Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla
Encyclopedia
Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (1248 – after 1305) was a Spanish kabbalist, student of Abraham Abulafia
.
, Old Castile
, Gikatilla was for some time a pupil of the kabbalist Abraham Abulafia
, by whom he is highly praised; his kabbalistic knowledge became so profound that he was supposed to be able to work miracles, and on this account was called "Joseph Ba'al ha-Nissim" (the Thaumaturge or literally Master of Miracles; Zacuto, Yuḥasin, p. 224a). Like his master, Gikatilla occupied himself with mystic combinations and transpositions of letters and numbers; indeed, Abulafia considered him as the continuator of his school (Adolf Jellinek
, B.H. iii, p. xl). But Gikatilla was not an adversary of philosophy
; on the contrary, he tried to reconcile philosophy with kabbalah, declaring that the latter is the foundation of the former. He, however, strove after the higher science, that is, mysticism
. His works in general represent a progressive development of philosophical insight into mysticism. His first work shows that he had considerable knowledge of secular sciences, and that he was familiar with the works of Ibn Gabirol, Ibn Ezra
, Maimonides
, and others. He died at Peñafiel
after 1305.
In different manuscripts of the work the author's name is variously written "Gribzul," "Karnitol," and "Necatil," all corruptions of "Gikatilla."
It is a kabbalistic treatise in three parts (Hanau
, 1615).
Gikatilla at times criticizes the Sefer Yeẓirah
and the Pirḳe Hekalot. The seven heavens (Ḥag
. 12a) are identified by him with the seven planets. He holds Maimonides
in great esteem even when he opposes him, and quotes him very often. Other authorities quoted by him are Ibn Gabirol, Samuel ibn Naghrela
, and Abraham ibn Ezra
. Isaac ben Samuel of Acre
in his Me'irat 'Enayyim severely criticizes Gikatilla for too free usage of the Holy Name.
call it "a key to understanding the mystical studies".. The Vilna Gaon
and Zundel Salant
recommended that their students study it. Among those who quote it are: Moshe Cordevero, Joseph Caro, Chaim Vital, the Shelah ha-Kadosh
, the Sefat Emet
, Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov
, Moses al-Ashkar, and Judah Hayyat, and long extracts from it are inserted by Reuben ben Hoshke
in his Yalḳuṭ Reubeni. It was translated into Latin by Paul Ricius and used by Reuchlin as a defense against his adversaries.
, 1561) deals with the names of God.
Gikatilla takes an attitude somewhat hostile to philosophy. He quotes only the Sefer Yeẓirah and the Pirḳe Hekalot,.
Abraham Abulafia
Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia , the founder of the school of "Prophetic Kabbalah", was born in Zaragoza, Spain, in 1240, and died sometime after 1291, in Comino, Maltese archipelago.-Early life and travels:...
.
Biography
Born at MedinaceliMedinaceli
Medinaceli is a municipality and town in the province of Soria . Its name derives from the Arabic toponym madīnat sālim . The town is named after one Salim bin Waral, head of a Masmuda Berber family which settled there in the 8th century....
, Old Castile
Old Castile
Old Castile is a historic region of Spain, which included territory that later corresponded to the provinces of Santander , Burgos, Logroño , Soria, Segovia, Ávila, Valladolid, Palencia....
, Gikatilla was for some time a pupil of the kabbalist Abraham Abulafia
Abraham Abulafia
Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia , the founder of the school of "Prophetic Kabbalah", was born in Zaragoza, Spain, in 1240, and died sometime after 1291, in Comino, Maltese archipelago.-Early life and travels:...
, by whom he is highly praised; his kabbalistic knowledge became so profound that he was supposed to be able to work miracles, and on this account was called "Joseph Ba'al ha-Nissim" (the Thaumaturge or literally Master of Miracles; Zacuto, Yuḥasin, p. 224a). Like his master, Gikatilla occupied himself with mystic combinations and transpositions of letters and numbers; indeed, Abulafia considered him as the continuator of his school (Adolf Jellinek
Adolf Jellinek
----Adolf Jellinek |Drslavice]], nearby Uherské Hradiště, Moravia - December 28, 1893, Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar...
, B.H. iii, p. xl). But Gikatilla was not an adversary of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
; on the contrary, he tried to reconcile philosophy with kabbalah, declaring that the latter is the foundation of the former. He, however, strove after the higher science, that is, mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
. His works in general represent a progressive development of philosophical insight into mysticism. His first work shows that he had considerable knowledge of secular sciences, and that he was familiar with the works of Ibn Gabirol, Ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
, Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
, and others. He died at Peñafiel
Penafiel
Penafiel Municipality is located in Porto District in the North of Portugal.The municipal areas surrounding Penafiel City have a population of 71,801 and are made up of 38 parishes, comprising 212,82 km²....
after 1305.
In different manuscripts of the work the author's name is variously written "Gribzul," "Karnitol," and "Necatil," all corruptions of "Gikatilla."
Works
Ginnat Egoz, גנת אגוז
Gikatilla was a prolific writer; he wrote his first work (Ginnat Egoz, גנת אגוז) when only twenty-six.It is a kabbalistic treatise in three parts (Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
, 1615).
- The title (from CantSong of SolomonThe Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
. vi.11). It literally means "garden of nuts,". Kabalisitically, "Ginnat" consisting of the initials of "GemaṭriaGematriaGematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
," "Noṭarḳon," "Temurah", the three main elements of Kabbala, while "Egoz" (the nut) is the emblem of mysticism. - The first part, in five chapters, treats of the various names of GodNames of God in JudaismIn Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
occurring in the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. According to Gikatilla, "YHVH" is the only name which represents the substance of God; the other names are merely predicates of the divine attributes. "YHVH" stands for God as He is, while "Elohim" denotes God as the creative power. The name "ẓeba'ot" (hosts), he says, applies to all the beings of the three natures, earthly, heavenly (or spheres), and spirits (or forms). The interpretation of "ẓeba'ot" as ("host of letters") leads him over to the second part. - The second part treats of the letters of the alphabet. He declares that the number ten emanated from YHVH, the primitive cause, and is the source of all being; he attempts to prove his statement by different combinations based on religion, philosophy, physics, and mysticism. He shows that the Talmudic view that space is filled with spirits agrees with the belief of the philosophers that there is no vacuum. He also treats here of the revolutions of the sun and moon, giving the relative sizes of the planets.
- The third part is a treatise, in four chapters, on the vowels. The three primitive vowels, "ḥolem," "shuruḳ," and "ḥiriḳ," represent the upper, middle, and lower worlds; the three compound ones, "ẓere," "segol," and "shewa," represent the composition or the construction of the worlds; the "pataḥ" and "ḳameẓ" represent their movements.
Gikatilla at times criticizes the Sefer Yeẓirah
Sefer Yetzirah
Sefer Yetzirah is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to Kabbalah...
and the Pirḳe Hekalot. The seven heavens (Ḥag
Moed
Moed is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people . Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of Moed consists of 12 tractates:# Shabbat: or Shabbath deals with the 39 prohibitions of "work" on the Shabbat...
. 12a) are identified by him with the seven planets. He holds Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
in great esteem even when he opposes him, and quotes him very often. Other authorities quoted by him are Ibn Gabirol, Samuel ibn Naghrela
Samuel ibn Naghrela
Samuel ibn Naghrela , also known as Samuel HaNagid , , was a Talmudic scholar, grammarian, philologist, poet, warrior, and statesman, who lived in Iberia at the time of the Moorish rule....
, and Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
. Isaac ben Samuel of Acre
Isaac ben Samuel of Acre
Isaac ben Samuel of Acre was a Jewish kabbalist who fled to Spain.According to Abraham Azulai, Isaac ben Samuel was a pupil of Nahmanides.-View of the Zohar:...
in his Me'irat 'Enayyim severely criticizes Gikatilla for too free usage of the Holy Name.
Sha'are Orah, שערי אורה
Sha'are Orah, or Sefer ha-Orah, (שערי אורה) is Gitatilla's most influential work. The ArizalIsaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
call it "a key to understanding the mystical studies".. The Vilna Gaon
Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
and Zundel Salant
Zundel Salant
Yoseph Zundel of Salant was an Ashkenazi rabbi, and the primary teacher of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter.- Biography :...
recommended that their students study it. Among those who quote it are: Moshe Cordevero, Joseph Caro, Chaim Vital, the Shelah ha-Kadosh
Isaiah Horowitz
Isaiah Horowitz, , also known as the Shelah ha-Kadosh after the title of his best-known work, was a prominent Levite rabbi and mystic.-Biography:...
, the Sefat Emet
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter , also known by the title of his main work, the Sfas Emes, was a Hasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, as the av beis din and Rav of Góra Kalwaria, Poland , and succeeded the Rebbe, Reb Heynekh of Alexander, as Rebbe of the Gerrer...
, Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov
Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov
Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov was a Spanish kabbalist and fierce opponent of rationalistic philosophy.-Biography:...
, Moses al-Ashkar, and Judah Hayyat, and long extracts from it are inserted by Reuben ben Hoshke
Reuben ben Hoshke
Reuben Hoshke HaKohen was a Kabalist and rabbi of Prague. "Hoshke," his father's name, is a Polish diminutive for "Joshua," mistaken by G.B. De Rossi and Zunz Reuben Hoshke HaKohen (Sofer) (died April 3, 1673) (Hebrew: אברהם ראובן הכהן סופר) was a Kabalist and rabbi of Prague. "Hoshke,"...
in his Yalḳuṭ Reubeni. It was translated into Latin by Paul Ricius and used by Reuchlin as a defense against his adversaries.
Contents and Style
Sha'are Orah (MantuaMantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, 1561) deals with the names of God.
- It discusses about 300 names, organized into ten chapters, one for each sephirah. Each sephirah has one main name, but may have many others. Some names are associated with more than one sphirah.
- The purpose of the book is "so that you can understand and experience the 'fountain of living waters' (Jer. 2,13) that flows from all his names, and when you attain this 'then you will prosper and have good success' (Joshua 1,8)".
| Sephirah | Holy Name |
|---|---|
| כתר, Keter, "Crown" | אהי"ה, Eheye, "I AM" |
| חכמה, Chokhmah, "Wisdom" | יה, Yah, "LORD" |
| בינה, Binah, "Understanding" | יהו"ה, Havayah, "LORD" |
| חסד, Chesed, "Kindness" | אל, El, "God" |
| גבורה, Gevurah, "Severity" | אלהים, Elohim, "God" |
| תפארת, Tiferet, "Beauty" | יהו"ה, Havayah, "LORD" |
| נצח, Netzach, "Eternity" | יהו"ה צבאות, Havayah Tsevaot, "LORD of hosts" |
| הוד, Hod, "Splendor" | אלהים צבאות, Elohim Tsevaot, "God of hosts" |
| יסוד, Yesod, "Foundation" | אל חי, El Chai, "the living God" |
| מלכות, Malkuth, "Kingship" | אדני, Adonai, "my Lord" |
Gikatilla takes an attitude somewhat hostile to philosophy. He quotes only the Sefer Yeẓirah and the Pirḳe Hekalot,.
Other works
- Sha'are Ẓedeḳ, or Sha'ar ha-Shamayim, another treatise by Gikatilla on the ten spheres (RivaRiva-People:* Antonello Riva, a former Italian basketball player* Emmanuelle Riva, a French actress* Luigi Riva, a former Italian striker* Maria Luisa Riva, an Italian ski mountaineer* Mario Riva, an Italian film actor...
, 1561). - Sefer ha-Niḳḳud, a mystical explanation of the vowel-points, included with the Arze Lebanon (VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, 1601); - Sod ha-Ḥashmal, a kabbalistic commentary on the vision of EzekielEzekielEzekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...
, also printed with the Arze Lebanon; - Ẓofnat Pa'aneaḥ, commentary on the Pesaḥ HaggadahHaggadah of PesachThe Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to each Jew to "tell your son" of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah...
(ib. 1600 [?]); - Sodot ha-Miẓwot, a kabbalistic explanation of the commandmentsMitzvahThe primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
; - Iggeret, kabbalistic essays (Feṙrara, 1556);
- Teshubot, responsaResponsaResponsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
; - Sha'ar Meshalim, a kabbalistic essay in 138 paragraphs;
- Oẓar ha-Kavod, according to Jellinek, the same as the Sodot ha-Miẓwot, a commentary on CanticlesSong of SolomonThe Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
. - Hassagot (unpublished) consists of strictures on the Moreh, (Guide to the Perplexed) Gikatilla used Al-Ḥarizi's translation, in which he corrects many mistakes and sometimes differs from MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
. It seems that he wrote the Hassagot in the beginning of his literary career, when he was more of a philosopher and less of a mystic. - Jellinek thinks that Gikatilla composed a kabbalistic treatise entitled Hekalot of the same character as the Pirḳe Hekalot.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- Adolf JellinekAdolf Jellinek----Adolf Jellinek |Drslavice]], nearby Uherské Hradiště, Moravia - December 28, 1893, Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar...
, Beitrüge zur Gesch. der Kabbala, ii.61 et seq.; - ZunzZunzZunz, Zuntz is a Yiddish surname: , Belgian pharmacologist* Leopold Zunz , German Reform rabbi* Gerhard Jack Zunz , British civil engineer- Zuntz :* Nathan Zuntz , German physiologist...
, Additamenta (to the catalogue of the Hebrew manuscripts in Leipzig), pp. 320–321; - Cassel, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. section ii, part 31, pp. 76–80;
- S. Sachs, in Ha-Yonah, p. 80;
- M. H. LandauerM. H. LandauerM. H. Landauer was a writer on Jewish mysticism, born at Kappel, near Buchau, Württemberg. He was a son of the cantor Elias Landauer, and at the age of 18 entered the yeshivah and lyceum in Carlsruhe; later he studied at the universities of Munich and Tübingen...
, in Litteraturblatt des Orients, vi.227-228; - Eliakim CarmolyEliakim CarmolyEliakim Carmoly was a French-Jewish scholar. He was born at Soultz-Haut-Rhin, then in the French department of Haut-Rhin. His real name was Goschel David Behr ; the name Carmoly, borne by his family in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, was adopted by him when quite young...
, Itinéraires, p. 276; - Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. 3d ed., pp. 194, 198;
- Moritz SteinschneiderMoritz SteinschneiderMoritz Steinschneider was a Bohemian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider , who was not only an expert Talmudist, but was also well versed in secular science...
, Cat. Bodl. cols. 1461-1470.