Jerusalem (Israel), Meir Benayahu CollectionZacuto-Ẓemaḥ Arikh and the Enrobings Ilan

Jerusalem (Israel), Meir Benayahu CollectionZacuto-Ẓemaḥ Arikh and the Enrobings Ilan

Shelfmark:
Meir Benayahu Collection Ilan, Recto
Jerusalem, Israel
Date of Creation:
17th century
Dimensions:
70 × 32 cm
Material:
parchment
About the MS:
This seventeenth-century Zacuto-Ẓemaḥ (Z) ilan, preserved in the Meir Benayahu Collection in Jerusalem, represents a seminal stage in the evolution of the Lurianic ilan. It elegantly splices together two foundational diagrammatic modules: Moses Zacuto’s Arikh Anpin (Z13) and Jacob Ẓemaḥ’s visualization of the Enrobings (Z14). The manuscript exhibits a distinctive combination of Ashkenazi and Sephardi square scripts, featuring a particularly large and discordant medieval Ashkenazi square inscription. Textual analysis reveals that this ilan shares specific corruptions with the decorated Trinity Scroll in Cambridge (Cambridge, Trinity College, Scroll F.11.18), indicating they likely derive from a common source.
Type:
Zacuto-Ẓemaḥ, Lurianic
Research Literature:
  • J. H. Chajes, The Kabbalistic Tree (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2022), 119.