General

Title

Great Tree

Manuscript name

Great Tree – Jerusalem, National Library of Israel, Ms. Heb. 4° 9804

Summary

A Great Tree of the PaZP7 type + framed Z. This enigmatic ilan is distinguished principally for having preserved the work-in-progress of its copyist. It is not merely unfinished, though; it seems that the scribe had not entirely worked out his plan at the outset. The rotulus opens with Z, framed by text borrowed from Joseph Solomon Delmedigo's Kiẓur 'olam ha-tikkun (Abridged World of Rectification; see Chajes, The Kabbalistic Tree, pp. 204–206). This presentation of Z may also be found in the Cambridge Trinity Scroll (Cambridge, Trinity College Library, Scroll 112). Another parchment sheet was sewn to the bottom of the first in order to complete the parẓufim of Jacob and Rachel. When that was done, the scribe drew two horizontal lines, perhaps to guide a cut. Rather than cut, however, he kept writing, beginning with the head of Adam Kadmon (P). He likely planned to create an ilan akin to the Cambridge Trinity Scroll, type PaZP7, but after beginning P7, abandoned the project.

Layout

Ashkenazic script; one hand.

Support material

Parchment

Form

http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300028629

Identifier

Ms. Heb. 4° 9804

Repository

National Library of Israel

Country

http://ontologi.es/place/IL

Settlement

Jerusalem

Dimensions

Measure

1 leaf

Width

22.8 cm

Height

211.0 cm

Creation time