Obj. ID: 20174
Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts  Fugger's Third Miscellany on Kabbalah, Venice, c.1549

Fugger's Third Venetian Miscellany on Kabbalah | Unknown

*Manuscripts and Printed Books | Mystical and Kabbalistic literature

Unknown

c.1549

Venetian group of Hebrew manuscripts for the collector Johann Jakob Fugger: | David ben Moshe (scribe)
Venetian group of Hebrew manuscripts for the collector Johann Jakob Fugger: | Meir (scribe)
Venetian group of Hebrew manuscripts for the collector Johann Jakob Fugger: | Scribe 2
Venetian group of Hebrew manuscripts for the collector Johann Jakob Fugger: | Scribe 3
|David ben Moshe (scribe-artist), Meir (scribe-arti

Italy | Veneto | Venice
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Unknown

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Germany | Munich | Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB)
| Cod.hebr. 11 (Steinschneider 1895, No. 11)

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1. Sha'arei Orah (שערי אורה; lit. The Gates of Illumination) by Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (fols. 1'-152): begins אמרו צדיק כי טוב כי פרי מעלליו יאכל שאלת ממני ידיד נפשי. Another fragmentary copy in Munich, BSB Cod.hebr. 83 (fols. 169v-200). 1st. ed. Mantua and Riva de Trento 1561. 2. Ma'arekhet ha-Elohut (מערכת האלהות; lit. The Order of God) by an anonymous author (fols. 153-215): begins היא קיום אמונת האלהות כאשר נאות להאמין בשלמות. Another copy in Munich, BSB Cod.hebr. 240 (fols. 23v-46v), belonged to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter. 1st. ed. Ferrara 1558. On the attribution of the treatise to R. Perez, see Scholem 1944/45:284-287. 3. Sha'ar ha-Sho'el (שער השואל: שאלות ותשובות על עשר הספירות; The Gate of the Inquirer: Explanation concerning the Ten Sefirot) by Azriel of Gerona (fols. 216-224v): beginsשער השואל שאלותיו אחד עשר ותשובותיהן אחד עשר ואחריהן הוסיף המחבר. Printed in Derech Emunah by Meir Ibn Gabbai (Constantinople 1560). Other copies in Munich, BSB Cod.hebr. 92 (fols. 18-24), belonged to Egidio da Viterbo and later to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter; BSB Cod.hebr. 221 (fols. 31-37v); BSB Cod.hebr. 240 (fols. 9-10v); BSB Cod.hebr. 311 (fols. 87-90v). The three latter also belonged to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter (Tishbi 1945:159-178). 4. Fragment of Sefer ha-Yihud (ספר היחוד; lit. The Book of Divine Unity) by Asher ben David (fols. 224v-229v): begins בספר היחוד פי' שלש עשרה מדות לרב ר' אשר. Other fragments in Munich, BSB Cod.hebr. 53 (fols. 23v-26) from Fugger's Venetian group; BSB Cod.hebr. 209 (fols. 29v-33), belonged to Domenico Grimani. Another variant is found in BSB Cod.hebr. 43 (fols. 246v-252v), also from Fugger's Venetian group, and in BSB Cod.hebr. 92 (fols. 205-214), which belonged to Egidio da Viterbo and later to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter (Abrahams 1996). 5. Tefillat ha-Yihud (תפלת יחוד לר' נחוניא בן הקנה; lit. The Prayer of Divine Unity) attributed to Nehunya ben ha-Kana (fols. 229v-231v): begins בא"י שדי טהור בטהר המציאות. Another copy in Munich, BSB Cod.hebr. 112 (fols. 167v-169v) was produced for Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter by Paulus Aemilius (Scholem 1948:259). 6. Keter Shem Tov (כתר שם טוב; lit. The Crown of Shem Tov) by Shem Tov ben Abraham ben Gaon (fols. 232-287v): beginsאמר שם טוב בר' אברהם בר' יהושע. A reduction of the kabbalistic super-commentary on Moses ben Nahman's commentary on the Pentateuch includes first and second introductions (Loewinger 1963:30 No. 9). Two other copies in Munich are from Fugger's Venetian group: BSB Cod.hebr. 56 (fols. 1-60v) and BSB Cod.hebr. 66 (fols. 1'-245); BSB Cod.hebr. 341 (fols. 2-55v), belonged to Domenico Grimani and later to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter. All include the second introduction only. 7. Sha'ar ha-Nikkud (שער הנקוד; lit. The Gate of Vocalization) by Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (fols. 288-305): beginsדע לך אחי כי הנקוד הוא יסוד האותיות כמו שאתה רואה בתנועה . Other copies in Munich, BSB Cod.hebr. 54 (fols. 257-280v) from Fugger's Venetian group and BSB Cod.hebr. 215 (fols. 181v-197v), belonged to Egidio da Viterbo and later to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter. 1st ed. Venice 1601. On the similarity of this work to the third part of Ginnat Egoz (Nut Orchard), see Gottlieb 1976: 99-105. The title attributes the treatise to Abraham bar Shmuel ha-Spharadi (Abulafia). This confusion appears in several manuscripts produced in Italy in the 15th and 16th century (e.g. Harvard University Heb. 58, fol. 35). 8. Sha'ar ha-Otiyyot (שער האותיות; lit. The Gate of Letters), short version of Ginnat Egoz (Nut Orchard) by Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (fols. 305v-323v): begins הנה כל חלקי העולם הם בעשרה. 9. Fragment from Sitrei Torah (סתרי תורה; Secrets of the Torah) by Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia (fols. 323v-329). Kabbalistic commentary on Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed; beginsסוד יא' סוד נודע מערך ט'. Three complete copies in Munich, from Fugger's Venetian group: BSB Cod.hebr. 28 (fols. 192-265); BSB Cod.hebr. 33 (fols. 1-71); and BSB Cod.hebr. 56 (fols. 61-129v). BSB Cod.hebr. 112 (fols. 111v-119) was produced for Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter by Paulus Aemilius; BSB Cod.hebr. 341 (fols. 136-180v), belonged to Domenico Grimani and later to Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter (Idel 1976:12 n. 43).

Fol. 152: Colophon of David ben Moshe, written in semi-cursive script in brown ink, reads: חזק ונתחזק הסופר לא יוזק לא היום ולא/ לעולם עד שיעלה חמור בסולם. נאם דוד/ בר' משה ז"ל ונשלם מוצאי שבת שנת גש"ו/ אלי [מלכים א', יח: ל] לאלף השישי (Be strong and strengthen. The scribe will not be harmed, not today nor ever until a donkey climbs up a ladder. Says David ben Moshe of blessed memory, and completed at the end of the Shabbat, in the year 5309 [9.02.1549?]). The date is given by the numerical value of the first word of the quotation from I Kings, 18:30. Since the explicit day and month are missing, it seems that this quotation may also refer to the haftarah read on the Shabbat. The haftarah גשו אלי belongs to the haftarahכי תשא , which was read on the Sabbath of 16.02.1549, therefore the date could be 9.02.1549.

Fols. 39, 132v, 158: A coronet above the name David. Fol. 306: Note by Scribe 2 in the inner margin:ההעתקה שהיה לפני היה/ מטושטש מאד ... (The copy in front of me was very blurred ...).

Green leather partly turned brown on wooden boards (348 x230 mm); gold-tooled similarly on front and back with a central roundel within an undulating lozenge in a large rectangle, decorated with floral motifs at the centre of each side and at the corners. The front roundel is inscribed CABALA, below is the letter A. The back roundel is inscribed קבלה and below is the letter א. The spine, blind-tooled with hatching, has four hidden cords and head and tail bands. On the edges of the front cover are vestiges of four groups of three plaited leather bands, two on the side edge and one each on the upper and lower edges, with corresponding holes for four nails on the edges of the back cover (for preserved bands see BSB Cod.hebr. 301). Each group of three bands terminated in a ring which was intended to hook over on the nails on the opposite cover. The leaves are gilt-edged.

 

This binding was made for Fugger by Andrea di Lorenzo inVenice(Hobson 1999:111-112). Similar bindings for BSB Cod.hebr. 17, 22, 24, 40, 52, 54 and BSB Cod.gr. 21, 39.

 

Watermarks on flyleaves: None.

The decoration is executed by David ben Moshe and Meir:

1. David ben Moshe: decorated title on fol. 1' written in display script decorated with different motifs.
2. David ben Moshe: decorated initial word on fol. 1 written in ribbon-like letters.
3. David ben Moshe and Meir: crowns above the tetragrammaton, synonyms of the name of God, the words keter (crown), hesed (mercy), and bina (wisdom) (fols. 5v, 38, 50v, 61, 85v (crown), 97, 99v, 114 (mercy), 117 (wisdom), 218, 223v, 229v, 241, 243v, 285, 287v).   
4. David ben Moshe: catchwords decorated with a depiction of their literal meaning (fols. 150v

and 194v).

Owners' inscriptions: None. Inscriptions of librarians and researchers: The numbering of texts by Fugger’s librarians does not always correspond to the actual number of texts in the manuscript: N0 1: fols. 1'-152; N0 2: fols. 153-215; N0 3: fols. 216-287v; N0 4: fols. 288-329. Front flyleaf, verso: contents in Hebrew in brown ink by Librarian 1a: ספר שערי אורה/ כתר התורה/ שנים עשר חותמות/ של שם הגדול יהוה/ מערכות האלוהות/ שאלות ותשובות/ על עשר ספירות/ מרבי שם טוב בר'/ אברהם/ פי הנקוד על פי/ הקבלה להחכם/ האדון אברהם בר' שמואל ספרדי. Contents in Hebrew in Latin characters in brown ink by Librarian 2: Sephaer schaare ora\ Caesaer hatora\ Schenem asar hosamos\ Schel schem hagadol IHVH.\ Maarchos haelohos.\ Schaelos vtschuuos\ al aesaer sephiros meribi Schem tof\ bar Auraham.\ Perusch hanakod al pi\ hakabala lehacham\ haadon Auraham bar\ Schmuel spharadi. Contents in Latin in greyish ink by Librarian 2: Seph: Schaere ora. Liber portaru' lucis*\ Kaesaer hatora. Corona legum.\ Schene' 7c: De XII sigillis magni\ nominis tetragram'aton. Iehoua.\ Marchos 7c: apparatus diuinitatis.\ R. Schem Tof filij Abraham erotemata\ in. X. Sephiros. i numeros.\ Don Abraham filij Samuelis Hispani\ de punctis et literis comentarius, liber\ cabalisticus. Fol. 216: an inscription in brown ink by Librarian 1a: שאלות ותשובות על עשר/ ספירות מר' שם טוב בר'/ אברהם בר' יהושע בר'/ שאול בר' משה בר' גמון. Copied above an earlier inscription written by the corrector of Fugger's group in semi-cursive Ashkenazi script, which reads the same except for the last word: גאון. The letter א of גאון in the lower inscription indeed looks like מ. * The translation into Latin was made by Paulus Ricius and printed in Augsburg in 1515 under the title of Portae Lucis. Exlibris and stamps: Inside front wooden board: an exlibris of the Bavarian Court and State Library (230 x 155 mm) with the arms of Elector Maximilian I of 1638 (Dressler 1972:B3ab), stuck over his earlier exlibris (175 x 135 mm) of 1618, before he became Elector in 1623 (Dressler 1972:A3a-f). On the front cover pastedown there is a modern oval stamp of the BSB: BIBLIOTHECA\ REGIA\ MONACENSIS. Signatures: Back cover in black ink: Sta. 8 n0. 20 (second signature of Fugger's library). Front cover in black ink: 2. n0. 45 (Duke's library, Prommer's signature). Second front flyleaf, verso, in red ink: 2. 45 (Duke's library, Prommer's revision of 1583). Front pastedown in black ink: MS. Hebr. 7. Inside front wooden board in plummet on the exlibris: Cod.hebr. 11 (current signature). Spine, on sticker, and inside back board on sticker in black ink: Cod.hebr. 11 (current signature).