic into the mysticism of prayer, invite confusion of the relationship between mysticism and magic in Kabbala. Third, Pico viewed Kabbala from an entirely new standpoint: he is the first Christian who considered Kabbala to be simultaneously a witness for Christianity and an ally of natural magic. If my derivation of Pico's conception of practical Kabbala is conceded, we have to face another problem. I have already pointed out that Kawwanah is compatible with the obtainment of practical ends. As for the ars combinandi, Abulafia states — in the Latin translation at any rate — that

38

G. Scholem, Zur Kabbala und ihrer Symbolik (Ziirich, 1960), p. 120 (= Eranos-Jahrbuch, 17 [1949], 291). Cf. On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism (New York, 1965), p. 89.

[151]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism he changed the course of nature at will.39 Nevertheless, obtaining practical ends or acting upon the external world is neither the appointed end nor the special function of Kawwanah and of Abulafia's ars combinandi: in their purest form both are contemplative disciplines which aspire to mystic union. Hence it is no paradox that what Pico considered to be practical Kabbala was in its purest form a contemplative activity. Unless I am mistaken, operari in cabala, notwithstanding the magical connotation of operari, emerges from Pico's theses as a contemplative activity. What makes me think so is principally Pico's view of mors osculi.

39

Summa Brevis Cabale Que Intitulatur Rabi Ieude, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 125r: "et postquam solui nodos sigillorum et characterum apparuit mihi dominus omnium et reuelauit mihi secreta eius et notificauit mihi tempus finis huius captiuitatis in qua sumus et tempus inicij redemptionis ad Israel de redemptione sanguinis et perueni ad hoc ut inuocatis nominibus et sigillis solutis mutaui ea que naturalia sunt ad voluntatem meam." I have not yet found a counterpart to the italicized sentence in any of the Hebrew manuscripts I have seen.

[152]

13 M O R S OSCULI

The Death of the Kiss (mors osculi) is the most poetic, perhaps the only truly poetic, motif that the Italian Renaissance borrowed from Talmudic legend. The principal mediator was Pico's Commento sopra una canzona d'amore di Girolamo Benivieni, which is Pico's outstanding contribution to the Renaissance philosophy of love as well as the only surviving example of his poetic theology. 1 The passage immediately pertinent to the present purpose is the interpretation of Benivieni's verse in Stanza 4, "Arde morendo el cor, ardendo cresce." In his interpretation Pico dwells on the difference between two kinds of death: separation of the soul from the body, and separation of the body from the soul. Puö dunque per la prima morte, che e separazione solo dell'anima dal corpo, e non per l'opposito, vedere lo amante l'amata Venere celeste e a faccia a faccia con lei, ragionando della divina immagine sua, e' suoi purificati occhi felicemente pascere; ma chi piü intrinsecamente ancora la vuole possedere e, non contento del vederla e udirla, essere degnato de' suoi intimi amplessi e anelanti baci, bisogna che per la seconda morte dal corpo per totale separazione si separi, e allora non solo vede e ode la celeste Venere, ma con nodo indissolubile a lei s'abbraccia, e con baci l'uno in l'altro la propria anima trasfundendo, non tanto cambiano quelle, quanto che si perfettamente insieme si uniscono, che ciascheduna di loro dua anime e ambedue una sola anima chiamare si possono. Ε nota che la piü perfetta e intima unione che possa l'amante avere della celeste amata si denota per la unione di bacio, perche ogni altro congresso ο copula piü in lä usata nello amore corporale non e licito per alcuno modo per traslazione alcuna usare in questo santo e sacratissimo amore; e perche e' sapienti cabalisti vogliono molti degli antiqui padri in tale ratto d' intelletto essere morti, troverai appresso di loro essere morti di binsica, che in lingua nostra significa morte di bacio, il che dicono di Abraam, Isaac, Iacob, Moyse, Aaron, Maria, e di qualcuno altro.. Ε chi el predetto nostro fondamento non intende, mai la loro intenzione perfettamente intende; ne piü ne' loro libri leggerai se non che binsica, cioe morte di bacio, e quando l'anima nel ratto intellettuale tanto alle cose separate si unisce, che dal corpo elevata in tutto 1

See Wind, Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance, p. 155.

[153]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

l'abbandona; ma perche a simil morte tale notne convenga non e stato da altri, per quanto ho letto, insino ad ora esposto. Questo e quello che il divino nostro Salomone nella sua Cantica desiderando esclama: "Baciami co' baci della bocca tua." Monstra nel primo verso Salomone la intenzione totale del libro e l'ultimo fine del suo amore; questo Platone significa ne' baci del suo Agatone e non quel che molti, riguardando in se stessi Platone, credono di lui; ne piu oltre che al bacio vedrai mai andare ne Salomone ne Platone ne chiunque d'amore parlando del celeste ha ragionato. 2

The passage I have just quoted might warm the heart of a Platonist who believed that the Song of Solomon was divinely inspired. F o r if it is assumed that the Death of the Kiss is the separation of the soul f r o m the body in a state of intellectual rapture, and that this is what Solomon states in the verse " L e t him kiss me with the kisses of his m o u t h , " and, furthermore, that the whole intention of the Song of Solomon is presented in this very verse, then the cumulative effect of those assumptions is that the divine Solomon and the divine Plato see eye to eye. Needless to say, the D e a t h of the Kiss or, to be more precise, the allegorical interpretation of the Death of the Kiss is the link between Plato's Symposium and the Song of Solomon. Since the allegorical interpretation of the D e a t h of the Kiss as the adherence of the h u m a n soul to G o d was attributed by Pico to the Kabbalists, I had better say at once that the Kabbalists did in fact embrace this interpretation, but they were not its originators. It began with M a i m o nides, and right f r o m the beginning it was connected with the allegorical interpretation of the Song of Solomon. Maimonides m a r k s a turning point in the allegorical interpretation of the Song of Solomon. 3 The Sages of the Tannaitic and Talmudic periods as well as the medieval c o m m e n t a t o r s Rashi and Ibn-Ezra conceived of the Song of Solomon as primarily an allegory of G o d ' s love f o r Israel and Israel's love f o r G o d , the T o r a h being the surest token of the former, and m a r t y r d o m the supreme expression of the latter. Since Maimonides, a different conception of the allegory is noticeable, the main difference being a change of orientation and shift of emphasis f r o m the community, as embodied in the synagogue, to the individual soul. You know the difference between the terms one who loves [oheb] and one

who loves passionately \hosheq\\ an excess of love [mahabbah], so that no 2 3

Pico, Commento, book III, chap, viii, Stanza 4, pp. 557-558 ed. Garin. The subject has been admirably treated by G. Vajda, L'amour de Dieu dans la theologie juive du Moyen Age, Etudes de Philosophie Medievale, XLVI (Paris, 1957), pp. 44 ff. and 126 ff.

[154]

Mors

Osculi

thought remains that is directed toward a thing other than the Beloved, is passionate love ['ishq]. The philosophers have already explained that the bodily faculties impede in youth the attainment of most of the moral virtues, and all the more that of pure thought, which is achieved through the perfection of the intelligibles that lead to passionate love of Him, may He be exalted ... The result is that when a perfect man is stricken with years and approaches death, this apprehension increases very powerfully, joy over this apprehension and a great love for the object of apprehension become stronger, until the soul is separated from the body at that moment in this state of pleasure. Because of this the Sages have indicated with reference to the deaths of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam that the three of them died by a kiss ... Their purpose was to indicate that the three of them died in the pleasure of this apprehension due to the intensity of passionate love. In this dictum the Sages, may their memory be blessed, followed the generally accepted poetical way of expression that calls the apprehension that is achieved in a state of intense and passionate love for Him, may He be exalted, a kiss, in accordance with its dictum: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth," and so on. 4 There is a basic affinity between Pico's and Maimonides' views of the Death of the Kiss. At the same time, there are enough significant differences between them to rule out the possibility that Maimonides was Pico's direct source. Pico, it is true, was demonstrably familiar with the Guide of the Perplexed.5 But I can see no conceivable reason to doubt or disbelieve Pico's statement that, as regards the Death of the Kiss, he is reporting the views of Kabbalists. Moreover, Pico's forty-fourth thesis secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum affords the clue for the precise identification of his Kabbalistic source. That thesis, as we have seen in Chapter 3, derives verbatim from Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch. The passage in Recanati from which Pico's thesis derives is well worth looking into: it is a remarkable discussion of the Death of the Kiss. "And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people" [Gen. 49:33]... This verse signifies that the death of our Patriarch Jacob ... was with a kiss, as our Sages, may their memory be blessed, said about the famous six righteous ones over whom the angel of death had no power, namely Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ... And consider the great mystery that I shall disclose to you in the dictum of 4 5

Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed, ed., trans., and ann. S. Pines (Chicago, 1963), part III, chap. 51, pp. 627-628. The philosophical part of the Conclusiones includes a set of three theses secundum Moysem Aegyptium. [155]

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our Sages "the Patriarchs died with a Kiss." For when the "pious and practical" [Httwa 'tt^SI D'TOrt] were in solitude engaged in high mysteries, the imaginative faculty of their thought made things appear as if they were engraved before them. And when they united their soul with the superior soul, things were increasing, and drawing blessedness, and appearing of themselves from where thought gives out, as if a man opened the locks of a pool and the water ran hither and thither... 6 And our Sages said in the chapter 'Eyn Dorsyn7 that "Ben Azzay was seated expounding [the Law] and fire was burning around him. Rabbi Akiba came to him and said: Ben Azzay, why is today unlike other days? ... Ben Azzay replied: I sit and study, and the things come down and rejoice before me." The reason is that when his soul adhered to the superior soul the tremendous things were engraved in his heart and he imagined them as if a man put words into his mouth, because through the adherence of his thought to the emanation that he was drawing to himself the things were increasing and multiplying and were revealing themselves to him with rejoicing ... The influx of prophecy was in like manner, when the prophet in solitude was directing his thought upward, and according to [the degree of] his adherence the prophet foresaw and knew the future, and this is [Deut. 13:5] "Ye shall... cleave unto him." And the prophets differed from each other in the degree of their adherence ... And know that just as the fruit when it is ripe falls off the tree, not being any longer in need of conjunction with it, so is the conjunction of the soul with the body: for when the soul has comprehended what it is capable of comprehending and adheres to the superior soul, it will divest itself of its terrestrial garment, withdraw from its place, and adhere to the Sekinah. And this is the death of the Kiss. Sefer ha-Zohar. ..."The companions had not yet departed from that assembly when Rabbi Yose ... and Rabbi Hizkiyah, and Rabbi Yisa died, and the companions saw that they were borne by holy angels to the canopy" ... So you can see clearly that owing to the intensity of the adherence of their souls to the superior soul they died the death of the Kiss. Sefer ha-Zohar. "While they were inebriated with those things the souls departed with a kiss, attached themselves to the canopy, and were carried by the angels on high." 8

The text of Recanati accounts for Pico's statement that in the opinion of the Kabbalists Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and some others died the Death of the Kiss. It also accounts for Pico's opinion that

6 7

8

Recanati is here quoting Azriel of Gerona; cf. Scholem, Ursprung und Anfänge, pp. 268-269. 'Eyn Dorsyn is the second chapter of the tractate Hagiga in the Talmud. Recanati's reference is imprecise. His direct source is probably Azriel's Commentary on the Aggadot (Perus ha-Aggadot), ed. Isaia Tishbi (Jerusalem, 1945), p. 40. Recanati, Commentary on the Pentateuch (Venice, 1545), fols. 77va-78vb.

[156]

Mors Osculi the Kabbalists consider the Death of the Kiss to be a state of intellectual ecstasy when the soul is so inebriated with the separate beings that it abandons the body altogether. But it does not, and cannot, account for Pico's statement concerning the Song of Solomon, because the latter is not mentioned in the text of Recanati. As a matter of fact, Pico states two things about the Song of Solomon. One is that the Death of the Kiss is alluded to in the verse "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." The other is that in the first verse Solomon stated the whole intention of his song and the ultimate end of his love. The first is to be found in all sorts of books, beginning with the Guide of the Perplexed. The other I have not yet seen in any of the Kabbalistic books that Pico can be shown to have read in 1486. This is not at all surprising, because the second statement is the opinion of the Maimunist commentators of the Song of Solomon. Pico certainly read one of them, Levi ben Gershom: Cardinal Mercati noticed long ago that the extant manuscript of the Latin translation of Levi ben Gershom's commentary on Canticles is annotated throughout in Pico's own hand. 9 Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides) explains in his preface that the perfection of man consists in the adherence of the human intellect to the Active Intellect. Then, in the commentary on the verse "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth," he states that the way to this perfection is so long and difficult that its attainment is regarded as impossible. It is for this reason that Solomon stated from the outset that its attainment is possible, and the possibility of its attainment is the subject of the Song. What Gersonides states in a somewhat roundabout way in medieval Hebrew reads in the literal Latin translation of Flavius Mithridates as follows: Propterea quod in perventione ad hanc felicitatem est aliquid distantiae, ita ut putetur multas esse causas prohibentes ad illam pervenire, praemittit hie sapiens probare possibilitatem perventionis ad earn ut sit intentum huius libri, id est quomodo posset esse quod perveniatur ad hanc perfectionem. 10

I think that this passage resounds in Pico's statement that "monstra nel primo verso Salomone la intenzione totale del libro." Before I take leave of Gersonides I had better forestall a possible objection. I have said that Recanati accounted for Pico's view that the 9 10

Mercati, Codici Latini Pico Grimani Pio, pp. 22-23. "Leui Gersomide Commentariorum in cantica canticorum Salomonis per Fl. Mythridatem ad Picum traductio," Cod. Vat. Lat. 4273, fol. 16v. [157]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Kabbalists say that the Patriarchs, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam died with a kiss, whereas Recanati, in the Hebrew original, states as clearly as one can wish that this is the view of the Sages. I do not presume to know what the lost Latin translation of this passage actually looked like. Yet the Talmudic dictum that Moses, Aaron, and Miriam died with a kiss is also quoted in Rabbi Levi ben Gershom's Commentary on Canticles. As a rule, Gersonides' Latin translation is literal and accurate. But there are some exceptions. The interpretation of the verse "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" is a case in point: "De osculis oris sui," scilicet quod coniungeretur cum eo secundum posse, osculum enim significat coniunctionem et applicationem, et hoc est dictum cabalistarum de Moyse Aarone et Maria quod mortui sunt per osculum id est quod quando mortui sunt coniuncti erant cum ipso deo."

"Cabalistarum" is an interpolation of the kind which can be seen elsewhere in the translations of Mithridates. It is possible that the lost Latin translation of Recanati was interpolated in like manner. But, given the translation of Gersonides' Commentary on Canticles, it is not even necessary to assume an interpolation in Recanati's discussion of the Death of the Kiss in order to see that the translations Pico read account for his notion that the Death of the Kiss as a representation of the soul's final adherence to God was a Kabbalist allegory. The main outline of Maimonides' theory of prophecy — the union of the human intellect with the Active Intellect — is still recognizable in Recanati's allegorical interpretation of the mystery called the Death of the Kiss. Small wonder that the latter squares so well with the Neoplatonic philosophy of love, except that Recanati does not draw the traditional distinction between the two deaths. This distinction, unknown, as far as I am aware, in Pico's Kabbalistic sources, appears in his eleventh Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam. Modus quo rationales animae per archangelum deo sacrificantur, qui a Cabalistis non exprimitur, non est nisi per separationem animae a corpore, non corporis ab anima, nisi per accidens, ut contigit in morte osculi de quo scribitur [Ps. 116:15] Praeciosa in conspectu domini mors sanctorum eius.

The aggadah of the sacrificial offering of rational souls to God by the archangel Michael, which was the theme of the first thesis secundum

11

Ibid., fol. 19r.

[158]

Mors Osculi secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum, is here interpreted in the light of the Platonic distinction between the two deaths, or the two stages of the soul's ecstatic communion with God. Ordinarily, the sacrifice of rational souls is the separation of the soul from the body, in other words ecstatic rapture and not death, the latter being the separation of the body from the soul. But ecstatic rapture can result in death, as in fact happens in the Death of the Kiss. Pico's interpretation of the sacrificial offering of the soul to God as the ecstatic separation of the soul from the body affords a glimpse of an identifiable variation of the mystic way: mysticism of prayer. Recanati, in his Commentary on the Pentateuch, pointed out the possibility that the sacrifice of the souls of the righteous by the archangel Michael was alluded to in Leviticus 1:2: "if a man will sacrifice of you." He also made it quite clear that sacrifice is prayer, and that the mystic's sacrifice is an act of self-immolation through which his soul draws near to God. 12 The next two theses consider the conditions of operariper Cabalam and the results of operari in Cabala. It is in connection with the latter that the Death of the Kiss appears again, and for the last time, in Pico's thirteenth thesis secundum opinionem propriam: Conclusio xiii: Qui operatur in Cabala sine admixtione extranei, si diu erit in opere, morietur ex binsica; et si errabit in opere aut non purificatus accesserit deuorabitur ab Azazele 13 per proprietatem iudicii.

Mori ex binsica sounds awkward but presents no problem : it means to die the Death of the Kiss. I wish the meaning of operari in cabala sine admixtione extranei were half as certain. Given that the Death of the Kiss is, on Pico's own showing, the second death (that is, the separation of the body from the soul), it follows that operari in cabala sine admixtione extranei brings about that state of intellectual rapture (namely the first death, or the separation of the soul from the body) which according to Pico's definition of binsica precedes the Death of the Kiss. 12 13

Recanati, fols. 127ra and 129vb-130ra. For a translation of the texts, see Appendix 12. Azazel is Samael, that is, Satan; cf. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 332r: "Et ex hoc poteris intelligere secretum Azazelis de quo recepi quod est Samael. Sic quoque legitur in amphorismis magni Rabi Heliezer. Et vocatur sic propter perpendiculum quod habet super se a proprietate iudicii difficilis." For Samael see Scholem, EJ, 14 [1971], 719-722 (= Kabbalah, p. 385).

[159]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism What kind of Kabbalistic operation creates the state of intellectual rapture which is the initial stage of the soul's union with God? Three undisputed facts suggest the answer to this question. First, the twelfth thesis states: "non potest operari per puram Cabalam qui non est rationaliter intellectualis." Second, the Death of the Kiss, both in Pico's sources and in his Commento, is the crowning achievement of a contemplative life. Third, Pico was acquainted with two variations of contemplative Kabbala, both of which aspire to mystic union, both of which shade into what Scholem called the magic of inwardness, both of which are consistent with the notion of operari: Kawwanah is one, Abulafia's ars combinandi the other. 14 Hence, although the precise modus operandi of pure Kabbala eludes identification, it is, I think, true to say that Pico conceived of operari in cabala sine admixtione extranet as a contemplative activity, inasmuch as in the long run it brings about the highest reward of a contemplative life — the Death of the Kiss, that is, the indissoluble union of the soul with God.

14

Scholem, MTJM, p. 142. For Kawwanah see above pp. 147-148 and Appendix 11; for Abulafia's ars combinandi see Chapters 12 and 15 and Appendix 22.

[160]

14 T H E O L D AND THE NEW IN PICO'S KABBALISTIC CONFIRMATION O F CHRISTIANITY

The confirmation of Christianity, which is the declared purpose of Pico's Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam, is not touched upon until the fifth thesis.1 Not every thesis from the fifth to the seventysecond is immediately pertinent to that purpose; in fact, only about half of them are. It is nevertheless true that the confirmation of Christianity is the heart of Pico's Christian Kabbala, even if it is not the sole part for which Kabbala was cast in Pico's nine hundred theses. I propose therefore to consider how Pico handled the confirmation of Christianity from the foundations of Jewish Kabbala. It is not my intention to consider each single thesis separately: many of them are too vague for precise interpretation. There are, however, enough significant theses which are sufficiently precise to make us realize what they involve, although the uncertainty remains as to how Pico himself would have argued them. I can well imagine, for instance, an interminable debate concerning the question how Pico might, could, or would have argued a thesis like the seventh: Conclusio vii: Nullus Hebraeus Cabalista potest negare quod nomen Iesu, si eum 2 secundum modum et principia cabalae interpretemur, hoc totum precise et nihil aliud signiflcat, id est deum dei filium patrisque sapientiam per tertiam

1

2

The heading of the second set of Pico's Kabbalistic theses reads: "Conclusiones Cabalisticae numero LXXI, secundum opinionem propriam, ex ipsis Hebraeorum sapientum fundamentis Christianam religionem maxime confirmantes." The fifth thesis states: "Quilibet Hebraeus Cabalista secundum principia et dicta scientiae Cabalae cogitur ineuitabiliter concedere de trinitate, et qualibet persona diuina, patre, filio, et spiritu sancto, illud praecise sine additione, diminutione, aut uariatione, quod ponit fides catholica christianorum." N.B.: eum, not id. See also Appendix 7.

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diuinitatis personam quae est ardentissimus amoris ignis naturae humanae in unitate suppositi unitum. It is not, however, necessary to reach agreement on the point at issue in order to see that what this thesis involves is quite different from what is involved, for instance, in the twentieth: Conclusio xx: Si interpretationem suam aduerterint Cabalistae super hac dictione < T X > ['az], quae significat tunc, de trinitatis mysterio multum illuminabuntur. 3 The essence of the difference is this: the latter thesis involves a Trinitarian interpretation of an existing Kabbalistic symbol; the former, a Kabbalistic interpretation of the second person of the Trinity. Two patterns of Christian Kabbala can in fact be discerned in Pico's theses: Christianizing interpretation of existing texts and Christianizing application of recognizable doctrines, symbols, and methods. What follow are significant examples. My first example consists of four successive theses, all of a similar stamp. Conclusio xxi: Qui coniunxerit dictum Cabalistarum dicentium quod ilia numeratio, quae dicitur iustus et redemptor, dicitur etiam Ze, cum dicto Thalmutistarum dicentium quod Isaac ibat sicut Ze portans crucem suam, uidebit quod illud quod fuit in Isaac praefiguratum fuit adimpletum in Christo, qui fuit uerus Deus uenditus argento. Conclusio xxii: Per dicta Cabalistarum de rubedine Esau, et dictum illud quod est in libro Bresit Rhaba quod Esau fuit rubeus et rubeus eum ulciscetur de quo dicitur Quare rubeum uestimentum tuum, habetur expresse quod Christus de quo nostri Doctores eundem textum exponunt ille erit qui ultionem faciet de uirtutibus immundis. 4 Conclusio xxiii: Per illud dictum Hieremiae5 Lacerauit uerbum suum, secundum expositio-

3 4 5

For detailed discussion of the sources, see the beginning of Chapter 9. The direct source is in all likelihood Recanati, fol. 58. The Midras Beresit Rabba (p. 696 ed. Theodor-Albeck) is quoted in Recanati. The verse Pico has in mind can only be Lam. 2:17. Pico combined two interpretations: (a) imDK VS3, "God rent his purple," Midras Wayyikra Rabba on Lev. 6:5 (p. 140 ed. Margaliot) and Midras Rabba on Lam. 2:21 (p. 120, ed. Buber). and also the Zohar, part I, fol. 61v; (b) m a x as a symbol of the tenth sefirah.

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Kabbalistic

Confirmation

of

Christianity

nem Cabalistarum 6 habemus intelligere quod Deum sanctum et benedictum lacerauit Deus pro peccatoribus. Conclusio xxiv: Per responsionem Cabalistarum ad quaestionem quare in libro Numerorum coniuncta est particula mortis Mariae particulae uitulae ruffae, et per expositionem eorum super eo passu ubi Moyses in peccato uituli dixit [Exod. 32:32] Dele me, et per dicta in libro Zoar super eotextu [Isa. 53:5] Et eius liuore sanati sumus, redarguuntur ineuitabiliter Hebraei dicentes non fuisse conueniens ut mors Christi satisfaceret pro peccato humani generis.7 The details vary from thesis to thesis but the pattern of the four theses is substantially the same; they all start, explicitly or tacitly, from existing interpretations which are then infused with a new meaning. This pattern is familiar. Almost exactly two hundred years before the publication of Pico's theses, Raymundus Martini's Pugio Fidei set an example of a Christianizing interpretation of rabbinic texts, notably the Midrash and the Talmud (but not Kabbala). The influence of this voluminous work can be traced far and wide. The common pattern of Pico's four theses will be easily recognized by anyone acquainted with the Pugio Fidei. Compare the first of these four theses with the following passage, which I quote verbatim, omitting only the Hebrew texts, from the Pugio Fidei (1687), p. 851. In Bereschit minori taliter scriptum est super illud Gen. 22 v. 6 Et accepit Abraham ligna holocausti et posuit super Isaac filium suum: jsiütt? Π TD 1ΒΓ03 laibx sicut isle qui fert crucem suam humeris suis. Simile huic habetur in libro Beracot Jerosolymitano in distinctione Maimatai Korin Et fuit cum absolvisset Salomo precari precationem, et supplicationem istam, surrexit de conspectu altaris Domini procumbens super genua sua, et manus ejus erant expanse ad coelum. Nam sicut iste crucifixus, vel in cruce expansus erat stans. Istis duobus apte subjungitur quod in libro Menachot, distinct. Col Menachot taliter scribitur Deus sanctus benedictus vocatus est m [ze] iste,

6

7

The notion that mDN (verbum) denotes the tenth seflrah is a Kabbalistic commonplace. For example, Liber de Radicibus seu Terminis Cabalae, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 227r: "ΠΤΒΧ amira, ubicumque dicitur dictio, prout in textu ΊΟΚ'Ι vaiomer idest et dixit dominus, et alibi cho IDS amar adonai idest sic dixit dominus, et alibi ΓΠΏΝ idest dictio domini examinata est, et alibi quia custodierunt "jmas imrathech idest dictionem tuam, et alibi ΓΠΏΝΠ ΉΝ ΠΚ eth adonai eemartha idest eth dominum dictionasti hodie, et generaliter in quacumque dictione ubi est radix trium licterarum ΊΟΚ, que deriverantur a verbo dixit, significat diadema." The direct source is Recanati, fols. 183v, 120r, 207-208r. The Zohar, part iii, 218r is quoted in this Conclusio.

[163]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism sicut scriptum est Exod. 15 v. 2 iste est deus meus, et glorificabo eum. Hucusque Talmud.

I am not suggesting that the twenty-first thesis is derived directly from the Pugio Fidei. The direct source of inspiration does not very much matter for the present purpose. What matters is that the pattern of the thesis is traditional: the texts are in part different; the theme and the method are the same. My next example consists of three interrelated theses: Conclusio lix: Qui profunde considerauerit quadruplicem rerum statum: primo unionis et stabilitate mansionis, secundo processionis, tertio reuersionis, quarto beatificae reunionis, uidebit litteram Beth cum prima littera primum, cum media medium, cum ultimis ultima operari.

Conclusio lx: Ex praecedenti conclusione potest contemplatiuus homo intelligere cur lex dei a Beth littera incipit de qua [lege dei] scribitur quod est immaculata [Ps. 19:8], quod erat cum eo cuncta componens [Prov. 8:30], quod est conuertens animas [Ps. 19:8], quod facit dare fructum in tempore suo [Ps. 1:3].

Conclusio lxi: Per eandem conclusionem sciri potest quod idem filius, qui est sapientia patris, est qui omnia unit in patre, et per quem omnia facta sunt, et a quo omnia conuertuntur, et in quo demum sabbatizant omnia.

Pico states that we can recognize the fourfold status of being in or through the combinations of the letter beth, the first letter of the Law, with the beginning, middle, and end of the alphabet. To understand precisely what Pico means we ought to make sure which letter counts as the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Strictly speaking, there is no middle letter in an alphabet consisting of twenty-two letters. But there are twenty-seven characters in the Hebrew script, five letters being differently written according to whether they appear in a final or nonfinal position. It is common practice, particularly when operari in cabala is involved, to write the five final characters after the letter taw.% In a series of twenty-seven

Cf. Gicatilla, Portae Iustitiae, Cod. Chigi, fol. 92v: "Et secundum hunc modum invenies quod litere alphabeti sunt 27 litere, que sunt radix ipsorum

[164]

Kabbalistic Confirmation of Christianity characters, the fourteenth, namely nun, is right in the middle. We can now see that the combination of the letter beth "cum prima littera" is 3 Κ 'ab (pater); the combination of beth "cum media" is p , ben (filius); the combination of beth "cum ultimis" is row, sabbat. What we see here is not an interpretation of Kabbalistic dicta but an application of the Kabbalistic ars combinandi. The method by itself is, of course, neutral; but its application need not be. I call this a Christianizing application, because for Pico, even if not for a Jewish Kabbalist, the results carry eminently Christian connotations. 'Ab (father) and ben (son) are too obvious for words. As for sabbat, here is what it meant to Pico: Conclusio xvi: Ex mysterio trium litterarum quae sunt in dictione Sciabat id est [aleph, daleth, nun, yod\ sit spiritus sancti, intelligere potest, qui in scientia Cabalae fuerit profundus.

Conclusio xv: Per nomen Iod he uau he, quod est nomen ineffabile, quod dicunt Cabalistae10 futurum esse nomen Messiae, euidenter cognoscitur futurum eum Deum dei filium per spiritum sanctum hominem factum, et post eum ad perfectionem humani generis super homines paraclytum descensurum.

I have argued in Chapter 12 that sefirot and divine names are as inseparably linked in Pico's Christian Kabbala as they are in his Hebrew sources. The sixth thesis is a superb example. I do not presume to know how Pico would have argued this thesis had he been given a chance to do so. All I know is that the hierarchical order of the three four-lettered names presupposes the equation of the name Ehyeh (ΓΡΠΧ) with the Superior Crown (the first sefirah), of the name YHWH with Glory (Tiferet, the sixth sefirah), and of the name Adonai ('ΠΚ) with Kingdom (the tenth sefirah). It does not require much inside knowledge of Kabbala to know these equations: they are Kabbalistic commonplaces. Letter symbolism and the Tetragrammaton bring to mind the Allocutio super Tetragrammaton of Arnaldo de Villanova. 11 Considered as a foil for Pico's theses, the Allocutio is none the less useful for being entirely devoid of Kabbala proper: the affinity between Arnaldo's and Pico's Trinitarian interpretations of the Tetragrammaton sets off the unprecedented novelty of Pico's Kabbalistic interpretation of the name and person of Jesus.

9 10

11

This is the reading in the editio princeps. Later editions read quaternarii. This dictum appears in the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Batra, 75v), the Midrash (e.g., on Ps. 21 ,MidraS Tehillim, ed. Buber[Wilna, 1891, p. 178] and Lam. i:51), the Zohar (part II, fol. 59v), and the Pugio Fidei, pp. 653-655. See Joaquin Carreras Artau, "La Allocutio super Tetragrammaton de Arnaldo de Villanova," Sefarad, 9 (1949), 75 ff. See also Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," pp. 171-73.

[166]

Kabbalistic Confirmation of Christianity Moreover, whereas Pico's Christianizing interpretation of the symbolism of letters is foreshadowed by Arnaldo, there is no trace of the Kabbalistic ars combinandi in the Allocutio or indeed anywhere in Christian literature before Pico. Apart from divine names, letter symbolism, and combination of letters, I would in particular draw attention to the application of the symbolic language of Kabbala to the Kabbalistic interpretation of the sacred documents of Christianity. The thirty-seventh thesis secundum opinionem propriam is a choice example in that it affords a rare opportunity of seeing how Christian Kabbala is created through the superposition of the symbolic language of Jewish Kabbala upon an eminently Christian text. Conclusio xxxvii: Qui intellexerit in dextrali coordinatione subordinationem pietatis ad sapientiam, perfecte intelliget per uiam Cabalae quomodo Abraam in die suo per rectam lineam uidit diem Christi et gauisus est.

In the symbolic language of Jewish Kabbala, "day" as a rule denotes sefirah. Furthermore, it is a commonplace of the theosophical Kabbala of the ten sefirot that Abraham is singularly connected with the fourth sefirah, Hesed, Pico's Pietas. Hence there can be no doubt whatever that Abraham's day is the fourth sefirah. But which sefirah is the day of Christ? As far as I am aware, "the day of the Messiah" (yomo sei masiah) is uninstanced in the symbolic language of Kabbala. Dies Christi in Pico's theses derives from John 8:56: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it, and was glad." Bearing in mind the triadic configurations of the ten sefirot, one result of which is "the subordination of Piety to Wisdom in the righthand formation," we can see what Pico had in mind: Abraham looking up in a straight line saw the day of Christ, and was glad. The "day of Christ" is Wisdom, the second sefirah. Pico, it is true, attributed the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, to the Son. The attribution of the ineffable name of God to Jesus Christ is a matter of paramount importance for the history of Christian Kabbala, as readers of Reuchlin's De Verbo Mirifico can see for themselves. At the same time, although the ineffable Tetragrammaton as a rule represents the sixth sefirah, Glory (Tiferet), there are several theses which clearly presuppose the identification of the Son with Wisdom. Two of them, the seventh ("deum dei filium patrisque sapientiam") and the sixty-first, ("idem filius qui est sapientia patris"), I have quoted in full earlier in this chapter. [167]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Another, the thirty-seventh, I have discussed just now. Two more are variations of the same theme. Conclusio xlii: Scitur per fundamenta Cabalae quam recte dixerit Iesus [John 8:58] Antequam nasceretur Abraam ego sum.

Granted that Abraham is the fourth seflrah, Jesus cannot be anterior to Abraham unless Jesus is one of the uppermost three seflrot. Pico assigns the first sefirah (Superior Crown, or the name 'Ehyeh) to the Father. We are thus left with a choice between the second and the third. 12 The choice is made easy not only by the seventh and sixty-first theses but also by the thirty-ninth: Conclusio xxxix: Ex hac conclusione et trigesima superius posita sequitur quod quilibet Cabalista habet concedere quod interrogatus Iesus quis esset rectissime respondit dicens [John 8:25] Ego sum principium qui loquor uobis.

Pico, to judge by his twenty-fifth thesis secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum, was perfectly aware that principium and sapientia were interchangeable symbols. So we have here yet another instance of the symbolic language of Kabbala brought to bear upon the interpretation of John's Gospel. I do not wish to create the impression that we can establish with reasonable certainty how Pico would have argued his Kabbalistic theses in each particular case. Nor am I suggesting that a clear-cut distinction between the interpretation of Kabbalistic texts and the application of Kabbalistic methods is always possible. My purpose has been to show that two different patterns can be discerned in Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity: Christianizing interpretation of existing Kabbalistic texts and Christianizing application of recognizable Kabbalistic methods. The former was known and practiced before Pico; the latter is barely foreshadowed before his time. Pico's application of Kabbalistic methods to the confirmation of Christianity marks a turning point in the history of Christian Kabbala. Christian Kabbala was the lineal descendant of the Pugio Fidei and inherited from it both a purpose and a method. The purpose was to use Jewish 12

The third seflrah, ΠΓ3 (Binah), is sometimes interpreted as ΓΡ ρ {Ben Yah). See below, Chapter 16.

[168]

Kabbalistic Confirmation of Christianity interpretations of the Scriptures as proofs of Christianity. And the method was, in the main, a Trinitarian or Christological interpretation superimposed as a kind of supercommentary on carefully selected texts. We can see this traditional pattern in the Zelus Christi of Petro de la Cavalleria,13 in the Ehsis Pauli of Paulus de Heredia,14 and also in Pico's Kabbalistic theses. But side by side with this kind of Christian Kabbala, a different Christian Kabbala emerges from Pico's theses, a Christian Kabbala that is by no means a Christian interpretation of Jewish Kabbala, but a mystical confirmation of Christianity by the same methods that Jewish Kabbalists use for the discovery of hidden truth in the documents of revelation. Unless I misjudge the facts, it is for this very reason that Pico's theses, chronology notwithstanding, mark the beginning of truly Christian Kabbala.

13

14

Tractatus Zelus Christi contra Iudaeos, Sarracenos, et Infideles, Ab illust. doct. Petro de La Cavalleria, Hispano ex civitate Caesarangusta, anno 1450 compositus (Venice, 1592), especially fols. 34r, 90r, 91v, 92r, 108v, 109r. See Secret, "L'Ensis Pauli de Paulus de Heredia," Sefarad, xxvi (1966), pp. 79-102 and 253-271.

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15 CABALA DOCET NOS LEGERE IN LIBRO LEGIS

The argument of the previous chapter led to the conclusion that a new Christian Kabbala was born when Pico set out to confirm the truth of Christianity by the same methods and procedures that Jewish Kabbalists used for the discovery of hidden truth in the documents of divine revelation. Pico, it will be remembered, defined Kabbala as the science of explaining the mysteries of the Law. 1 It is noteworthy that the literary form of Pico's most influential sources is the mystical commentary, Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch and Abulafia's commentary on Maimonides, in other words, the explanation of the mysteries that are concealed in the written Law. 2 How are they concealed, or rather, how are they thought to be concealed? The question is well worth asking, because the way mysteries are concealed is eo ipso the correct way of interpreting them. To interpret a given text anagrammatically will make sense only if you assume that the mystery contained in it is concealed in anagrams. By the same token, if you thought that the mystery was disguised as a parable, you would as a matter of course resort to allegory for its interpretation. This correspondence between concealment and explanation makes it well worth asking what Pico thought about the way in which divine mysteries were concealed in the written Law. He touched upon this question in several texts, which I shall now consider one by one. On 10 November 1486, while he was preparing to leave for Rome in anticipation of the forthcoming debate of his nine hundred theses, Pico wrote a reply to an unknown correspondent. The letter contains interesting evidence concerning Pico's association with Mithridates, which has been quoted time and time again. But it contains much else.

1 2

Above, Chapter 11. On the commentary as the literary form of Kabbala see G. Scholem, "Der Sinn der Torah in der jüdischen Mystik," in Zur Kabbala und ihrer Symbolik, p. 50 (= On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, p. 33).

[170]

Legere in Libro Legis Et ut ad ea ueniam quae de Chaldaeorum Hebraeorumque Uteris desideras, percunctatus sum ego saepe et [in libri impressi] Mithridatem et multos Hebraeos de his quae apud Hieronymum in Galeato prologo leguntur, ubi ille scribit eosdem olim fuisse Samaritanorum et Hebraeorum characteres, Esdram autem post instaurationem templi sub Zorobabel alias adinuenisse litteras, quae nunc sunt in usu, nescios se huius mutationis omnes praedicant, et (quod est maius) pro comperto habent iisdem quibus nunc utimur in Hebraica literatura apicibus usos et Mosern et Patriarchas antiquos omnes. Cui sententiae, ut nunc mihi subuenit, fidem maximam facit scientia Cabalae, cuius scriptores, qui cum ipso Esdra in synodo fuerunt, sub ipsis literarum characteribus et figuris, quibus nunc legem descriptam habemus, dissimulasse Mosern diuina mysteria, et uolunt et probant: quod nullo modo esse posset si aliis Moses ab his quibus nunc utimur characteribus usus fuisset. 3

The decisive point for the present purpose is that Pico, St. Jerome's statement notwithstanding, agrees with the view of his Kabbalist authors that Moses concealed divine mysteries "sub ipsis literarum characteribus et figuris, quibus nunc legem descriptam habemus." Letter symbolism is in fact one key — though by no means the master key — to the interpretation of the mysteries of the Law. Pico was familiar with the notion that the forms of the Hebrew characters and the peculiarities of the Masoretic spelling represented mysteries. In the thirty-third thesis secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum, he states: Nullae sunt literae in tota lege, quae in formis, coniunctionibus, separationibus, tortuositate, directione, defectu, superabundantia, minoritate, maioritate, coronatione, clausura, apertura, et ordine decern numerationum secreta non manifestent.

Moreover, his own theses afford a remarkable example. Conclusio xli: Sciri potest in Cabala per mysterium Mem clausi, cur post se Christus miserit paraclytum.

The so-called closed mem — as distinct from the open mem — is the character mem as it is written in a final position. But in Isaiah 9:6 the closed mem appears — the only instance in the entire text of the Old Testament — in a nonfinal position. This irregularity, as might be expected, did not pass unnoticed: it is treated in a variety of texts. I should be hard put to it to prove which of them touched off Pico's own specula3

Opera (1557), p. 385.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

tion. But the precise source, if any, is not the present point. The point is that Pico's forty-first thesis illustrates the view that divine mysteries are concealed "sub ipsis literarum characteribus et figuris." Consequently, letters as such are invaluable keys to the mysteries of the Law. About two years after that letter Pico wrote his Heptaplus.4

Kabbala is

avoided in the main body of the treatise, which is perfectly understandable given that the Conclusiones were still banned at that time. 5 At the end of the seventh interpretation Pico adds a mystical interpretation of the first Hebrew word of Genesis. Here, too, Kabbala is not explicitly mentioned, but the interpretation is eminently Kabbalistic and bears directly on the relationship between the written Law and the mysteries that are concealed in it. Sumamus, gratia exempli, primam particulam libri Geneseos, uidelicet ab exordio usque ad locum ubi est scriptum: Et uidit Deus lucem quod esset bonum. Est tota ilia scriptura tribus et centum elementis coagmentata quae eo modo disposita, quo ibi sunt dictiones constituunt quas legimus nihil nisi commune et triuiale prae se ferentes. Corticem, scilicet, conflat hie literarum ordo, hoc textum, medullae interius abditae latentium mysteriorum, at

4

5

For the date see Garin, G. Pico della Mirandola, p. 39; and G. Di Napoli, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola e la problematica dottrinale del suo tempo (Rome, 1965), pp. 200-202. Heptaplus, pp. 178-180 ed. Garin (= Opera, p. 4): "De his item quae vel Ionethes vel Anchelos vel Simeon antiquus chaldaice tradiderunt vel, ex Hebraeis aut veteres Eleazarus, Aba, Ioannes, Neonias, Isaac, Ioseph, aut iuniores Gersonides, Sadias, Abraam, uterque Moses, Salomon et Manaem conscripserunt, nullam nos in praesentia mentionem habebimus." "Simeon antiquus who wrote in Chaldean" (that is, Aramaic) is obviously Rabbi Simeon ben Yohay, the reputed author of the Zohar. Neonias is Rabbi Nehunya ben Ha-Qana, the reputed author of the Bahir. Sadias is of course Saadya Gaon. The misprint Sardias which appears in later editions of the Heptaplus might have been consigned to oblivion, had it not occasioned an impossible identification; see Anagnine, G. Pico della Mirandola, pp. 88-89. "Uterque Moses" are of course the philosopher Moses ben Maimon and the Kabbalist Moses ben Nahman. Manaem is Menahem Recanati. See also Heptaplus, p. 246 ed. Garin (= Opera, p. 23): "Cum autem de hac natura angelica et invisibili ab Hebraeis veteribus multa, multa item a Dionysio tradantur, erat consilium Moseos verba exponere iuxta doctrinam utriusque familiae. Sed quoniam quae ab Hebraeis dicuntur, cum sint inusitata apud Latinos, intelligi a nostris hominibus facile non possent, nisi a gemino (quod aiunt) ovo exorsi, plurima et fere omnia veteris disciplinae Hebraicae gentis dogmata enarraremus, cogitavi differendum donee de his alibi latius scripserimus." [172]

Legere in Libro Legis uocabulis resolutis, elementa eadem diuulsa si capiamus, et iuxta regulas quas ipsi tradunt, quae de eis conflari dictiones possunt, rite coagmentemus, futurum dicunt, ut elucescant nobis, si simus capaces occlusae sapientiae, mira de rebus multis secretissima dogmata, et si in tota hoc fiat lege, tum demum ex elementorum hac, quae rite statuatur, et positione et nexu, erui in lucem omnem doctrinam secretaque omnium liberalium disciplinarum. Dixi autem, si simus capaces occlusae sapientiae. Nam fieri potest, ut tractantibus nobis dissoluentibusque et componentibus aliquas dictiones, pariantur inde multa uocabula, multiplex item series orationis, quae magna doceat, magna significet, sed nisi aliquis de ea re doctrinam alibi sit consequutus, quid illa significent non intelligens, quasi inutilia atque fortuita non contemnere non potest: neque enim dogmata et doctrinas ibi discere possumus, sed solum possumus agnoscere. 6

There follows a detailed interpretation of the combinations of the six Hebrew letters that make up the first word of Genesis. As a specimen of Christian Kabbala this interpretation is noteworthy for several reasons, and I shall return to it later. At this stage, however, I shall point out only two things that emerge from Pico's discussion of the letter-combinatory method of interpretation. The first thing is that the methodical combination of the letters of the Law is the key to all the secrets and mysteries that are concealed in the Law. This is in a nutshell the hermeneutic part of Abulafia's ars combinandi (hokmat haseruf), which, as we saw in Chapter 12, was in all likelihood the model of Pico's alphabetaria revolutio. The second thing that emerges from Pico's discussion is his insight into the nature of mystical symbolism. Secrets and mysteries may "shine forth" (elucescant nobis) as we engage in separating and combining the letters of the sacred text. But while the truth which is concealed beneath or in the letters of the Law can be recognized, it cannot be learned from the Law itself: "neque enim dogmata et doctrinas ibi discere possumus, sed solum possumus agnoscere." In other words, the mystical meaning unfolds in a flash of intuition: "Das Zeitmass der Symbolerfahrung ist das mystische Nu." 7 I have deliberately postponed discussion of the Oration on the Dignity of Man and the Apology because Pico's almost identical statements concerning the mysteries of the Law in these writings lend themselves to different, even if not mutually exclusive, interpretations. 6 7

Heptaplus, Opera, pp. 5 9 - 6 0 (= pp. 374-376 ed. Garin). Walter Benjamin, Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels (Frankfort ο / Μ 1963), p. 183.

[173]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism At mysteria secretiora, et sub cortice legis rudique uerborum praetextu Iatitantia (etc.)... ...praeter legem, quam Deus dedit Moysi in monte, et quam ille quinque libris contentam scriptam reliquit, reuelatam quoque fuisse eidem Moysi, ab ipso Deo, ueram legis expositionem, cum manifestatione omnium mysteriorum et secretorum, quae sub cortice et rudi facie uerborum legis continerentur.8

A noncommittal translation of "sub cortice legis rudique verborum praetextu" or "sub cortice et rudi facie verborum legis" would be something like "beneath the words of the Law." But a noncommittal interpretation of Kabbala is rarely illuminating, if at all, and least so when the Kabbalist wishes to be ambiguous. Words as a rule have meaning and, at the same time, consist of elements of language (that is, letters). It is therefore possible for a Kabbalistic interpretation of a given word or Scripture to start either from its meaning or from the elements of language of which it consists. Hence, to state that mysteries are concealed sub rudi facie verborum legis can mean "beneath the meaning," or "beneath the letters," or both. Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity affords striking examples of each. We have seen in the previous chapter that "Principium" and "Sapientia" are interchangeable symbols. Hence, insofar as Deifilius est sapientia patris, Jesus could say of himself Ego sum principium qui loquor vobis. On the other hand, in his twentieth Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam Pico argues: Conclusion xx: Si interpretationem suam aduerterint Cabalistae super hac dictione ['az] quae significat tunc, de trinitatis mysterio multum illuminabuntur.

The Kabbalistic interpretation of the word 'az is well documented in the translations that Pico read. It does not start from the meaning tunc; in fact it disregards that meaning altogether. Mithridates was quite right when he translated Isaiah 58:9 "Az vocabis et dominus exaudiet, si enim Az vocaveris dominus exaudiet statim.'" The Kabbalists treat the word 'az not as a particle meaning tunc, but as a name, or, to be more precise, as a symbolic representation of the ten sefirot in which the first element, aleph, represents the superior three sefirot, and the second element, zayin, the

8 9

Opera, pp. 329 and 175 (= p. 156 ed. Garin). Bahir, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 310r. [174]

Legere in Libro Legis remaining seven. It is worth recalling at this point Scholem's memorable dictum, "Die Sprache Gottes hat keine Grammatik" — "divine language has no grammar, it consists entirely of names." 10 I do not by any means wish or intend to deny that Kabbalistic interpretations of Scriptures or rabbinic dicta can be, and sometimes are, allegories. The most famous single theologoumenon that goes by the name of Kabbala in the Italian Renaissance is the allegorical interpretation of the Death of the Kiss (mors osculi). At the same time, it is only fair to add that this most famous piece of Kabbala is not a typical piece of Kabbala, being, as we have seen, a philosophical allegory descended from Maimonides. There is, to be sure, no dearth of allegory in Kabbala. Nevertheless, all assertions to the contrary notwithstanding, allegory is not typical of Kabbala. No words of mine need restate the point which was settled long ago by Scholem." Hitherto I have considered what Pico said about the concealment of divine mysteries in the written Law. But the mysteries were concealed by Moses, or indeed by God; the business of Kabbala is to explain them. Kabbala, after all, is the science "nella quale le esposizione delli astrusi e asconditi misterii della legge si contiene.'" 2 It is therefore quite in keeping with its principal function that Kabbala is said to teach us how to read the Law. Conclusio lxxii: Sicut uera astrologia docet nos legere in libro Dei, 13 ita Cabala docet nos legere in libro legis.

10 11 12 13

Scholem, "Tradition und Kommentar als religiöse Kategorien im Judentum," p. 34. Judaica 3, pp. 8 2 - 8 5 (= On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, pp. 52-53). Pico, Commento, p. 580 ed. Garin. Since it is astrology that teaches us to read the book of God, liber Dei is obviously the heavens (cf. Isa. 34:4). But it could easily come to mean the whole of creation, in the sense of the created world, as in fact it does in Campanula's letter where he touches upon the difference between himself and Pico: "Ecco dunque il diverso filosofar mio da quel di Pico; ed io imparo piu dall'anatomia d'una formica ο d'una erba (lascio quella del mondo mirabilissima) che non da tutti Ii libri che sono scritti dal principio di secoli sin a mo', dopo ch'imparai a filosofare e legger il libro di Dio: al cui esemplare correggo i libri umani malamente copiati a capriccio, e non secondo sta nell' universo libro originale"; Tommaso Campanella, Lettere, ed. Vincenzo Spampanato (Bari, 1927), p. 134.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Legere in libro legis obviously means, in this particular context, "to read the Law as a Kabbalist would." But we have already seen that a Kabbalist might read the Law in quite different ways. Hence, he who would interpret Pico ad mentem Pici ought to find out from Pico's own theses how Pico meant the Law to be read. Pico's Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam include seventeen theses which in one way or another bear upon the interpretation of the Law. Eight of them (xx-xxii, xxiv, xli, lix-lxi) I have already considered. I shall now consider the remaining nine to see if they shed some light on what Kabbala meant to Pico. Conclusio xxviii: Per dictionem ['et], quae bis ponitur in illo textu [Gen. 1:1] In principio creauit Deus coelum et terram, ego credo signiflcari a Moyse creationem naturae intellectualis et naturae animalis, quae naturali ordine praecessit creationem coeli et terrae.

The definite article, without which there would have been no particle 'et in the first verse of Genesis {'et ha-samayim w-'et ha-ares), drew the attention of Talmudists and Kabbalists alike. It is possible, though I should be hard put to prove it, that the thesis harks back to Abulafia in the Latin translation of Flavius Mithridates, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 343r.14 Conclusio xxxi: Cum audis Cabalistas ponere in Thesua informitatem, intellige informitatem per antecedentiam ad formalitatem, non per priuationem.

Whether Thesua is a misprint or a slip of the pen I dare not say. But I submit that what Pico meant was Thesua, mnpn (tesuvah), Return or Penitence, the third sefirah, which is once called by Pico proprietaspoenitentiae. In order to make Pico's thesis intelligible, I ought to add, first, that informe et formabile is a frequent, even if not exclusive, rendering of tohu wa-bohu·,15 and, second, that some Kabbalists, particularly the Geronese school, identified the second and third seflrot — Wisdom and Intelligence

14 15

For the text see Appendix 6. See, e.g., Cod. Chigi, fol. 223v: "erat inanis et vacua siue informe et formabile thou vabohu." Also fol. 226v: "Dicit tricentenarius et quinarius procedere fecit elohim cum celis et terra secundum indicium et terra erat thohu id est erat ens subtile in quo erat informe et formabile, creavit informe et posuit locum eius in malo; creauit formabile et posuit locum eius in pace."

[176]

Legere in Libro Legis (or Penitence) — with form and matter. There was no agreement as to which was form and which matter. Tohu, conceived of as formless matter, was identified by some Kabbalists with the second sefirah·, others identified it with the third. 16 It is the latter view that occasioned Pico's statement "cum audis Cabalistas ponere in Thesua informitatem," etc. Conclusio xxxii: Si duplex Aleph quod est in textu [Gen. 49:10] Non auferetur sceptrum etc. coniunxerimus ad duplex Aleph quod est in textu [Prov. 8:22] Deus possedit me ab initio, et ad duplex Aleph quod est in textu [Gen. 1:2] Terra autem erat inanis, per viam Cabalae intelligemus ibi Iacob de illo Messia locutum, qui fuit Iesus Nazarenus.

I do not know, in the sense that I cannot cite chapter and verse, whence comes the inspiration of this thesis. But the underlying principle is quite simple. The letter aleph occurs twice in the Hebrew text of Genesis 49:10, twice in Proverbs 8:22, twice in Genesis 1:2; ergo the three verses are linked. From Pico's point of view, the links between these three verses are by no means as tenuous as they might seem at first sight. They are linked by association of ideas rather than by the twice repeated letter aleph. It is commonplace of Christian apologetics that "Non auferetur sceptrum de Juda" was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus Christ. The second Scripture, "Deus possedit me ab initio," is part of the discourse of Wisdom, and Wisdom, for Pico, is the Son of God, who is the Father's Wisdom. 17 As for the third text, there exists in the Midrash an interpretation, quoted in the Pugio Fidei, to the effect that the spirit of God in the verse "and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" is the spirit of the Messiah. We can now see that the duplex aleph is no more than a kind of code number or punched card by means of which three different verses are linked, each carrying latent messiological connotations that corroborate each other, or seem to do so, by sheer juxtaposition. Conclusio xxxiii: Per hanc dictionem quae scribitur per Aleph, Iod, et Sein (et significat uirum) quae D e o attribuitur, cum dicitur [Exod. 15:3] Vir belli, de trinitatis mysterio per uiam Cabalae perfectissime admonemur.

This thesis affords a remarkable illustration of the difference between a mystical interpretation which starts from the meaning of a word and a 16 17

Scholem, Ursprung und Anfänge, p. 379. See above, Chapter 14.

[177]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism mystical interpretation which starts from its letters. The meaning of the divine name (assuming it is a name) Is (Vir) brings to mind incarnation, and it is in fact in the chapters on Incarnation and the Passion that the texts concerning Is as an appellation of God are discussed in the Pugio Fidei.l% Pico, however, considers Is as a reminder of the mystery of the Trinity. Whether Pico meant to interpret the word tP'X as an acronym (for instance, Π'ΠΧ, m n \ raw; cf. Conclusiones vi and lix), I do not know, nor does it matter." What matters is that it is only by the three letters, aleph, yod, sin, and not by the meaning vir that "we are perfectly reminded of the mystery of the Trinity." Conclusio liii: Cum fieri lucem nihil sit aliud quam participare lucem, conueniens est ualde ilia Cabalistarum expositio, ut in li20 fiat lux, per lucem speculum lucens intelligamus, et in li facta est lux speculum non lucens.

The symbolism of the mirror that shines and the mirror that does not shine is ultimately descended from a famous Talmudic dictum in which the two mirrors represent two degrees of prophetic illumination: "All the prophets prophesied from a mirror that does not shine, whereas Moses prophesied from a mirror that shines." 21 In the symbolic language of Kabbala the two mirrors represent two seflrot, the sixth and the tenth. As such they represent not only two degrees of prophetic illumination but also two stages of the processus Dei ad extra through the ten sefirot. This is precisely the situation which is envisaged in Pico's thesis. Pico starts from the

18 19

20

21

Pugio Fidei, pp. 665 and 846. In the Bahir, §84 ed. Scholem (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 306v): "[Das Wort für Mann] isch ist ein Merkwort." See also ibid., §18 (= Vat. 191, fol. 291r) and Recanati's Commentary on the Prayers (De Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabale), Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 315v-316r: "Dominus vir belli secundum quod exposuerunt sapientes nostri in libro Sepher Abahir [§ 18 ed. Scholem] quod dictio his WN indicat tria encia prima et sic dicunt ibi Aleph que est prima lictera que scribitur in dictione his est principium sive caput. Iod secunda ab eo hies idest ens continet totum mundum quod scribitur de eo Tesuua. At vero secundum quod sapientes nostri dicunt in libro sepher azohar sin indicat fundamentum seculi." Li is the definite article. Cf. Liber de Radicibus, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 248r: "D'nVsn nun macte ahelohim id est virga deorum cum articulo he. ly virga indicat regnum. ly deorum indicat intelligentiam." In li is therefore like έν τω. Bab. Talmud, Yebamot, fol. 49v.

[178]

Legere in Libro Legis equation offieri lucem with participare lucem and then goes on to approve of the Kabbalistic interpretation of fiat lux and facta est lux as speculum lucens and speculum non lucens.22 The result is that Creation and Revelation — the creation of light (fieri lucem) and prophetic illumination (participare lucem) — coincide in the same symbols. This is, if I may borrow Pico's own expression elsewhere, maxime cabalisticum. Conclusio lviii: Rectius foret illud Becadmin, quod ponit glossa Chaldaica super dictionem Bresit, exponere de sapientialibus ideis quam de triginta duabus uiis, ut dicunt alii Cabalistae, utrumque tarnen est rectum in Cabala.

It is certainly noteworthy that Pico's first choice is the Platonic or Philonic ideas23 rather than the thirty-two paths of wisdom which appear in the first sentence of the Book of Creation. But it is even more important that this thesis, being an obvious sequel to Conclusiones xxv and xxvi secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum,24 presupposes the equation of Beginning with Wisdom. This equation, as we have seen in Chapter 14, links the symbolism of the ten sefirot with Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity. Conclusio lxiv: In textu [Deut. 6:4] Audi Israhel Dominus Deus noster Dominus unus, rectius est ut intelligatur ibi collectio ab inferiori ad superius, et a superiori ad inferius, quam ab inferiori ad superius bis.

I have discussed this thesis at great length elsewhere25 and can be brief here. The verse "Audi Israel Dominus Deus noster Dominus unus" serves in Judaism in general and in Jewish liturgy in particular as a confession of monotheist faith. Pico's direct source, the Liber de Radicibus, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 222v-223r, leaves no room for doubt that this thesis states that the verse Audi Israel etc. represents the unity of the ten sefirot in ascending and descending order. Pico does not go into details, but his source does, and thus affords the opportunity of seeing that the interpretation underlying Pico's thesis presupposes the symbolic language of Kabbala. 22 23 24 25

See also Appendix 5. Conclusiones, ed. Kieszkowski, p. 89. See above, Chapter 3. Wirszubski, "Giovanni Pico's Companion to Kabbalistic Symbolism," pp. 354-56.

[179]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Conclusio lxvii: Per dictum Cabalistarum, quod coeli sunt ex igne et aqua, simul et ueritatem theologicam de ipsis Sephirot nobis manifestat, et philosophicam ueritatem, quod elementa in coelo sint tantum secundum actiuam uirtutem.

The interpretation of samayim (heaven) as consisting of 'es (fire) and mayim (water) is much older than medieval Kabbalism. Pico in all likelihood came across it in his Kabbalistic sources, theBahir, (§ 40 ed. Scholem), or Recanati (fol. 3v), or both. But the precise source of what is after all a locus communis does not very much matter. Pico quotes this dictum again in the Heptaplus: "caelum natura media idcirco ab Hebraeis asciamaim, quasi ex es et maim, idest ex igne et aqua ... compositum nuncupatur." 26 It is in fact the Heptaplus that affords the best commentary on the philosophic part of the thesis. Est apud nos calor qualitas elementaris, est in caelestibus virtus excalfactoria, est in angelicis mentibus idea caloris. Dicam aliquid expressius: est apud nos ignis quod est elementum; Sol ignis in caelo est; est in regione ultramundana ignis saraphicus intellectus. Sed vide quid differant. Elementaris urit, caelestis vivificat, supercaelestis amat. Est aqua apud nos; est aqua in caelis, huius motrix et domina, vestibulum scilicet caelorum luna; sunt aquae et super caelum mentes cherubicae. Sed vide quae in eadem natura disparilitas conditionis; humor elementaris vitae calorem obruit; caelestis eundem pascit, supercaelestis intelligit. 27

The theologic truth about the sefirot which the midrashic etymology of samayim is said to reveal can be stated only in the symbolic language of Kabbala: Judgment, the fifth sefirah, "fire," and Mercy, the fourth sefirah, "water," are united in the sixth sefirah, Glory or Beauty (Tiferet), which is also called Heaven. The symbolism of Heaven affords the opportunity to point out that the symbolic language of Kabbala is neither rigid nor uniform. We have seen in Chapter 6 that the anonymous manual of Kabbalistic symbols De Proportione Divinitatis has a whole chapter, entitled "De Nominibus Aequalibus," which treats of "names," that is, symbols representing two 26

27

Heptaplus, p. 184 ed. Garin, The transliteration asciamaim (D'awn) accounts for the nonexistent form D'DIPS which appears in the text of Opera Omnia, 1557, p. 5. Ibid., pp. 188-190 (= Opera, p. 7). Cf. Reuchlin, De Arte Cabalistica (Hagenau, 1517), fol. xvi (pp. 143-144 of the editio princeps' reprint, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, 1964).

[180]

Legere in Libro Legis or more sefirot. This variety of meaning can be illustrated from Pico's own theses. The seventh thesis secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum states: Cum dicit Salomon in oratione sua in libro Regum, Exaudi, ο coelum, per coelum lineam uiridem debemus intelligere quae gyrat uniuersum.

The "green line that encircles the universe" is Intelligence, the third sefirah. At the same time, it is as certain as can be that Heaven, as a Kabbalistic symbol, in the sixty-seventh thesis secundum opinionem propriam denotes Tiferet, the sixth sefirah. To allay all doubts, I shall quote the Liber de Radicibus seu Terminis Cabalae, fol. 261r: DO® [samayim] sine he idest celi indicat Tiphereth. cum he vero quandoque indicat Intelligentiam, quandoque ipsam Tiphereth. et significat hassamaim ly celi.

Bearing in mind that the sixth sefirah is also identified with the ineffable Tetragrammaton, it is noteworthy that in the third thesis secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum Pico states: Quamuis nomen ineffabile sit proprietas clementiae, negandum tarnen non est quin contineat proprietatem iudicii.

Judgment and Clemency are the Fire and the Water of which Heaven consists. All the theses considered so far touch upon points of detail. The seventieth concerns the Law as a whole. Conclusio lxx: Per modum legendi sine punctis in lege, et modus scribendi res diuinas, et unialis continentia per indeterminatum ambitum rerum diuinarum nobis ostenditur.

Considered by itself, modus legendi sine punctis in lege can mean either or both of two different things: the liturgic practice of public reading of the Law from unpointed scrolls (but according to the traditional vocalization and accentuation) or else the disregard of points and,per consequens, also of the division of words in the Kabbalistic interpretation of the Scriptures. Pico was undoubtedly aware of both, but what he discusses in this thesis is primarily the latter. By way of illustration I shall use an example which Pico knew and used. Reading the first word, or rather the first six characters, of Genesis, rPUWü (in principio) as ΓΡΙΡΝ (filium fun[181]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

dabo), 28 is reading sine punctis in lege. But if the words of the Law can be thus resolved into their elements, and these elements, being consonants without vowels (sine punctis), can be combined again and again in different ways, it follows that the underlying unity and continuity of divine revelation admit of endless variations of meaning. This is in fact what to my mind Pico means by "unialis continentia per indeterminatum ambitum rerum divinarum." 29 "The Torah has seventy faces" states an old Rabbinic maxim; in other words, the Torah admits of an indefinite number of interpretations. N o other thesis brings out Pico's awareness of the infinite meaning of divine revelation as clearly as the seventieth does, provided, of course, that my interpretation of it holds good. The infinite meaning of divine revelation is the underlying principle of the assumption that all true doctrines of all the arts and sciences are included in the text of the written Law. Firma est sententia omnium veterum, quam ut indubiam uno ore confirmant, omnium artium, omnis sapientiae et divinae et humanae integram cognitionem, in quinque libris Mosaicae legis includi; dissimulatam autem et occultatam in litteris ipsis, quibus dictiones legis contextae sunt; quo modo nunc declarabimus. 30 Like Abulafia before him, Pico assumed that the methodical combination of the letters of the Law unlocks the hidden mysteries. In h i s H e p t a p l u s he

28 29

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 62r. Cf. Scholem, Judaica 3, p. 51: "Dass die Tora nach der rabbinischen Vorschrift für den synagogalen Gebrauch ohne alles Beiwerk nur mit ihrem Konsonantenbestand geschrieben werden darf, wobei auf gewissen Konsonanten von der Überlieferung festgelegte Häkchen angebracht werden, deutet Gikatilla, im Einverständnis mit den Kabbalisten seiner Zeit, auf die unendlichen Sinneschichten, die in diesem Konsonantenbestand potenziell verborgen liegen und durch eine vokalisierte Schreibung in ihrer Bedeutungsfülle eingeschränkt würden." Students of Renaissance art will recall what Gombrich, Symbolic Images, p. 159, said about the meaning of hieroglyphic symbols: "Where symbols are believed not to be conventional but essential, their interpretation in itself must be left to inspiration and intuition. The reason is not far to seek. Conventions can be learned, if necessary by rote. The symbol that presents to us revelation cannot be said to have one identifiable meaning assigned to its distinctive feature. All its aspects are felt to be charged with a plenitude of meanings that can never be exhaustively learned, but must be found in the very process of contemplation it is designed to engender."

30

Heptaplus, p. 374 ed. Garin (= Opera, p. 59). [182]

Legere in Libro Legis ventured an experiment: Libuit periclitari in prima opens dictione, quae apud Hebraeos Bresit [ΓΗΡΝΊ3], apud nos In principio legitur, an ego quoque, usus regulis antiquorum, eruere in lucem inde cognitu dignum aliquid possem. Igitur praeter spem meam, praeter opinionem inveni, quod neque inveniens ipse credebam, neque credere alii facile potuerunt, universam de mundi rerumque omnium creatione rationem, in una ea dictione, apertam et explicatam. Rem dico mirabilem, inauditam et incredibilem; sed mox credetis, si attenderitis, et res ipsa verum me demonstrabit. 31

Pico then combines the six letters rPWNin in different ways. The results are twelve words, namely: (1) 3N pater, (2) "Ώ3, in filio; (3) NWXI, principium; (4) raw, quietem; (5) ΚΊ3, creavif, (6) EWl, caput] (7) IPX, ignem: (8) TVD, fundamentum; (9) 21, magni; (10) WX,hominis-, (11) r?Mjoedere;{\2) an, bono?2 These twelve words are then presented as a continuous sentence: et totam si ordine consequenti orationem texamus, erit huiusmodi: Pater in Filio et per Filium principium et finem sive quietem creavit caput ignem et fundamentum magni hominis foedere bono. Haec tota oratio ex primae illius dictionis resolutione et compositione dissultat. 33

Christians, continues Pico, will immediately see what it means "Patrem in Filio et per filium creasse" and likewise "Filium principium esse et finem omnium (est enim α et ω)." As for the rest: Cetera paulo obscuriora, quid ilia scilicet sibi velint, caput ignis et fundamentum magni hominis, quid illud sit foedus et qua ratione bonum dicatur. Neque enim statim in promptu omnibus videre hie explicatam mundorum quattuor, de quibus egimus, omnem rationem, cognationem item et felicitatem de quibus postremo nos disputavimus. 34

The remaining part of the interpretation will be quoted and its sources discussed in Appendices 17 and 22. Here it will suffice to point out the lesson to be drawn from the letter-combinatory interpretation of the first word of Genesis. To recognize Christian dogma and, in addition, the doctrine of the three (or four) worlds (mundi) in the words resulting from the combinations of the first six letters of Genesis is eo ipso to recognize the symbolic character of those words. 31 32 33 34

Ibid., p. 376 (=Opera, p. 60). Ibid., p. 378 (= Opera, p. 60). Ibid. (=Opera, p. 61). Ibid., p. 380 (=Opera, ibid.). [183]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism The only other instance of the letter-combinatory method in Pico's extant writings (including the unpublished fragments of his commentary on Psalms) is the fifty-ninth Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam. In it, as we have seen, the letter beth is successively combined with the first, the middle, and the last two letters of the alphabet. But the sixtieth thesis leaves no room for doubt that the letter beth figures in the fifty-ninth thesis not as the second letter of the alphabet, but as the first letter of the Law. 35 So here, too, a mystery of the Law ("cur lex Dei a beth litera incipit") is unraveled through combination of letters. The symbolic and the letter-combinatory interpretations of the Law are descended from different varieties of Kabbala. If I might borrow Abulafia's own classification, 36 I would say that the former is descended from "the knowledge of God by way of the ten Sefirot," and the latter from the "knowledge of God by way of the twenty two letters." In view of this difference of origin, it is a singularly important fact that Pico's lettercombinatory interpretations of the Law are symbolic: all his combinations of letters produce real words which assume symbolic meaning. They are not, and are not meant to be, symbols of the sefirot, but are nonetheless symbolic. Father, Son, and Sabbath in the lettercombinatory fifty-ninth thesis are as symbolic as Abraham and dies Christi in the eminently symbolic thirty-seventh thesis. Symbolism thus appears to be the salient characteristic of Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity as well as of his mystical interpretations of the Law throughout his Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam. In other words, symbolism is the mainstay of Pico's Christian Kabbala.

35 36

See above, Chapter 14. Summa Brevis Cabalae Que Intitulatur Rabi Ieude, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 122r and 124r; see above, Chapter 12.

[184]

16 N E W RELATIONSHIPS AND ORIENTATIONS

Christian Kabbala was exceptionally fortunate in its founder. What the Count of Mirandola, "the Phoenix of his age," did for Kabbala the combined efforts of all Jewish converts to Christianity could never do: he made Kabbala respectable and desirable in the Christian world. But what Pico bequeathed to Christian Kabbalists of all time was not only the compelling force of his illustrious name and personal example: Christian Kabbala as a mystical discipline in its own right is Pico's creation. 1 In the preceding two chapters, as we went step by step through Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity and through his mystical interpretation of the Law, we could watch the birth of that discipline. It only remains for me to add that, from the moment of its birth, Christian Kabbala was set by its father on a new course. The original orientation of Christian Kabbala was apologetic or polemical, as the case may be. Its pattern was traditional and unambiguous: adversus Iudaeos, pro Christianis. Some idea of Christian Kabbala as it was presented by Jewish converts to Christianity before Pico's Conclusiones can be formed from the Mostrador de Justicia of Alfonso de Valla-

1

Christian Kabbala is not a modern term. Adumbratio Kabbalae Christianae is the title of a treatise by Mercurius Van Helmont published anonymously as an appendix to Knorr von Rosenroth's Kabbala Denudata, first published in 1684; see G. Scholem, "Knorr von Rosenroth," in £ 7 ( 1 9 7 1 ) , 10 col. 1118; Kabbalah, p. 20. But the term is in fact much older. La saincte et trescrestienne Cabale is the title of a long poem presented to Francis I of France by Jean Thenaud; see J. L. Blau, The Christian Interpretation of the Cabala in the Renaissance (New York, 1944), pp. 8 9 - 9 8 , 121-144. This is so far the earliest known instance of the term. Pico never uses it. He created Christian Kabbala, but did not coin the term. The phrase "the Phoenix of his age" is used by J.L. Blau, ibid., p. 17.

[185]

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with Jewish

Mysticism

dolid (Abner of Burgos), 2 the Zelus Christi of Petro de la Cavalleria, 3 and the Ensis Pauli of Paulus de Heredia. 4 The titles of the books are sufficiently illustrative of their apologetic and polemical tendency. Pico, too, consciously followed the traditional path: he set out to prove the truth of the Christian religion from the foundations of Jewish Kabbala. But, as thesis after thesis yields up its secrets, a remarkable thing emerges: Pico's Conclusiones

Cabalisticae

secundum opinionem propriam

religionem maxime conflrmantes

...

Christianam

evidently outgrew their original purpose.

Conclusio xvii: Qui sciuerit quid est uinum purissimum apud Cabalistas, seiet cur dixerit Dauid [Ps. 36:9] Inebriabor ab ubertate domus tuae, 5 et quam ebrietatem dixerit antiquus uates Museus 6 esse felicitatem, et quid significent tot Bacchi apud Orpheum. 7 Conclusio xxix: Quod dicitur a Cabalistis, quod linea uiridis gyrat uniuersum, conuenientissime dicitur ad conclusionem ultimam quam diximus ex mente Porphyrii. 8

2

3

4 5

6 7 8

See Y. Baer, Torat Haqqabalah bemisnato ha-kristologit sei Abner mi-Burgos, Tarbiz, 27, Gershom G. Scholem Jubilee Volume (Jerusalem, 1958), pp. 152-163 (in Hebrew). Tractatus Zelus Christi contra Judaeos, Sarracenos, et Infideles, See above, Chapter 14, note 13. See also Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," p. 179. Secret, "L'Ensis Pauli de Paulus de Heredia," pp. 79-102 and in particular 259-271. Pico follows Ficino, Argumentum in Rem Publicam, book II (Marsilio Ficino, Opera Omnia, Basel 1575, p. 1399): "Sed ego hic iniuste nimium praetermisi mirum illud iustitiae praemium ex Musaei mente adduetum, perpetuam inquit ebrietatem. Quod quidem Musaeus aeeepit ab Orpheo, id ipsum per Dioniysii sacra significante. Hoc illi prophetico simile: Inebriabor ab ubertate domus tuae." St. Jerome translates inebriabuntur. My thanks are due to Mrs. Lisa Ullmann for the reference to Ficino. She discusses the passage in her master's thesis, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, "Ecstasy and Divine Madness in Ficino's Translation of Plato" (in Hebrew). See Plato, Republic, 363c-e. For the interpretation of this thesis see page 192 and Wind, Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance, pp. 277-279. Cf. Pico, Commento, book II, chap, xv, pp. 506-507 ed. Garin. See also C. Wirszubski, "Francesco Giorgio's Commentary on Giovanni Pico's Kabbalistic Theses," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 37 (1974), 154. [186]

New Relationships and Orientations Conclusio lxviii: Qui sciuerit quid sit denarius in Arithmetica formali, et cognouerit naturam primi numeri sphaerici, seiet illud quod ego adhuc apud aliquem Cabalistam non legi, et est quod sit fundamentum secreti magni Iobelei in Cabala. 9

These three theses, diverse though they are in other respects, have a remarkable thing in common: each of them affords a glimpse of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola breaking new ground beyond the Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity. It stands to reason that Pico was first attracted to Kabbala by the belief that Jewish Kabbala confirmed Christianity — "grandissimo fundamento della fede nostra" is his own phrase in the Commento.10 But given the wide range of his erudition, the variety of his intellectual interests, and his ardent desire to establish the unity of truth, it is not in the least surprising that Pico found much else, apart from the confirmation of his own religion, in the books of Kabbala. Pico himself stated in his Oration (and in the corresponding passage of the Apology) that reading the books of Kabbala he seemed to hear Plato and Pythagoras. 11 There is, to be sure, no dearth of Platonism in Kabbala, 12 nor of Pythagoreanism, provided that the latter is represented by numerological speculations. But it is not only in the company, as it were, of Plato and Pythagoras that we encounter Kabbala in Pico's theses. In several sets of theses Pico pointed out what he considered to be agreements or correspondences between Kabbala, on the one hand, and magic, the doctrines of Hermes Trismegistus, Zoroastrian (or Chaldaean) oracles, and Orphic hymns, on the other. As a rule, those correspondences and agreements are stated explicitly enough to be seen by anybody who cares to read Pico's theses; but they are rarely stated clearly enough to be easily understood. In what follows I shall consider, from the vantagepoint of Kabbala, each thesis outside the two sets of Conclusiones Cabalisticae in which Kabbala appears. 13 9

10 11 12 13

For the interpretation of this thesis see Reuchlin, De Arte Cabalistica[ 1517] 1964, book III, fols 52v-53r. Reuchlin's interpretation is repeated by A. Kircher, Oedipus Aegyptiacus, II (Rome, 1653), 317-318. Commento, book III, chap, xi, stanza 9, p. 581 ed. Garin (= Opera, p. 922). Opera, p. 330 (= p. 160 ed. Garin) and 123. See G. Scholem, "Das Ringen zwischen dem biblischen Gott und dem Gott Plotins in der alten Kabbala," Eranos-Jahrbuch, 33 (1964), 1-50. Pico's Conclusiones secundum Isaac Narbonensem are ignored in this chapter, and in fact throughout this book, because they have nothing to do with

[187]

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Mysticism

A solitary Hermetic thesis, the tenth, links Kabbala with the doctrines of Hermes Trismegistus (Conclusiones secundum priscam doctrinam curii Trismegisti

Mer-

Aegyptii).

Conclusio x: Decern ultores, de quibus dixit secundum Mercurium praecedens conclusio, uidebit profundus contemplator correspondere malae coordinationi denariae in Cabala, et praefectis illius, de quibus ego in Cabalisticis conclusionibus nihil posui, quia est secretum.14 Mala coordinatio denaria is the evil or unholy counterpart of the hierarchy of the ten sefirot.15 The notion of the "other side" (or sinister hierarchy) in Jewish Kabbala (including the Zohar) as a rule presupposes the metaphysical reality of evil. Since the notion of mala coordinatio denaria appears in a thesis which is not secundum opinionem propriam,

it would be risky to

draw from it conclusions about Pico's view of evil. At the same time, the dominant view of evil in classical Kabbala, namely that its root is in the sefirah called Might or Judgment, shows through Pico's forty-seventh Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem

propriam.

Conclusio xlvii: Qui seiet proprietatem Aquilonis in Cabala, seiet cur Sathan Christo promisit regna mundi si cadens eum adorasset. 16 The ten avengers are "within us" ("decern intra unumquemque sunt ultores" states the previous thesis). Consequently, the correspondence

14 15

16

Kabbala. Isaac Narbonensis, pace Anagnine, G. Pico della Mirandola (Bari, 1937), p. 91, is not the Kabbalist Isaac the Blind of Posquieres. The Conclusiones secundum Isaac Narbonensem belong to a group of theses titled Conclusiones secundum doctrinam Arabum, qui utplurimumperipateticos seprofltentur Auenroem, Avicennam, Alpharabium, Auempacem, Isaac, Abumaron, Moysem, et Maumeth. Isaac Narbonensis is clearly a philosopher. Opinions to the contrary notwithstanding, the identity of this philosopher is still uncertain, and likely to remain so until the direct sources of the theses are pinpointed. Meanwhile it will suffice to say that there is no trace of Kabbala in Pico's Conclusiones secundum Isaac Narbonensem. Conclusiones, Opera, p. 80. See G. Scholem, "Sitra achra: Gut und Böse in der Kabbala," Von der mystischen Gestalt der Gottheit (Zürich, 1962), pp. 49-82; also idem, "Demons, Demonology," in EJ (1971), 5, cols. 1528-1533, and idem, Kabbalah, pp. 123 and 321. For the relationship between North and Satan see Das Buch Bahir, § 109 ed. Scholem.

[188]

New Relationships and Orientations between the vices and the mala coordinatio denaria is the counterpart of Pico's view of the correspondence between the human soul and the ten sefirot, which is outlined in the sixty-sixth Kabbalistic thesis: Ego animam nostram sic decern Sephirot adapto, ut per unitatem suam sit cum prima, per intellectum cum secunda, per rationem cum tertia, per superiorem concupiscibilem cum quarta, per superiorem irascibilem cum quinta, per liberum arbitrium cum sexta, et per hoc totum ut ad superiora se conuertitur cum septima, ut ad inferiora cum octaua, et mixtum ex utroque potius per indifferentiam uel alternariam adhaesionem quam simultaneam continentiam cum nona, et per potentiam qua inhabitat primum habitaculum cum decima.17 The correspondence between the soul and the sefirot shows also in the seventy-first and last of the Conclusiones paradoxae numero LXXI secundum opinionem propriam, noua in philosophia dogmata inducentes. Conclusio lxxi: Empedocles per litem et amicitiam in anima nihil aliud intelligit quam potentiam sursum ductiuam et deorsum ductiuam in ea, quas ego credo proportionari in scientia Sephirot aeternitati [= septimae] et decori [= octavae].18 Unless I am mistaken, Kabbala was also in Pico's mind when he wrote the fifty-fifth thesis of the Conclusiones paradoxae: Qui ordinem Hebraicae linguae profunde et radicaliter tenuerit, atque ilium proportionabiliter in scientiis seruare nouerit, cuiuscunque scibilis perfecte inueniendi normam et regulam habebit." Admittedly, the Hebrew language has, in Pico's explicit opinion, a unique status.20 But in what sense is the "order of the Hebrew language" the rule and norm "cuiuscumque scibilis perfecte inveniendi"? Pico's identifiable sources afford the most probable answer: the alphabet is the foundation of isopsephic equations and of combinations of letters, both of which are

17 18 19 20

Opera, p. 113. Ibid., p. 93. Ibid., p. 92. Conclusiones philosophicae secundum propriam opinionem, Conclusio lxxx {Opera, p. 89): "Si qua est lingua prima et non causalis, illam esse Hebraicam multis patet coniecturis." See also the Conclusiones Magicae, Conclusio xxii (Opera, p. 105): "Nulla nomina ut significatiua, et in quantum nomina sunt, singula et per se sumpta, in Magico opere uirtutem habere possunt, nisi sint Hebraica, uel inde proxime deriuata." [189]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism not only methods of interpretation but also methods of discovery. Several examples from Pico's sources and from his own theses have already been quoted, and I shall not add any except the eleventh thesis of Pico's Conclusiones de Mathematicis secundum opinionem propriam: Per numeros habetur uia ad omnis scibilis inuestigationem et intellectionem ... 21

According to the Book of Creation, God created the world with "thirtytwo wondrous paths of wisdom": ten numbers and twenty-two letters. If this is conceded, it makes sense to assume that numbers and the elements of language are the keys to all knowledge. By way of verification of his eleventh mathematical thesis, Pico promises to answer seventy-four questions per viam numerorum. One of them, the sixty-seventh, is eminently Kabbalistic: Quare sexta numeratio homo dicitur. 22

I shall not try to guess how Pico meant to answer this question per viam numerorum. But there is no need of guesswork to know what is touched upon in his question. Compare the tenth thesis of his Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum: Rectius dicitur quod paradisus sit totum aedificium quam quod sit decima; et in medio eius est collocatus magnus Adam qui est Tipheret.

Adam means homo, and Tiferet (Glory or Beauty) is the sixth sefirah. A stray, solitary thesis, the thirty-second, of the Conclusiones secundum propriam opinionem numero LXII in doctrinam Platonis, links Plato's Epinomis with Kabbala. Conclusio xxxii: Per aliam uitam in Epinomide intelligere debemus connexionem partis cum suo toto, et credo idem esse quod apud Cabalistas dicitur seculum uenturum. 23

A Kabbalistic text exists in which saeculum venturum is interpreted in a manner that makes it possible to draw the conclusion that saeculum

21 22 23

Opera, p. 101. Opera, p. 103. Opera, p. 97; Epinomis, 973c.

[190]

New Relationships

and

Orientations

venturum is identical both with alia vita and, in particular, with connexio partis cum suo toto. That text is the Bahir (§ 106 ed. Scholem), which is quoted almost verbatim in two other sources used by Pico, namely Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch and the anonymous Ma'areket ha-'Elohut,24

What follows is the Latin translation of the Bahir

passage, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 323r-v: Sedit rabi Barachias et inquisivit: Quid est quod dicimus cotidie vitam venturi seculi et nescimus quid sit seculum venturum? Sed sciendum quod seculum venturum (scilicet?) quod hebraice dicitur holam abba et chaldaice halma dathe? Quid nam est Alma dathe. hoc scilicet docet quod antequam creatum fuisset seculum ascendit in cogitatione creare lumen magnum quod oculus alicuius creature in illud inspicere nequit. Inspexit deus sanctus et benedictus quod non possent illud sufferre. Accepit septimam partem et posuit eis in loco eius. Reliquam autem reposuit iustis in seculo venturo, dicens si meruerint in hac septima et observaverint earn, equidem dabo eis hoc in seculo venturo post, et hoc est quod scribitur seculum venturum id est quod iam venit ex sex diebus geneseos, ut scribitur [Ps. 31:20] Quam multum est bonum tuum quod reposuisti timentibus te et operatus es sperantibus in te coram omnibus filiis hominum. The theses discussed so far in this chapter are all sporadic. They afford incidental glimpses of Pico's interests, but, as regards Christian Kabbalah, they do not mark a significant change of orientation. The latter shows principally in those sets of non-Kabbalistic theses which have Kabbala as a substantial constituent, namely the Zoroastrian, the Magical, and the Orphic, all of which immediately precede the Conclusiones secundum opinionem

Cabalisticae

propriam.

The Conclusiones numero XV secundum propriam

opinionem de intelli-

gentia dictorum Zoroastris et expositorum eius Chaldaeorum considered as a whole present a tantalizing literary problem which, however, is of far greater interest for the history of the so-called Chaldean Oracles in the Renaissance than for the history of Christian Kabbala. 25 Here I shall consider five theses which, in one way or another, concern Kabbala. Conclusio vi: Dicta interpretum Chaldaeorum super xi amphorismo de duplici ebriatione Bacchi et Sileni, perfecte intelligentur per dicta Cabalistarum de duplici uino. 24 25

See the testimonia in Scholem's edition ad loc. cit. See Appendix 16. The Zoroastrian Conclusiones are to be found in Opera, pp. 103-104. [191]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Duplex ebriatio was admirably interpreted by Edgar Wind, who related it to the Neoplatonic distinction between two kinds of drunkenness: vulgar excess and divine madness. 26 It remains for me only to say a word about duplex vinum apud Cabalistas. I suggested elsewhere that some of Pico's theses argue his acquaintance with the anonymous Liber de Radicibus vel Terminis Cabalae.21 In that glossary of the symbolic language of Kabbala there are two successive entries, both of which begin with the headword yayin, "wine": " v a j y a "lönpan J" hain amxummar bahanabau, idest vinum observatum in uvis suis," and ""[03 J" hain nesech idest vinum mixtionis vel... vinum sacrificiorum idolorum." The former signifies the tenth sefirah, "diadema et eternitatem et decorem, quia vinum per se indicat diadema et uve sunt eternitas et decor"; the latter signifies "latus immundum." 28 It makes sense to assume, even if it cannot be proved, that some such distinction was what Pico meant by "dicta Cabalistarum de duplici vino." The relationship between the Kabbalistic "wine" and the Platonic "drunkenness" is also the subject of the seventeenth Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam: Qui sciuerit quid est uinum purissimum apud Cabalistas, seiet cur dixerit Dauid [Ps. 36:9] Inebriabor ab ubertate domus tuae, et quam ebrietatem dixerit antiquus uates Museus esse felicitatem, et quid significent tot Bacchi apud Orpheum.

"Vinum purissimum apud Cabalistas" is in all likelihood the same as "vinum observatum in uvis suis," that is, the tenth sefirah. Kabbala appears again in the seventh Zoroastrian thesis: Conclusio vii: Quae dicunt interpretes super xiiii amphorismo, perfecte intelligentur per ea, quae dicunt Cabalistae de morte osculi.

Which verse or verses of the Chaldaean Oracles might count as the fourteenth aphorism is largely a matter of conjecture. But there is no need of guesswork or conjecture to know what the symbolic image of mors osculi meant to Pico: "ne piü ne loro libri leggerai se non che binsica, cioe

26 27 28

Wind, Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance, pp. 277 -278. Wirszubski, "Giovanni Pico's Companion to Kabbalistic Symbolism," pp. 353-362. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 243r.

[192]

New Relationships and Orientations morte di bacio, e quando l'anima nel ratto intellettuale tanto alle cose separate se unisce, che dal corpo elevata in tutto l'abbandona." 29 Kabbala is not explicitly mentioned in the thirteenth Zoroastrian thesis, but I think it is there: Conclusio xiii: Per puerum apud interpretes nihil aliud in teilige quam intellectual.

I do not know in what context puer was used by the interpreters of Zoroaster's sayings. Nevertheless, the chances are that the connecting link between puer and intellectus is the angel Metatron, who is called na'ar (puer) and is sometimes identified with the Active Intellect.30 I am not suggesting that Metatron is a specifically Kabbalistic figure. But it seems to me the likeliest hypothesis that Pico encountered Metatron in his Kabbalistic books. The fourteenth thesis goes to the heart of Christian Kabbala. Conclusio xiv: Per dictum illud Zoroastris, adhuc tres dies sacrificabitis, et non ultra, apparuit mihi per Arithmeticam superioris merchiaue illos computandos [computandieditio princeps] dies esse, in eo dicto expresse praedictum aduentum Christi.

I can make no suggestion as to where to look for Zoroaster's saying "adhuc tres dies sacrificabitis, et non ultra." But I shall say something about Pico's Kabbalistic interpretation of that saying. We have seen that triplex merchiaua is the triadic configuration of the ten sefirot, we have also seen that the seventh and eighth sefirot are in merchiaua inferiori and, finally, that "day" denotes sefirah. Hence if you count the three days in Zoroaster's saying as the days of the superior merchiaua, those days ought to be the three superior sefirot. The third is called n n (Binah, Intelligence), which is sometimes interpreted as ΓΓ ρ (Ben Yah), meaning the

29

30

Commento, book III, chap, viii, stanza 4, p. 558 ed. Garin. (=Opera, p. 917). For a "Zoroastrian" parallel to mors osculi see Ficino, Theologia Platonica, book XIII, chap, iv, Opera, p. 301. See Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, chap. 7, and in particular p. 49; also s.v. "Metatron", in £7(1971), 11, cols. 1443-46; idem, Kabbalah, pp. 377-381. Joseph Dan, Torat ha-Sod sei Hasidut Askenaz (Jerusalem, 1968), pp. 219-223 (in Hebrew). For Metatron in Pico's writings see the final pages in this chapter.

[193]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Son of God. 3 1 1 need not go any further. The rest is too obvious for words. Conclusio xv: Quid sit intelligendum per capras apud Zoroastrem, intelliget qui legerit in libro Bair quae sit affinitas capris et quae agnis cum spiritibus.

The direct source of the Kabbalistic part of this thesis was pinpointed by Scholem. 32 1 wish I knew where goats are touched upon by Zoroaster or his interpreters. We have seen that Kabbala appears in five, or at the least four, of the fifteen Zoroastrian theses. This is a very high proportion, much higher than in the Magical and Orphic theses. What those five or four theses have in common is that in them Pico is using the symbolic language of Kabbala for the interpretation of the logia of Zoroaster and his Chaldean interpreters. Kabbala is explicitly mentioned in five Magical theses. Two of them, the ninth and the twenty-fifth, have already been considered in previous chapters. Here it will suffice to quote the remaining three, each of which asserts the superiority of Kabbala over magic. 33 Conclusio xv: Nulla potest esse operatio magica alicuius efficaciae, nisi annexum habeat opus cabalae explicitum uel implicitum.

Conclusio xviii: Illius natura quae est Orizon aeternitatis temporalis est Mago proxima, sed super eum et ei proxima est Cabala.

I take it that "orizon aeternitatis temporalis" in this thesis, "orizon temporis aeternalis" in the sixteenth, and "orizon temporis et aeternitatis" in the seventeenth denote the same thing: the dividing line between the dimension of time and the dimension of eternity.

31

32 33

Commentum Voluminis de Proportione Divinitatis, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 55r: "Intelligentia dicitur filius dei numero litterarum bina 2.10.50.5 et filius dei ben iah 2.5. 10.5." My late colleague Ephraim Gottlieb identified the Hebrew original of this translation. It is the commentary which is written in the margin of the Ma'areket Ha-'Elohut in the Hebrew MS Neofiti 27 of the Vatican Library. Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," p. 167. Opera, pp. 105-106.

[194]

New Relationships and Orientations Conclusio xxvi: Sicut per primi agentis influxum, si sit specialis et immediatus, fit aliquid quod non attingitur per mediationem causarum, ita per opus cabalae, si sit pura Cabala et immediata, fit aliquid quod nulla Magia attingit.

Though the superiority of Kabbala over magic is stated time and again, it was the alliance between them rather than the superiority of the former over the latter that proved to be more influential in the long run. Ironically, it is the alliance between Kabbala and magic that marks the beginning of a new orientation of Christian Kabbala; ironically, because that alliance is as old as Jewish Kabbala itself. Yet, not much historical hindsight is required to realize that Pico, by presenting Kabbala to the Christian world as a mystical theology that confirmed Christianity and, at the same time, as the powerful ally of natural magic, set Christian Kabbala on a new course. Henceforth a Christian Kabbalist might be a theologian, or a magus, or both. The relationship between Kabbala and magic plays an important part also in the Orphic theses; more important, in fact, than meets the eye at first sight: the magic which Pico thought he had discovered in the Orphic Hymns 34 has a decidedly Kabbalistic hue. By this I do not mean the correspondences between the hymns and Kabbala that Pico pointed out in three theses, namely: Conclusio iv: Sicut hymni Dauid open Cabalae mirabiliter deseruiunt, 35 ita hymni Orphei operi uerae, licitae, et naturalis Magiae.

Conclusio xiii: Idem est Typhon apud Orpheum et Zamael 36 in Cabala.

34

35 36

The title of the series of Orphic theses is Conclusiones numero xxxi secundum propriam opinionem de modo intelligendi hymnos Orphei secundum Magiam, id est secretam diuinarum rerum naturaliumque sapientiam a me primum in eis repertam. Similarly, the beginning of the first Orphic thesis: "Sicut secretam Magiam a nobis primum ex Orphei hymnis elicitam fas non est in publicum explicare," etc. Opera, pp. 106-107. The magical application of Psalms is called simmusey Tehillym, which might be translated as "practica Psalmorum." Samael is Satan; see G. Scholem, "Samael," in £7(1971), 14, cols. 719-722 (=Kabbalah, pp. 385-388).

[195]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Conclusio xv: Idem est nox apud Orpheum et Ensoph in Cabala.

What I have in mind is the fact that sefirot and Hebrew names of God are sometimes involved in the magic that Pico discovered in the Orphic Hymns. Conclusio ix: Idem sunt Curetes apud Orpheum et potestates apud Dionysium.

Conclusio x: Qui praecedentis conclusionis opus attentauerit, adhibeat opus Cabalae secundum appropriata timori Isaac.

Goodness only knows how one might employ opus Cabalae, that is to say operative or practical Kabbala, in conjunction with the Curetes of Orpheus or the potestates of pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita. One thing, however, is certain: in the symbolic language of Kabbala, the Fear of Isaac (Gen. 31:53) denotes the fifth sefirah, Might or Judgment. 37 Thus, while the modus operandi remains unknown, opus Cabalae, which is conjoined with Orphic magic, inevitably involves sefirot. At this point it will be useful to recall the twenty-first Orphic thesis, which has already been discussed:38 Opus praecedentium hymnorum nullum est sine opere Cabalae, cuius est proprium practicare omnem quantitatem formalem continuam et discretam.

I have argued that, in the context of this thesis, quantitasformalis continua et discreta is middah, the synonym of sefirah. The tenth Orphic thesis supports my argument, even if it does not prove that my interpretation of the twenty-first is true. But it is not necessary to agree with my interpretation of quantitas formalis continua et discreta in order to see that Pico denies all magical efficacy to the Orphic Hymns without Kabbala. This is not in itself surprising, inasmuch as Pico denies efficacy to any magical operation unless it is connected, explicitly or implicitly, with Kabbala.

37

38

Liber de Radicibus vel Terminis Cabalae, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 256r: "pns' 1Π0 pahad Isac idest Timor Isac indicat timorem ... i n s pahad idest timor indicat potenciam." Chapter 12, p. 141.

[196]

New Relationships

and

Orientations

The most Kabbalistic of all Orphic theses is the fifth. Kabbala as such is not even mentioned in it. A n d yet the thesis is eminently Kabbalistic. Conclusio v: Tantus est numerus hymnorum Orphei, quantus est numerus cum quo Deus triplex creauit saeculum sub quaternarii Pythagorici forma numeratus. The number o f Orphic Hymns in Pico's time was eighty-six, 39 and 86 is the isopsephic equivalent o f • , n'?x, Elohim (1+30+5+10+40). " E t scias,"says Joseph Gicatilla, " q u o d omne opus geneseos et secretum decern numerationum sigillatum est cum nomine elohim a principle et usque ad finem." 4 0 So far, so g o o d . But what or w h o is Deus triplex sub quaternarii

Pythago-

rici forma numeratusl Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation o f the Trinity, in his sixth Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam,

affords the most

probable answer: Tria magna Dei nomina quaternaria, quae sunt in secretis Cabalistarum per mirabilem appropriationem tribus personis trinitatis ita debere attribui, ut nomen [aleph, he, yod, he] sit patris, nomen [yod, he, waw, he] sit fllii, nomen [aleph, daleth, nun, yod] sit spiritus sancti, intelligere potest, qui in scientia Cabalae fuerit profundus. Calculate the numerical values o f each name as you would calculate the Pythagorean tetraktys elements: ΓΓΠΝ =

( 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10), namely by adding up its four

1+5+10+5 = 21; ' Π Χ

=

1+4+50+10 = 65; m r r

=

10+5+6+5 = 26. T h e sum o f the three four-letter names is 112(21+26+65), which is the isopsephic equivalent o f DTi^N m r r (26+86). Kabbala thus affords the key to the magical mystery o f creation that Pico discovered in the Orphic Hymns and, at the same time, connects that mystery with Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation o f the Trinity. The fifth Orphic and the fourteenth Zoroastrian theses show Kabbala in a new role. Hitherto, throughout the preceding five chapters, we have seen Kabbala either as a Jewish witness f o r Christianity or as the mystical ally o f natural magic. Here, in these t w o theses, we see Kabbala as the link between Orpheus or Zoroaster and Christianity.

39

40

What appears in modern editions as the first hymn, to Hecate, is run together with the proem in the MSS; see OrpheiHymni, ed. G. Quandt (Berlin, 1955), pp. 3 and 36. See also B. Kieszkowski, StudisulPlatonismo delRinascimento in Italia (Florence, 1936), p. 155. Gicatilla, Portae Iustitiae, Cod. Chigi, fol. 114r.

[197]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

Orpheus and Zoroaster, together with Hermes Trismegistus and Pythagoras, are the outstanding representatives of what came to be known as prisca gentilium theologian

From the standpoint of Renaissance Plato-

nists, the Ancient Theology of the Gentiles was in a sense the pagan counterpart of Kabbala: it confirmed Christianity and foreshadowed the divine Plato. At the same time, it is a fact not to be lost sight of that the relationship between Christianity and Platonism is not unproblematical, for Pico at any rate. The Son of God is a case in point. Questa prima creatura, da Platonici e da antiqui filosofi Mercurio Trimegisto e Zoroastre e chiamata ora figliuolo di Dio, ora sapienzia, ora mente, ora ragione divina, il che alcuni interpretono ancora Verbo. Ed abbi ciascuno diligente avvertenzia di non intendere che questo sia quello che da nostri Teologi e detto figliuolo di Dio, perche noi intendiamo per il figliuolo una medesima essenzia col padre, a lui in ogni cosa equale, creatore finalmente e non creatura, ma debessi comparare quello che e Platonici chiamano figliuolo di Dio al primo a piü nobile angelo da Dio creato. 42 Pico's Commento, from which this passage is quoted, and his Conclusiones were written about the same time. The quotation is therefore an invaluable aid to the interpretation of the tenth Kabbalistic thesis secundum nem propriam,

opinio-

where Kabbala and all the illustrious representatives of

prisca gentilium theologia appear side by side: Illud quod apud Cabalistas dicitur < > illud est sine dubio quod ab Orpheo Pallas, a Zoroastre paterna mens, a Mercurio Dei filius, a Pythagora sapientia, a Parmenide sphaera intelligibilis nominatur. The blank space in the text of the editio princeps (indicated by angular brackets) is a reminder that the key to the interpretation of this thesis is a Hebrew word or phrase. Francesco Giorgio, four hundred and fifty years ago, assumed as a matter of course that what Pico meant was Wisdom. 41

42 43

43

Hokmah,

I will not deny that the result of his interpretation is a fine

D. P. Walker, The Ancient Theology (London, 1972); Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Index, s.v. prisca theologia·, C. B. Schmitt, "Prisca Theologia e Philosophia Perennis: due temi del Rinascimento italiano e la loro fortuna," in II pensiero italiano del Rinascimento e il tempo nostra (Florence, 1968), pp. 211-236. Pico, Commento, book I, chap, iiii, pp. 466-467 ed. Garin (=Opera, p. 899). "Declarationes Conclusionum Cabalisticarum Jo: Pici Mirandulani a reverendo quondam patre et celeberrimo doctore et theologo maximo Francisco Georgio Veneto Minorita aeditae anno Domini MDXXXIX," Jewish National and Hebrew University Library, Yah. MS Var. 24, fol. 57: "Nota [198]

New Relationships and Orientations specimen of Christian Kabbala, but I rather doubt that this is what Pico meant. If you assume that the omitted word is hokmah, you assume eo ipso that it is hokmah as it is understood in the symbolic language of Kabbala, that is to say Hokmah as the name of the second sefirah. Pico's symbolic interpretations of John 8:56,58,25 in his thirty-seventh, forty-second, and thirty-ninth Kabbalistic theses leave no room for doubt that in his opinion Sapientia and Principium are Jesus Christ in the same way that Pietas is the patriarch Abraham. Hence, if one identifies the Kabbalistic Sapientia with the Orphic Pallas, the Hermetic deifilius, the Zoroastrian paterna mens, and the Pythagorean sapientia, he inevitably identifies the symbolic images of the Ancient Theology of the Gentiles with Jesus Christ. But Pico, in his Commento, warns against the identification of the Hermetic son of God with the Christian Son of God. We are therefore faced with a dilemma: either Pico is inconsistent or Francesco Giorgio is out of tune with Pico. If the Hebrew word hokmah appeared in the text of the editio princeps we would have to put up with Pico's inconsistency. But what appears in the editio princeps is only a blank space, and I can see no reason to import inconsistency into Pico, just because Francesco Giorgio thought he knew what Pico meant. In his Commento, Pico states as clearly as one can wish that what the Platonists call the son of God ought to be compared with the first and most noble angel created by God. Is there in Jewish angelology an angel whom it might be possible to call son of God, wisdom, mind, and intelligible sphere? There is one. His best-known name is Metatron. He is mentioned twice in Pico's writings, roughly about the same time as when the Conclusiones were written. One instance is the Commento, p. 554 ed. Garin (cf. Opera, p. 916): El moto e la operazione e segno di vita, la privazione di questi e segno di morte. Dunque quando nell'uomo niuna umana operazione appare e veramente morto quanto all'essere intellettuale, e per tale morte di uomo in

quod in hac conclusione author ponit diversa nomina synonyma. Umde idem est ΠΏρπ Chocmah quod Pallas. Chocmah idem est quod sapientia divina. Et ubi nos dicimus [Ps. 104:24] Omnia in sapientia fecisti, Cabaliste dicunt Π03Π3 Bechocmah omnia creasti. Verbum idem est quod sapientia divina ideo scriptum est [Ps. 33:6] Verbo Domini coeli firmati sunt," etc. Cf. Wirszubski, "Francesco Giorgio's Commentary on Giovanni Pico's Kabbalistic Theses," pp. 145-156.

[199]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism angelo trasformato; ne altrimenti el detto si debbe intendere de sapienti cabbalisti quando ο Enoch in Matatron, angelo della divinita, ο universalmente alcuno altro uomo in angelo dicono trasformarsi.

The transformation of Enoch into Metatron is mentioned also in Pico's Oration. Since this fact is inadvertently obscured by the text of the printed editions, it will be useful to quote the only known manuscript, 44 Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence, Cod. Palatinus 885, fol. 145r: Nam et hebreorum theologia secretior nunc Enoch sanctum in [ed. Garin; me cod.] angelum diuinitatis quern uocant JVlUUa, nunc in alia alios numina reformant. 45

Metatron is sometimes identified, notably by Abulafia, with the Active Intellect, and is also called son. I would therefore suggest that the beginning of Pico's tenth Kabbalistic thesis ought to be printed as follows: "Illud quod apud Cabalistas dicitur jnDDO illud est sine dubio," etc. The corollary of this text is that Pico used the figure of Metatron not only in order to point out correspondences between Kabbala andpriscagentilium theologia but also in order to draw a dividing line between Christianity and the Ancient Theology of the Gentiles. It was stated at the outset of this chapter that Christian Kabbala as a mystical discipline in its own right was set by its father on a new course. The change of orientation can now be marked out with greater precision. Three different themes, the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, the relationship between Christianity and Platonism, and the relationship between mysticism and magic, are interwoven in Pico's Conclusiones. It is in fact the interweaving of these three different themes that forms the dominant pattern of Pico's Christian Kabbala.

44 45

Published in full by Garin in La cultura filosoflca, pp. 231-240. Asterisks are printed in Garin's edition (see note 44) instead of the name j n o u n (Metatron). A blank space was left in the corresponding passage of the Oratio in the editio princeps. The reading in the best-known editions of Pico's Opera Omnia (Basle, 1557, p. 315 and 1572) is "nunc Enoch sanctum in angelum diuinitatis quem uocant nJDttM IsVö nunc in alia" etc. Π3ΌΦΠ -|NV» may well be a translation of angelus divinitatis. At any rate, I prefer the reading of the manuscript not because it is manuscript, but because Pico's Commento warrants the authenticity of that reading.

[200]

Appendices

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

Bibliographical Note Recanatensis The Text of Pico's Conclusiones Nahmanides or Abulafia? Speculum Lucens and Speculum Non Lucens 'Et ha-samayim w'et ha-'ares Nomen Iesu Sapientia Magna Salomonis Beresit: In Principio Magical Strains in Speculative Kabbala Texts Illustrating Kawwanah Prayer as Self-immolation Metatron, Intellectus, Filius 'Eyn-Sof and the Sefirot Different Varieties of Christian Kabbala Eloquia Sacra The Doctrine of the Three Worlds The Symbolism of the Kiss Theologia Inferior Decern Indumenta Johanan Alemanno Ars Combinandi et Ars Raymundi The Fourfold Interpretation of Scripture

[201]

Appendix 1 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Several bibliographies of Pico have been published since the celebration, in 1963, of the fifth centenary of his birth: P.O. Kristeller, "Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and His Sources," in L'Opera e il pensiero di Giovanni Pico della Mirandola nella storia dell' umanesimo, Convegno Internazionale, I (Florence, 1965), 107-123 (a tentative list of manuscripts) and 124-133 (a bibliography of printed books). Giovanni Di Napoli, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola e la problematica dottrinale del suo tempo, Collectio Philosophica Lateranensis 8 (Rome, 1965), pp. 521-535. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Conclusiones sive Theses DCCCC Romae anno 1486[sic]publice disputandae, sednon admissae, ed. and ann. Bohdan Kieszkowski (Geneva, 1973), pp. 109-120. A short bibliography of Christian Kabbala may be found in G. Scholem, Kabbalah (Jerusalem, 1974), pp. 209-210. Two recent studies are H. de Lubac, Pic de la Mirandole (Paris, 1976), and W. G. Craven, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Symbol of His Age (Geneva, 1981).

[203]

Appendix 2 RECANATENSIS

An anonymous Latin translation of Recanati's commentary on Genesis which was used by Egidio da Viterbo is extant in manuscript form in the Bibliotheque Nationale, fonds latin 598. It has recently been asserted, with confidence but without proof, that this translation is the work of Flavius Mithridates.1 However, the vocabulary and syntax of the translation used by Viterbo rule out the possibility that the anonymous translator was Flavius Mithridates. What follows is a fraction of the evidence. One of Recanati's favorite sources is the Bahir. A Latin translation of that book Mithridate interprete is extant in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fols. 288-335. The translation can be dated. Atfol. 297v(§49ed. Scholem)the Latin translation reads: Anni namque ex diebus fiunt, hoc est quod scribitur [Hab. 3:2]: In medio annorum vivifica illud, scilicet in medio illius margarite (Qualis est pici) generantis annos vivifica illud. The meaning and value of the parenthesis will be readily understood by anyone who has read Gaffarel's description of the three manuscripts used by Pico, the first of which contained a translation of Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Accedit quod primi voluminis interpres, quem Hebraeum fuisse Picique mercenarium non arduum est coniectari, Picum ipsum ad cujus manus volumen istud perventurum erat, plerumque alloquatur. Adde, Picum propria manu suum expunxisse nomen omnibus ex locis, in quibus interpres sive monitoris, sive insectatoris officio functus Picum adeo carpebat, ut quibusdam scommatibus per primum illud volumen conspersis, in qui1

Bohdan Kieszkowski, the latest editor (1973) of Pico's theses, writes as follows (p. 18): "Toutefois, dans le recueil cabalistique de Gilles de Viterbe intitule Isagoge Cabalae (Bibliotheque nationale, ms. lat. 598), on trouve le commentaire de Recanati sur le premier livre de Moi'se dans la version de Mithridate, accompagne de plusieurs extraits des quatre livres suivants, de la main meme du cardinal de Viterbe. Nous avons utilise ce manuscrit pour les annotations critiques, en considerant comme indubitable qu'il s'agit de la traduction fidele du texte original par Mithridate." [204]

Appendices bus nomina QPici et MargaritaeJ cujusdam, quae Picum deperibat, non ita sunt deleta, quin ob diversitatem atramenti legi adhuc facile possint... 2

It does not really matter that Gaffarel had no means of knowing whether the names of Pico and Margarita were in fact deleted by Pico. What matters is that the name Margarita appeared in the translator's gibes and that Gaffarel, our sole witness, inferred from them that the bearer of that name was desperately in love with Pico. It follows that the MS seen by Gaffarel was written after Pico's stormy love affair in Arezzo with Margherita, the wife of Giuliano Mariotto de' Medici, in May 1486. The same lady is referred to in the parenthesis of the Bahir. The terminus post quem is thus established for both translations. As for the terminus ante quern, Recanati is the principal source of Pico's Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum, and the Bahir is explicitly referred to in his Zoroastrian theses. It follows that Mithridates' lost translation of Recanati and his extant translation of the Bahir belong to the same period, roughly between May and November 1486. As I have said, the Bahir is one of Recanati's favorite sources. As a rule he quotes it verbatim, adding short comments or omitting a few words. I have not attempted to seek out every single quotation from the Bahir in Recanati. But as I ran through the anonymous translation of Recanati on Genesis, I noticed about a dozen quotations which I then identified in Mithridates' translation of the Bahir. Both the anonymous translation of Recanati on Genesis and Mithridates' translation of the Bahir are literal. Precisely for this reason, the confrontation of the quotations from the Bahir in the anonymous translation of Recanati with Mithridates' translation of the Bahir itself is well worth the effort. The passages are presented in the order in which they appear in the commentary. Quotations from the anonymous translation of Recanati are headed B.N. 598; quotations from Mithridates' translation of the Bahir are headed Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191. The paragraph numbers of Scholem's German translation, Das Buch Bahir, are added in brackets for ease of reference.

2

Gaffarel, Index, pp. 5 - 6 [8]. Gaffarel continues (p. 11 [19]): "Primus versatur circa priores Scripturae Sacrae libros, quos Pentateuchum appellant, quorum misteria Cabalistica pandit et explicat collectore Rabi Leui [J/'C] de Recineto, uulgo Recanati, Italo." Gaffarel's first and third manuscripts have for some incomprehensible reason changed places in Kieszkowski's discussion, loc. cit.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish B.N. 598, fol. 165r

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 290r Sedit rabi Emorai et inquisiuit. Quare aleph in principio est? quia fuit ante omnes, etiam ante legem. Quare beth ei in ordine propinqua est? quia ipsa fuit prima. Quare habet caudam? ad ostendendum ex quo loco fuit. [13]

Sedebat rabi Rehumeai et predicabat. Quare aleph in capite f[ui]t? prima omnium etiam prior quam lex. et quare b. uicina ei? quoniam ipsa est prima, et quare ei est cauda? ad ostendendum qualis est locus eius.

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 312v

B.N. 598, fol. 175v S. ha bahir. Septima est oriens mundi et inde venit semen Israel, id est a Tipheret, quia filum renum venit a cerebro: ita cauda poaltissima versus preputium: et idem semen: dicitur ab Oriente feram semen tuum: et cum Israel est bonus inde portabo semen id est et renouabo semen tuum et cum Israel est malus dat eis que erant prius in mundo: non nova: quod dicitur generatio it et venit, it et venit: que nova et que vetus quid ab occidente congregabo te: id est a mida que est in occiden[te]m Iesod: u[b]i miscetur tuum semen: proverbium: Regis habentis filium cui est sponsa casta zenua et filius multa bona capit a domo patris et ponit in alio loco, et post aliquot dies vult videre quid et adunarit: ipse portat in Iesod, quod est occidens mVarab. 3

3

Mysticism

Septima namque est tamquam oriens seculi et inde venit semen Israel quia filum spine [verse?] se trahit a cerebro hominis et venit ad fontem unde est semen, et scribitur ab Oriente educo semen tuum, quando Israel sunt boni et ex hoc coram loco educo semen tuum et innouabitur tibi semen novum. Quando uero Israel sunt mali educo a semine quod iam uenit in mundum, ut scribitur Generatio uadit et generatio uenit. Docet quidem quod iam venit. Quid est ergo quod scribitur et ab occidente congregabo te? ex ea quidem proprietate que declinat semper ad occidens [nc]. Quare ergo vocatur maharab? id est occidens uel commistio uel confusio? quia scilicet ibi commiscetur siue confunditur totum semen. Paradigmaticos res similis

The Hebrew character 'ayin appears also in the Latin transliterations of other Hebrew words in the anonymous translation: fol. 189r. "Tou ve raS [i.e., i m aio]." or fol. 201r: "scribitur [Lam. 5:17] Sal ze propter ze Iesod: erat dolens cor nostrum."

[206]

Appendices est filio regis qui habebat sponsam pulcram et honestam in adytu suo et accipiebat de domo patris sui opes magnas et diuicias et afferebat ei semper, ipsa quidem capiebat omnia et reponebat semper et commiscebat omnia confuse, tandem venit videre quid coaceruauerat et quid congregauerat. hoc est igitur quod scribitur ex occidente congregabo te. [104] Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 291 ν

B.N. 598, fol. 201v Bahir: proiecit e celo est simile regi habenti coronam pulcram super caput suum: et impleuit earn, id est perfecit: et fert tenias et torquem super Collum: et venit ad eum nuncius malus: proijcit coronam de capite et torquem e collo.

proiecit de celo ... paradigmaticos rex habebat coronam pulchram super caput eius et humerale pulchrum super humero suo. audiuit malum nouum, proiecit coronam desuper capite suo et humerale a conspectu suo. [23]

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 300v

B.N. 598, fol. 20lv Dicitur in s. abahir vuol [s/c] docere te quod taga [ion.] corona ascendit sursum. quod uero int[elligit] quod corona est lapis cams preciosus: unde hoc scimus: quod dicitur lapidem quem reprobant edific[antes] est in caput anguli: ascendit unde excisa est: et dicitur ea transit unde regit lapis Israel. B.N. 598, fol. 218r

ad docendum te quod ilia corona ascendit usque ad summum sursum. Quidnam subauditur per illam coronam? lapis preciosus universalizatus et ornatus et coronatus ut scribitur lapis reprobatus ab edificantibus factus est in caput anguli et ascendit usque locum unde dolata est ut scribitur ex xam pascit lapis Israel. [61] Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 308v

Bahir. Ri: ahomai d[icit or dixit] honor dei vel cor dei idem est: honor enim dei ob gradum altum:

[207]

Dixit rabi rahmai Cor et gloria idem sunt sed vocatur Gloria nomine effectus operati in super-

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism cor dei ob opera deorsum: et idem est honor dei et cor celi:

ioribus, vocatur etiam Cor nomine effectus operati in inferioribus et hec est Gloria domini et hec eadem est que dicitur leb axamaim [D'Dltfn leb ha-samayim] id est Cor celorum. [91] Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 303v

B.N. 598, fol. 218r

Quid est leb? hoc quidem de quo scribitur [Deut 4:11] usque ad leb celorum. et in eo continentur trig i n t a d u o calles s a p i e n t i e oculti. [75]

Bahir: quid cor: quod scribitur usque ad cor celi: ubi clause sunt 32 Semite mire sapiencie:

It is not necessary to pile up more evidence: anybody should by now be able to see that it is absolutely impossible to identify the anonymous translator of Recanati on Genesis with Flavius Mithridates. There is a touch of irony in the fact that the very first page of the anonymous translation of Recanati in the Paris manuscript contains an unusual transliteration of a familiar name which ought to have been reckoned as a warning that he who would identify the anonymous translator with Flavius Mithridates is not likely to prove his point. The name of Rabbi Nehunya ben ha-Qanah, the reputed author of the Bahir, is written at fol. 164r: "In oratione vero Robi nehogna filij cane supra ipsum pax." Compare the beginning of theBahir, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 288r: "Dixit rabi nehonias filius accane." It is prima facie improbable that the same translator wrote both Nehogna Filius Cane and Nehonias Filius Accane between May and November of the same year.

[208]

Appendix 3 T H E TEXT OF PICO'S CONCLUSIONES

The best text of Pico's Conclusiones is still, after five hundred years, the editio princeps of 1486. The colophon of this extremely rare edition (Hain-Copinger 12999, British Library IB 18857, bound with IB 18322 and IB 27536) reads as follows: Finis. Impressum Romae opera Venerabiiis uiri Eucharii Silber alias Franck. Anno ab incarnatione Domini. Mcccc.lxxxvi. die Septima Decembris. Sedente Innocentio. viii. Pont. Max. Anno Pontificatus eiusdem Tertio.

A notice concerning the disputation of the Conclusiones appears on the verso of the same folio: CONCLUSIONES non disputabuntur nisi post Epiphaniam. Interim publicabuntur in omnibus Italiae Gymnasiis et si quis Philosophus aut Theologus etiam ab extrema Italia arguendi gratia Romam uenire uoluerit pollicetur ipse D. disputaturus se uiatici expensas illi soluturum de suo.

The colophon of the editio princeps left its mark on the subscriptions of two manuscript copies of Pico's Conclusiones·. Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Codex Vindobonensis Palatinus 5516 and Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen, Codex Latinus 646.1 The Vindobonensis ends as follows: Finis Anno etc. 1486 Sedente Innocentio octauo Pon: Max: Anno Pon: eiusdem Ter: Romae Conclusiones non disputabuntur ... soluturum de suo.

The Erlangensis, after "Finis" at the foot of fol. 37v, has the following subscription written by the first hand across fol. 38r: Opera venerabilis viri Eucharij Silber alias Franck

1

I owe thanks to the Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek for permission to have a microfilm of Cod. Vindobonensis Palatinus 5516 made for me, and to the Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen for the loan of a microfilm Cod. Erlangensis Latinus 646.

[209]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Above this subscription, at the top of the folio, the whole text of the notice concerning the dispute is written in a different hand. Bearing in mind that Eucharius Silber was a printer and that Pico's Conclusiones became rare owing to their condemnation by the pope less than a year after their publication, it is obvious, from the similarity between the colophon of the editio princeps and the subscriptions of the manuscripts, that there is at least a prima facie case for the hypothesis that the Vindobonensis and Erlangensis are descended from the editio princeps. Eugenio Garin pointed out, as long ago as 1942, that "delle Conclusiones, distrutte ο sottratte alia circolazione, non di rado le copie manoscritte sono posteriori al testo a stampa." 2 Similarly, Kristeller pronounced the text of the Conclusiones in the Erlangensis to be copied from the first edition. 3 A different view concerning the Erlangensis and the Vindobonensis is held by Bohdan Kieszkowski, the latest editor of Pico's Conclusiones. He assumes that the copyist of the Erlangensis is none other than the printer Eucharius Silber, who printed the editio princeps from this very copy. He also assumes that the actual date of the Vindobonensis figures in the subscription of that manuscript. 4 1 have read both manuscripts; as far as I can see, neither of them supports Kieszkowski's assumptions. It is improbable that the editio princeps was printed from the Erlangensis, unless we assume that Eucharius Silber was a clairvoyant printer. He left blank spaces in the printed text for Greek and Hebrew words. How on earth did he know, if he used the Erlangensis as his model, where to leave blank spaces? In some cases, it is true, omissions are marked in the Erlangensis either by blank spaces or by double strokes above the line. But as often as not Greek and Hebrew words are simply missing in the text of the Conclusiones in the Erlangensis without any visible sign that their omission was noticed. 5 This is not the only relevant fact not mentioned in 2 3 4

5

De Hominis Dignitate, Heptaplus, De Ente et Uno, p. 54. Kristeller, "Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and His Sources," I, 109. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Conclusiones sive Theses DCCCC Romae anno 1486publice disputandae sednon admissae, ed. and ann. Bohdan Kieszkowski (Geneva, 1973), pp. 1-2. For instance, Conclusiones secundum Iamblichum viii: "Qui finalem causam diluviorum incendiorumque cognoverit licet potius. i. fidest] purgationes quam corruptiones vocabit." The reading licet appears in the text. The correction hec was added in the margin. Also Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionempropriam xvi: "Ex misterio trium l[itte]rarum que sunt in dictione sciabat id est possumus interpretari," etc. Similarly, Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum xv: "Nisi nomen Abraam id est he addita fuisset Abraam non generasset."

[210]

Appendices Kieszkowski's edition. What follow are some telltale errors and omissions which I noticed in the text of the Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam. The Erlangensis reads merchiana in the second thesis (merchiaua editio princeps); rationabiles anime in the eleventh (rationales animae editio princeps); cabalisticis in the twenty-ninth (cabalistis editio princeps); expressive in the thirty-fourth (expresse editio princeps). It omits the first in in the thirty-seventh thesis, and ego in the sixty-eighth. None of these humble details is in itself worth knowing. But taken together they show that the Erlangensis represents a stage in the transmission at which corruption of the text had already set in. In other words, the Erlangensis, far from being the parent of the editio princeps, is its poor descendant. The Vindobonensis, unlike the Erlangensis, is an excellent manuscript, almost as good though not quite as good as the editio princeps. It is unlikely that the Vindobonensis is the parent of the editio princeps: it divides the second Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam into two theses (a paragraph is written by the first hand before Prima) and omits naturam in the sixty-eighth thesis of the same series. It is also unlikely, for both textual and chronological reasons, that the Vindobonensis is an independent collateral of the editio princeps. It is known from Pico's own correspondence that he completed his nine hundred theses in the autumn of I486.6 It is also known that on 10 November of that year, just four weeks before the printing of his theses by Eucharius Silber, Pico was still at La Fratta, preparing to leave for Rome. 7 Hence, if the Vindobonensis was in fact written in 1486 at Rome, it ought to have been written shortly before or soon after the printing of the editio princeps. In these circumstances it is difficult to conceive of the Vindobonensis as a manuscript written in 1486 at Rome, except on the hypothesis that it was a presentation copy. But it is even more difficult to conceive of the Vindobonensis as a presentation copy: it leaves blank spaces where

6

7

Dorez, "Lettres inedites de Jean Pic de la Mirandole," p. 358, letter iv addressed to Girolamo Benivieni and dated 12 November 1486. For the text see Chapter 1, note 6. Pico's letter to an unknown correspondent, dated "ex Fratta, 10 Novembris 1486," Opera, p. 385: "Et quoniam de his quae petebas uisus sum mihi posse aliqua ex parte tibi satisfacere ... uolui quid ego sentirem tibi significare, quod certe facerem longe locupletius, si hie illos meos omnium hominum amicos, id est meos libros haberem quos consulerem, sed me illi iam Romam quasi anteambulones dominum praecesserunt, et ego ipse haec petasatus iam et caligatus in procinctu cum essem ad te dedi tarn familiariter quam festinanter."

[211]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism words written in Greek and Hebrew characters occur in Pico's theses. Anybody can see that Eucharius Silber left blank spaces in the editio princeps for want of Greek and Hebrew type. But why should blank spaces occur in a manuscript which is said to have been written in 1486 at Rome? Admittedly, no ordinary copyist could be expected at that time to write Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. But where was Pico? And would he send a presentation copy of his Conclusiones without Greek and Hebrew words? The telltale blank spaces prove, if proof is needed, that the Vindobonensis is descended from a printed text. And the subscription of that manuscript proves that the Vindobonensis is descended from the editio princeps. There exists another incunabulum of the Conclusiones, printed without date, place, and printer's name. 8 This text, too, is hardly an independent witness, being in all likelihood a descendant of the editio princeps.

8

Hain 12998, British Library IA 13505, attributed in the printed catalogue to Lescherius, Ingolstadt, 1487(7).

[212]

Appendix 4 NAHMANIDES OR A B U L A F I A ?

Moses ben Nahman of Gerona, unlike Abraham Abulafia, is explicitly cited by Pico. 1 Furthermore, certain characteristic features of Pico's view of Kabbala are undoubtedly similar to certain doctrines which, even if not Nahmanides' own, are clearly stated in his biblical commentary. It would therefore seem, on the face of it, that Pico owes much to the direct influence of Nahmanides. The possibility that this might yet prove to be the case need not be denied. At the same time, the internal evidence of Pico's Conclusiones and Apology does not bear out the hypothesis that Nahmanides was an influential direct source of Pico's view of Kabbala. 2 Letter symbolism is a case in point. What looks like a remarkable case of resemblance between Pico and Nahmanides seems to have caught the eye of Johannes Reuchlin four hundred and fifty years ago. Not that Reuchlin associated Pico and Nahmanides expressis verbis. It is the way he quotes Nahmanides in his D e Arte Cabalistica (1517), book III, fol. 52r-v(marked in italics) that brings to mind Pico's Conclusiones: Hinc nascitur ilia enumeratio quinquaginta portarum intelligentiae, circa quas tantopere Cabalistarum studia desudant, diuinitus a Moyse Dei seruo receptarum, quarum cognitionem ipse quoque posteris nobis tradidit uniuersalitatis conditionem explicantium ΉϊΙΡ O'lPari i r m a i ΠΟΝ "DDI DTi^sn ϋ»η irnonrn ' « ι » "τπχη f i n ncaV n o » ] oViya ΙΝΌ: n r a id est, Iamque dixerunt Magistri nostri quinquaginta portae intelligentiae productae sunt in mundo, et omnes illae traditae sunt Moysi praeterquam una, quia dictum est: Minuisti eum paulo minus a dijs. Super isto Cabalistarum sermone dixit Ramban 3 in Geneseos exordio, quod eiuscemodi omne Moysi traditum per portas intelligentiae, contentum est in lege diuina Iudaeorum, uel sensu literali uel allegorico, per dictiones, uel arithmeticas supputationes, uel geometricas literarum figuras siue descriptas seu transmutatas, uel harmoniae consonantias ex formis characterum, coniunctioni-

1 2 3

Opera, p. 175; see above, Chapter 11, p. 126. F. Secret, "La signification de la Loi selon Moi'se ben Nachman et les Kabbalistes Chretiens de la Renaissance," Sefarad, 22 (1962), 107-117. RaMBaN is Rabbi Moses ben Nahman. [213]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism bus, separationibus, tortuositate, directione, defectu, superabundantly minoritate, maioritate, coronatione, clausura, apertura et ordine resultant.

Reuchlin's quotation from Nahmanides is a remarkable conflation. What begins as a paraphrase of Nahmanides shades into a literal quotation of Pico: the part of the text italicized above is a word-for-word quotation of Pico's thirty-third thesis secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum. That thesis, however, as we have seen in Chapter 3, is itself a word-for-word quotation from Recanati, fol. 48ra. Hence it is as certain as can be that, in this particular case, Recanati and not Nahmanides is Pico's direct source. Another passage of singular importance for the interpretation of the mysteries of the Law is where Nahmanides states, in the preface to his commentary, that the entire text of the Law can be read as a continuous sequence of divine names: We possess a true tradition that the whole Torah consists of His names, blessed be He, namely that the words can be differently divided so as to form names, as if you assumed for instance that the verse DTI1?« m a I T W O [beresit bara elohym] will be divided into different words such as DTlVs man' [berosyitbre elohym]. And this holds true for the whole Torah.

This passage is quoted verbatim in Abulafia's preface to his De Secretis Legis (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 345r): Similiter dicam de magno doctore rabi Moise filio Nahaman Gerundinensi qui dixit in principio legis expositionis quam ipse commentatus est in hec verba: habemus in manibus nostris traditum a sapientibus cabalae veritatis quod tota lex est plena nominibus dei sancti et benedicti et angelorum ordinis sacri celestis, et ut dixit ipse idem in dictionibus brexith bara elohim [D'n^X >Π3 JVtPiOa] quod ibi sunt quatuor nomina...

The evidence quoted so far is not in itself decisive. Chronology helps to highlight the essential fact: there is no conclusive evidence that Pico read Nahmanides before he completed his theses. The earliest explicit reference to Nahmanides is in the Heptaplus: "Moses Gerundinensis, theologus primae celebritatis apud Hebraeos." 4 It is in fact in the Heptaplus that a quotation from the preface to Nahmanides' commentary can be identified. 5 The Heptaplus was written after Pico's return from France in 1488, that is, about two years after the Conclusiones. Nahmanides is not mentioned among the Jewish commentators of the Bible in the famous passage 4 5

P. 350 ed. Garin (=Opera, p. 52). See also Heptaplus, p. 180 ed. Garin (= Opera, p. 4): "uterque Moses" (namely Maimonides and Nahmanides). See Appendix 8.

[214]

Appendices of the Apology where Pico discusses the four modes of biblical interpretation. 6 Nor does any of Pico's theses require the hypothesis of his direct acquaintance with Nahmanides. Abulafia, it is true, is never explicitly mentioned by Pico. But few things in the history of Pico's encounter with Kabbala are as certain as the fact that he read Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, which includes Abulafia's De Secretis Legis, before he completed his theses.7 Hence it is to my mind the most probable hypothesis that Pico's view of Kabbala as the divinely revealed science that explains the mysteries of the Law was inspired by Abulafia.

6 7

Opera, p. 178. See below, p. 262. See above, Chapters 3 and 12.

[215]

Appendix 5 SPECULUM LUCENS AND SPECULUM NON LUCENS

The symbolic interpretation of the verse "Let there be light: and there was light" as representing the emergence of "the mirror that shines" (Tiferet) and the "mirror that does not shine" (Malkut) appears in a remarkable little piece which Mithridates translated for Pico. The translation is included in a Kabbalistic miscellany a single quinternio of which survives at present in the Chisianus. The piece begins at fol. 226r: "Ex alio libro de ordine geneseos. Sciendum quod venit ad manus nostras liber qui dicitur ordo geneseos ex nomine magni doctoris Rabi Moiseos filij Naaman Gerundinensis." The Hebrew original was published by Scholem in Kirjath Sepher, 6 (1929-30), 415 ff. It does not take long to discover, from reading the translation beside the original, that the crucial passage is disfigured in the translation (fol. 226v): et dixit Elohim sit lux quia dedit virtutem entibus ad extendendum se et protrahendum et ut appareant in eis in speculo quod praecedit in gradu et vidit Elohim etc.

It is likely to remain unknown whether Mithridates inadvertently omitted about a line of the Hebrew original or translated a defective text. It is, however, quite certain that the Latin translation of the Liber de Ordine Geneseos, being in fact devoid of the symbolism of the two mirrors, cannot possibly be the source of Pico's symbolic interpretation of the verse "Let there be light: and there was light." Consequently, the most probable source is Recanati, fol. 6.

[216]

Appendix 6 Έ τ HA-SAMAYIM W'ET HA-'ARES

Abulafia, De Secretis Legis, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 343r: Hunc autem gradum et hanc excellentiam nouimus coegisse illum ex q u o suprema est incipere librum suum qui est Uber legis continens quinque libros per hanc dictionem que dicitur ΓΗΡίΓΟ Brexit id est in principio. Et ad notificandum per earn q u o d omne q u o d est ab uno faciente illud esse quod est rexith id est principium et non est ei resith id est principium et quod ipse creauit omne quod est et illud diuisit in sensibile et intelligibile, que hebraice dicuntur "73ΪΠΏ

IWTIO murgas muschal. Intelligibilia

autem

uocauit deos que dicuntur helohim et retulit eis tribuens illud idem nomen q u o d conuenit illi qui fecit ea esse q u o d etiam vocatur elohim. et hoc quidem ad ostend[end]am excellentiam eorum esse. Et quod etiam ipsi in suo esse testes sunt de intellectu de illo qui fecit eos esse quemadmodum causatum est testis de causa sua que dat ei esse. Sensibilia autem omnia vocavit duobus nominibus secundum impositionem que in lingua sancta dicuntur muschamim id est equiuoca uel conueniencia, continentia quidem duas res universales, quia indicant superiora et inferiora. et sunt xamaim vaares ]HN1 O'au; id est celi et terre. Et addidit super utrisque duas licteras equales in caractere et conformes in pronuntiacione et in interpretatione quando hec omnia dixit in primo textu Beth principium creavit deos celos et terram. et addite lictere sunt aleph tau et he que in lingua hebraica scribuntur ρ χ π ηκΐ D'öUM ήχ eth assamaim veeth aares, que in aliis Unguis dici non possunt nec exprimi. A d d i d i t quoque duas has literas ad indicandum aliquid misterij precipue Π Π ly he et ly he. Expositionem autem earum quam ponunt sapientes nostri Cabaliste q u e m a d m o d u m receperunt a patribus suis et patres ab auis et sic per successionem usque ad ipsum M o i s e m qui tradidit eis quia sunt ipsi diseipuli M o y s e o s magistri nostri.

[217]

Appendix 7 NOMEN IESU

Pico's seventh Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam leaves no room for doubt that in his opinion the name of Jesus is the key to the Kabbalistic interpretation of the second person of the Trinity. At the same time, bearing in mind that, for Christian Kabbalists, Jesus and the Messiah are identical, it is certainly noteworthy that nomen Jesu and nomen Messiae are by no means identical in Pico's theses. Conclusio xiv: Per litteram id est sein quae mediat in nomine Iesu significatur nobis cabalistice quod tum perfecte quieuit tanquam in sua perfectione mundus cum Iod coniunctus est cum Vau, quod factum est in Christo qui fuit uerus dei filius et homo.

Conclusio xv: Per nomen Iod he uau he, quod est nomen ineffabile, quod dicunt Cabalistae futurum esse nomen Messiae, euidenter cognoscitur futurum eum Deum Dei filium per spiritum sanctum hominem factum, et post eum ad perfectionem humani generis super homines paraclytum descensurum.

Nomen Iesu in the fourteenth thesis can only be W (YSW, Yesu), because it is the only form of the name of Jesus in which shin is the middle letter. Nomen Iesu is thus quite different from nomen messiae, which is the ineffable Tetragrammaton, YHWH. Seeing that Johannes Reuchlin read Pico's theses, we ought to reckon with the possibility that Pico's fourteenth and fifteenth theses inspired Reuchlin's pentagram ΠΉΡΓΡ (YHSWH), which is the Tetragrammaton with the letter shin inserted in its middle. 1 Be this as it may, one thing is quite certain: when Pico wrote his theses, the pentagram YHSWH had not yet been invented. Consequently, while Pico's theses help us to understand Reuchlin's pentagram, the latter does not help us to understand Pico's theses. 1

Cf. Reuchlin, De Arte Cabalistica (Hagenau, 1517), fols. χ r and lxxviii ν (=pp. 131 and 268 in the facsimile of the editio princeps, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, 1964).

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Appendix 8 SAPIENTIA M A G N A SALOMONIS

In his Heptaplus (p. 170 ed. Garin; Opera, p. 1), Pico writes: Extat apud Hebraeos Salomonis illius cognomento sapientissimi über cui Sapientia titulus, non qui nunc in manibus est, Philonis opus, sed alter, hierosolyma quam vocant secretiore lingua compositus, in quo vir naturae rerum sicuti putatur interpres, omnem se illiusmodi disciplinam fatetur de Mosaicae legis penetralibus accepisse. Compare the corresponding passage in Nahmanides' preface to his Commentary on the Pentateuchwhich I quote in the anonymous Latin translation published by F. Secret: et Salomo rex cui dedit Deus sapientiam in scientiam totam ex Lege fuit ipsi et de ipsa didicit usque scivit secretum omnium generationum et etiam potentias herbarum et proprietatum earum usque quo scripsit in ipsis etiam librum medicinarum et sicut modus qui scriptus est [ 1 Kings 5:13] et locutus est supra arboribus de cedro quae in Libano e[s]t usque hyssopum qui egreditur in pariete. et vidi librum caldeizatum vocatum Sapientia magna Salomonis et scriptum in ipso... omnia haec scivi[t] ex Lege et omnia invenit in ipsa, in declarationibus suis, in subtilitatibus suis, in literis suis, et in virgulis eius, sicut memoravi, et sic dixit in ipso scriptura [1 Kings S: 10] et multiplicata fuit sapientia Salomonis magis quam sapientia omnium filiorum orientis.2

1 2

My thanks are due to Professor Moshe Idel, who kindly pointed out to me the source of this passage. F. Secret, "Notes sur les hebrai'sants Chretiens de la Renaissance," Sefarad, 22 (1962), 109-117. The passages quoted are found at pp. 113 and 115. [219]

Appendix 9 BERESIT: IN PRINCIPIO

Uber Combinationum, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols 60v-61r: Item declarabimus viam et modum divisionis literarum in partes permutationis omnium literarum quia ibi conuenit ut exponatur et intellige tu quicquid exposuimus in hac particula, et vias numeri necessarij qui est particularis in omnibus ordinibus et qualitatem ordinis sui et cum auctus fuerit numerus dictionis uel diminutus fuerit quia hoc est quod pro maiore parte requiritur in processu huius sciencie volo igitur dare tibi exemplum in una dictione ut possit comprehendere aliquid ex modo procedendi in hac sapientia. et dicens capiam primam dictionem que in Genesi est et dicitur IViyX"Q idest in principio. Scias igitur quod numerus brexit necessario est 913 quod sic probatur beth duo. res 200. aleph 1. sin 300. iod 10. thau 400. collecti sunt 913. hic numerus ascendit resultans secundum supputationem numerariam tantum quantum numerus huius orationis TWS m s a a bemisuath ase idest cum preeepto affirmativo, quod sie probatur beth 2. mein 40. sade 90. vau 6. thau 400. hain 70. sin 30[0]. he 5. Itaque habes quod cum praeeepto affirmativo deus benedictus elohim creavit omne quod creavit. Tu autem nosti quid sit preeeptum affirmativum. similiter confirmatur ex eo quod dictum est post finem operis sex dierum ubi dicitur ita esse quando textus dicit he sunt generationes celorum et terre ΟΧΌΓΟ in die qua creavit eos. hec enim dictio behibarham numerum 248 qui est secundum numerum precepti affirmativi, nam preeepta affirmativa tot sunt. Itaque probatur beth 2. he 5. beth 2. res 200. aleph 1. mem 40. Collecti sunt 248. sie quoque habes ex his duobus modo ex numero necessario indicatum quod cum 248 id est cum preeepto affirmativo creavit deus elohim omnia et intellige hoc nimis. Similiter illud potes considerare ex via particule combinationis necessarie que dicitur combinatio particularis dices enim ΓΡΙ£>ΝΌ diuisa dictione n'CN "Q bar asith id est filius fundauit seu esse dedit uel secundum ea[n]dem combinationem rPWiOa diuisa dictione W ΠΚ13 baratha ies id est ies scilicet sapientia creasti. uel per eundem modum procedendi per dictam combinationem diuisa dictione WH ΠΉ3 berith es id est federe ignis creauit deus etc. et similia his potes considerare que omnia indicabunt tibi misteria magna et mirabilia. similiter per alium modum combinationis predicte Brexit ΠΕ> τ 3S ab iar sath id est pater vidit fundamentum. et tunc brexit continet in suo secreto ilium qui est prineeps mundi qui est filius dilectus a patre et propinquus ei semper de quo dictum est quod significat V ΠΚ"Π baratha ies id est sapienciam creasti quia testatur in suo secreto quod creator benedictus creauit sapientiam ex ain id est ens ex non ente post non

[220]

Appendices ens absolutum. Item per eundem modum procedendi brexit est JVC m a id est quod creavit sex et indicatur propterea quod creator benedictus creauit sex extrema nota que sunt supra et infra, dextra et sinistra, facies et dorsum, que dicuntur quatuor latera. hoc autem conflrmatur ex eo quod eadem dictio ut supra dictum est significat ΓΓΉ id est brith es, federe ignis creauit deus etc. fedus autem ignis est lex que precessit mundum duobus milibus annorum et est fedus inter nos et eum benedictum ut scribitur [Deut. 33:2] a dextris suis ignitam legem dedit eis. Six words, of the twelve that Pico combined from the letters rvipxna, appear in this passage, namely: ax, 'ab (pater); IPX, 'es (ignis); 13, bar (filius); xna, bara' (creavit); m a , berit (foedus); ΠΙΡ, sat (fundamentum). One more, namely an, rab (magnus), appears at fol. 62r-v, which is quoted in full in Appendix 13.

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Appendix 10 MAGICAL STRAINS IN SPECULATIVE KABBALA

Mysticism of language and mysticism of prayer sometimes shade into magic. What follow are texts illustrating this»transition. Expositio

Secretorum

Punctuationis,

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 92v:

Indicavimus namque tibi quod nomen proprium Tetragramaton dividitur in duas vias ut legisti in libro precedenti. Scilicet Iod he ad actionem et unum eregione quinarii et senarii ad motum. Itaque excitavimus te in secreto dictionis ΓΠΧ^ΒΠ id est quinarii et aleph et tau principii et finis. Et debes scire quod in his duabus viis seculum pendet et ab eis omnis formatio et omnis sermo egreditur per nomen Tetragramaton Iod he vau he quod est unum in quo consistit summa literarum et punctuationis, nam in eius punctuatione omnia secreta operationis consistunt in quibus sciendis anima perficitur quia tunc domina mundi efficitur cum tarn superiora quam inferiora sibi obedientia habeat, secus autem non differta brutis de primo quidem dixit propheta [Ps. 8:6] deminuisti eum parvum a diis omnia supposuisti sub pedibus eius. De secundo autem idem propheta dixit [Ps. 49:21] homo autem cum in honore est et non intelligit assimilatus est brutis et comparatur illis. Veras autem intellectus anime non consistit nisi in sciendo ipsum nomen proprium ut possit invocans eum intrare in adytus suos. Ideo fill mi inquire quid sit holem, inquire quid sit cames, et quid sit sen, inquire etiam quid sit hiric et xuruc que sunt quinque mirabilia. Inquire quid sit aleph et inquire quid sit thau principium et finis et divide omnes milicias in quinque et considera nunc quinque eregione quinque et intelliges et invenies in eis oculta misteria. Tractatus de Revolutione Ducentarum Triginta Unius Portarum Alphabetic Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 134: the text is quoted in Appendix 11. Recanati, De Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabale, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 287v: the passage is quoted in full in Chapter 12, page 149. Ibid., fols. 298v-299r: Post hoc vero dicit benedictus dominus Elohim dii Israel qui facit mirabilia solus et benedictum sit nomen glorie sue et inplebitur tota terra gloria sua amen et amen. Dominus Elohim indicatur nomen magnum benedictum quod est Israel Senex. Elohim vero indicatur nomen gloriosum vel venerabile. Quod autem dicitur et benedictum sit nomen glorie sue declarabitur inferius in misterio lectionis particule audi. Quod vero sequitur et inplebitur [222]

Appendices gloria sua tota terra declarabitur in sanctificatione in versu flsa. 6:3] plena est tota terra gloria sua. Intellige autem quod meminit nomen proprium quod facit mirabilia solus quia miracula manifesta que mutant ordinem mundi sunt per nomen proprium quem ad modum est divisio maris rubri et similia. Verum miracula oculta de supra scripsit Ms. potest homo dicere quod fiunt naturaliter fiunt virtute nominis honorabilis. Abraham Abulafia, De Secretis Legis, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 363r: Nec seducant te verba fatuorum et non habentium intellectum dicentium tibi non esse procedendum per combinationem licterarum ex quo quodlibet est in quolibet et nihil est extra se quod ita possint fieri consequentie sive possint probationes [probatione MS] vere sicut false et per consequens quod scientia hec non est vera que probat duo contraria quorum unum oportet esse falsum secundum mentem eorum et opiniones non veraces apud fidem eorum falsam quia de his omnibus iam pridem tibi responsum est et cautum et monui iam te de illo nec oportet ut hie repetam sed ut revocem in memoriam. Volo bene etiam revocare tibi in memoriam propter hoc quod sum tibi dicturus in hoc secreto quarto quod nullum dubium est si sciveris hanc scientiam poteris formare seu creare hominem de novo sicut docet Abraam pater noster in libro Sepher Iesire et darum est omni scienti ilium librum etiam in simplici sermone suo quanto magis illi qui seit oculta eius et secreta. Ibid., fols. 407v-408r: Scias quidem quod hoc nomen continet omnes literas praeter tres et veniunt loco eius tres testus [textus] et secretum est v " adonai adonai id est dominus dominus vel 10.10.10. 10.10.10. et in veritate quod hoc nomen est exauditor orationum hebraice somehia tefilla nVsn smtp et hoc nomen est nomen quo fiunt operationes in mundo hebraice xem appahulloth mViyDH nil> et est nomen quod transmutat omnes naturas et facit res supernaturales hebraice vehu axem amsane col attebahim chullam O'JS D'snon "73 rniPDn own Χ1Π1 et etiam est illud quod agit vel operatur animam intellectivam et etiam celos hebraice vehu haxem apoel anexama gam axamaima r w a w n DJ nation bwisn DWH «im. Et cum eo etiam sol operatur aquas hebraice vehimo axemes pohel amaima wnwn m m R W O N "?YID et cum hoc nomen [MC] omnes ministri operantur et agunt hebraice ubo pohalim axamaxim chullam 0*73 D'ttfDlPn D'VyiD 131. Ibid., fol. 442r: Et recipit sic viginti quatuor combinationes et ab eis per suas revolutiones intelliges mirabilia. Et cave semper in tota speculatione tua a dracone delatore in cuius manu est nomen regis. Et ipse rex qui utitur cum eo vel per ilium arte magica. Et scias quod omnis draco habet animam. Et a virtute sua in te respiratio erit que dicitur maga mulier. Verum tarnen magam mulierem seu utentem earn arte magica non permictas vivere quia mortua est et non viva.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Comentum Sepher Iesire, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 6v: Et intellige hunc amphorismum et fundamentum precipue unitatis quadragenarii et tricentenarii quomodo potes convertere eas ad bonum vel malum, ad damnandum vel iustificandum. Et pronunciacio lingue que etiam se habet ut lingua lancis indicat tanquam arbiter. Si enim creare volueris masculum considera pronuntiationem unitatis quadragenarii et tricentenarii. Si vero feminam unitatis tricentenarii et quadragenarii. At vero si volueris utrasque corrumpere et ad pulverem reducere considera pronuntiationem tricentenarii quadragenarii et unitatis. Et sigilla per sex sigilla anulorum nominis dei Triagramaton iod he vau quo convertuntur omnes res senarie.

Rabbi Theodori de Toleto, Porta Secretorum, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fol. 248v: Et dicunt doctores nostri si volunt sancti huius scientie creant hominem. Raua namque creavit hominem et misit eum ad rabi Zera, sed loquebatur cum eo et ille non respondebat et nisi essent peccata faciencia divisionem inter vos et deum vestrum respondisset h[abe]ns ex anima sua. Quid enim deerat illi? anima scilicet ilia ut intraret de qua dicitur et flavit in naribus eius animam vitalem. Et est vita [vel anima] regis qui memoratur in votis ascendentibus supra legem, et sapientia vivificat dominum suum.

Abulafia, De Secretis Legis, Cod. Chigi, fols. 244v-246r: Secretum septimum est de misterio temptationis Temptationis autem misterium notum est ex parte tercia ex cap. 22 et 23. Articulus et secretum et misterium temptationis continetur in textu dicente [Gen. 22:1 ] et factum est post hec verba et dominus temptavit ad Abraam dicens Elle et eile id est hec et hec sunt Iod et he ΓΡ et est hiod he vau he plenum. Et secretum eorum est hec de his elle meelle. ΓΠΓΓ n"?K mien «Vö Π1ΓΡ Kim ΓΡ Dn η^ΧΊ π"?Κ ΓΡΙ Vn nan nVs et sunt deus et hiah quos indicaui superius. tibi in fine secreti sexti quod est secretum cognitionis siue sciencie dei et providencie eius. Et scias quod elle id est hec sunt testes de sciencia sua particulari que necessitat et causat scientiam suam particularem que est nota cabalistis intelligentibus et memorantibus dominum deum et nomen eius. Et helohim experitur seu tentat ad sublimandam excellenciam temptaui per mediam temptationem. Quia temptatio est inventa et facit inveniri virtutem superiorem. Et est sphera imaginationi que vocatur dextra. Itaque habet duas vias dextram et sinistram dextram quidem continentem humores hominis, sinistram vero continentem humores femine. Et propter combinationem humorum corporis compositi necessitatur temptatio seu experimentum. Si temptaverit temptator temptatum, sapiens in temptatione superabit dominum signi. Et seiet et cognoscet imaginationem. Et incurvabit virtutem suam sub intellectu suo semper et salvat salvatum eternum provisum particulariter de sub manu sua. Et deducet tempus verum fidele a domo servorum servientium tempori. Et liberabit israel ab egypto de manu pharaonis regis cacodemonum domini magorum principis magicorum et incantatorum et submerget [224]

Appendices eum et universum populum suum in mari rubro, et recipiet legem de synao confidenter et premium eius magnum valde. Et sicut mutatus fuerit populus transiens per mare per aridam super aquas superiores in populum summersum in mari rubro in abyssis aquarum inferiorum et hie salvatus est et hie periit sic mutabitur agnus in agnum dei qui vocatur Se el nu>, et est agnus ultimus hie quidem imolabitur ad sacriilcium et hie liberabitur et memorabitur in bonum. Et ridebit in corde suo hie victor in die novissima. Et si victus fuerit erit totum quod memoratum est contrarium. Et deus benedictus sua clemencia liberabit nos a malo et ostendet nobis bonum et ne inducat nos in temptationem. Quod autem sphera imaginations dicitur dextra probatur ex numeris correspondentibus. Dicitur enim imaginatio adimion et numeri eius scilicet JTOin sunt 5.4.40.10.50. Et dextra dicitur hiamin j , 0' et eius numeri sunt 10.40.10.50. collecti sunt invicem correspondentes. Quod dextra sit humores hominis et sinistra humores mulieris [mulieres MS] probatur quia dicitur hiamin p a 1 et eius numeri sunt 10.40.10.50. et humores hominis dicuntur mizge hahadam Q-mn m o et eius numeri sunt 40.7.3.10.5.1.4.40. collecti sunt 110, quot numeri dextre similiter dicitur sinistra VxoiP semol et eius numeri sunt 300.40.1.30. et humores mulieris sunt ntt>xn ΌΤΟ mizge haissa et eius numeri sunt 40.7.3.10.5.1.300.5. collecti sunt 371 quot sunt numeri sinistre. (Pico videtur mihi scribere hunc testum in hebraico quia est nimis difficilis.) Dann notion no:on n o r DN jvoan A^nn 1 a a n a n «pan η τ ο η ι τ χ -navai w u n s n p n τ ο π T^DU? nnn m a |vmn ΤΟΊ ΪΤΗ o:n Vrn n s r jvoaa nx V'S'i ρ τ η n a s n ' a o p x a n τ ι ο χ η n»n x ' x v i I T nnno n a t i o n 'nx:n v a t ? ' ! D'oiu-inn ] n x • , Bu?aon V»a ' T u n xa^o n j n a TO ΟΉΧΟΟ V j n w m o m -iwxai nxo n a m maun nua1? ' r o a m m Vap'i ηιο o'a l a y Va nxi w i s D'on moinna ηιο d o n s a i o noixa D'jvVyn D'on bv n u o ' a D'a m a i s noix p m x V>x s i m b^x nu> xnpjn nun nw ΊΟΤ ρ m a x i i n nywi: i n trnnnnn DKI i n n s DVV nsann ητ la^a pnrn naiüV n a n V s r ητι pnp1? u n c r nri l i s ' : ' "rxi a i a n ι η ι ι π η ρ l i h 1 r o r n a m m -|Dino naun Va π ' τ n x i r .|V0i 'T 1 ?

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Appendix 11 TEXTS ILLUSTRATING K A W W A N A H

G i c a t i l l a , Portae

Iustitiae,

C o d . C h i g i , f o l . 8 0 v - 8 1 r ( c o n t i n u a t i o n o f the

q u o t a t i o n in C h a p t e r 12, p a g e 147): Hanna namque quando oravit non intravit nisi ad adytum qui requirebatur ei et pertinebatadeam. Vide quidem quid scriptum sit [1 Sam. l : l l ] e t v o v i t Hanna votum neder et dixit A d o n a i sabaoth MSAX ΓΠΓΡ si visione videris etc. memoravit ipsa locum generationis omnium generatorum. Scisne usque ad quem locum intendit Hanna in sublimatione orationis suae? usque quidem locum fati superioris quod dicitur mazal ahelion quod notum est in secreto tresdecim proprietatum clementie que fixe sunt in corona superiore. A quo quidem fato superiore et in eo omnes res pendent... et hoc est quod dicunt sapientes nostri 1 q u o d omnia pendent in fato Mazal etiam liber legis qui est in adytu hechal... Itaque quando intendit in oratione sua ascendit usque ad locum fati Mazal superius superius, et hoc est secretum textus [1 Sam. 1:10] dicentis Et ipsa erat amara anima et oravit super dominum iod he vau he. Considera quidem quod non dixit ad dominum iod he vau he sed super dominum. Iam enim nosti quod tria nomina quatuor literarum sunt unum superius, aliud in medio, aliud inferius. et inferius quidem est nomen dei tetragramaton Aleph daleth nun iod Ή Ν In medio vero aliud nomen dei tetragramaton

Iod he vau he m n \

Superius vero aliud nomen

dei

tetragramaton Aleph he iod he ΓΡΠΝ. In secreto quidem haleph he iod he pendet fatum quod dicitur mazal et hoc est quod dicitur in textu et oravit super m n \ equidem, super ipsum I o d he vau he, scilicet ad nomen A l e p h he j o d he Π'ΠΚ. et hoc est secretum eius q u o d dixerunt sapientes nostri 2 q u o d filii vita et alimenta non in merito pendet res sed in mazal id est fato pendet res. Quia locus meriti quod dicitur Zechuth JTIDT est domus iudicii septuaginta q u o d vocatur DTI^K elohim quod est proprietas potentie et timoris ... A t vero mazal id est fatum in quo pendet res est numeratio ipsius nominis tetragramaton superioris cum aleph he iod he ΓΡΠΝ que est corona. Itaque qui vult parere filios per viam miraculi usque ad hunc locum oportet ascendat. Et similiter qui vult ut elongetur sibi humidum radicale et calor naturalis in quibus consistit vita. Et similiter qui vult ut augeantur sibi maiora alimenta quam ea quae habet et quam dignus sit habere.

1

Zohar, part I I I , fol. 134r.

2

Bab. Talmud, Mo'ed

Qatan, f o l . 28r.

[226]

Appendices

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 132v-136v: Incipit tractatus de revolutione ducentarum triginta unius portarum alphabeti. Dirige me Domine per viam mandatorum et statutorum tuorum ut servem ea jugiter usque ad finem. Summa revolutionis ducentarum triginta portarum continetur in libro sepher Iesire in medio alphabeti 1.2.3.4. scripti sine duplicibus hoc modo .nttnpXSy.OJöVa'unT.'in.-aa.N. et in secunda linea scribitur aleph per saltum duarum scilicet ipsius beth et similiter tertia per saltum gimel et similiter quarta per saltum daleth et scribitur he Usque ad finem linee. et cum pervenerit itferum] ad unitatem incipiat lineam tertiam per longitudinem per saltum duarum licterarum donee pervenerit ad aleph. Et secundum hunc ordinem revolvet et erit una linea habens undeeim literas et una habens viginti duas literas et secundum hunc ordinem forma licterarum erit in medio que est aleph. lamed, beth. mem. gimel. nun. daleth. samech. quorum numeri sunt 1.30.2.40.3.50.4.60. et signum licterarum ultimarum omnium formarum erit hoc thau. xin. rex. cof. sade. phe. ain. samech. nun. mem. lamed, chaph. iod. theth. heth. zain. vau. he. daleth. gimel. beth. aleph. et debent ordinari vel per licteras vel per numeros suos secundum quod vides in his signis. Quorum prima est3 ... vicesima est 1.300.100.80.60.40.7.5.3. et dicitur per saltum decern et novem licterarum. vicesima prima est 1.400.300.200.100.90.80.70.60.50.40.30.20. 10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1. et dicitur per saltum xx licterarum. Deinde de secunda lictera que est beth vel eius numero servatur hie ordo per saltum dictarum licterarum ut dictum est de aleph. et sufficit dare exemplum de saltu unius litere 2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.90.100.200.300.400.1. et sic de aliis. et combinatio talis fit per modum predictum cum licteris nominis magni per quinque vocales scilicet u.a.i.e.o. Revolvatur primo iod [ho MS] et coniuncta ei in motu u. iu et postea a. ia et postea i. ii et postea e. ie. deinde o. io et literam quinarii cum quinariis et cum senario et secundum hunc ordinem per omnes licteras scilicet aleph vel unitas corpus est; mem vel quadragenarius venter; sin vel 300 caput; beth vel duo os; gimel vel 3 est oculus dexter; daleth vel quaternarius est oculus sinister; chaph vel 20 est naris dextra; phe vel 80 naris sinistra; res vel 200 auris dextra; thau vel 400 auris sinistra; he vel quinarius manus dextra; vau vel senarius manus sinistra; zain vel septenarius pes dexter; heth vel octonarius pes sinister; theth vel nonarius renis dexter; iod vel denarius renis sinister; lamed vel 30 epar; nun vel 50 eius fel; samech vel 60 splen; hain vel 70 intestina; sade vel nonagenarius vesica; coph vel centenarius stomachus. et sit terra virgo et duo occupent se in hoc ne senciant alii et perturbent eos donee finiatur revolutio et oratio infra scripta quam Auxilio Admirabilis in hymnis volumus scribere et exponere. cum iustitia omnia verba oris mei sint ne sit in eis tortuosum et obliquum quia lex Domini immaculata est revocans animam et vie eius vie suaves et omnes Semite eius pax. in dextra autem longitudinem dierum exhibet, et in sinistra divitias et honorem et hoc aperuit Rabi Heliezer Magnus qui dictus est filius Hircani et dixit quid loquetur potentias Domini et auditum faciet totum hymnum eius. Hesras 3

I have omitted about two pages. [227]

Pico's Encounter

with Jewish

Mysticism

quidem post templi prioris destructionem cum d o m o iudicii eius a b hora qua ablata sunt sacrificia cotidiana loco sacrificiorum [sacrificium MS] orationes generales ordinavit, fundans se super textum dicentem [Hos. 14:3] capite vobiscum verba et convertimini ad Dominum et dicite ei omnia remicte; capias bonum et loco taurorum tribuimus labia nostra. At vero quia intencio ascendit et excellit quodvis altare ideo ordinatum est ut intencio orantis in oratione sua se habeat eregione sacrificiorum. Et qui intelligit intelligat. Propter hoc anima mea voluit loqui modicum de orationibus in generali deinde de orationibus in particulari et precipue de ista combinationis alphabetalis et quid oportet qui orat scire et intendere quando orat earn et quo modo debet figere locum orationis predicte et non mutet ilium malum scilicet in bono aut bonum cum malo postquam intendit ad illud primo et posuit cogitationem suam et voluntatem suam ad illud et vocavit xam quemadmodum fecit dominus suus qui invocavit nomen secundum invocationem suam propriam ut scribitur de Abraam [Gen. 22:3] surrexit Abraam mane etc. ... ad locum ubi steterat xam coram domino quidem non scribitur hie sed eth faciem domini. Propter hoc qui novit articulos Cabale sancte intelligit mysteria haec et verba nostra. Ille vero qui non pervenit ad hunc locum non defatiget se operari nec imaginari imaginationes aut cogitare cogitationes et facere secundum opiniones suas quia rem non deducet ad actum nec proderit ei opus. Principalis autem articulus horum verborum et comprehensio eorum est in combinatione licterarum quatuor alphabetorum sicut dicturi sumus volente deo. scias autem prius quod in una quaque litera alphabetorum sunt articuli principales et misterium ocultum et quamvis sit mons excelsus in quem ascendere prohibitum est tamen ibi sunt voluptates delectationis animarum purificatarum. Ibi enim est fons puteus et congregatio aquarum et radix omnium radicum et articulus omnium articulorum generationis et essentie cuiusvis entis. Dicunt doctores nostri viginti due lictere sunt et una queque illarum habet corpus per se et animam et per combinationem licterarum alphabeti inferioris cum licteris alphabeti contenti super earn habebuntur nomina sancta nomina inquam xem amphoras honorabilis et venerabilis nomina inquam quibus quidquid vis operatur et fit et omnis potencia per ea in actum deducitur quemadmodum vides in combinatione trium textium et profectus est et venit et inclinavit [SO'I, x m , 13*1: Exod. 14:19, 20, 21]. Verum oportet ut hoc facias in circulo quia circulus est forma recta et perfecta et non est intermissio nec retardatio aut impedimentum in motu suo, quemadmodum est in aliis formis et figuris que moventur sicut manifestum in libris mathematicorum. Et in doctrina nostra in libro sepher Abahir 4 ubi mentio fit de hoc misterio licet ibi dicatur allegorice et per nutum et inferius ego memorabo in secreto eius et sufficit intelligenti. Et propter hoc debet omne verbum quod exit a b alphabeto ut fiat in circulo rotundo et circulariter pronunciari et declarari quemadmodum ego declaraturus sum et illud dicitur combinatio. Tu vero cum intellexeris hoc

4

What he has in mind is, I suppose, the passage corresponding to §83 in Scholem's German translation.

[228]

Appendices secretum eris [erit MS] in gradu superiore et poteris operari opera recta secundum directionem et auxilium et circulum ubi nominatur nomen manans a tribus testibus [textibus] his predictis secundum formam suam inferior quorum quodcumque nomen per se singulariter habet effectum magnum in operatione quemadmodum ego declarabo de uno nomine tantum reliqua autem per te ipsum ore revelata intellige auxiliante deo ... item ipsum indicat super radices et articulos contentos in libro sepher Iesire de quibus mentio ibi fit quia numero numerativo ascendit ad triginta duo. Etiam quando scribitur ad plenum et integrum hoc modo vau he vau xn INI 1ST cum numeris suis 6.1.6. 5.1. 6.1.6. nam collecti faciunt 32 et hoc est principium Cabale nominum sanctorum propter hoc dico tibi quod combinatio alphabetalis habet in se quod exeunt ex ea nomina varia ad omnem operationem et effectum et est hoc quod dixi in principio quod quatuor alphabeta sunt principalia. 5

5

On Kawwanah in general see Scholem, "Der Begriff der Kawwana in der alten Kabbala," pp. 492-518; also idem, Ursprung und Anfänge, pp. 214-218, 256-267.

[229]

Appendix 12 PRAYER AS SELF-IMMOLATION

Recanati, Liber de Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabalae, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 291v: Benedictio vero que sequitur has [benedictiones] est benedictio de lege et legitur particula sacrificiorum cotidianorum. ex quo dicunt sapientes nostri quod oratio se habet in loco sacriflcii et probant textum dicentem [Hos. 14:2-4] Convertere Israel usque ad dominum deum tuum quia scandalum conmisisti propter peccatum tuum. capite vobiscum verba et convertimini ad dominum et dicite ei omnia remicte scelera et capias bonum et retribuemus loco boum labia nostra.

Recanati, Commentary on the Pentateuch, fol. 127ra: And mark what he says [Lev. 1:2] Q3Q 3Ήί?' Ό OIK "if any man will sacrifice of you" and I have already drawn your attention in this respect to the opinion of some Kabbalists, but we do not know if their opinion is true, until the spirit be poured upon us from on high. It is also possible that he alludes to the sacrificial offerings that Michael sacrifices from among the souls of the righteous.

Ibid., fols. 129vb-130ra: 'Ö1J1 ΤΙ1? n m a p n p rnpn ' 3 WBJ1 [Lev. 2:1] "And if a soul will offer a sacrificial offering unto the Lord," etc. From what I have hinted at above you can know that in the sacrificial offering the will of the inferior elevates itself and draws near to the superior will, and the superior will to the inferior. Therefore, the inferior ought to offer Him his will by means of the sacrificial offering, and he binds his own soul to the soul of the sacrificial animal, and it is then that it is accounted to him by Scripture as if he sacrificed his own soul, for it is written "And if a soul will offer." And our Rabbis, blessed be their memory, expounded in [the tractate] Menahot [fol. 104v] that Scripture accounts it as if he sacrificed his own soul. [And this is so] because in the sacrificial offering he makes his soul adhere to the superior soul; his soul rises upward starting from the supernal altar, and then the priest is called angel, as it is said [Mai. 2:7] "For he is an angel [mal'ak] of the Lord of hosts." And in the sacrifice of his soul on high the will of the inferior draws near to the will of the superior, and the superior will consents to fulfill the request for which he offered his sacrifice.

[230]

Appendix 13 M E T A T R O N , INTELLECTUS, FILIUS

Abraham Abulafia, "Secretum Sextum est de Angelo et Intellectu vel Intell[igentia]," De Secretis Legis, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 377r-378v: Et propter hoc oportet ut notificem tibi quod ilia res que educit intellectum nostrum de potentia ad actum est intellectus separatus ab omni materia et vocatur in idiomate nostro multis nominibus convenientibus in numeris literarum.1 dicitur enim nVll?n "?tt> nip κιπ hu saro sei aholam id est princeps mundi est ipse, et est mattatron princeps facierum hebraice "VV ]VU5Ua CJQn mattatron sar appanim cuius numeri sunt totidem cum superiore. probatur hu 5.6.1. saro 300.200.6. xel haholam 300.30.5.70.6.30.40. collecti sunt 999. et tot sunt litere mattatron 40.9.9.200.6.50. sar 300.200. hapanim 5.80.50.10.40. collecti sunt 999. qui vocatur princeps vel archangelus miliciarum vel sabahoth, hebraice mS3S IIP sar sabahoth, cuius numeri sunt totidem sar 300.200. sabahoth 90.2.1.6.400. itaque collecti sunt 999. et sic ipse est princeps miliciarum per motum sphere, hebraice b ^ j n nsurQ bithnuath agalgal cuius litere in numero sunt totidem. probatur 2.400.50.6.70.400. 5.3.30.3.30. collecti sunt 999. nam omnes motus sphere sunt infra 999. Et nomen eius proprium est sicut nomen magistri sui quod est Ή® sadai. probatur quia sadai habet in numero 300.4.10. qui sunt 314et tot habet mattatron. probatur ]Viüün 40.9.9.200.6.5[0], collecti sunt 314. Verum tarnen nomen eius proprium est xadai, cognomen vero est mattatron, et numerus eius est angelus lune hebraice ΠΤΠ "JK'JO malach aiareiah et totidem numeros habet, scilicet 40.30.1.20.5.10.200.8. collecti sunt 314. Et ipse habet priorem sapientiam vel scientiam nec est ipse prima scientia. hebraice FIMP SLO "iVi vlo mada cadmon |IMP 5ΠΟ NVI vlo madah cadmon, quia lictere eius totidem habent numerum. probatur quia madah habet numeros 40.4.70. cadmon 100.4.40.6.50. collecti sunt 314. Itaque cum habeat primam scientiam nec sit ipse prima scientia testatur de se ipso idem ut dicunt sapientes nostri et dicit ego creatus sum, hebraice 'JN ani nibra, cuius numeri sunt totidem. probatur ani 1.50.10. nibra 50.2.200.1. collecti sunt 314. Verum tarnen et creatus sit ipse et est sapiens rationalis vel loquens, hebraice 1310 Dan, cuius etiam numeri sunt totidem. probatur hacham 8.20.40. medaber 40.4.2.200. collecti sunt 314. et ipse est spiritus universalis, hebraice 'Vwn n n n haruuah achellali, quia totidem numeros habet, probatur haruuah 5.200.6.8. hachellali 5.20.30.30.10. 1

The italicized words are without counterpart in the Hebrew manuscripts I have seen.

[231]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism collecti sunt 314. Et vocant ilium sapientes inquisitionis 2 binsn b i w sechel appoel id est intellectum agentem et hoc quia ipse videt et non videtur, hebraice ΠΚΊ3U'NI ΠΧΠ roe veno nira quia eorum numeri equipollent invicem.

probatur

quia

sechel

habet

numeros

300.20.30.

happoel

5.80.6.70.30. collecti sunt 541. et totidem rohe qui sunt 200.6.1.5. veeno 6.1.10.50.6. nira 50.200.1.5. collecti sunt 541. Et habet adhuc multa alia nomina ei convenientia ex ratione effectuum suorum et potestatis eius cuius modi est D'tP'S hisim quia prefectus est super hierarchia angelorum quae dicitur hisim. et similiter κ π ρ η ΓΤΠ ruuah accodex idest spiritus sanctus uel spiritus sancti, et ΠΓ31Ρ xechina idest diuinitas uel habitatrix, et etiam ρ ί Ο Π ΓΤΠ ruuah aneeman idest spiritus fidelis. et etiam O'DIP m s V a malchuth xamaim idest regnum celorum et hec et similia nomina inposita sunt ei non quod tot nomina habeat sed quod intencio omnis vocantis nomen eius est intencio una equalis secundum opus suum contra quam disceptandum non est. nec inuenitur qui contradicat ei. Itaque vocatur Intellectus uel Intelligentia in idiomate nostro "ixVa Malach idest angelus uel 3Π3 cherub, etiam in multis locis vocabitur DTtVx elohim ut diximus in misterio illius quod habet nomen simile nomini magistri sui. Itaque sapientes nostri vocant eum ut plurimum "ρ]Π Henoch, et dicunt quod Henoch est Mattatron et sic dixit Ionethes Chaldeus. 3 Et dixit Rabi Eliezer Gormacensis in libro de anima quod septuaginta nomina habet Mattatron, sicut excitarunt nos sapientes nostri sanctissimi de hoc in amphorismis septem adytuum, hebraice xiba hechaloth, et in aliis libris ex compositione sanctissimi rabi Aquibe et rabi Ismaelis summi pontificis super quibus pax dei sit. omnia quidem ilia nomina conueniunt inuicem tum per combinationem tum per numerum licterarum. Et incepit ipse Rabi Eliezer exponere primum nomen eius. Et ut ego excitem Intellectum tuum ad hoc scribam tibi ex eo quedam verba ex his suis que excitant intellectum hominis ad sacram sapienciam hanc Ms. hac cabale propheticam et dicam tibi illud quod ipse primus de hoc dixit et hec sunt verba eius. Scias quod nomen primum ipsius Mattatron ex sacrosanctis septuaginta nominibus que habet est "7Κ1ΓΡ iehuel idest deus deus. et secretum eius est ρ Ben idest filius quia tot litere sunt unius quot alterius et articulus eius est N3X anna et ipse est ΙΓΡ^Ν eliahu idest elias. et etiam est nomen proprium tetragramaton quod scribitur per'""' v " ' duplicatum seu Π I V TP quia in eo duplicatur nomen. Et ipse est V s i l Sin hu G o e l idest redemptor. quia est ipse in toto corde tuo, hebraice "pV chaleb

Bechol libbecha. et ipse est qui regit totum mundum

sicut cor quod regit totum corpus et secretum eius est in mari

hebraice DO baiam et de eo dictum est [Exod. 15:1] equum et equitem proiecit Balam idest illud nomen sic vocatum et significat in mari et ipse operatur in terra, hebraice ΠΟΙίΟ baadama, et ipse amat omnem virum diuinum hebraice 'ITlVx

V33 33Π0 mehabeb bechol hisc elohi. hec sunt

verba piissimi rabi Eliezer in libro de anima. 4 Antequam autem dicam tibi

Sapientes

inquisitionis

is a literal translation of the Hebrew hakmey ha-

mehqar, i.e., "philosophers." Targum

Yonathan (Yerusalmy),

Gen. 5:24.

The Hebrew original states merely V ' l TOnn ' " Q l nVx.

[232]

Appendices alia considera quod omnia nomina que huic Archangelo actribuit non excedunt numerum 52. primum enim quod dixit est Vsm' iehuel habet numeros 10.5.6.1.30. secundum est ρ Ben filius, habet numeros 2.50. Tertium est irrVx Eliahu idest Elias habet numeros 1.30.10.5.6. Quartum anna X3X idest queso uel Anna nomen proprium habet numeros 1.50.1. Quintum e s t A d o n a i Adonai idest dominus dominus habet numeros 10.10.6.10.10.6. Sextum est l n i ' T P Iod iod vau, denarius denarius et senarius habet numeros 10.6.4.10.6.4.6.6. Septimum ^SIJ Χ1Π hu Goel, idest ipse redemptor est, habet numeros 5.6.1.3.6.1.30. Octavum Bechol idest in toto "?33 habet numeros 2.20.30. Nonum libecha idest corde tuo "|aV habet numeros 30.2.20. Decimum challeb 3"73 idest sicut cor habet numeros 20.30.2. Undecimum ΟΌ baiam idest in mari habet numeros 2.10.40. Duodecimum n o i x a badama idest in terra habet numeros 2.1.4.40.5. Tertium decimum est 33ΠΒ mehabeb habet numeros 40.8.2.2. Quartum decimum est Bachol idest omnem vel in omni boa habet numeros 2.20.30. Quintum decimum Tll^N elohi idest diuinum habet numeros 1.30.6.5.10. Vides igitur verba sancti quindecim nominum sanctorum contextorum in oratione sanctissimi. While it is improbable that Abulafia wrote the concluding part of the quotation (from "Antequam autem dicam" on), the purpose of this interpolation is by no means self-evident. Fifty-two being the isopsephic equivalent both of ViOIT5 and of p , we simply cannot tell which of the two was uppermost in the interpolator's mind when he set out to show that "omnia nomina que huic Archangelo actribuit non excedunt numerum 52". Nor must it be assumed that the interpolator is Flavius Mithridates. He might be; but it cannot be proved: more than twenty-five manuscripts of Abulafia's Sitrey Torah exist, 6 few of which have been critically examined so far. Anonymi Liber Combinationum,

Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 62r-v:

Dictio autem duarum literarum, puta 13, combinatio eius est facilis "Π, 31. et combinationalis numerus eius est ΓΠ id est 4.400. renovatur ergo tibi e medio combinationis eius res oculta et est quod lex incipit in vocabulo 13 id est filius quando dicitur rWX13,13. ΓΗΡΧ id est filium fundabo. et sic habes expositionem duarum priorum licterarum que indicant m id est lex que est 13. 31 id est filius princeps vel dominus, notificavimus autem tibi quod 13 id est filius est secrete Intellectus Agens qui dicitur filius cum sit principium edificij. nosti enim quod due litere faciunt edificium quod dicitur p a et inde ρ id est filius vel edificatus; i a autem est idem quod filius ρ de quo scribitur

5

6

For Jahoel see Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition (New York, 1960), p. 43, and Joseph Dan, Torat ha-Sodsei Hasidut Askenaz (Tel-Aviv, 1968), pp. 220-221 (in Hebrew). Cf. Scholem, MTJM, p. 373, n. 19. [233]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

[Ps. 2:12] osculemini filium (nos dicimus apprehendite disciplinam 7 ) et sic in veritate res se habet quia sicut Alius propinquissimus est patri sic hie filius propinquissimus est patri. Absit autem quod dicamus quod hec propinquatio sit ex parte et ratione comunionis que est inter eos sicut inter filium et patrem nisi quod esse huius separatum est ab esse huius. hie enim filius est ens sicut cetera entia sed bene gradus et excellentia eius nobilior est ceteris propter amorem de eo et appropinquationem ad ipsum benedictum. vocauit autem eum ρ id est filium sicut vocatur verna qui domi nascitur et tarnen dicitur filius, non quod inter eos est aliqua comunio ratione affinitatis patris et filii. et in hoc multe gentes erraverunt in mundo et errabunt adhuc et quamuis multi ex speculatiuis volunt intrare ad has res et ad hoc misterium non tarnen possunt sustinere subtilitatem mysterij quin statim superet eos sensus et timent quia ipsi non via nostra procedunt sed via sensus. A perpendicular line surmounted by two dots appears in the margin against the last two sentences of the second quotation. The whole of the first quotation is similarly marked in the margin.

7

This is St. Jerome's version.

[234]

Appendix 14 Έ Υ Ν - S O F AND THE SEFIROT

'Eyn-Sof (φΟ j'X) appears in the fourth Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam, hard on the heels of Pico's divisions and definitions of Kabbala. Conclusio iv: Ensoph non est aliis numerationibus connumeranda, quia est illarum numerationum unitas abstracta et incommunicata, non unitas coordinate.

It always helps to understand Pico's encounter with Kabbala, if the lineage of his theses can be traced. This is so, not because Pico was a slavish follower of his sources, but because Jewish Kabbala is not a uniform body of doctrine. The doctrine of the ten sefirot is no exception: it is presented in quite different forms in the books Pico read in the translations of Mithridates. Hence, the more genuinely Kabbalistic a thesis happens to be, the more likely it is that Pico was taking sides, perhaps unaware, in the quarrels of Jewish Kabbalists among themselves. In the fourth thesis his alignment, unless I misjudge the evidence, is with the Geronese school of Kabbala, and in particular with Rabbi Azriel of Gerona. 1 I have already mentioned that the ten sefirot made their first appearance in the Book of Creation, where their number is emphatically stated to be "ten and not nine, ten and not eleven." The interpretation of this dictum became the vehicle par excellence of discussions concerning the relationship between 'Eyn-Sof and the sefirot. Apart from stray quotations embedded in Recanati's Commentary on the Pentateuch and in the anonymous De Proportione Divinitatis (Ma'areket ha-'Elohut), Pico was in all likelihood acquainted with three ex professo discussions of the problem. The artificial noun 'Eyn-Sof, created by the Kabbalists themselves, 2 is masculine in Hebrew. In Pico's thesis it is feminine. Unless my memory plays me false, the only other instance of 'Eyn-Sof used as a feminine noun, before Pico's thesis, appears in the Latin translation of Abraham Axel1 2

On the Geronese School of Kabbala see Scholem, Ursprung und chap. 4. See ibid., pp. 233-235.

[235]

Anfänge,

Pico's Encounter

with Jewish

Mysticism

rad's Corona Nominis Boni. That treatise, as I have argued in Chapter 3, is in all likelihood the direct source of Pico's second thesis secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum. This being so, it is a matter of some interest for the present purpose that Abraham Axelrad bears witness to the existence of the doctrine according to which 'Eyn-Sof was superadded to the ten sefirot (Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 182v-183r): Audivi tamen quosdam qui addunt super numero decern numerationum ipsam Ensoph per unam numerationem quia dicunt postquam omnes numerationes sunt decern in numero suo habent omnino finem numero ideo est dicendum quod creavit coronam superiorem tamquam ens id est quoddam ocultum ipso ensoph et est causa causarum seu adinventio adinventionum 3 et hoc est quod intendatur inter separationem illam ocultam ab illo chether. Et propter hoc dixit Abraam pater noster ad hoc excludendum in libro sepher iesire4 "decern et non novem, decern et non undecim" ut scilicet introducatur in edificio superiore denario corone superioris. Quia si est in continencia decern erunt sic decern et non undecim, ad scilicet educendum a numero denario illud ocultum quod est in principio cheter id est corone quod non habet principium nec finem et propter hoc non continetur in numero neque apparet hoc aliquo modo quod videri possit. We have already seen in Chapter 4 that some time before 10 November 1486 Pico read Rabbi Moses ben Nahman's authentic commentary on the Sefer Yesirah. Consequently, that commentary ought to be reckoned as a potential source of Pico's theses. Commenting o n the second half of the dictum "ten and not nine, ten and not eleven," Rabbi Moses writes, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191, fols. 41v-42r: Similiter "decern et non undecim" Ad educendum a fonte rem ocultam que est in principio corone, quia ex eo quod nos videmus ei esse aliquem finem ratione callium inde manantium quia omnes calles veniunt ad unum locum perceptibilem putamus Coronam esse principium et causam causarum. Considerantes autem superiora eo5 dicimus esse rem occultam et inperceptibilem et cogitatu difficilem oreque inexprimibilem ideo non introducitur hoc respectu in numerationibus.

3

4 5

Adinventio adinventionum is Mithridates' usual rendering of m^yn rbv. Cf. Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 207v: "At vero in causa causarum vel adinventione adinventionum cogitatio vel imaginatio debet recipere a virtute sua. et ideo tenuerunt observatum hoc vocabulum hillath ahilloth hoc est ascensus ascensionum. (per hoc vocabulum solitus sum ponere ego Mithridates in latino adinventionem adinventionum. Tu nunc memor esto.)" In the mythical bibliography of Kabbala the Book of Creation (Sefer Yesirah) is often ascribed to the patriarch Abraham. Keter (Corona) is masculine in Hebrew. [236]

Appendices The texts I have quoted so far help to account for the negative part of Pico's thesis, namely that 'Eyn-Sof is not to be counted with the sefirot. The positive part of the fourth thesis, namely that 'Eyn-Sof \s the unity of the ten sefirot, harks back to Rabbi Azriel of Gerona, who, long before Pico, stated the relation between 'Eyn-Sof and the sefirot in terms of the old Platonic problem of the One and the Many. I have argued in Chapter 4 that the main difference between the successive stages of Pico's Kabbalistic studies was Pico's greater acquaintance with Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, which contains Rabbi Azriel's Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus. Among several other questions concerning 'Eyn-Sof, Rabbi Azriel explains how it is possible to maintain that 'Eyn-Sof is one and that the ten sefirot are united in it, fol. 167r: lam notificavimus tibi quod unitas est fundamentum multorum et nulla virtus innovatur in eis nisi ab ea et ipse est plus eis et unumquodque eorum superat proximum suum inferiorem sed et virtus huius est in virtute prioris. ipsa quidem unitas est virtus omnium et virtus omnium non est virtus prior quam prior sit virtus omnium quia non est in particulari nisi illud quod est in universali, verbi gratia ignis flamma scintille et colores sunt quoddam unum quamvis quando dividuntur partes eorum variantur ab invicem, ubi in universali consistunt in igne.

The relationship between 'Eyn-Sof and the ten sefirot is considered by Pico again in his thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth Kabbalistic theses secundum opinionem propriam, though in different terms. Conclusio xxxv: Si Deus in se ut infinitum, ut unum, et secundum se intelligatur ut sic nihil intelligimus ab eo procedere sed separationem a rebus et omnimodam sui in seipso clausionem et extremam in remotissimo suae diuinitatis recessu profundam ac solitariam retractationem de eo intelligimus ipso penitissime in abysso suarum tenebrarum se contegente et nulo modo in dilatatione ac profusione suarum bonitatum ac fontani splendoris se manifestante.

Conclusio xxxvi: Ex praecedenti conclusione intelligi potest cur dicatur apud Cabalistas quod Deus induit se decern uestimentis quando creauit seculum.

The ten garments that God donned when He created the world are of course the ten creative logoi, in other words the ten sefirot. Hence, the heart of the problem envisaged in the thirty-sixth thesis is the mediation of the ten sefirot between the hidden God and the world. This problem is considered in Azriel's treatise at fol. 166r. In the margin of that page appear what I consider to be Pico's markings: perpendicular lines sur[237]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism mounted by two dots placed horizontally to each other. Azriel's discussion reads as follows: Quod si dixeris quod ipse solus intendit in creatione seculi absque numerationibus, est respondendum super hoc quod si esset ita creatio fuisset a casu sive accidentalis et intencio indicasset defectum rei intente. Creationem aut[em] fuisse a casu sive per accidens sequeretur si diceretur quod ipse nihil intendit in creatione ad creandum. Si enim creatio a casu esset tunc nullum ordinem haberet. sed cum nos videamus quod creata servent certum ordinem et quodam ordine ipsa permanent et quodam ordine annihilantur et destruuntur et quodam ordine innovantur. et hie ordo per quem permanent et destruuntur est qui dicitur Sephiroth id est numerationes que sunt universaliores omni quod est in definitione numeri definitum. At vero quia sunt esse rerum creatarum mediantibus numerationibus variantur quidem ab invicem et est in eis consideranda altitudo, humilitas, et mediocritas quamvis omnes sunt ab una radice, scilicet quod omnes numerationes ipsae procedant ab ensoph extra quem nihil est.

The Geronese pedigree of Pico's conception of Ensoph, and in particular his acquaintance with Azriel's Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus is a matter of exceptional importance, because Azriel, as we have already seen, is the outstanding Jewish representative of the Neoplatonic doctrine that all opposites coincide in God. Johannes Reuchlin, as Scholem pointed out,6 noticed the similarity between Azriel's doctrine of 'Eyn-Sof and Nicolaus Cusanus' coincidentia oppositorum in God. Azriel's treatise On Faith and Heresy, which Reuchlin read, does not appear among the extant Latin translations owned by Pico.7 Nevertheless, granted that Pico read Azriel's Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus and the preface to Abulafia's De Secretis Legis, which contains the remarkable interpolation stating that "quodlibet est in quolibet et nihil est extra se" is a first principle of Kabbala,8 it does not seem to me likely that the Kabbalistic strain of the coincidentia oppositorum escaped Pico's notice.

6 7

8

Ursprung und Anfänge, p. 389. Reuchlin's definition of Ensoph is not a verbatim quotation from Azriel's treatise but a summary of its doctrine. Hence, the occasional similarity of language between Reuchlin's definition and Pico's thirty-fifth thesis proves no more than that Pico's thesis was in Reuchlin's mind when he wrote his own definition of Ensoph. It does not by any means prove that Pico read the treatise On Faith and Heresy. See Chapter 8.

[238]

Appendix 15 DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF CHRISTIAN KABBALA

To avoid misconceptions, I had better state at once that it does not by any means follow from what I have said about Pico's legacy to Christian Kabbalists of all time that all Christian Kabbala follows the pattern of the Kabbala that Pico made his own. That pattern holds good for a great deal of Christian Kabbala. But there are noteworthy exceptions. The Adumbratio Kabbalae Christianae is a case in point. Pico's Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam and the anonymous Adumbratio Kabbalae Christianae start from the same assumption, namely that Jewish Kabbala confirms Christianity; 1 but they soon part ways. There are, to be sure, certain points of resemblance between the Adumbratio and the Conclusiones as regards details: the messiological interpretation of the first word of Genesis, 2 the equation of Justus with Fundamentum, 3 and the equation of the Messiah with the Tetragrammaton. 4 All such incidental resemblances notwithstanding, the Adumbratio and the Conclusiones, considered as documents of Christian Kabbala, are quite different from each other. It would in fact be true to say that each is written in a different key. The foundation of Pico's Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity is a Christian interpretation or application, as the case may be, of the doctrine of the ten sefirot with a touch oiars combinandi. Seflrot and combinations of letters are occasionally mentioned in the Adumbratio, but here they are 1

2 3

4

Adumbratio Kabbalae Christianae id est syncatabasis Hebraizans sive Brevis Applicatio Doctrinae Hebraeorum Cabbalisticae ad dogmata Novi Foederis pro formanda hypothesi ad conversionem Judaeorum proficua, in Knorr von Rosenroth, Kabbala Denudata, II, 2 (Frankfort o / M , 1684). Ibid., p. 9: "Et hue etiam refero quod Gen. I v. 1 dicitur rVBWO Per Principium (i.e. Messiam) creavit Deus coelum et terram." Ibid., p. 18: "Jesod sive fundamentum apud Cabbalistas vocari solet justi nomine, Prov. χ vers. 25, ubi dicitur Iustus est fundamentum mundi. Hoc autem nomen tribuitur Messiae nostro." Ibid., p. 19: "Dictitarunt Doctores Mischenaici, quod Domus sanctuarii et nomen Messiae appellantur nomine tetragrammato. Probandum igitur, quod et Messiae nostro tribuatur nomen tetragrammaton."

[239]

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subordinate to a different kind of Kabbala, the Kabbala of Isaac Luria, who had not yet been born when Pico died. The heart of the Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity in the Adumbratio is the equation of the Messiah with what is known as Adam Kadmon (Primordial Man) in Luria's Kabbala. 5 The pedigree of this equation is not a matter of inference or conjecture: it is stated expressis verbis in the Adumbratio at pp. 25-26: Corollarii loco adhuc unum tibi suggeram, ne ullum supersit dubium certoque sciatur, a nostratibus per istum Adam Kadmon intelligi Messiam. Allegabo autem Antesignanum rerum Cabbalisticarum scriptorem, R. Jizchak Loriensem Germanum, qui in Tractatu suo manuscripto Seder Aziluth, seu compendio de ordine Systematis Emanativi sic loquitur 6 TX ό rrwyn DVU? ΝΙΠΙΡ s p i n O'jirun η π κ π m x i r : "' on 3"py " 3 " p r Π'ητπ i n Vs vVn N A S I Ρ Ί Π Ϊ Ο HJO' ΠΒΧΊΠ p m p DIX ΝΊΠ ΝΠ'ΊΡΗ M A P ' J N a " p y '131 n a y V o w run vVs m x r m m p D^num seu Nomen Iacob sunt litterae 3"pS " quasi dicatur denarius calcanei, qui sunt decern radii lucis inserti in calcaneum, qui est Mundus factivus: quoniam tunc in calcaneis Messiae, qui est Adam Kadmon, impudentia multa erit. Et postmodum stabunt pedes ejus super monte Olivarum: adjmplebiturque statura ejus [Conf. Act. I, v. 12 and 9.] Deque eo dictum est: Ecce intelligenti instar erit servus meus, exaltabitur et elevabitur et sublimis erit valde. Jesch. 52.13. As regards Pico's Christian Kabbala, the quotation illustrates what can be seen again and again throughout the Adumbratio, namely that the Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity there is entirely unrelated to Pico's Conclusiones.

5

6

On Adam Kadmon and the doctrine of creation in Luria's Kabbala see Scholem, MTJM, pp. 248-263, and Kabbalah, pp. 128-144. Luria's doctrine of "the breaking of the vessels" is also discussed in the Adumbratio, p. 27: "Nunc dicendum erit de confractione et lapsu vasorum." Scholem kindly identified the source of this quotation, namely niV'XNn Π 0 Λ Ο Ί Η N R P N i n W M S Ό (Cracow, 1885), fol. 6va; and in Π 0 3 Π NIMVSM I S O , fol. 56r. See also Hayyim Vital, Π"Π Ρ (Warsaw, 1891), fol. 17ra. There are certain textual discrepancies but they need not be dealt with here.

[240]

Appendix 16 ELOQUIA SACRA

The history of the so-called Chaldean Oracles in the Renaissance (known at that time by the name of Zoroaster) is still beset with a variety of unsolved problems. One of them, perhaps the most puzzling of all, is connected in particular with Pico della Mirandola. For if Pico is to be believed, he had read a Chaldean text of the oracles of Zoroaster. In the autumn of 1486, Pico informed Ficino that he had come by certain books which induced him to study Arabic and Chaldean. Animarunt autem me atque adeo agentem alia vi compulerunt ad Arabum litteras Chaldaeorumque perdiscendas libri quidam utriusque linguae, qui profecto non temere aut fortuito, sed Dei consilio et meis studiis bene faventis numinis ad meas manus pervenerunt. Audi inscriptiones, vadimonium deseres. Chaldaici hi libri sunt: In primis Ezre, Zoroastris et Melchiar Magorum oracula, in quibus ilia quoque, que apud Graecos mendosa et mutila circumferuntur, leguntur integra et absoluta. Tum est in ilia Chaldeorum sapientum brevis quidem et salebrosa, sed plena misteriis interpretatio. Est itidem libellus de dogmatis Chaldaice theologie cum Persarum, Grecorum et Chaldeorum in ilia divina et locupletissima enarratione. 1 Two specimens of Pico's Chaldean texts in what was presumably meant to be their original language have come to light. 2 Pico quotes a Chaldean dictum in his Oratio de Hominis Dignitate. A blank space was left for the oriental text in the editio princeps of Pico's Commentationes (Bologna, 1496). In later editions of Pico's Opera Omnia the oriental text appears in awkward and ungrammatical Hebrew, printed in Hebrew characters. But in the Florentine MS Pal. 885, discovered and published by Eugenio Garin, 3 the oriental text, omitted by Garin, is written in Ethiopic characters (fol. 147r): Idcirco scribit Evantes Persa, ubi chaldaicam theologiam enarrat, non esse homini suam ullam et nativam imaginem, extrarias multas et adventitias. 1 2 3

Kristeller, Supplementum Ficinianum, II, 272-273. Mithridates, Sermo de Passione, pp. 37-39. Garin, La culturafilosofica, pp. 231 -240. The quoted passage is at p. 235. (Cf. Oratio, p. 108, ed. Garin, Opera, p. 315.) [241]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Hinc illud chaldaeorum: b-r-n-s h h-y m(i)-t-b-m(i)-s-t(a)-n(e)w-n-d-d(o) w-m-h-l-?-t g-r-m(a)-h k w-k idest homo varie ac multiformis et desultoriae naturae animal. 4

This text is remarkable for being composite: a vocabulary in part Aramaic and in part Hebrew written in Ethiopic characters. The other specimen of Pico's Chaldean texts is equally remarkable, and for the same reason. Scribunt interpretes Chaldaei verbum fuisse Zoroastris alatam esse animam, cumque alae exciderent ferri illam praeceps in corpus, tum illis subcrescentibus ad superos revolare. Percunctantibus eum discipulis quo pacto alis bene plumantibus volucres animas sortirentur: "irrigetis, dixit, alas aquis vitae." Iterum sciscitantibus unde has aquas peterent, sic per parabolam (qui erat hominis mos) illis respondit: "quatuor amnibus paradisus Dei abluitur et irrigatur, indidem salutaris nobis aquas hauriatis. Nomen ei qui ab aquilone q-s-t quod rectum denotat, ei qui ab occasu k-?-r-n quod expiationem significat, ei qui ab ortu n-h-r quod lumen sonat, ei qui a meridie r-h-m-n-t quod nos pietatem interpretari possumus." 5

The first name is ntPj?, which is the Syriac form of the general Aramaic meaning "truth." The second name is in all likelihood the Hebrew p s s (ϋΉΊΒΟ), which means "atonement." The third name is clearly the Aramaic i m or Ν1ΊΓΠ, "light." The fourth is the Hebrew m o m , "compassion."6 The only other person who is at present known to have written his Chaldean quotations in Ethiopic characters is Flavius Mithridates.7 We ought, however, to bear in mind that the sources of Mithridates' Chaldean quotations have been identified, and, consequently, the nature and the language of the books he quotes are known, whereas the sources of Pico's Chaldean quotations are still an unsolved puzzle. Apart from the Chaldean quotations in the Oratio de Hominis Dignitate there is one vague allusion to a different text of the Sayings of Zoroaster (that is, the Chaldean Oracles) in the thirty-first thesis secundum Proclum:

4

Pico's Chaldean quotation may be represented in Hebrew characters as

3i 3 nam nsVnm n i l :nu;a snan τι π w r a which in word-for-word

5 6 7

translation means "homo est animal naturae variae et vagae et mutantis se hue et illuc." Garin, La culturafilosofica, p. 238; see also p. 240, n. l.(Cf. Oratio,p. 128 ed. Garin; Opera, p. 321.) Unable myself to read Ethiopic, I am indebted to Professor H. J. Polotsky for the interpretation of Pico's Chaldean quotations. Sermo de Passierte, pp. 35-36, 96, 117.

[242]

Appendices Secundum praecedentem conclusionem ex Procli mente potest exponi unum ex dictis Zoroastris, secundum quod apud Graecos legitur, quamquam apud Chaldaeos aliter et legitur et exponitur. 8 Nobody except Pico ever claimed to have seen Pico's Chaldean books. But a hundred years after Pico's death Francesco Patrizi, the first modern editor of the Chaldean Oracles, became the first of a line of scholars to maintain, in one form or another, that Marsilio Ficino stated he had found Pico's commentary on the Chaldean Oracles, or, alternatively, the Chaldean books themselves among Pico's posthumous papers. As far as I am aware, no attempt has ever been made to confirm this view. And as there is no conceivable reason why it should be accepted on trust, I shall consider the evidence. In the preface to his edition of the Chaldean Oracles, 9 Patrizi writes: Sed utinam integra ea oracula haberemus, quae Picus invenerat. Utinam quae Chaldaei Persaeque in ea commentati fuerant. Utinam libellum cum enarratione, qui Chaldaicam Theologiam complectebatur. 10 Utinam denique ipsius Pici commentaria in ea ipsa et oracula et libros, quae Ficinus scribit in obitu eius inter scriptorum suorum reliquias a se reperta esse; sed ita exarata, ut vix ab eo ipso possent legi Pico. Quae, malum, pessum ierunt cum concordia ab eo scripta Aristotelis cum Platone. Ficino did touch upon Pico's posthumous papers in his letter to Germain de Ganay, but what he says is remarkably different from what Patrizi reports him as saying: Moliebatur quotidie tria: concordiam Aristotelis cum Platone, enarrationes in eloquia sacra, confutationes astrologorum, omnia quidem tam facunde quam subtiliter disputata, sed quam stilo luculenta tam novis obscurisque character!bus adumbrata, ut vix ab eo legi possent. Itaque neque absoluta ab eodem vel recognita sunt nec ab aliis nisi forte vaticinarentur exscribi possunt." It was surely this passage that Patrizi had in mind. But if this is conceded, it follows that he misconceived what Ficino was saying. By

8 9

10 11

Pico, Opera, p. 77. Patrizi's edition of the Chaldean Oracles, Zoroastris oracula CCCXX ex Platonicis collecta, is appended to his Nova de Universis Philosophia (1st ed., Ferrara, 1591; 2d ed., Venice, 1593). The Zoroaster has a separate foliation. The quotation is from fol. 4 of the Venice edition. Patrizi echoes the passage in Pico's letter to Ficino, which I have quoted above, page 3. That passage is quoted in Patrizi's preface at fol. 3vb. Kristeller, Supplementum Ficinianum, II, 92. [243]

Pico's Encounter

enarrationes

in eloquia

sacra

with Jewish

Mysticism

Ficino meant commentaries on

the

12

Scriptures, whereas Patrizi apparently assumed that he meant commentaries on the Oracles. If this is in fact what happened, the misconception can be accounted for. We ought to bear in mind that the same words can mean different things to different people. Eloquia, τά λόγια, is a case in point. Paul, in a famous passage (Rom. 3:2), used τά λόγια τοΰ θεού to denote the Hebrew Scriptures. Pseudo-Dionysius

Areopagita, Paul's reputed disciple and the Christian Neoplatonist par excellence, usually refers to the Scriptures as τά λόγια.13 By contrast, Proclus uses το λόγιον and τά λόγια to denote oracles, and in particular the

Chaldean Oracles. 14 There are also solitary instances in late Neoplatonist literature of the Chaldean Oracles being referred to as θεία λόγια and ιερα

λόγια.'5 Given Patrizi's enthusiasm for the "Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster" and his belief that Pico owned the Chaldean books, it need not be surprising that he misconceived Ficino's statement the way he did. Whatever its cause, the misconception, once started, passed unchallenged through the centuries, was not yet extinct some three hundred and fifty years after Patrizi. 16

12

13 14 15 16

And in particular Pico's commentaries on Psalms, some of which survive (see Garin, La cultura fllosoflca, pp. 241-253). Gian Francesco Pico used the same expression in his letters which touch upon his uncle's posthumous works; see Di Napoli, Giovanni Pico delta Mirandola e la problematica dottrinale del suo tempo, pp. 261-267. Dionysius Areopagita, Von den Namen zum Unnennbaren, ed. Ε. von Ivanka, sigillum 7 (Einsiedeln, n.d.), p. 103. Oracles Chaldaiques, ed. and trans. Ε. des Places (Paris, 1971), p. 10; Η. Lewy, Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy (Cairo, 1956), p. 443. Lewy, Chaldaean Oracles, p. 443. Karl H. Dannenfeldt, "The Pseudo-Zoroastrian Oracles in the Renaissance," Studies in the Renaissance, 4 (1957), 15, n. 45.

[244]

Appendix 17 T H E D O C T R I N E OF THE T H R E E W O R L D S

It is a noteworthy fact that Pico's Heptaplus begins and ends on the same note: the hierarchical sequence of three worlds, the angelic or intelligible, the celestial, and the sublunar. At the same time, the doctrine of the three worlds is differently presented in each instance. "Tres mundos figurat antiquitas" is the opening sentence of the proem: Supremum omnium ultramundanum, quem theologi angelicum, philosophi autem intellectualem vocant, quern a nemine satis pro dignitate decantatum Plato inquit in Phaedro. Proximum huic caelestem; postremum omnium sublunarem hunc, quem nos incolimus. Hie tenebrarum mundus; ille autem lucis, caelum ex luce et tenebris temperatur. Hie per aquas notatur, fluxa instabilique substantia; ille per ignem, lucis candore et loci sublimitate; caelum natura media idcirco ab Hebraeis asciamaim, quasi ex es et maim, idest ex igne et aqua quam diximus, compositum nuncupatur. Hie vitae et mortis vicissitudo; illic vita perpetua et stabilis operatio; in caelo vitae stabilitas, operationum locorumque vicissitudo. Hie ex caduca corporum substantia; ille ex divina mentis natura; caelum ex corpore, sed incorrupto, ex mente, sed mancipata corpori constituitur. Movetur tertius a secundo; secundus a primo regitur, et sunt praeterea inter eos differentiae plurimae quas hie enarrare non est consilium, ubi haec praeterfluimus potius quam inundamus. Hoc non praetermiserim, figuratos hos mundos tres a Mose evidentissime, in admirabilis illius tabernaculi sui constructione. Partitus est enim tabernaculum in partes tres, quarum singulae singulos quos diximus mundos repraesentare expressius nullo modo possent. Etenim prima pars, nullo defensa tecto vel umbraculo, imbribus, nivi, solibus, calori frigorique obvia erat et opportuna et, quod est nostri, idest sublunaris mundi evidentius simulacrum, inhabitabant earn non modo homines mundi et immundi, sacri et profani, sed et omnifarii generis animalia eratque in ea vel ob sacrificia iugesque immolationes vitae et mortis perpetua vicissitudo. Reliquae duae partes ambae obtectae et undique ab omni peregrina iniuria liberae, quemadmodum et uterque mundus, tarn caelestis quam supercaelestis, nec iniuriae capax nee contumeliae. Ambae item sanctitatis nomine honestatae, ita tamen ut quae erat secretior sancti sanctorum, reliqua sancti tantum titulo decoraretur, sicuti quamvis et caelestis et angelicus mundus uterque sanctus, quoniam supra lunam post Luciferi casum nec macula nec peccatum aut est aut esse potest, angelicus tamen caelesti longe sanctior et divinior habetur. Sed quid remotiores has similitudines prosequimur? Nam si postrema pars tabernaculi [245]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

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erat hominibus et brutis communis, secundam, quae tota auri splendore fulgebat, candelabrum illuminabat septem lucernis distinctum, quae, ut dicunt omnes interpretes Latini, Graeci et Hebraei, septem planetas significant. In parte tertia, omnium sacratissima, alata Cherubin erant. Nonne nostris tres mundos oculis subiciunt? Et hunc, quem et bruta et homines incolunt; et caelestem, in quo planetae corruscant, et supercaelestem, habitaculum angelorum... ...Est autem, praeter tres quos narravimus, quartus alius mundus in quo et ea omnia inveniantur quae sunt in reliquis. Hie ipse est homo qui et propterea, ut catholici dicunt doctores, in Evangelio omnis creaturae appellatione censetur, cum praedicandum hominibus Evangelium, non autem brutis et angelis, praedicandum tarnen omni creaturae a Christo demandatur. Tritum in scholis verbum est, esse hominem minorem mundum, in quo mixtum ex elementis corpus et caelestis spiritus et plantarum anima vegetalis et brutorum sensus et ratio et angelica mens et Dei similitudo conspicitur. Quattuor igitur hos mundos si statuamus, credibile est Mosern, dicturum de mundo sufficienter, de his omnibus disseruisse.1 Pico returns to the doctrine of the three worlds in his letter-combinatory interpretation of the first word of Genesis at the end of the Heptaplus: Videamus autem quid primo haec latine significent, tum quae per ea non ignaris philosophiae de tota natura mysteria revelentur. Ab patrem significat; bebar in filio et per filium (utrumque enim significat beth praepositio); resit, principium; sabath, quietem et finem; bara, creavit; rose, caput; es, ignem; seth, fundamentum; rab, magni; hisc, hominis; berit, foedere; tob, bono; et totam si ordine consequenti orationem texamus, erit huiusmodi: Pater in Filio et per Filium principium et finem sive quietem creavit caput ignem et fundamentum magni hominis foedere bono. Haec tota oratio ex primae illius dictionis resolutione et compositione dissultat. Cuius quam altus, quam plenus omni doctrina sit sensus, haud palam esse omnibus potest. Sed ut aliqua statim, non tamen omnia, omnibus aperta quae per has voces nobis significantur, notum omnibus Christianis quid sit, Patrem in Filio et per Filium creasse, quid item sit, Filium principium esse et finem omnium. Est enim α et co(ut scribit Ioannes), et ipse principium se appellavit; et nos demonstravimus finem omnium rerum esse, ut principio suo restituantur. Cetera paulo obscuriora, quid ilia scilicet sibi velint, caput ignis et fundamentum magni hominis, quid illud sit foedus et qua ratione bonum dicatur. Neque enim statim in promptu omnibus videre hie explicatam mundorum quattuor, de quibus egimus, omnem rationem, cognationem item et felicitatem de quibus postremo nos disputavimus. Primum igitur illud advertendum, vocari a Mose mundum hominem magnum. Nam si homo est parvus mundus, utique mundus est magnus homo. Hinc sumpta occasione, tres mundos, intellectualem, caelestem et corruptibilem per tres hominis partes aptissime figurat, simul indicans hac figura non solum contineri in homine mundos omnes, sed et quae hominis pars cui mundo 1

Pico, Heptaplus, pp. 184-186, 192 ed. Garin {Opera, pp. 5-6, 8).

[246]

Appendices respondeat breviter declarans. Cogitemus igitur in homine tres partes: supremam, caput; tum quae a collo ad umbilicum protenditur; tertiam quae ab umbilico extenditur ad pedes. Sunt enim et hae in hominis figura varietate quadam disclusae et separatae. Sed mirum quam pulchre, quam examussim per exactissimam rationem tribus mundi partibus proportione respondeant. Est in capite cerebrum, fons cognitionis. Est in pectore cor, fons motus, vitae et caloris. Sunt in parte postrema genitalia membra, principium generationis. Itidem autem et in mundo suprema pars, quae est mundus angelicus sive intellectualis, est fons cognitionis, quia facta ilia natura ad intelligendum est. Pars media, quae est caelum, principium vitae motus et caloris, in qua sol uti cor in pectore dominatur. Est infra lunam, quod omnibus notum, generationis principium et corruptionis. Videtis quam apte omnes hae mundi partes et hominis invicem congruant. Designavit autem Moses primam quidem nomine proprio, capitis scilicet. Secundam autem ignem appellavit, et quia hoc a multis caelum censetur et quia in nobis haec portio principium est caloris. Tertiam vocavit fundamentum, quia per earn (ut notum omnibus) totum hominis corpus fundatur et substinetur. Adiecit autem quod haec creavit foedere bono quia inter eas foedus pacis et amicitiae ex naturarum cognatione et mutuo consensu per sapientiae Dei legem sancitum est. Quod foedus ideo est bonum, quia ad Deum, qui est ipsum bonum, ita dirigitur et ordinatur, ut quemadmodum inter se totus mundus unus, ita et cum suo auctore postremo sit unum. Imitemur et nos sanctissimum foedus mundi, ut et mutua caritate invicem simus unum et simul omnes per veram Dei dilectionem cum illo unum feliciter evadamus. 2 It will have been noticed that there are two analogical likenesses of the three worlds in the Heptapius: at the beginning it is the Tabernacle, whereas at the end it is Man. The analogical likeness of the Tabernacle, Man, and the World occurs in Abraham Abulafia's Liber Redemptions, Cod. Chigi, fol. 285bis r: Et intelliges secretum hoc a tabernaculo cuius edificium est instar edificii corporis hominis et corporis mundi quae sunt tria secuta, seculum scilicet tabernaculum et homo. There is every likelihood that Pico read this passage: his familiar markings appear in the margin. At the same time it is altogether unlikely that Pico's elaborate discussion is descended from Abulafia's succinct statement. But the detailed form in which the analogical images or likenesses of the Tabernacle, Man, and the World are worked out by Pico is strongly reminiscent of the similar treatment of the same theme in two Kabbalistic books each of which would still fall within the purview of Pico's encounter with Kabbala, even if Pico had never touched upon the doctrine of the 2

Ibid., pp. 378-382 (= Opera, pp. 60-62). [247]

Pico's Encounter with Jewish

Mysticism

three worlds. 3 They are Bahya ben Asher's Commentary on the Pentateuch and the Kabbalistic anthology Me'irat 'Eynayim (Enlightening the Eyes, Ps. 19:9) by Isaac of Acre. The question whether, or to what extent, these two books were in fact Pico's direct sources will be considered later. Here it will suffice to quote the relevant passages in full. The first to claim our attention is Bahya ben Asher's Commentary on the Pentateuch, where at Exodus 25:9 ("According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it") the following passage appears: It is known that the tabernacle and its instruments are all of them material images in which may be contemplated superior images which are their models. And among the wonderful things in this respect is the fact that the tabernacle consists of three parts: within the veil, without the veil, which is the tent of the congregation, and the court, by analogy to the universe which is divided into three parts: the world of angels, the world of spheres, and the inferior world. And we also find that man who is the most exalted of all is the likeness of the universe in its three parts and is called microcosm, and is divided into three parts: the world of speech, the world of life, and the world of nature. The first part of the tabernacle is within the veil and in it were placed the ark and the tables [of the covenant] and the cherubim which are interior, hidden instruments and they are the chariot [merkabah] for the Name may He be exalted ... and this is the analogue to the world of angels who are separate, hidden forms and they are the separate intelligences, the chariot and the throne for the Holy blessed be He, and their analogue in man is the world of speech and it is the head which is the seat of wisdom and there the intellect flows in upon the brain ... The second part, without the veil, is the tent of the congregation and in it were placed the table and the candlestick and the altar of incense; they are venerable, interior instruments ... their analogue in man is the world of life which is the heart... The third part is the court of the tabernacle. In it was placed the brazen altar; it is the altar of burnt offering upon which the sacrifices are offered and the animals suffer there extinction, and it is analogous to the inferior world where there is generation and corruption. Analogous to it in man is the world of nature which is from the navel downward for it is from there that generation comes and it is also the beginning of the corruption of the body, for corruption is the cause of generation. 4

3

4

The Hebrew texts are discussed and presented in opposite columns by Ephraim Gottlieb, The Kabbalah in the Writings of R. Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (Jerusalem, 1970), pp. 56-57 (in Hebrew). The texts in English translation are given below, pp. 249-250. R. Bahya ben Asher, Commentary on the Pentateuch, ed. H. D. Chavel, II (Jerusalem, 1967), p. 268 (in Hebrew).

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Appendices Ephraim Gottlieb, in his study of Bahya ben Asher, drew attention to the noteworthy fact that the analogical likeness of the Tabernacle, the World, and Man is stated in Bahya's Commentary on the Pentateuch and in the Me'irat 'Eynayim of Rabbi Isaac of Acre in remarkably similar terms. 5 As far as I can see, there is no trace of the Me'irat 'Eynayim in the catalogue of Pico's library. 6 But, as J.L. Blau pointed out, the book is mentioned, among other Kabbalistic writings, in Elijah Delmedigo's letter to Pico and thus falls within the purview of Pico's encounter with Kabbala. 7 It is unknown, and likely to remain so, whether Pico ever set his eyes on the Me'irat 'Eynayim. The passage in question is nevertheless well worth quoting in full. 8 You ought to know that the three worlds are the superior world, which is the world of angels, that is, the world of the Shekinah and its hosts. The intermediate world is the world of the spheres, and the inferior world is the world of the four composite elements. And the tabernacle with the tent of the congregation and its instruments is made as an analogue to the three worlds. The analogue to the superior world is the holy of holies where the Shekinah dwells between the two cherubim. And the analogue of the intermediate world where the servants are whose dominion is in the earth [Job 38:33] was the tent of the congregation where there were the table and the candlestick and the altar of gold, which are internal, spiritual instruments. The altar of gold was not for sacrifices nor for burnt offerings but for sweet incense, which is a refined and spiritual thing, and it is not done for the expiation of sin but for joy, as it is written [Prov. 27:9] "Ointment and incense rejoice the heart." The candlestick, too, was made analogically to give light with the six branches which come out of the middle branch, and the faces of the six branches give light over against its face. The analogue of the inferior world is the altar of the burnt offering, situated in the court of the tabernacle. All the sacrifices were offered upon it and animals that had existed ceased to exist, to show that there are generation and corruption in this inferior world. There are three worlds also in man, analogous to the above-mentioned three. The first, the analogue of the superior world, is the world of speech, and it is the head and it contains the five senses, and there the intellect flows in upon the substance of the brain ... The second, the analogue of the intermediate, is the world of life, and it is from the navel upward as it said [Ezek. 1:27] "and from the appearance of

5 6 7

8

Gottlieb, The Kabbalah, pp. 56-57. P. Kibre, The Library of Pico della Mirandola (New York, 1936). Blau, The Christian Interpretation of the Cabala in the Renaissance, p. 10, n. 41. Delmedigo's letter is published in Garin's edition of Pico, (Florence, 1942), pp. 67-72. The Hebrew original of this passage is found in Gottlieb, The Kabbalah, pp. 56-57.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism his loins even upward" which Ezekiel saw as the appearance of a man above the firmament, the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And this is the seat of the vital soul in the heart of man down here. The third is the analogue of the inferior world, and it is from the navel downward and it is called the world of generation and corruption.

The anthologists Bahya ben Asher and Isaac of Acre had a common source as regards the doctrine of the three worlds: Baruch Togarmi, who was the teacher, or a teacher, of Abraham Abulafia.9 The teacher's analogical interpretation is still recognizable in an early version of the disciple's commentary on Maimonides, namely the Liber Redemptions, fol. 285bis r, quoted in Appendix 17. At the present state of research it is impossible to pinpoint Pico's direct source. But it is certainly true that, directly or indirectly, Pico's analogical representation of the three worlds is descended from a Kabbalistic source, be it Bahya ben Asher, or Isaac of Acre, or even Baruch Togarmi. However, the analogical likeness of the Tabernacle, the World, and Man is not the whole of Pico's doctrine. The analogical representation of the three worlds is almost immediately followed by what for want of a shorter description might be called the monadological conception of the three worlds: Haec satis de tribus mundis in quibus illud in primis magnopere observandum, unde et nostra fere tota pendet intentio, esse hos tres mundos mundum unum, non solum propterea quod ab uno principio et ad eumdem finem omnes referantur, aut quoniam debitis numeris temperati et armonica quadam naturae cognatione atque ordinaria graduum serie colligentur, sed quoniam quicquid in omnibus simul est mundis, id et in singulis continetur, neque est aliquis unus ex eis in quo non omnia sint quae sunt in singulis [my italics]. Quam Anaxagorae credo fuisse opinionem, si recte eum sensisse putamus, explicatam deinde a Pythagoricis et Piatonicis. Verum quae in mundo sunt inferiori, in superioribus sunt, sed meliore nota; quae itidem sunt in superioribus in postremis etiam visuntur sed degeneri conditione et adulterata, ut sic dixerim, natura. 10

What looms behind this remarkable passage is not Kabbala, but late Neoplatonism, and in particular Proclus, The Elements of Theology, proposition 103, which I quote in E.R. Dodds's English translation: All things are in all things, but in each according to its proper nature: for in Being there is life and intelligence; in Life, being and intelligence; in

9 10

See ibid., p. 56; also Scholem, MTJM, p. 125, and E / 4 (1971), pp. 267-268. Heptaplus, p. 188 ed. Garin (= Opera, pp. 6-7).

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Appendices Intelligence, being and life; but each of these exists upon one level intellectually, upon another vitally, and on the third existentially."

Compare also Pico, Conclusiones secundum Proclum 17: Licet ut tradit theologia distinctae sint divinae hierarchiae, intelligendum est tarnen omnia in omnibus esse modo suo. 12

The preceding discussion and collocation of texts show that two motifs appear side by side in Pico's doctrine of the three worlds: the analogical motif and the monadological motif. The former is ultimately descended from Baruch Togairmi; the latter is descended from Proclus. A salient feature of Pico's Christian Kabbala can thus be seen ut in votiva tabula: Jewish mysticism and Neoplatonic theology dwell peacefully side by side in the proem of Pico's Heptaplus.

11 12

Proclus, The Elements of Theology, ed. and trans. E. R. Dodds, 2d ed. (Oxford, 1963), p. 93. Conclusiones, p. 45 ed. Kieszkowski (=Opera, p. 76).

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Appendix 18 T H E SYMBOLISM OF THE KISS

Pico's view that the kiss is the perfect form of spiritual union whereby the souls of the lover and the beloved commingle and become one has its striking counterpart in the ZoharWhat follows are two loci classici, in English translation. The Zohar, part II, fol. 124v: "Behold, I send an angel before thee." R. Isaac quoted in this connection the words: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" (Cant. 1:2), and said: It is the Community of Israel who says this (to God). Why does she say "Let Him kiss me" instead of "Let Him love me"? Because, as we have been taught, kissing expresses the cleaving of spirit to spirit; therefore the mouth is the medium of kissing, for it is the organ of the spirit (breath). Hence he who dies by the kiss of God is so united with another Spirit, with a Spirit which never separates from him. Therefore the Community of Israel prays: "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth," that His Spirit may be united with mine and never separate from it.2 Ibid., fol. 146r-v: Another interpretation of "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" is as follows. What prompted King Solomon, when recording words of love between the Upper and the Lower world, to begin with the words, "Let him kiss me"? The reason is, as has been laid down, that no other love is like unto the ecstasy of the moment when spirit (ruah = breath) cleaves to spirit in a kiss, more especially a kiss on the mouth, which is the well of spirit (breath) and its medium. When mouth meets mouth, spirits unite the one with the other, and become one — one love.3

1

2 3

My thanks are due to my colleague Isaiah Tishby for reminding me of this important fact, which I failed to notice in my Three Studies in Christian Kabbala (in Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1975), pp. 14-15.1 would also thank Mr. J. Liebes, who kindly provided a copious list of references to the Zohar. The Zohar, trans. H. Sperling, M. Simon, and P. P. Levertoff (London, 1949), III, 348-349. Ibid., IV, 14.

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Appendices The similarity between Pico and the Zohar is striking. Unless I am mistaken this is the only instance so far of similarity between Pico and an identifiable passage in the Zohar which is not quoted in Recanati (or in any other source which Pico used). But the balance of probabilities at the present stage of research does not encourage the hypothesis of Pico's direct acquaintance with the Zohar. Hence the uneasy conclusion that, even if it makes sense to assume that the Zohar looms behind Pico's symbolism of the kiss, it does not follow that the Zohar as such is Pico's direct source.

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Appendix 19 THEOLOGIA INFERIOR

If it is true, as I have suggested, that Pico conceived of theologia inferior in contradistinction to the ineffabilis de supersubstantiali deitate theologia, it makes sense, considering that the latter is reminiscent of pseudoDionysius, to reckon with the possibility that Pico conceived of the Lower Theology after the manner of the Cataphatic Theology of pseudoDionysius Areopagita. Pseudo-Dionysius, it is true, does not himself say that the Cataphatic Theology is "inferior." At the same time, he makes it abundantly clear that of the two ways of knowing God, the affirmative (cataphatic) and the negative (apophatic), the latter is the superior. 1 The Cataphatic Theology is presented by pseudo-Dionysius in the treatise De Divinis Nominibus, divine names being the attributes which are affirmed of God as the Efficient Cause of the Forms. 2 Seen against this background, the third Kabbalistic thesis might be tentatively interpreted as follows: practical Kabbala, conceived of as scientia semot, the science of sacred names, "practices" all formative principles (metaphysica formalis) and divine attributes (theologia inferior).

1

2

De Divinis Nominibus, xiii, 3 (P. G. Ill, 981 AB); vii, 3872; De Caelesti Hierarchie ii, 314A. Maximus Confessor, Ambigua (P.G. LXXXXI), 1081B: της άκρας και άποφατικής τοΰ λόγου θεολογίας. J. Vanneste, "La theologie mystique du pseudo-Denys l'Areopagite," in Studia Patristica, V, part III, pp. 404-405; V. Lossky, "La theologie negative dans la doctrine de Denys l'Areopagite," Revue des sciences philosophiques et theologiques, 28 (1939), 211-214; R. Roques, "Symbolisme et theologie negative chez le PseudoDenys," Bulletin de l'Association Guillaume Bude, 4th ser., 1 (1957), 99. See J.P. Sheldon-Williams, The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy, p. 460; Dionysius Areopagita, Von den Namen zum Unnennbaren, p. 15 ed. Ε. von Ivanka.

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Appendix 20 DECEM INDUMENTA

Recanati, De Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabale, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fol. 299r-v: Sequitur [Ps. 93:1-2] Dominus regnavit superbia vel triumpho indutus est indutus est dominus maiestate et precinxit se, etiam firmabit orbem ne commoveretur. Parata est sedes tua ex tunc a seculo tu etc. Misterium huius psalmi se habet velut misterium textus dicentis [Ps. 104:2] Induit lumen quasi vestimentum. Et jam nosti quod dicunt sapientes nostri de eo quod docet quod ipse deus sanctus et benedictus involvit se cum illa velut indumentum, et irradiavit splendorem suum ab extremo mundi usque ad extremum eius.1 Et intentio huius testus est de thexuua [ΓΠΙΙΡΠ] quia involvit se cum sapientia quamvis omnia entia vocentur indumenta ut dicunt sapientes nostri quod decem indumentis indutus est deus sanctus et benedictus quando creavit mundum. 2 Omnino quidem intentio [intenctio MS] est in hoc indumento de sapientia superiore et ideo dicitur dominus regnavit quia ipse est rex. Indutus est dominus id est nomen proprium qui induit se sapientia posteriore que vocatur hithazar id est precinxit se, quod est nomen diadematis per numerum licterarum nam ithazar "lTXnn lictere eius representant 5.400.1.7.200. collecti sunt 613. Secundum numerum 613 preceptorum et indicat hoc quod lex de ore nata que dicitur hoz [Tis] id est maiestas procedit a lege scripta. Intentio autem in his vestimentis est ut dicunt sapientes nostri in libro brexit raba quod erat sicut hicophora que fert vestimentum suum ex se ipsa et intellige illud. 3

1 2 3

Midras BereSit Rabba, iii, 4 (p. 20 ed. Theodor-Albeck). Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, fols. 147r-148r ed. S. Buber (Lyck, 1868). Midras BereSit Rabba, xxi. 5 (p. 201 ed. Theodor-Albeck).

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Appendix 21 JOHANAN ALEMANNO

The person who next to Flavius Mithridates matters most for the study of Pico's encounter with Kabbala is Johanan Alemanno. Gian Francesco Pico, having touched upon his own Hebrew studies, writes (to Sante Pagnini) as follows: Ego quidem (ut de me dicam) post Latinas et Graecas literas multis laboribus versatas ... conducto Hebreo Isacio, Iochanae illius, quern Ioannes Picus patruus meus sibi magistrum ascivit, filio, eo usus sum praeceptore. 1

While it cannot be doubted that Giovanni Pico's teacher Iochanas is Johanan Alemanno, it remains unknown what it was that Johanan taught Pico. Nor is it known for certain where and when the association between them began. It is usually assumed that it began in 1488, when Pico and Johanan met in Florence. 2 Johanan himself seems to support this view. For he states in the preface to his Heseq Selomo (The Love or Desire of Solomon) that he returned to Florence in the year n m (248, that is, 1487/8) and that in compliance with Pico's request he began work on his Heseq Selomo (a commentary on the Song of Solomon) in the month of Tishri 249, that is, October 1488. There exists, however, a piece of evidence which, inconclusive though it is, suggests that Johanan Alemanno might have been known to Pico before they met in Florence in 1488. That piece of evidence, unknown to Perles and Cassuto, was discovered by Eugenio Garin; it is presented in his critical edition of Pico's Commento. The collation of the printed editions with the manuscripts revealed a number of noteworthy omissions in the former. One such omission bears directly on the present subject. The passage in question appears at the beginning of the Commento Particulare:

1 2

Gian Francesco Pico, Opera Omnia (Basle, 1573), p. 1371. See J. Perles, "Les savants juifs ä Florence ä l'epoque de Laurent de Medicis," Revue des etudes juives, 12 (1886), 245, 256; U. Cassuto, Gli Ebrei a Firenze (Florence, [1918] 1966), p. 316; M. Idel, "The Throne and the Seven-Branched Candlestick: Pico della Mirandola's Hebrew Source," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 40 (1977), 291.

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Appendices Dell'uno [amore] a dell' altro parlo eccellentemente Salomone, del vulgare nello Ecclesiaste come naturale filosofo e ne' Proverbii come morale, del divino e celeste nella Cantica sua, e perö Johanan e Manaen ebrei e Jonathan caldeo dice che tra tutti e' cantici della scrittura sacra quello e el piu sacro e el piu divino. 3

It is altogether unlikely that "Johanan" is a Rabbinic sage of old: what Pico quotes in his name is a famous dictum the author of which is Rabbi Akiba. "Manaem" is mentioned also in the Heptaplus, where he figures among the iunioresThis being so, the balance of probabilities is definitely in favor of Garin's interpretation that "Johanan et Manaen ebrei" are Johanan Alemanno and Menahem Recanati. If this is conceded, it follows that Pico already knew Johanan Alemanno when he wrote his Commento. Although the chronology of Pico's writings is not always as certain as one might wish, the Commento is dated by the consensus of learned opinion in 1486, after Pico's return from Paris. 5 Hence the possibility that Johanan Alemanno was Pico's teacher in cabalisticis at the most decisive period of Pico's encounter with Kabbala. This possibility is fascinating for more reasons than one, not the least of which is Johanan Alemanno's outspoken interest in magic. 6

3 4 5 6

P. 535 ed. Garin. Ibid., p. 180 (=Opera, p. 4: "Manaen") Ibid., p. 10. Cf. G. Scholem, "Chapters from the History of Cabbalistic Literature," Kirjath Sepher, 5 (1928), 273-277 (in Hebrew). Johanan Alemanno's manuscript of Collectanea (D,t>1p,'7) is the subject of a detailed study, still in progress, by Dr. Moshe Idel. See, meanwhile, M. Idel, "The Study Program of R. Yohanan Alemanno," Tarbiz, 48 (1979), 303-330 (in Hebrew).

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Appendix 22 ARS COMBINANDI AND ARS RAYMUNDI

From the standpoint of Pico's encounter with Kabbala it is a matter of relative unimportance that, as far as I can see, his combinations of the letters rwpma went twice ultra legem artis.1 What really matters is that his letter-combinatory interpretation of the first word of Genesis follows a recognizable and identifiable example. The example I have in mind appears in the anonymous Liber Combinationum. This book, the first piece included in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, is the direct source of Pico's third thesis secundum secretam doctrinam sapientum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum. There is thus every likelihood that he read it. Of particular interest for the present purpose is the passage in which the anonymous author successively arranges the six letters rvtPJna in different combinations to illustrate the letter-combinatory method. As might be expected, Pico's and the Jewish Kabbalist's combinations are not identical. At the same time, it is noteworthy that of the twelve words which Pico formed frqm the letters of the first word of Genesis seven appear in the Liber Combinationum.2 The book thus proves to be yet another link between Pico and the mainstream of letter-combinatory Kabbala: the anonymous author of the Liber Combinationum was a disciple or latter-day follower of Abraham Abulafia (unless he was Abulafia himself). We have already seen that the revolution or combination of letters after the manner of the Book of Creation was considered by Abulafia the method par excellence for the interpretation of the mysteries of the Law. What follows is a quotation from his De Secretis Legis, Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 346v-347r:

1

2

What I have in mind is the gemination of the consonant beth in the second combination (there is only one consonant beth in the word beresit), and the assumption that the consonants taw and teth are interchangeable. Tobe sure, in verbs beginning with sadhe, metathesis and assimilation take place in certain forms so that ΧΠ becomes US. But this is neitherfrequentissimum apud Hebraeos nor does it warrant the substitution of 3 0 for 3Π. The seven words, in alphabetical order, are: 3X (pater), IPX (ignis),"Q (filius), (Π3 (creavit), m a (foedus), 31 (magnus), rw (fundamentum).

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Appendices Et sic dicunt sapientes nostri Cabaliste3 quod futurum est quod deus sanctus et benedictus reuelabit secreta legis ipsis Israel, et quamvis videtur in principio imaginationis ignarorum et insipientium quod misterium reuelationis rationum preceptorum est sub alia forma, non est curanda imaginatio eorum quia propheta et magnus cabalista Ionethes scilicet Chaldeus commentator eius4 hoc declaraverunt apertissime. Propheta quidem dixit [Isa. 12:3] Et haurietis aquas cum leticia de fontibus salutis. Ionethes vero comentatus est Et discetis doctrina noua legem ab electis sanctis vel iustis. Quod quidem potest exponi hoc verbum eius esse ac si dixisset edocebimini doctrinam nouam cum leticia. non quod ipsa sit noua in se sed quod videbitur noua ipsis auditoribus quia scilicet modus illam docendi qui innovabitur apud eos non fuit traditus nec audierunt ilium ab ore parentum suorum. Et declaratum est apud sapientes nostros Cabalistas qui soli comprehendunt misteria oculta omnium rerum quod talis doctrina qua procedent sapientes ad declarandum tempore christi est doctrina que dicitur apud eos doctrina combinationis licterarum scilicet syruph haothioth [ηνηΐκπ η ΐ τ χ ] . Et dictio purcn Besason id est cum leticia est testimonium fidele et testes veraces sunt illi quos observamus a patre nostro Abraam in libro Sepher iesire et expositionibus eius.5 The quotation helps us to interpret Pico's well-known statement in which the Kabbalistic art of combining letters and the art of Ramon Lull are mentioned side by side. That statement, the first of its kind in Western letters, 6 is usually quoted as follows: Unam quae dicitur ars combinandi et est modus quidam procedendi in scientiis et est simile quid sicut apud nostros dicitur ars Raymundi, licet forte diuerso modo procedant. This is, to be sure, the text as it appears in the best-known editions of Pico's Opera Omnia,1 but it is not what Pico wrote. In the editioprinceps of

3 4

5

6

7

Cabaliste is the translator's interpolation. "Magnus cabalista Ionethes scilicet Chaldeus commentator eius" is the translator's rendering of the Hebrew words wetirgem Yonatan, that is, "and Yonathan translated." The isopsephic equivalent of the word | 1 W ] , besason (cum leticia), is η τ ϊ 1 1 S D 3 (in libro Sepher iesire), namely 658 = 657 + 1. The addition of a unit for the whole in isopsephic equations is common practice known as gematria "with the whole added" ("?Vi3n DV). The notion that Ramon Lull was, or might have been, the author of the treatise DeAuditu Kabbalistico has at last been laid to rest for good; see Blau, The Christian Interpretation of the Cabala in the Renaissance, pp. 117-118; see also Kristeller, "Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and His Sources," p. 75. This leaves Pico as the earliest author known to have compared the Kabbalistic art of combining letters with the art of Ramon Lull. Apology, Opera, p. 180.

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Pico's Encounter with Jewish Mysticism Pico's Apologia, which was printed in his lifetime (1487), there appears a blank space followed by the abbreviation for id est (.i.) between the words dicitur and ars combinandi. The obvious inference is that the Hebrew designation of the science Pico is discussing appeared in his manuscript but was omitted in the editio princeps for want of Hebrew type. The omitted name is not far to seek. Even without the support of the editio princeps, Scholem maintained years ago that "es ist leicht erweisbar dass Pico hier mit ars combinandi die φΤΧΠ riDDn [hokmat haseruf] des Abraham Abulafia und seiner Schule wiedergiebt." 8 The presence of the Hebrew equivalent of ars combinandi in Pico's text argues that what he had in mind was Abulafia's letter-combinatory Kabbala. The thing was still unknown to Pico's readers, having been scarcely hinted at in his second Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam. He therefore attempted to give some idea of what it was: "est modus quidam procedendi in scientiis, et est simile quid sicut apud nostras dicitur ars Raymundi, licet forte diuerso modo procedant" (my italics). Considering that Abulafia applies the letter-combinatory method, represented by the Book of Creation, to the interpretation of the mysteries of the Law, his ars combinandi can be properly described as modus quidam procedendi in scientiis. Nor can it be denied that, like ars Raymundi, it was meant to be a universal method: Abulafia is quite explicit on this point. 9 At the same time, it is essential not to lose sight of the fact that Abulafia's ars combinandi or doctrina combinationis litterarum is a most extraordinary modus procedendi in scientiis: it is said to be a means to becoming a prophet {De Secretis Legis, fol. 417v): Et intellige hoc indicamentum ex lectione nominis libri Sepher iesire cuius secretum etiam est visio prophetie 10 ... nam qui in eo peritus est facile pervenit ad visionem prophetie que pendet in modo combinationis licterarum qui est revolutio et conversio earum ut lutum sigillatum ad recipiendum statutum sabati quia nomen materie est statutum hoc."

Combination of letters is also said to be a means to acquiring the knowledge of divine names {De Secretis Legis, fol. 425v):

8

Scholem, "Zur Geschichte der Anfänge der christlichen Kabbala," p. 164, n.

9 10

De Secretis Legis, fol. 362v, quoted above in Chapter 11. Visio prophetie (ΠΝ133Π n x i ö ) is the isopsephic equivalent of ΓΠ,2Γ (Yesirah), 246 + 69 = 315. JUWirt ΊΟΠΠ (materia prima) is the isopsephic equivalent of miPH ρ Π (statutum sabati), 253 + 562 = 707 + 108 = 815.

1.

11

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Appendices Verum tarnen caballa verax que est in manibus nostris est talis quod qui non est peritus in combinatione literarum, et expertus et discretus in eis, et frequentatus in eis. et usitatus nimis et etiam in numeris harum et in divisionibus earum, et in coniunctione earum, et conversione et revolutione earum, et similiter in permutatione, et in omnibus aliis modis qui scribuntur in libro venerabili Sepher iesire non potest pervenire ad nostram sapientiam ut cognoscat deum nec etiam quod habeat noticiam nominis xem amphoras secundum modos nostros. Et propter hoc non est possibile comprehendere invencionem vel esse nisi habita fuerit scientia de nominibus.

Divine names and in particular self-induced prophecy have brought us within sight of magic, or, to be more precise, within sight of what Scholem called the magic of inwardness, 12 magic which is a mystical experience that acts upon the practitioner's consciousness, as distinct from magic that acts, or intends to act, upon the external world. It cannot be proved that Pico read every single page of Abulafia's De Secretis Legis, but the possibility that he was aware of the magical side of ars combinandi ought to be reckoned with. This is particularly important because Pico identified ars combinandi with alphabetaria revolutioThe latter, according to his second Kabbalistic thesis secundum opinionem propriam, is the highest part of speculative Kabbala. It would seem therefore that we are faced with the choice between two alternatives: either Pico disregarded the magical aspects of Abulafia's letter-combinatory method, or else, as I have argued in Chapter 12, his own distinction between speculative and practical Kabbala is by no means as neat as it is usually thought to be.

12 13

Scholem, MTJM, p. 142. Apology, Opera, p. 181 "Ilia enim ars combinandi est quam ego in conclusionibus meis uoco Alphabetarium reuolutionem."

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Appendix 23 T H E FOURFOLD INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE

The doctrine of the three worlds is not the only point of resemblance between Pico and Bahya ben Asher. There is another which, from the standpoint of Pico's encounter with Kabbala, is even more important: from Bahya's Commentary on the Pentateuch is descended the Hebrew terminology which Pico uses in a famous passage of his Apology where he compares the fourfold interpretation of Scripture among Christians and Jews. Sicut enim apud nos est quadruplex modus exponendi Bibliam, literalis, mysticus sive allegoricus, tropologicus et anagogicus, ita est et apud Hebraeos. Litteralis apud eos dicitur Pesat... Allegoricus Midras ... Tropologicus dicitur Sechel, quem sequuntur Abraham Abnazra [Aben Ezra], ubi literaliter non exponit, et Leui Bengerson et multi alii, et ante omnes Rabi Moses Aegyptius. Anagogicus dicitur Cabala, et hoc quia ilia expositio que dicitur ore Dei tradita Moysi, et accepta per successionem, modo praedicto, quasi semper sensum sequitur Anagogicum. 1

The usual Hebrew terminology of the four methods of scriptural interpretation is Pesat, Remez, Deras, Sod (hence the mnemonic PaRDeS). By contrast, Pico has Sechel instead of Remez and Cabala instead of Sod. His unusual terminology, as Scholem pointed out, is identical with the terminology used by Bahya ben Asher in his Commentary on the Pentateuch} As far as I can see, it is undeniably true that the Hebrew terms of the fourfold interpretation of Scripture which Pico uses in his Apology are unlikely to be derived from any identifiable source except Bahya. At the same time, it is equally true that in order to know all there is to be known about the terminology of Bahya's fourfold method of interpretation it is not necessary to read more than his relatively short preface. Furthermore, it lies in the nature of terminology — any terminology — that it can be transmitted without the texts in which it was first set forth. Pico's manuscripts afford a striking case in point. 1 2

Pico, Apology, Opera p. 178. Scholem, "Der Sinn der Torah," Zur Kabbala und ihrer Symbolik, p. 270, η. 64 (= On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, p. 62, η. 1).

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Appendices Cod. Vat. Lat. 4273 contains three items, the second of which, beginning at fol. 5r, is inscribed: "Levi Gersomide [J/C] Commentariorum in Cantica Canticorum Salomonis per Fl. Mythridatem ad Picum traductio." The translation is annotated throughout in what was identified by Cardinal Mercati as Pico's own hand.3 This being so, it is a matter of singular interest for the present purpose that at the top of fol. 5r in the righthand corner above the inscription there are written the following words arranged in three columns, all in the annotator's hand: pesat sechel midras cabala

OU7D blW uniQ nVnj?

Ira [litera] intellectus allegoria anagogia

As far as I am aware, Cardinal Mercati's identification of the annotator's hand has never been challenged. Granted, then, that the identification is true, we can see Bahya's terminology of the fourfold interpretation of Scripture written, transliterated, and translated in Pico's hand in the margin of Levi ben Gershom's commentary on the Song of Solomon. It is not necessary to stretch its value in order to see that this piece of evidence is a reminder that, as regards the question whether Bahya was Pico's direct source, the evidence of the Apology is perhaps not as decisive as it seems at first sight, and that, consequently, the evidence of the Heptaplus is even less so. After all, Isaac of Acre is as good a source for Pico's doctrine of the three worlds as Bahya ben Asher.4 Without the supporting evidence of the Apology, there is nothing to choose between them.

3 4

Mercati, Codici Latini Pico Grimani Pio, pp. 22-23, no. 74. See Appendix 17.

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INDEX OF N A M E S A N D SUBJECTS

Kabbalistic modes of demonstration 100-101 and the Liber Combinationum 258 Liber de Secretis Legis (Sitrey Torah) 61-62 64 84-85 87 89-90 94-99 128-130 136-137 170 215 238; interpolated by Mithridates 94-98 100-105

Aaron 21-22 his death with a kiss 153 155-156 158 Aba 172 Abner of Burgos, see Alfonso de Valladolid Abraam 172 Abraham, Abraam 24-25 32-34 57 73 184 228 his death with a kiss 153 155-156 fear, love, of God 47-48 journey southwards 32 knowledge of Ze 112 saw day of Christ 138 is Sefirah iv 167-168 author of Sefer Yesirah, see Sefer Yesirah Abraham Ibn Ezra (Abnazra) 99 262 on Cant. 1:2 154 tropological interpretation of 262 Abulafia Abraham 63 70 95 on analogical likeness of Tabernacle, World, Man 247-250 his ars combinandi 102-104 134 137-138 151 172 232 260-261 in Barcelona (1271) 91 biography of 90-91 96 changed nature by magic 151-152 and Christianity, Trinity 90 109 118 and doctrine of coincidentia oppositorum 100-102 105 his combinational Kabbala 59 74 104 on creation 91 on Ezekiel's three visions 138 four disciples of 96 his Hebrew style 70-73 Hayyey ha-NefeS 85 87 on hayyom harat 'olam 103-104 Kabbala of 60-64 74 104 134-135 Kabbalistic interpretation of Gen. 1:1 176 217

on ma'aseh merkaba (opus currus) 96 131 137-138 Maimonides a Kabbalist, teacher of 88 91-98 129-132 his Messianism 95-96 on Metatron 200 231-233 on the mysteries of the Law 103-104 129 131-132 135 137 258-259 in Palermo (1280) 70 prophecy of 91 95-96 152 prophetic Kabbala of 62 86-87 90-91 127 137 232 pupil of Baruch Togarmi 250 quotes Nahmanides 214 equals Raziel 95 on Redemption 90 152 Sefer Ge'ulla, authorship 88-90; and see Liber Redemptions his self-image as Kabbalist 95-96 Sitrey Torah 85 87 89 94-95 98; date of 12 80 89; manuscripts of 94-96 104 Summa Brevis Cabale que Intitulatur RabiJeude 60 64 134-135 137 148 156 184 on Talmud 129 134 in Tudela 96 his use of gematria 137 231-233 in Vat. Ebr. 190 19 in Chigi 19 on Ze 112-113 115 Active Intellect 86 157 193 200 Adam 24-25 33

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Indices is Iustus 33 Adam Magnus 30

Arithmetica

is Sefirah vi 190 Adam Kadmon, Messiah 240

Tetragrammaton

super

166-167

ars combinandi (hokmat haseruf), see

Adonai, ADNI creation by letters of 82 is Holy Spirit 197

Letter-combination ars Raymundi 125 259-260

and adultery 24 Adumbratio Kabbalae Christianae 185 use of Lurianic Kabbala in 240 Kabbalistic confirmation of Christianity in 240 Agaton 154 R. Aholai 43 'ain, 'ayin, non ens, Sefirah i 75 105 Akiba Rabbi 156 232 aleph, secret of 73-74 Alfonso de Valladolid (Abner of Burgos) on Gen. 1:26 110 Mostrador de Justicia 185-186 Alemanno Isaac 256 Alemanno Johanan 256-257 HeSeq Selomo 256 allegorical interpretation 262-263

186-187 193 213

Arnaldo de Villanova, Allocutio

128 175

astrology 146 teaches us to read the book of G o d 175 'Afarah, see Sefirah χ atbash 43 96-97 Augustine St. 132 Axelrad Abraham Corona Nominis Boni 22-23 59 60 64 Kabbala of 59 on Isa. 26:4 82 on sefirot and 'Eyn-Sof 236 'Ayalah, see Hind 'az (TS), tunc 75 162 symbol of ten sefirot 107 174-175 as Trinity 162 Azazel 159 Azriel of Gerona Commentary on the Aggadot (Perus haAggadot) 156 On Faith and Heresy 238 Quaestiones super Decern Numerationibus cum Responsibus Suis 7 60 64 102 105 139 148 237-238 on 'Eyn-Sof, sefirot, coincidentia

alphabetaria revolutio 81 125 136-138 144-145 172 261 amen in prayer 52 82 148 Pico and Recanati on 106 anagogical interpretation 38 262-263 Anaxagoras 102 250 Angelo St., castle of 17 angels 42-43 56 156 of Death 155

oppositorum 102-103 235 237 238 Sa'ar ha-So'el 60 Bad, place of Tohu 4 Bahir, Book of 19 20 55-58 190-191 Latin translations compared 204-208 in Recanati, see Index of Sources source for Pico's Kabbalistic theses

hierarchy of 22-23 101 128 132 214 Iiim 101 apology on 4 Ezra 14:47 140 Aquilo Magnus 25 Arabic 3 4 13 in Vat. Ebr. 190 13 in Chigi 13 Arbiter first, Tiferet 30 second, Yesod 28 Archangel of nation in heaven 51 Arezzo 5 17 Aristoteles 98-99

19-20 28-29 4 1 - 4 3 49 55-58 180 Barachias rabi 191 Bahya ben Asher Commentary on the Pentateuch 248-250 his four methods of interpretation 262-263 on analogical likeness of Tabernacle, World, Man 248-250 Barcelona 91 Baruch Togarmi

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250-251

Indices Bat Kol (Daughter of Voice), prophecy by 51 Becadmin, Bresit 179 Ben Azzay 156 Benivieni Domenico 4 Benivieni Girolamo 4 canzona d'amore 153; see Pico, Commento sopra canzona d'amore Benjamin Walter 172 Beresit, bresith (Gen. 1:1) 29 40-41 179 183 217 220-221 Liber Combinationum on 220-221 258-259

Characters Hebrew 164-165 171 Samaritan 171 Ethiopic 241-242 Chariot, see Merchiava Cherubiae, mentes 180 Christ; see also Jesus agnus dei 103 ascension of 112 coming of 177 died for men's sins 162 his divinity confirmed by Kabbala 106 123-124 132 145 passion of 178 prefiguration of 162 is Ze 111-113 Christian apologetics 177 Christian dogma 106 183 Christian Kabbala 9 84 109 121 132 144 185-186 191 195 of Adumbratio 239-240 history of 167-169 history of the term 185 influence of Mithridates on 84 of Jewish converts 110 185-186 and magic 195

messiological interpretation of 239 Pico's interpretation of 41 172-173 233-234 246 258 Trinitarian interpretation of 183 beth creation with 217 letter-combinations with 164-165 184 See Sefirah iii Binah, Intelligence, see Sefirah iii binsica 153 159 192; see mors oscuti body separation from soul 153 158 terrestrial garment to soul 50 bohu, formabile 41 176 Book of Creation, see Sefer Yesirah BYH, instrument in creation 37 Cabala, method of interpretation 262-263; see Kabbala Cabalisticus, true Kabbala 125 Cacodaemon 36-37 58 Callir (R. Eleazar) 110 Campanella 175 Candlestick of the Temple 246 248-250 256 Cant. 1:2, commentaries on 154-158 Cassuto M.D. Umberto 116 256 causa causarum 236 cedar of Lebanon 29 219 cerva unicornis, see Hind Chaldean Oracles 19 187 191-192 194 241-244 contain book on theological dogma 241 243 in the Renaissance 191 241

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as a mystical discipline 185 200 variety of patterns of 239-240 Christian Kabbalists on Kabbala 109 Christian Neoplatonism 139 Christianity confirmation of by Jewish sources, see Kabbala by magia 123-124 pagan 198 See Trinity Christianizing applications of Jewish doctrines, symbols, methods 162 164-169 Christianizing interpolations of Mithridates in Latin translations 106-112 Christianizing interpretations of Jewish texts 110 162-164 168-169 239 Cibo Giovanni Batista, Cardinal of Malfetta, see Innocent VIII circumcision 28 44-45 clemency, compassion 31 43 Clemens 127

Indices coincidentia oppositorum, coincidence of opposites in God 100-103 105 238 combinational Kabbala (letter-combination) 59 63 73-74 81 104 magical application of 81 Comentum Sepher Iesire 36 57-59 on Isa. 26:4 82 Commentum Voiuminis de Proportione Divinitatis 48-49 64 194 Commentaries on Sefer Ye$irah in Cod. Vat. Ebr. 191 7 - 8 57-59 63 236 Congregation of Israel (Keneset Israel) 30 35 39 and rivers of Eden 31 and ten sefirot 30 converts, see Jewish converts Corneo Andrea 4 Court of Justice of God 38 creation corresponds to divine names 7 81-82 corresponds to divine language 67 in six days and the sefirot 26-30 first day of 176 discovery of details of 40 is emanation from sefirot 104-105 ex nihilo, ens ex non ente 103-105 by letters of divine names 36-37 81-82 by he, yod 7 30 36-37 73-74 81-82 by numbers 82 in Orphic Hymns 197 with thirty-two paths of wisdom 145-146 by sapientia 41 104-105 by ten logoi, verba 40 73-74 by ten garments 237 by Tree of Knowledge 25 of two worlds 36-37 cross, carried by Isaac 162-163 Curetes of Orpheus 196 Cusanus Nicolaus on coincidentia oppositorum in God 238 De Docta Ignorantia 102-103 Daemons according to Kabbala 132 at night 38-39 daleth 30 Daniel, prophecy of

David 25-25 142 kingdom of 43 prophecy of 51 days of the week correspond with sefirot 25-30 38 167 193 ten — of Penitence 77 De Anima, Latin translations in Vat. Ebr. 189 11-17 De Auditu Kabbalistico, authorship of 259 De Proportione Divinitatis (Ma'areket ha•Elohut) 41 57 59 60 64 77-78 82 180 235 on Job. 28:12 82 source for Pico's theses 41 59 60 64 Death of the Kiss, see mors osculi Diadem, see Sefirah χ dies Christi 184 Dionysius Areopagita pseudo- 132 196 244 De Divinis Nominibus 57 254 on hierarchia celestis 23 Dionysius, Bacchus, drunkenness of 186 191-192 divine language 6 67 74-75 "has no grammar" 74-75 175 divine names, knowledge by lettercombination of 260-261 theurgic use of 149 See God, name(s) of dominus rex 43 duplex Aleph 177 Earth superior 49-50 King of, punishment of 51 east 206 good comes from 49 206 'eljad 30 Egidio da Viterbo copied Vat. Ebr. 189 11 used Recanati 204 Eleazar of Worms (Gormazensis) 55 126

16 18

Liber De Anima (Vat. Ebr. 189) 11-12 18 232; date of translation 16 Eleazarus 172

51

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Indices two modes of 47-48 Ficino Marsilio on drunkenness 186 letter to Pico 3 - 4 on Pico's posthumous papers 243 fire is north 40

elements, qualities of 180 Eliezer Magnus, son of Hyrcanus 38 39 111 Elohim 77 isopsephy of — by Pico and Gicatilla 197 is supernal palace 40-41 See God, name(s) of emanation of blessings 28 of days 29-30 of divine energy and light 6 order of 30 of sefirot 63 Empedocles 189 Eneas 118 Enoch 220 232 ens ultimus, ens superius 48 Ensoph, 'Eyn-Sof, infinitum 49 235-238 Azriel on 103

is element in heaven 180-181 Flood, the 33 Florence 15 256 France 5 214 Francis I, king of France 185 Foundation, see Sefirah ix fundamentum seculi 12-13 27-29 76 107 115 138 147 183 186 221; see Sefirah ix

contains ten sefirot 235-237 in Kabbala 196 Ericino 118 Esau 162 esoterics, pre-Kabbalistic, in Recanati 55 Eternity of God 106 Ethiopic characters, see Characters Eucherius Silber, publisher of conclusiones 209-212 Evangelium, mysteries of the Law in 126 Evantes Persa 241 evil hierarchy of 188-189 spirits at night 38-39 emanation of 38 Expositio Decern Numerationum (anonymous), source for Pico's theses 21 26 57 59 60 Ezekiel 138 249-250 Ezra, Esdras 227 241 changed Hebrew script 171 seventy books of Kabbala of 4 Ezra 14, Pico on 122 127 132 140 142 fate, mazal 31 fate superior, mazal ha-'elyon 31 226 Fear of Isaac 196

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Gabriel, archangel 41 GafTarel, Index description of Pico's Kabbalistic manuscripts 11 15 19 110 114 204 description of Mithridates' translation of Recanati 11 16 19 204-205 Garden of Eden 30-31 Garden of the King's Palace 10 29 garments ten — invested by God, sefirot 237 terrestrial 46 50 Gates ascension to sefirot (Ze) 111-112 115 thirty-two — in Book of Creation 57-59 forty — of Intelligence 32 fifty — of Intelligence 213 forty — of Teshuvah 35 gathering waters (congregatio aquarum) 42 Geburah, Might, see Sefirah ν Gedullah, Greatness, see Sefirah iv gematria 71-72 115-117 137 141 231-233 with temurah 117 Gen. 1:1, Pico and Abulafia on 176 Gen. 1:26, Jewish-Christian controversy on 110 Ge'ulla (place) 32 Gicatilla Joseph combinatory Kabbala of 57 73-74 182

Indices on Hanna's prayer 226 on man's ascension to God 114-115 Portae Iustitiae 12 13 31 57 64 73-76 110-111 114-115 source for Pico's Kabbalistic theses 31-33 48 51 56-57 59-60 on Ze 110-111 114-115 on Zoth 75-76

134-135; magical use of 148; Messiah's name 166 218 239; nomen essende 23; property of Clemency and Judgment 181; God the Son, Trinity 166 167 197; Sefirah vi 166-167 181 Ze 82 163 164 Golden Calf 163 Gombrich Ernst 182 Gospels confirm Christianity 123-124 Gottlieb Ephraim 74 194 grades, secret of ten 73 Grandinus 41 Greatness, tree of 30 Green line encircles the universe 26 181 186

Sa'arey Sedeq 13 31 73-74 79; manuscripts of 74 Giorgio Francesco 198-199 Giuliano Mariotto de'Medici 5 205 gnostic elements in Bahir 58 goat, affinity to spirit 194 God, love to Israel 154 God, name(s) of Adonai, ADNI7 8 31 36 73 166 223 226; Holy Spirit 166 Adonai-EIohim 51-52; Sefirah χ 166 creation by letters of 82 Ehyeh, EHYH 31 166 226; God the Father 166 197; Seßrah i 166 226 El 34; secret of ten grades 73-74 Elohim 8 31 40 73 110 222 226 232; in creation and sefirot 73-74 four names in Gen. 1:1 128 Hebrew — involved in Orphic magic 196 IS 177-178 Kabbala of 63 knowledge of 86-87 of forty-two letters 93 letter-combination of 86-87 middah 141-142 MSPS 43-44 56 mysteries of the Law 214 Sabaot 147 science of, practical Kabbala 139-140 Scripture as texture of 57 75 symbolism of 6 - 7 three names, Trinity 197 washing off 35 Triagrammaton YHW 36-37 82 224 YHSWH2\% Tetragrammaton YHWH, nomen ineffabile 7 8 23 31 33 34 39 40 42 43 51 58 71 73 115-116 166-167 222 226; knowledge by ten sefirot

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Hamnuna the Old, Rav 48 Hanna, prayer of 31 226 Hasidism, German 59 he (Hebrew letter) added to Abraam 33-34 last letter of YHWH, creation by 7 36-37 39 40 82 heat, color, in three levels of being 180 heaven, samayim 176 217 245 combination of fire and water 180-181 created by letter he 1 heart of 43 208 three parts of 247 Hebrew alphabet 189-190 order of letters 206 punctuation 75 222 symbolism of Kabbala 6 7 Hecate, Hymn of 197 Hechaloth, Palaces 232 Heliazer Garnozensis, see Eleazar of Worms Hermes Trismegistus 198-199 Hermetic dei Alius 198-199 Hesed, Pietas, Mercy, Charity, see Sefirah iv hieroglyphic symbols 182 Hilarius 122 knew mysteries of the Law 126 Hind, Ayala 34 prophecy by horn of 34

Indices Hiyya Rav 42 Hizkiyah King 46 Rabbi 156 Hod, Decor, Majesty, see Seflrah viii Hokmah, Wisdom, see Sefirah ii hokmat ha-seruf, see ars combinandi homo primus, see Adam host of heaven, humiliation of 51

Saddiq 42 is Adam 33

Jacob

24-25

burial of 49 his death with a kiss 153 155-156 interpretation of his name 240 his knowledge of gate to sefirot

Iaacob ben Phataia 150 Iamblichus 142 idolatory 24 Image of God, beselem 'elohym 33 'Imma Salom 36 incarnation 132 178 Innocent VIII, Pope = Giovanni Batista Cibo, Cardinal of Molfetta 17-18 72 115-116 129 bull condemning Pico's theses 123 Intellectus agens 100 is archangel Metatron 101 isopsephic equivalent of Israel 8 Intellectus Saraphicus 180 intention in prayer, see Kawwanah Ioannes(Johanan) 172 Iodan rabi 126 Ioseph 172 Is, virum, Trinity 177-178 Isaac 24-25 his death with a kiss 153 155-156 prefiguration of Christ 110-111 113 145 162-163 Isaac rabi 30 39 172 Isaac of Acre on analogy between Tabernacle, World, Man 248-250 263 Isaac the Blind of Posquieres 188 Isaac Narbonensis 187-188 Isim, angels 101 Ismael rabi 126 high priest 232 isopsephic equations 7 - 8 70-72 74 87 104 115 189-190 233 Israel beauty of 39 love to God 154 seed of 49 206 Iustus 162 239

110-112

Jerome St. 124 132 186 Prologus in Galateo 171 Jerusalem, heavenly 132 Jesus, 'elohey nekhar 118; see also Christ homo 108 a Kabbalist 109 Kabbalistic interpretation of his name 161-162 165 218 prefiguration of 110-111 113 118 145 162 Sefirah ii 174 Jewish converts apologetic literature of 110 and Christian Kabbala 185-186 John St. 108-109 Joseph 49 50 Jubilee, YWBL, year of Yovel 32 35 49 50 superior 49-50 magnus Iobeleus 187

Kabbala of Abulafia 59 60 62-63 74 86-87 90-91 104 127 134 137 232 of Axelrad 59 according to Jewish tradition 121-122 124-127 allegorical interpretation 175 and Aristotelianism 99 combinational, letter-combinatory 63 73-74 125 134 143 258; see ars combinandi contemplative, two kinds of 160 divinely revealed mysteries of the Law, mystical 121-133 140 215 first principle of 100-104 Geronese school of 103-104 176 235 of Gicatilla 57 74 inseparable from Hebrew 6 - 7

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Indices Jewish — confirms Christianity 10 64 69 106 121-124 133 145 161-170 178 239 two kinds of 63 124-125 143 145 three kinds of 134 of Liber Redemptions 86-87 90-91 link with Christian dogma 106 links Orpheus, Zoroaster, with Christianity 197 199-200 magic, alliance with 80-81 133 145 150-151 187-191 194-197 222-226 modes of demonstration 100-101 of Pico 64-65 70 74 127 134 145 in Pico's condemned magical theses 123 125 in Pico's Conclusiones... Isaac Narbonensis 187-188 in Pico's Oratio 122 in Pico's sources 74 and Plato's Epinomis 190 and Platonism 99 practical 80-81 133 135 143 146 148-151 "prima et vera" 121 124 125 read by Christians 10 20 64 of Recanati 63 revealed theology 123-124 144-145 scientia de virtutibus rerum superiorum 123-125 132-133 143-145 science usurped by Jews 125 of sefirot, cabala numerationalis 60 63 74 104 134 seventy books of Ezra of, see Ezra speculative 63 80 133 135-139 143 146 149-151 222-226 "teaches us to read the Law" 97 175-176 in Vat. Ebr. 190, kind of 62 Christian Kabbalists on 109 See also Pico, Kabbala Kabbalistic interpretation of Christian texts 167 methods of discovering truth 9 Kabbalists' view of Death 153 -159 kallah ha-kelulah, sponsa ornata 45 Kawwanah, intention in prayer 147-148 151-152 160 226-229 Keter, Corona, Crown, see Seflrah i Kingship of God 43 Kircher A. 87

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Kiss, union of lovers, union with celestial lover 153-155; see mors osculi Koran 3 - 4 Kristeller P.O. 12 13 20 LaFratta 3 - 5 57 211 Lancilotto of Faenza, Lancea Faventino 73 114-115 language of Kabbalistic books 6 - 7 its role in Kabbala 80-81 mysticism in Kabbala 141 See symbolic language Law, Book of Law, Scriptures all sciences and arts concealed in 182 219; revealed to Moses 126 literal — and mystery, modes of knowledge of 129-231 mode of reading of 181-183 symbolic interpretation of 184 Leo 62 72 Letter-combination, hokmat ha-seruf, ars combinandi 6 - 9 22 63 73 8186-87 96-97 101-103 125 128 136-139 143 145 151-152 165 189-190 217 220-221 232-234 239 258-261 in Abulafia 232 of bereSit 217 220-221 258-259 key to mysteries of the Law 129 130 172 181-184 189-190 knowledge of God by 86 knowledge of "great" names by 134-135 in Pico's sources 148 of Sefer Yesirah 86 Letters, abbreviations transformed into numbers 78-81 Letters of divine names, symbolism of 6 36 of the Law ordained by ten sefirot 45-46 are means of magic 140-141 mystery of 97 and numbers 227-229 232 of Satan 36 substitution, atbash 43 96-97 symbolism of, in Pico, Nahmanides, Recanati 148-149 165-166 171-172 213-214

Indices transpositions of 58 96-97 revolution of 81 125 144-145 of Torah, and seflrot 45-46 Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides) 99 172 Commentariorum in Cantica 157-158 263 tropological interpretation 262 Liber Combinationum (anonymous) 23 59-60 63-64 220-221 258-260 source for Pico's theses 23 59 60 authorship of 258 Liber de Patribus (tractate 'Abot) 91-92 Liber de Radicibus seu Terminis Cabala (Sefer ha-Sorasimj source of Pico's theses 19-20 29 43 61 62 179 192 on Άζ, homo, memxala rixona 107-108 on sex extrema 29 on wine, yayin 192 on YWBL (Jubilee) 40 Liber dei, heavens, creation 175 Liber Generationis Hominis (sepher toldoth adam) 147 Liber Redemptions (Abulafia, Sefer Ge'ulla) 8 84-94 97-98 250 authorship of 71-73 86-91 prophetic Kabbala of 86-87 90-91 source of Pico 247 transformed by Mithridates 84 92-94 97-98 Liber Sapientia Magna Salomonis in Aramaic 219 light 26-29 concealed, primordial 38-39 191 in firmament 38-39 is sefirah 26-28 Lilit 39 liturgy, transformed by Kabbalists 147 Logos, see verbum love man and wife 35-36 inferior-superior 47-48 worship of God from 91 Luciniano 17 Lull Ramon 259 art of, see ars Raymundi Luria Isaac Kabbala of 240 Seder Aziluth 240

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Ma'areket ha-'Elohut 41 78-79 191 manuscript used by Mithridates 79 magia confirms Christianity 123-124 magia naturale 123-125 143 150-151; see Kabbala, magic magic demonic 149 of inwardness 160 and Kabbala 140-141 150 194 222-225 Kabbala transformed by Mithridates into 80 in mysticism of language, of prayer, speculative Kabbala 147-150 222-225 as practical Kabbala 133 two kinds of 261 use of letter-combination in 80-83 use of divine names in 135 Magnus Aquile 25 Maimonides, see Moses ben Maimon Malfecta, see Innocent VIII Malkut, Kingdom, Regnum, see Sefirah χ perfection of 156-157 man ascension to God 111-112 114-115 three parts of 247-248 perfection of 156-157 his union with God 13; with wife 35-36 Manaem, see Recanati Menahem manuals of magic 150 of Kabbalistic symbols, see Liber de Radicibus mare, sea =Sefirah χ 29 42 Margarita 5 17 204-205 Martini Raymundus, Ramon Marti, Pugio Fidei 111 114 163-164 168-169 177-178 Christianizing rabbinic texts 163-164 on Gen. 1:26 110 influence on Pico 163-164 martyrdom 154 Masoretic spelling, mysteries of the Law 55 171 master of the nose, dominus naris 48-49 148 of worship, domini operanies 80 mater superior 35

Indices mathematics 131 Matthew (evangelist) 145 measure of mercy, of judgment, see property Melchiar Magorum oracula 241 mens paterna in Zoroaster 198-199 mentes, see Cherubiae Mercati, Cardinal Giovanni 99 157 263 Merchiava, Merkabah, Chariot 24 30 and ars combinandi 136-138 inferior 138 146 193 triplex 136 138-140 143 193 two kinds of 39-40 Messiah, Adam Kadmon 240 coming of 95 YHWH, name of 166 218 239 in Recanati 110-111 spirit of 177 metaphysica formalis 139 140 143 254 Metatron, archangel, Intellectus agens 101 193 199-200 231-232 na'ar, puer 193 199-200 Michael, archangel, celestial priest 21-22 41 sacrifices souls 158-159 230 Michelozzi Nicolö 15 middah, divine name 141-142; see quantitas\ property midnight, time of union 36 Midrash method of interpretation 262-263 on Gen. 1:26 110 Miriam death of 163 prefiguration of 118 mirror that shines (specula lucentis), that does not shine 37-38 178-179 216 Mispat, Judgment, see sefirot Mithridates 34 Abulafia his favorite 70 parodying Abulafia's style 118 abuses Sixtus IV 15 his acquaintance with Cusanus' works 102 his acquaintance with Kabbala 73-74 an anti-Christian interpolation 118 books on accentuation of Hebrew and on Maccabees 114 called " Y H W H " 116-117

called Samuel 116-118 competence as translator 50 67-76 100 102 writes in Ethiopic characters 242 forerunner of Pico's Kabbala 69 his influence on Christian Kabbala 69 84 and Innocent VIII 17 115-116 Kabbala of 104 links Kabbala with Christianity 106-112 Latin translations of Kabbalistic texts for Pico 4 - 5 9 11-15 69-75 106 114-119 235 for Sixtus IV 15 autograph manuscripts of 11-16 19-21 chronology of 5 - 6 10 15-16 61 73 102 204-205 christianizing 106-119 interpolations, parentheses, marginalia, transforming the texts 4 - 5 61-62 69-75 84 114-119; and see Index of Sources Latin translations of Abulafia, De Secretis Legis 85 87 94-98; its influence on Pico 98-99 105 of Abulafia, Hayyey ha-Nefes 85 87 of the Book Bahir 174 204-208 of Comentum Sepher lesire II 14 37 82-83 of Commentum Voluminis de Proportione Divinitatis 194 of De Proportione Divinitatis 77-80 of Eleazar of Worms, De Anima 16 of Gicatilla, Portae Iustitiae 73-76; Kabbala of sefirot in 74 of Levi ben Gershom, Commentary on Canticles 157-158 of Libellus de Secretis Legis Manifestandis 134 of Liber Misteriorum Venerabilium 150 of Liber Combinationum 23 182 220-221 333-234 of Liber de Ordo Geneseos 216 of Liber de Radicibus 50 of Liber Redemptions 8 71-76 98 of Moses ben Nahman, Comentum Sepher lesire 58 236

[274]

Indices of Recanati, Commentary on Genesis 204-208; Commentary on Pentateuch (lost) 15-16 28 45 158-159; Liber de Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabale 52 of Scriptures: Deut. 28:10 116; Isa. 26:4 81-82; Isa. 58:9 174; Matthew 28:15 108; John 10:16 108-109; Romans 11:17, 24 109 manuscript of Ma'areket ha-'Elohut, used by 79 view on Maimonides 84-99 on the Messiah 110-111 his mock mysteries 115-118 his numerical symbolism 77-80 pederasty of 114-115 taught Kabbala to Pico 4 10; taught Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic to Pico 3 - 5 170-171; influence on Pico 75 84 98; relations with Pico 72-73 in Rome 72 Sermo de Passione 106 111-114 teacher of oriental languages 3 - 5 69 73 170-171 his use of isopsephy and gematria 70-72 his use of Ze 111-112 115 vocabulary of 39 45 47 141 See also Pico, Kabbalistic sources modes of demonstration, three 100-101 modus procedendi in Scientiis 260 per numeros 82 Molfetta, Cardinal of, see Innocent VIII mors osculi (mytat nesiqah), Death of the Kiss 50 152-160 192-193 allegorical interpretation of 175 of Patriarchs and Miriam 153-159 Moses burial of 49-50 his death with a kiss 153 155-156 158 husband of royal Lady 50 and mysteries of the Law 129 171 175 prophecy of 6 34 37 127 178 a Kabbalist 127 received Gates of Intelligence 213 Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides) 8 73 84 126 172 175

[275]

Aristotelian philosophy of 62 Book of Mada\ chap. Heleq 128 on Cant. 1:2 154-155 on Death of the Kiss 154-155 157 Dux Neutrorum, Vat. Lat. 4274 98-99 "Eight chapters", Octo capitula, secrets in 91 Guide of the Perplexed, commentaries on, thirty-six secrets in 84-99 154-155 a Kabbalist in philosophical guise 84-99 131 Kabbalist teacher of Abulafia 87-88 91-96 98 on ma'aseh merkaba 137 Pico on 98-99 on prophecy 158 tropological interpretation of 262 Moses ben Nahman, Gerundinensis, Nahmanides 77 172 Commentary on Pentateuch 55 128 213-214 Commentary on Sefer Yesirah 58 236 on 'Eyn-sof and sefirot 236 on letter-symbolism 213-214 Liber de Ordine Geneseos 216; Pico influenced by 213-214 MSP§, see God, name(s) of Museus, on drunkenness 186 192 mysteries, secrets, of the Law Abulafia on 130 132 concealed in letters 129-130 170-174 182 and Kabbala 100-101 125-126 130 revealed to Christian witnesses 126; to Moses 122 126 174 revealed by letter-symbolism and combination 129 171-172 258-260; by Maimonides 96; by revolutio legis, alphabetaria revolutio 137-138 are Sitrey Torah 126-127 mystical interpretation 177-178 mystical symbolism 172 mystical union 152 mysticism of language 148-149; magic and 222-224 of prayer 148-150 159 222; magic and 148-149 151 222-225

Indices na'ar, puer, boy 72-73 114 115 identified with Active Intellect, Metatron 193 Nachman rabi 126 Nahmanides, see Moses ben Nahman Nehunya ben ha-Qanah Rabbi 172 208 Neonias, see Nehunya Ne$ah, Aeternitas, see Seflrah vii New Year's liturgy, hayyom harat 'olam, Abulafia on 103-104 Neoplatonic drunkenness two kinds of 192 Neoplatonic logic 60 Neoplatonism 139 198 200 in Abulafia 250 night ruled by evil spirits, by property of Judgment 38-39 of Orpheus 196 nihil est extra se 100-103 Nissim Abul Farag, Mithridates' father 70 Noah's sons, seven commandments to 24 non ens, see 'ain north 40 146 188 number mysticism in Kabbala 83 140-141 symbolism of 77-83 numbers and letters, keys to all knowledge 190 numeratio see seflrah, sefirot numerological speculation, Pythagoreanism 187 Occam's Razor 98 occidence 206-207 offerings, continual burnt, see Michael Onkelos 41 172 opus cabalae 164 194-196 Pico on 140-141 opus currus, opus geneseos, ma'ase beresitma'ase merkaba, sapientia naturalissapientia divina 131 Oral Law, Jewish Sages Pico on 126-127 revealed to Moses 121-122, 126-127 Oratio, see Pico Origenes 122

[276]

knew mysteries of the Law 126 Orpheus 186 192 196 link with Christianity 197-199 Orphic Hymns 147-148 195-197 Palermo 70 Pallas 198-199 Paradise 30 PaRDeS 262 Paris 5 Parmenides 198 paths thirty-two — of wisdom 32 41 58 145-146 179 190 of sefiroth 139 Patriarchs, their death with a kiss 153-158 prophecy by Seflrah χ 34 by mirrors 37-38 Patrizi Francesco 243-244 Paul St. 132 244 and Kabbala 108-109 knew mysteries of the Law 126 Paulus de Heredia, Ensis Pauli 169 186 peace place of bohu 41 "made peace in excelsis" 41 Perles J. 256 Perugia 4 5 Pesat 262-263 Petro de la Cavellaria, Tractatus Zelus Christi 169 186 Petrus 62 72 phallic symbolism 28 45 Philon, Liber Sapientia Salomonis 219 Philonic ideas 179 Phylacteries, Teflllyn, Batey Teflllyn, domunculae 32 39-40 parasiyot of — and four sefirot 39 Pico Gian Francesco 244 Hebrew studies of 256 Pico Giovanni della Mirandola in Arezzo 5 17 in castle St. Angelo 17-18 in Florence (1488) 256; (1489) 15 in France 5 214 in La Fratta 3 - 5 57 211 in Perugia 4 5 in Rome 5 16 17 72

Indices and alphabetaria revolutio 136-138 172 261 Alemanno J.'s influence on 256 257 on Amen 106 on analogical likeness of Tabernacle, World, Man 245-250 Apology 10 18 19 99 122-127 132-134 143-145 172 174-177 187 213 215 259-263 his ars combinandi 259-261 on Az 107 162 174 authors, works, mentioned by 20-21 books, used by, Aramaic, Arabic, Greek, Persian 5 - 6 20 241 243 books of Kabbala acquired by 132 on BereSit (Gen. 1:1) 41 172 176 179 181-184 221 233-234 246 258 Chaldean Oracles, commentary on 241-244 Christian Kabbala, his contribution to 9 10 124 151 167-169 191 195 200 239 Christianity, his Kabbalistic confirmation of 122 132 149-151 161 179 184-187 195-197 239 240 christianizing interpretation of Jewish texts 110 162-169 239 christianizing Zoroaster's sayings 193-194 on circumcision 44-45 Commentary on Psalms 184 344 Commento sopra una canzona (famore di Girolamo Benivieni 3 99 125 153-154 160 175 187 193 198-199 256-257 Conclusiones editions of 209-212 date of 211 condemnation of 17 122-123 125 172 defence on 17 121-123 125 133 161 Conclusiones Cabalisticae 123-125 150-151 mark the beginning of Christian Kabbala 169 Conclusiones... secundum Hebraeorum Cabalistarum, Concl. i-xlvii 21-52 their order follows Recanati's Commentary 55-56 Concl. i 158-159 ii 59 iii 59 142 181 258 vii 181 χ 190 xiii-xiv 57 xv 210 xviixviii 56 xix 58 75 xxv 168 xxvii 29

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xxviii 56 xxix 56 58 142 xxx 56 xxxiii 55 214 xl-xliii xlvi 56 xlvii 56 106 148 xlviii 63 75 155 Conclusiones Cabalisticae secundum opinionem propriam 19 21 161 chronology of 151 purpose of 161 186-187 Concl. i 133-135 140 149 ii 136 139 140 260-261 iii 139 140 254 iv 235-237 ν 161 vi 166 197 vii 161-162167 168 218 χ 198-200 xi 158 xii 160 xiii 159 xiv 165 218 xv 166 218 xvi 165 210 xvii 186-187 192 xx 107 162 174 176 xxi 111 145 162 164 176 xxii 162 176 xxiii 162-163 xxiv 163 176 xxv 140 141 179xxvi 179 xxviii 176 xxix 186 187 xxxi 176 xxxii xxxiii 177 xxxv 237 xxxvi 138 237 xxxvii 138 167 168 184 xxxix 168 xli 171-172 xlii 168 xliii 165 xlvii 188 1 138 146 liii 178 lviii 179 lix 164 176 184 lx 164 184 lxi 164 167 168 1761xii 145 160 lxiii 98 lxiv 179 Ixvi 189 lxvii 180 lxviii 143 147 187 Ixx 181 Ixxii 175-176 Conclusiones secundum Iamblichum, concl. viii 210 Conclusiones secundum Isaac Narbonensem 188

Conclusiones Magicas secundum opinionem propriam 123 187-191 194-195 Concl. ix, xv-xviii 194 xxii 189 xxv 83 140 141 194 Conclusiones de Mathematicis secundum opinionem propriam, Concl. xi 190 Conclusiones secundum... Mercuri Trismegisti, Concl. χ 187-188 Conclusiones secundum Moysem Aegyptium 99 Conclusiones secundum propriam opinionem ...hymnos Orphei Concl. i 195 196 ii 148 iv ν ix χ xiii xv 195-197 xxi 141 196 Kabbala in 106-107 147-148 187 191 194-196 Conclusiones paradoxae secundum opinionem propriam, Concl. Iv, lxxi 189 Conclusiones Philosophicae secundum opinionem propriam, Concl. lxxx 189 Conclusiones secundum opinionem propriam

Indices in doctrinam Platonis, Concl. xxxii 190 Conclusio mente Porphyrii 186 Conclusiones secundum Proclum, Concl. xvii 251 Conclusiones secundum propriam opinionem... dictionis Zoroastris 19 205 Kabbala in 187 191-194 commentary on 241-244 Concl. vi 191 vii 192 viii 193 xiv 193 197 xv 194

Kabbalistic sources of the conclusiones 7 20-21 26 53-55 59-60 63-65 135 188-189 lists of 59 63-64 Pico's dependence on Mithridates' translations of 64-65 Abulafia, De Secretis Legis 129-132 170 238; Liber Redemptions 247; Summa 60 133-134 Axelrad, Corona 59 64 235-236 Azriel of Gerona, Quaestiones 105 235-238 Bahir 19-20 58 59 180 Bahya ben Asher 248-250 262-263 commentaries on Sefer Yesirah in Vat. Ebr. 191 7 - 8 57 59 236 Commentum Voluminis 194 De Proportione Divinitatis 57 59 60 64 235 Eleazar of Worms, De Anima 16 18 Expositio Decern Numerationum 57 59 Gicatilla, Portae Iustitiae 56-57 59 60 64 Isaac of Acre 248-250 263 Levi ben Gershom, Commentariorum in

Concordia Aristotelis cum Platone 243 on correspondence of soul-sefirot 189 on creation ex nihilo 105 Disputationes adversus Astrologiam 18 243 on divine hierarchy 251 on drunkenness 186 192 enarrationes in eloquia Sacra (Commentaries on Scripture) 243-244 his encounter with Kabbala 4 10 105 121 122 149 151 215 235 247 256-258 262 on evil 188-189 on "Eyn-Sof and sefirot 235-238 Epistola ad ignotum amicum 4 10 11 57 211 130 170-171 on Hebrew letters 164-165 Heptaplus 172 173 180 182 183 214 219 245-247 250 263; date of 214-215; Kabbala in 172; Nahmanides in 214219 on Jesus' name 165 218 Kabbala Christian Kabbala of 12 64 65 70 121127 136 215 239 240 kinds of 63 123-125 132-139 143-146 149-152 161-169 on Jewish Kabbala 125 in Oration and Apology 112-125 and magic 125 143-145 187-191 195-196 and Neoplatonism 198 200 and Plato, Pythagoras 187 practical, sources of 139-141 143 150-152 160 254 "prima et vera Cabala" 143 145 of sefirot 74 speculative 63 136 138 139 150 261 studies of, in Hebrew, Latin 3 - 6 8-10 20 53-55 60-63 256-257

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Cantica 157-158 Libellus de Secretis Legis Manifestanda 134 Liber Combinationum 59 60 258 260 Liber de Radicibus 19 20 43 179 192 no magic in 150 Maimonides' Guide 98 99 154-155 157 Mithridates' interpolations in his translations 83-84 105 107 238 Moses ben Nahman, Commentary on Genesis 213-215; on Sefer Yesirah 236 Proclus 251 Recanati, Commentary on Pentateuch 19 55-56 59-64 155-158 170 180 205 235 Sefer Yesirah 57-58 Vatican manuscripts 5 - 6 12-21 26; MS Chigi 59 64; Vat. Ebr. 189 17-19; Vat. Ebr. 190 19-21 59-64 99 148-149 237; Vat. Ebr. 191 19-21 57-59 Zohar 20 55 252-253 letter-combination 129-130 148-149 165-166 171-172 213-214; see above alphabetaria revolutio; ars combinandi letters to Domenico Benivieni 4;

Indices studies of Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew 3 - 6 8 - 1 0 73 241 symbolic language of Kabbala, use of 179-184 194 symbolism of fifth day, error in 27-29 on Tetragrammaton 165-166 on Talmud 127 Theologia inferior 254 poetic theology of 153 doctrine of Three Worlds 245-247 251 Trinitarian interpretation of Is 177-178;

Girolamo Benivieni 4; Andrea Corneo 3; Ficino 3 - 4 241; Nicolo Michelozzi 15 library of 20; see Gaffarel on Magia naturale 143-144 magic in Orphic Hymns 147-148 195-197 manuals of magic 150 Maimonides a Kabbalist 98-99 132 on merchiava 136 138-139 on Metatron 193 199-200 Messiah's name 218 Mithridates influence 69 75-81 83 84 105 107 238 mors binsica, mors osculi 152-160 252-253 mysteries of the Law 129-130 133 170-176 181-184 mysticism of prayer 148-150 named Elohim, isc 117-118 operari in Cabala 157 159 160 Oratio, Oration 122 124 173 174 187 200; editions of 241; Chaldean quotation, Ethiopic characters in 241-242; divinely revealed Kabbala in 132; different Kabbala from Apology 122 124; mysteries of the Law 173 174 his philosophical studies 123 Philosophia Catolica 136 138 Platonism and Christianity 200 posthumous papers 243 on prayer 147-150; see Kawwanah Pugio fidei, influence of 163-164 168-169 on Sabbat = Jesus 165 262-263 on saeculum venlurum 190-191 on samayim (heaven) 180-181 Scripture, four methods of interpretation 262-263 Scripture, Kabbalistic interpretation of 262-263; Gen 1:1, beresit 172 179; Gen 1:3, Lux 178-179 216; Gen. 1:9, 20 42; Deut. 6:4 179; Isa. 43:6 146-147; Isa. 53:5 162; Job 25:2 40-41; J o b 28:12 105; Cant. 1:2 154-160; 4 Ezra 14 132; John 8:25, 56, 58 167-168; Son of God, Metatron 194 199 on ten spheres and seflrot 143 146-147

of YHfVH 165-166 vocabulary of 64 133-136 141 164-166 on Ze 111 planets 246 plants = sefirot 29 Plato 187 198 Epinomis and Kabbala 190 on love 154 Phaedros 245 Symposium 154 Platonic ideas 179 Platonism in Kabbala 122 187 Platonists 250 in Renaissance 198 Potestas in pseudo-Dionysius 196 prayer(s) 55 223 226 at daybreak 47-48 to the master of the nose 48-49 mystical 147-150 as self-immolation 230 of sons 146-147 See Kawwanah precepts, number of 108 Priest, inferior, superior 21 Prince of divine presence, Sar ha-panim princeps mundi 36-37 58 prisca gentilium theologia 198-200 processus Dei ad extra 178 Proclos 250-251

86

property, proprietas, middah 32 141 148 of clemency, of compassion, of mercy 31 34 38-39 43 47 181 of Day and Night 38-39 of judgment 38-39 42 47-48 181 of North 188

[279]

Indices of penitence 40 176

Cabalisticae

of piety, charity, flexed 32 4 7 - 4 8

propriam

prophecy

51 156 158

secundum

opinionem

59-64

on 'l.'yn-Sof and sefirot 235

cessation of 51

his Kabbala of sefirot 6 2 - 6 3 74

of Daniel, David, pious men, Solomon 51

Mithridates' interpolations in 158

by Daughter of Voice 51

and Pico's order of conclusiones

emanation from Active Intellect 86;

Commentary

on Prayers, De

Orationum seu Benedictionum

from sefirot 31 34 51 of Moses and Patriarchs 34 37 38

on death of the kiss 155-158

from mirrors 37 38 178-179

on G o d ' s ten garments 255

by Holy Spirit 51

on Messiah 110-111 on phylacteries 39

prophetic illumination by letter-

on prayers 230

86 179

011 prophecy 156 158

prophetic Kabbala. see Abulafia, Liber

on sacrifice of the soul 159 230

Redemptionis proselites. gerim, neofiti Pythagoras

on souls transmigration 56

112

on Zc 111-112

187 197-199

and Zohar 55

Aurea Die la 69 Pythagoreanism in Kabbala Pythagoreans purgatorium

52 6 1 - 6 2

64 106 149

with Hind's Horn 34

combination

56

Secretis

redemptio. (ie'ulla

122 187

32

redemption, time of

250 132

"quantitas formalis", middah,

redemptor. Ze

162

Kehumeai rabi

206

95

Renaissance

sefirah

philosophy of love in 153

141-145 150 196; see property

Chaldean Oracles in 191 241 Rahamim, Clemency, see sefirot

resit (beginning) =hokmah (wisdom)

Rashi

Reuchlin Johannes

213 -214 238

on Canticles 154

De Arte Cabalistica

180 187

on J o b 25:2 40

De Verba Mirifico

167

Raziel =Abulafia A b r a h a m

read Pico's theses 218

95

Recanati Menahem, Manaem

and pentagram YHSWH

3 6 - 3 7 40

revolutio legis

4 8 - 4 9 70 255 257

revolution, of thirty-two Gates

on amen 52 on analogy of light, waters, to sefirot 28

righteousness

on Genesis. a n o n y m o u s

rivers of Eden

translation of 204-208 Commentary

on Pentateuch 20-56 156-159

Rome

revolutio 44 30-3142

5 16 17 72

191; on Gen. 1:3 216; on Gen. 1:14

Rosenroth Knorr von

38-39; on Gen. 18:20-21 47; on Lev.

Ruah ha-Qodes. Holy Spirit

185

1:2 159; Mithridates' translation of 15 16 19 55 58 6 2 - 6 4 74 170 180 191;

Saadia Gaon

main source for Pico's

Conclusiones

Sabaot

Cabalisticae

secundum

Hebraeorum

Sabbath

Cabalistarum

19-20

22-53

59-60; source for Pico's

55-56

172

147

Pico's interpretation of 165

Conclusiones

symbol of 26 184

[280]

227

of letter-combination 258; see alphabelaria

and Bahir 2 8 - 2 9 55 191 204-205 Commentary

218

137

51

41

Indices §addiq 49-50 Righteous 42 44 Salomon 172 Salt 42 Samael 24 195 samayim, see heaven Sapientia 75 104-105 divina (hokmat ha-'Elohut), naturalis (hokmat ha-teva') 131 thirty-two paths of 41 is Son of God in Pythagoras 198-199 See Sefirah ii Sar ha-panim, Prince of divine presence 86 Satan 36 37 159 188 195 isopsephic equivalent of BYH 37 Scholem G. 49 58 63 103 109 119 134 139 147 150-151 160 175 182 194 238 261 "divine language has no grammar" 74-75 175 on Kabbala and Hebrew 6 on Liber Combinationum 59 "magic of inwardness" 261 on Pico's use of Bahir 19 science, modus procedendo modes of demonstration 123-125 included in the Law 182 of Kabbala 100-111 134 revealed, non revealed 123-124 universal 101 scientia cabalae, scientia receptionis, hokmat ha-qabbala 134 of sefirot 63 143-145 151 of Semot, nomina sacra 63 143 149 151 254 as practical Kabbala 139-141 as speculative Kabbala 63 Sclafetano Giangiacomo J. Jacobus 115-116 Scot John 103 Scripture as texture of divine names 75 as divine language 6 interpretation of, anagogical 38 interpretation of, by letter substitution and transposition 97 four methods of interpretation of 262-263 symbolic interpretation of 7 tropological interpretation of 99

[281]

See Index of Scriptural and Rabbinical Quotations sea, Shekinah 42 sechel, tropological interpretation 99 262-263 secrets of Maimonides' Guide 85-86 91 93-94 96 128; see mysteries, secrets, of the Law Sedech, Zedeq, gate of 112 Sefer Ge'ulla 88-90; see Liber Redemptions Sefer ha-Sorasim, see Liber de Radicibus Sefer Ye$irah, Book of Creation 57-58 63 73 137 145-146 179 190 223 227 235-2366 combinational Kabbala in, lettercombination in 73 86 258 260 not read by Pico 57 commentaries on, in Vat. Ebr. 191 57-59; see Comentum Sepher Iesire Sefirot 104 analogy to light and water 26 28 ascending-descending 178-179 in Book of Creation 145-146 235 chariot of the four 39 correspond with days of week 26-30 correspond with human soul 189 divine emanation of 63 various doctrines of 58 235 and 'Eyn-Sof 235 -238 and the Flood 33 gates to 115 glossary of Kabbalistic symbols of 61; see also Liber de Radicibus hierarchy of 188 intelligible and angelic forms of 140 and magic 196 Masorah represents mysteries of 55 mediators between God-World 237-238 mystical theory of 135 names of, turned into numerical symbolism 35 57 78-81 nine 145 number of 235 numeratio 26 60 146 phylacteries 39 in Pico's practical, speculative Kabbala 139-140 149-150

Indices prophecy by 31 34 51 rivers of Eden 30 symbolism of 61-62 77-80 179-181 184 ten, letters of Torah 45-46 73-74 235-236 ten represented by Az 174 ten garments 237 triadic configuration of ten 106-107 138-140 167 193 union of 35-36 106-107 verbum, symbol of ten 162 See middah; mirror; severance; see also under each sefirah Sefirah i, Corona, Keter, Cheter 26 31 33 75 78-79 104 105 107 115 138 189 236 'ain, non ens 75 105 EHYH, Ehyeh 166 226 Sefirah ii, Sapientia, Wisdom, Hokmah 26 29 30 39 41 75 78 79 189 198-199 day of Christ 167 Eden 30 form or matter 176-177 Jesus Son of God 167-168 174 193-194 198-199 Principium, in principio, Beginning, resit 25-26 29 39 41 174 179 Sefirah iii, Intelligentia, Binah 26 28-30 32-33 35 39 75 78-80 82 107 115 138-139 181 189 193 beth 35 celi superiores, celos 26 form or matter 176-177 green line, linea viridis 26 181 King 28-29 Mispat 77 Penitence, Tesuvah, Return 28 35 40 176-177 proprietas poenitentiae 40 176 Son of God 193-194 tohu 26 the above Woman, mater superior 35 75 YWBL, lobel, Jubilee 32 50 Sefirah iv, Pietas, Mercy, Charity, Hesed 27 29 31-33 77-79 107 138 180-181 189 Greatness, Gedulla 29 30-31 39 79 138 Rahamim, Clemency 23 77 181 day of Abraham 167

[282]

dextra 32-33 tree in Eden 30 water in heaven 180-181 YHWH 23 Sefirah v, Potentia, Might, Power, Geburah 24 29-31 39 47 79 80 138 188 189 196 Iudicia, Judgment, Din 23 180-181 188 196 Timor, Fear, Pahad 27 79 80 107 fire in heaven 180-181 Fear of Isaac 196 fourth day of creation 27 Sefirah vi, Gloria, Glory, Beauty, Tifereth 27-31 34-3643-44 79 138 178-179 189 190-216 Adam, homo 107-108 190 Adam magnus 30 Arbiter, first 30 Clementia, Clemency, Compassion, Rahamim 23 34 38 43 77-78 181 heaven, samayim, green line 180-181 Holy Blessed Be He 36 38 mirror that shines 38 178-179 216 Mispat 77-78 six corners of aedifice 29 44 union with beth 35 union with Keneset Israel, Shekinah 35-36 YHWH 167 181 Sefirah vii, Eternitas, Potentia, Nesah 27 39 79 107 138 Victory, Nesah 27 29 fourth, fifth day of creation 27 in merchiava inferiori 193 Oriens, East 106 North 146-147 Septima 146-147 206 Sefirah viii, Decor, Majesty, Hod 27 29 39 79 107 138-139 146-147 189 192 fourth, fifth day of creation 27 28 in marchiava inferiori 193 Octava 146-147 South 146-147 Sefirah ix, Fundamentum, Yesod 22 23 27-29 39 42 45 76 107 111-113 115 138 147 183 186 189 221 Arbiter, second 28 bride 45

Indices seculi, Yesod Ό lam 29 42 75 76 Justus, Saddiq 42 145 162 239 phallus 28 45 redemptor 145 162 sixth day of creation 27 World 24 29 Ze, iste 75 76 111-113 145 162 Seflrah x, Regnum, Kingdom, Malkut, 24 26 28-31 35 43 75 115 138 147 166 189 ADNI, Adonai 166 Ayala, Hind 34 Diadem, Atheret, 'Atarah 27 29 34 43 45 51 79 Garden of the King's Palace 29 heart of heavens 43 Holy Spirit 166 Keneset Israel, Congregation of Israel 30 35 39 Kingdom of David 43 is mirror that does not shine 38 178 179 216 is Mispat 77 78 is property of Night 38 is Sabbath 26 27 is Shekinah, 24 30 34-36 38 42 112; soul adherence to 50 156 is river of Eden 31 is wine 192 the Woman below, mater inferior 35 Zot, haec 75-76 See mare separation of sefirot, of plants, see severance serpent 25 severance of plants, truncareplantas 24-25 47 134 sex extrema 29 44 shefa', emanation, the Son 90 Shekinah 156 sea, yam, west 38 42 See Sefirah χ Sicily 70 Silenus Simeon Rabi 29 ben Lakis (Benlagis) 73 126 ben Yohay 49 172 Simplicius 141 Sin, original, in Kabbala 132

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of Sodomites 47 Sirruph Octioth, letter-combination, see ars combinandi Sitrey Torah, see mysteries, secrets, of the Law Sixtus IV and Mithridates 15 17 Sodomites, sin of 47 Solomon curtains of 38 knew all sciences from Law 219 on Love 154 prayer of 26 51 163 181 wisdom of 52 Son of God in Christianity, Pagan philosophies 198-199 and name of forty-two letters 71 is Shefa', emanation 90 194 is Wisdom 177 Song of Solomon 1:2 154 and Platonism 154 Soul adherence to Shekinah 50 156 body, separation from 153-160 193 body, union with 50 correspondence with sefirot 189 descent of 26-27 good, coming from east 49 Kabbalists on 153-156 Levi ben Gershom on 157-158 Maimonides on 154-155 Pico on 153-154 158-160 sacrifice of 21 - 2 2 sacrifice by Michael to God 158-159 source of 25 superior 50 transmigration of 56 union of vital and rational 135-136 South, Negeb 32 water 40 146-147 Spanish Kabbalists 59 speculative Kabbala, see Kabbala speculum lucentis, see mirror sphaera intelligibilis 198 -199 spheres and ten sefirot Pico on 143 146-147 symbolism of 6 26-29 Sjur 36-37

Indices symbolic language of Kabbala 7 - 9 74-75 77-83 178 180 192 196 199 applied to Christian texts 167-168 symbolical interpretation of Scripture 63 74-75 numbers in 77-83 symbolism of Kabbala two kinds of 6 - 7 in Pico's Christian Kabbala 181-184 of sefirot 61-62 77-78 symbols, variety of meaning 180-183 syphons =sefirot 33

confirmed by Kabbala 132 197 in Liber Redemptions 90 109 in Pico's interpretation of BereSit 246 Trinitarian interpretation of BereSit 183 of God's names 165-166 by Mithridates 106-107 Triplex merchiava 139 140 143 193 tropological interpretation of Scripture, tropologicus, Sechel 99 262-263 truncare plantas, see severance Tudela 96 Typhon ofOrpheas

Tabernacle, modeled on three worlds 245-246 248-250 Talmud 129 134 "Talmud, Old", pre-Christian 106 and legend on Death of the Kiss 153 Talmudists against Christianity 127 Targum Yerushalmi 41 Teflllyn, see phylacteries terminology, transmission of 262-263 Tesuva, Penitence 28 35 40 176 178 255 forty gates of 35 See Sefirah iii tetraktys, quaternarius, Pythagorean 197 Tbenaud Jean 185 Theodor of Toleto 27 224 tbeologia inferioris 139 140 theology, mystical = Kabbala 135 theosophic doctrine of Sefirot 58 theurgy 139

Ullmann Lisa

195

186

unio mystica attained by Patriarchs 49 unicorn, see Hind union of body and soul 50 with celestial beloved by kiss 153-155 of man with God 63 of man and wife 35-36 of sefirot 35-36 unity of knowledge, knower, known 90

Tiferet = Samayim, heaven 181; see Sefirah vi Tobu, informe 26 176-177 Bad, place of, inferno 41 Torah explication of God's names 57 214 token of God's love to Israel 15 154 See Law Tractatus de Revolutionis Ducentarum Triginta Unius Portarum Alphabetic Vat. Ebr. 190 148 Tree of knowledge, creation by 24-25 of Power 30 superior 49-50 Trinity 161-162 165-166 174 177-178

[284]

Vatican Library, Chigi A.VI. 190, Chisianus, described 11-15 19-20 57 61 85; Arabic and Greek in 13; source for Pico's Kabbalistic theses 57 59 64 Vat. Ebr. 189, described 11-18; copied by E. da Viterbo 11 16; not used for Pico's Kabbalistic theses 17-19 Vat. Ebr. 190, described 11-15 19 59 61 102; Arabic and Greek in 13; kinds of its Kabbala 62; source for Pico's Kabbalistic theses 59-64 99 Vat. Ebr. 191, described 11-12 15 19 57-59; source for Pico's Kabbalistic theses 59-60 verbum, logos, "saying" (ΓΠΏΝ) 40 162-163 creation by ten 40 73-74 85 dei, Son of God, Wisdom 198-199 Vergil 11 vita eterna 36 Water south 40 gathering of 42 in three levels of being 180-181

Indices waw, letter of YHWH 30 39 Pico on 165 west, Shekinah 42 Wind Edgar 192 wine, pure, Kabbalistic, and Platonic drunkenness 186 191-192 Wisdom of gods 51-52 of Solomon 52 Son of God 177 superior 30 See paths Wise Men of Israel, prophecy of 51 Woman above, below 35 wife, Shekinah 24 World to come 30 36-37 190-191 of separate beings 30 Worlds doctrine of four 183 246 of three 245-251

Yisa Rabbi 156 yod creation by 30 36 37 82 Pico on 165 Yonathan, aramaic translator of Scriptures 172 232 257 259 Yose Rabbi 29 156 YWBL, lobel, see Jubilee Ze, isle 7 162-164 is Christ 112 113 Christological interpretation of 111-112 Mithridates and Pico, use of 110-112 See God name(s); Sefirah ix Zedek see sedech Zerakhia Rabbi, purported author of Sefer Ge'ulla 88-90 Zerubabel 130 Zohar 31 40 42 48-50 149 162 178 188 252 death of the kiss in 156 252 253 not read by Pico 20 source for Pico's Kabbalistic theses 20 24 39 44 50 in Recanati 55 Zoroaster link with Christianity 197-199 Oracles in Aramaic 241 Zoroastrian mors osculi 193 Zot, haec, see Seflrah χ

yam, sea, west 42 Yates Frances 139 144 Yehudah Rabbi 25 Yehuda Salmon, Rabi Ieude, Abulafia's pupil 60 134 148; see Abulafia, Summa Brevis Cabalae etc. Yir'ah, fear 48

[285]

I N D E X OT S O U R C E S N u m b e r s in bold print indicate n u m b e r of folio (Abulafia Abraham)

Axelrad A.

Liber

Corona Nominis

Redemptionis

Boni

Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 1 7 2 - 1 8 6

Chigi Α.VI. 190, fols. 2 6 2 - 3 3 2 2 6 2 - 2 6 3 9 2 - 9 3 265 72 141 2 6 6 - 2 6 7 93

176 7 36 82 177 22 182 43 1 8 2 - 1 8 3

94 268 89 91 94 2 7 3 - 2 7 4 7 1 - 7 2 277

236 207 236

280 97 281 115 284 85 97 285bis 247

Azriel of Gerona

250 286 4 62 2 9 2 - 2 9 3 1 4 - 1 5 90 296 80

Quaestiones

91 308 72 310 61 317 87 331 9 1 - 9 2

Vat. Ebr. 190. fols. 1 6 5 - 1 7 3

332 8 - 9 72 84 8 6 - 8 7

super Decern

Numerationibus

165 102 103 1 6 6 - 1 6 7 2 3 7 - 2 3 8 168 103 139 169 103 170 139

Abulafia Abraham De Secretis

Legis

Bahir

Vat. E b r . 190, fols. 3 3 6 - 4 6 9

C o d . M o n a c e n s i s 209

336 70 9 4 - 9 5 102 337 131 340 94 98

19

3 4 1 - 3 4 2 1 0 0 - 1 0 1 343 128 217 218 344

Vat. E b r . 191, fols. 2 8 8 - 3 3 5

7 2 - 7 3 345 214 3 4 5 - 3 4 6 1 2 8 - 1 2 9

§ 1 (288) 208 §6 33 §9 (289) 40 41 s 13

3 4 6 - 3 4 7 95 259 3 4 7 - 3 4 8 9 5 - 9 6 349 96

(290) 206 §18 (291) 178 207 §23 (291)

361 131 362 131 138 260 363 102 223

207 §40 180 §49 (297) 204 §61 (300)

3 6 3 - 3 6 4 108 366 72 104 3 7 7 - 3 7 8

207 §75 (303) 208 §78 (304) 143 §80

2 3 1 - 2 3 3 379 72 4 0 3 72 4 0 7 - 4 0 8 223

( 3 0 5 - 3 0 6 ) 43 §83 228 §84 (306) 178

415 13 62 115 118 417 260 420 422

§91 (308) 2 0 7 - 2 0 8 §95 (310) 75 174

137 423 72 425 2 6 0 - 2 6 1 438 137 445

§ 104 (312) 2 8 - 2 9 49 2 0 6 - 2 0 7 § 106

7 0 - 7 3 447 448 1 3 0 - 1 3 1 458 70 461

(323) 1 9 0 - 1 9 1 §109 188 331 19 332

96-97

159

Chigi Α.VI. 190, fols. 2 3 2 - 2 6 1

in

2 4 4 - 2 4 6 113 2 2 4 - 2 2 5 2 5 6 - 2 5 7 112 (Sefer

Recanati,

Commentary

on

Ge'ullah)

Paris B.N. 598

Leipzig, University L i b r a r y , Leipzig B . H .

164 165 176 189 201 218 2 0 5 - 2 0 8

fol. 13/1

in R e c a n a t i , Commentary

88 89

Pentateuch

Summa Brevis Cabaiae

Que Intitulalur

Rabi

leude

on the

(Venice 1545), in

Hebrew §3 (2) 41 §6 (33) 4 6

Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 1 2 0 - 1 3 2

in R e c a n a t i , Liber de Secretis

122 134 184 124 135 184 125 109 156

seu

Benedictionum

Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 2 7 5 - 3 3 6 Adumbratio

Genesis,

a n o n y m o u s Latin t r a n s l a t i o n

Kabbaiae

Christianae

in K n o r r v o n R o s e n r o t h , Denudala

§ 1 8 ( 3 1 5 - 3 1 6 ) 178

Kabbala

11,2 ( F r a n k f o r t

Bahya ben Asher

o / M 1684)

Commentary

9 18 19 239 2 5 - 2 7 240

on the

E x o d . 25:9 248

[286]

Pentateuch

Orationum

Indices Comentum

114 73-74 197 121-122 32-33

Sepher lesire, 1

Vat. Ebr. 191. Ibis. 1-12

128-129 32 371 75 380-381 48

1 36 5 - 6 XI Comentum

Giorgio Francesco Commentary on G. Picas

Sepher lesire, Π

Jewish National and Hebrew University Library. Yah. Ms. Var. 24 57 198-199

12-13 82-83 20 14 23 36 75 82 Commentary

Kabbalistic

Theses

Vat. Ebr. 191. I d s . 12-26

on the Ten Sefirot

(anonymous) Vat. Ebr. 191. Ibis. 29-34 30 35

Levi ben Gershom Commentariorum in Cantica Salomonis Vat. Lat. 4273 5 263 16 157 19 158

Commentum Vo/uminis de Proportione Divinitatis Vat. Ebr. 191. Ibis. 43-60 52 44 53 48-49 55 194

Libellus de Secretis Legis Vat. 190. Cols. 207-221 207 236 209 134

De Proportione Divinitatis Chigi Α. VI. 190. I'ols. 132-151 212-221 139 82 142-143 27 150 80 218 27 221

Canticorum

Manifestandis

Liber Combinationum Vat. 190. Cols. 90-120

77-78

41 23 60 220-221 62 182 221 233-234 Eleazar of Worms et alii De Anima Vat. Ebr. 189

Liber de Ordine Geneseos Chigi A.Vl. 190. Cols. 226 fC. 226 176 216

11-13 157 483 16-17 485 13 Expositio Decern Numerationum Vat. Ebr. 191. t'ols. 60-107

Liber de Radicibus (Sefer Vat. 190, Cols. 222-275

64 75 73-74 26 78 21 90 100 27 Expositio Secretorum

ha-Sorasim)

222-225 62 222-223 179 225 226 107 226 105 107 227 163 241 27 50 243 192 245 45 248 178 249-250 107 108 256 196 261 29 44 181 258 26

Punctuationis

Vat. Ebr. 190. Cols. 90-120 92 222

Liber Misteriorum

Venerabilium

[Simusev

Gicatilla, Joseph Sa'arey Sedeq Cod. Monacensis Hebr. 284 122 74

TorahJ Chigi Α.VI. 190. Col. 360

Vatican. MS Barb. Or. 110 67 74 Portae lustitiae seu de Divinis

Ma'areket ha-'E/ohut, Commentary on Vatican Library. Hebr. MS Neol'iti 27 194

360 150

Nominibus

[Sa'arey Sedeq] Chigi Α.VI. 190. Cols. 2-131. 361-390 11-13 56 57 6 - 8 108-112 11-12 61 29 75-76 64 17 68 114-115 74 51 75-76 75 80 147 80-81 31 226 92 164-165

[287]

Cor Mithridates' Latin translation see Commentum Voluminis de Proportione

Divinitatis

Indices Mithridates

Interpolations in Liber de

Interpolations, parentheses, notes, in

Vat. Ebr. 190

Abulafia, De Secretis

Legis

Radicibus

226 249 250 107-108

Vat. Ebr. 190

Interpolations in Recanati, De Orationum

336 70 9 4 - 9 5 337 231 340 90 94 98

seu

Secretis

Benedictionum

Vat. Ebr. 190

341-342 100-101 343 176 344 73 345-346 128-129 347-348 9 5 - 9 6 349

286-187 149 319 52 106

96 361 97 131 362 131 364 108 366 72

Interpolations in

379 72 403 72 415 115 118 423 72 445

Chigi Α.VI. 190 16; Vat. Ebr. 189

7 0 - 7 3 458 70 461 9 6 - 9 7

15-17 99 117 157 16-17 173 17 255

Chigi Α.VI. 190

110 257 117-118 269 17 483 16 485

245-246 113

13; Vat. Ebr. 190 75 7 - 8 76 72 80 109

Interpotalions, parentheses, notes, in (Abulafia), Liber

14-16 207 236; Vat. Ebr. 191 15-16

Redemptions

30 35 34 107 121 208 287 325 12 20 14

Chigi Α.VI. 190

Notes in Recanati, Commentary Pentateuch,

15-16 8 4 - 9 4 9 7 - 9 8 114 7 3 - 7 4

translation

262-263 9 2 - 9 3 265 72 266-267 93 268 89 91 94 273-274 70-72 277 90 280 97

on the

lost Latin

Gaffarel, Index 16

281 115 284 97 286 4 292 14-15 90 294 90 296 89 91 308 72 331 9 1 - 9 2 332 8 - 9 72 340 98

Moses ben Nahman of Gerona

Interpolations in Axelrad, Corona Nominis

(Nahmanides, Gerundinensis)

Bonis

Commentary

Vat. Ebr. 190 177 2 2 - 2 3

in Hebrew

Latin translation (anonymous)

Interpolations in Abulafia, Summa

Brevis

preface 219 Comentum

Cabale

Sepher

lesire

Vat. Ebr. 191, fols. 3 9 - 4 3

Vat. Ebr. 190

39 58 4 1 - 4 2 236

125 109 156 Interpolations in Comentum

Sepher

lesire

Vat. Ebr. 191

Patrizi, Francesco (ed.) Zoroastris

12-13 8 2 - 8 3 20 14-15 Interpolations in De

of the Pentateuch,

preface 214

Oracuia (Venice 1593)

3 4 243

Proportione

Diviniiatis Perush Sefer

Chigi Α.VI. 190

Yesirah

Paris, B.N. Heb. 768

139 141 142 143 150 214 7 8 - 8 0

11 37

Interpolations in Eleazar of Worms et alii. De Anima

Pico, Gian Francesco

Vat. Ebr. 189

Letter to Sante Pagnini. Opera

15-17 157 173 269 483 16-17 485 13

(Basel 1573)

Interpolations in Gicatilla, Poriae

1371 256

lustitiae Chigi Α.VI. 190

Pico Giovanni della Mirandola

16 6 - 8 109-111 64 17 68 114-115 75

Condusiones

7 - 8 76 72 80 109 14 114 7 3 - 7 4

editio princeps (Rome 1486)

Interpolations in Levi ben G e r s h o m , Commentariorum

209-212

in Canlica

Vat. Lat. 4273 19 158

[288]

Omnia

Indices Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Codex Vindobonensis Palatinus 5516 209-212 Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen, Codex Latinus 646 209-212 Inclinable of 1487

85-87 38-39 89 51 93 52 113 46 127 129 130 230 131 22 171 35 212 213 35 36 56 289 41 Latin translation by Mithridates (lost), in Gaffarel, Index 5 6 11 16 19 20 41 110 204 205 Commentary on Prayers, in Hebrew 35 52 Liber de Secretis Orationum et Benedictionum Cabale [Commentary on Prayers]

212

Annotations on Manuscripts Cod. Chigi Α.VI. 190 (Abulafia, Liber Redemptions) 285bis 247 Cod. Vat. Ebr. 190 23 (Liber Combinationum) 62 233-234 (Azriel, Quaestiones) 166 167 237 Cod. Vat. Lat. 4273 (Levi ben Gershom, Commentariorum in Cantica) 5 263 Cod. Vat. Lat. 4274 (Maimonides,

Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 275v-336r 61 62 64 283 141 286-287 149 222 287 222 291 230 292 143 298-299 222-223 299 255 315-316 178 318-319 52 319 106 Theodor de Toleto Liber Porta Secretorum Vat. Ebr. 191, fols. 208-287 218 27 248 224

Dux Neutrorum) 99 on Recanati, Commentary on Pentateuch, Latin translation 204-205

Reuchlin, Johannes De Arte Cabalistica (Hägen 1517) 52 213 214 131 268 217

Proclos Elements of Theology, Proposition 103 250 251 Recanati, Menahem Commentary on Genesis, anonymous Latin translation Paris, B.N. Lat. 598 164 165 176 189 201 208 206-208 Commentary on the Pentateuch Venice 1545 2 41 8 42 10-11 39 11 56 12 44 56 14 29 17-18 30-31 19-20 23 24-25 29 41 44 32 46-47 33 48 45 46 SO 46 51 52 47 55 48 57 31 65 48 56 75 50 56 77-78 155-156 78 50 80 83 34 37 51

[289]

Simplicius In Aristotelis Categorias 141 142

Commentarium

Tractatus de Revolutions 231 Portarum Alphabeti Vat. Ebr. 190, fols. 132-165 132-136 227-229 134 222 139 148 Zohar Part I 16 40 21 49 50 31 29 33 44 34 42 35 36 24 25 61 162; II 124 146 252; III 134 226

I N D E X OF SCRIPTURAL A N D R A B B I N I C A L Q U O T A T I O N S

Genesis 1:1 26 128 176 181 1:1 (Aramaic) 41

Psalms 1:3 164 2:12 234 8:6 222 8:30 16412:9

179 1:1-4 172 1:1-5 28 1:6 22 1:1-8 28

44 18:31 101 19:8 164 31:20 91 33:6 199

1:2 177 1:3 40 1:6-8 28 1:10 42 1:14

36:9 186 49:12 222 89:7 162 89:15 77

3 8 - 3 9 1:20 42 1:21 44 1:26 110 2:4 7 82

93:1-2 255 104:2 255 104:24 199 116:15

2:8 30 2:10 30 2:16 22 2:23 75 9:6 33 12:8 33 12:9 32 33 18:20-2147 19:27 22:1224

158 118:19 112 J o b 2:10 101 2 5 : 2 4 0 - 4 1 (Aramaic) 40 28:12

22:1-13 113 22:2 163 22:3 228 22:6 163

82 28:12-28 105 28:20 75 32:8 29 33:14 34

22:12 4 7 - 4 8 24:1 70 31:53 196 49:10 177

38:4 28 38:33 249

49:28 75 49:33 155

Proverbs 2:3 75 8:22 177 10:25 42 12:9 44

Exodus 13:16 39 14:19-21228 15:1 232 15:2 164 15:3 177 25:9 248 32:32 163

16:26 35 17:3 101 27:9 249 Song of Solomon 1:2 154 252 4:12 30

Leviticus 1:2 159 230 2:1 230 6:5 162 9:4 21

Ecclesiastes 1:4 49 1:7 42 7:14 41 10:20 44 Lamentations 2:17 24 162 5:17 206

25:11 32 25:31 90 Numbers 5:18 39 5:23 35 6:27 44 104

Daniel 12:9 95

Deuteronomy 1:34 149 6:4 30 179 22:22

1 Chronicles 4:23 28

35 28:10 39 116 28:12 52 31:16 118 33:1

4 Ezra 14:47 140 142 Matthew 28:18 108

75 33:2 32 221 33:28 112 1 Samuel 1:10 32 226 1:11 226

J o h n 8:25 56 58 167 168 199 10:16 108 109

2 Samuel 22:37 32

R o m a n s 3:2 244 11:17 24 109

1 Kings 5:10, 13 219 8:32, 34, 36, 39 26

Mishnah Kalah i.10 36 Sabbat xix.6 44

Isaiah 3:10 42 5:20 101 5:24 24 6:3 223 9:6

Bab. Talmud, Berakot

171 12:3 259 24:21 51 26:4 7 75 8 0 - 8 2 40:25 22 42:8 104 43:5 49 43:6 146-147

6r 39 Mo'ed

Qatan

28r 226 Sanhedrin 56v 24 Yebamot 49v 37 178

45:7 101 48:9 75 52:1324053:5 163 54:778

Jer. Talmud, Menahot

58:9 174

Midrai Beresit Rabba iii.4 255 xii.10 36 81

Jeremiah 17:8 50

163

xxi.5 255 xxv.30 162

Ezekiel 27 50 44:30 75

Midras Smot Rabba xix.6 38 xxi.5 51

Hosea 14:2-4 230 14:3 227 14:9 29

Midrai

H a b a k k u k 1:4 44 3:2 204

Midras Rabba on Lam. 2:21 162

Malachi 2:7 230

Midras Yelamdenu on Ps. 89:7 22

Wayyikra

Rabba on Lev. 6:5 162

Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 255

[290]

INDEX OF Q U O T E D MANUSCRIPTS For manuscripts given here without page numbers see Index of Sources

Bodleian MS Canon Or. 85 6 28 Bodleian MS 1566 [Opp. I l l ] , Sefer ha-Ne'elam 227 13 British Library MS Or. Add. 16407 73 ff. 148 Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence, Cod. Palat. 885, Pico, Oratio 145 200 147 241-242 Jewish National and Hebrew University Library, Yah. MS Var. 24 57 198-199 Leipzig, University Library B.H. fol. 13/1 (No. 39), (Abulafia), Sefer Ge'ulla 1-10 58 59 88 Munich, Cod. Monacensis Hebr. 248, Gicatilla, Sa'arey Sedeq 122 74 Munich, Codex München 209, The Book Bahir 19 Paris, B.N. 598, Recanati, Commentary on Genesis, anonymous Latin translation 164 165 176 189 201 218 205-208 Paris, B.N. Heb. 768, PeruS Sefer Yesirah 11 37 Sassoon Collection, MS 67, Recanati, Commentary on the Pentateuch (Hebrew) 28 Vatican Library, Cod. Vat. 4273, Levi ben Gershom, Commentariorum in Cantica 5 263 16 157 19 158 Vatican Library, Vat. MS Barb. Or. 110, Gicatilla Joseph, Sa'arey Sedeq 67 74 Vatican Library, Cod. Chigi A.VI.190 Gicatilla, Portae Justitiae 2-131 361-390 De Proportione Divinitatis 135-151 212-221 Sod Razey Semuchin 152-201 Sefer ha-Ne'elam 202-211 Kabbalistic Anthology 223-231

[291]

Liber de Ordine Geneseos 226 Abulafia, De Secretis Legis 232-261 (Abulafia), Liber Redemptions 262-332 Liber Misteriorum Venerabilium 360 Codice Vaticano Ebraico 189 Eleazar of Worms et alii, fifteen books " D e Anima" 11-1215-1799117 157 16-17 173 17 225 110 257 117-118 269 17 483 16 485 13 Codice Vaticano Ebraico 190 Liber Combinationum (anonymous) 1-90 Expositio Secretorum Punctmtionis 90-120 Abulafia, Summa Brevis Cabalae 120-132 Tractatus de Revolutione 231 Portarum Alphabeti 132-165 Azriel of Gerona, Quaestiones 165-173 Axelrad, Corona Nominis Bonis 173-186 Liber de Radicibus 222-275 Recanati, Liber de Secretis Orationum 275-336 Abulafia, Liber de Secretis Legis 336-469 Libellus de Secretis Legis Manifestandis 207-221 Libellus de exponentibus nomine Tetragramaton 186-192 Libellus de exponentibus xiii proprietatibus 193-207 Codice Vaticano Ebraico 191 Comentum Sepher Iesire I 1-12 Comentum Sepher Iesire II 12-26 Comentum Sepher Iesire III 26-29 Commentary on Ten Sefirot (anonymous) 29-34

Indices Moses ben Nahman, Comentum Sepher Iesire IV 39-43 Commentum Voluminis de Proportione Divinitatis 43-60 Expositio Decern Numerationum 60-107 Portae lustitiae 109-121 Liber secretorum praeceptorum legis 121-124 Liber mysteriorum operis geneseos 124-208

Theodor de Toleto, Liber dictus Porta Secretorum 208-287 The Book Bahir 288-335 Comentum Rabi Ieude [Romano] super opere geneseos 338-341 Vatican Library, Hebrew MS Neofiti 27 Commentary to Ma'areket ha-'Elohut 194

[292]