Boaz Huss

NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite:

The Mystical Hermeneutics of Rabbi Isaac of Acr .

1. Introduction Late-thirteenth and early-fourteenth century Kabbalah was characterize by the development of multiform systems of exegesis, the most famous bing the fourfold scheme of interpretation which eventually received the name aRDeS, an acronym for Peshat (plain, or literal), Remez (hint), Drasha (ho iy) and Sod (secret). The PaRDeS system exercised a significant influence on the history of Jewish hermeneutics and has attracted a considerable ount of scholarly attention. 1 Yet, other hermeneutic systems were develope in this

* Earlier drafts of the paper were read at the Third Co1loquium on All ory and Cultural Change, held at the Hebrew University and at the faculty Semi ar of the History of Jewish Thought program at Ben Gurion University of the Ne ev. I am grateful to Marc Bregman, Ze'ev Gries and Moshe Idel who read an earli r draft of the paper and offered helpful observations and comments. This article is edicated to Moshe Idel with gratitude and affection.

See: W. Bacher, 'Das Merkwort PRDS in der Judischen Bibelexegete', 'eitschrift for die Alttestamentlich Wissenschaft 13 (1893), pp. 294-305; Gershom Scholem, On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, New York 1974, pp. 53-62. Peret Sandler, 'On the Question of Pardes and the Fourfold Method', Sefer Eliyahu uerbach, Jerusalem 1955, pp, 222-235 [Hebrew]; A. Van Der Heide, 'Patdes: Meth dological Reflections on the Theory of the Four Senses', Journal of Jewish Studies 4 (1983), pp. 147.159; Frank Talamage, 'The Term "Haggada" in the Parable of Beloved in the Palace in the Zohar', Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 3 (1 84/5), pp, 271-273 (I am indebted to Prof. Ze'ev Gries for reminding me of this.arti le); Idem. 'Apples of Gold: The Inner Meaning of Sacred Texts in Medieval Judais ',Jewish Spirituality, ed. A. Green, New York 1986, pp. 318-321; Elliot R. Wolfson,

156 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

period as well, such as the sevenfold exegetical method of R. Abraham Abulafia' the interpretative system of R. Joseph of Hamdan" and the quadruple scheme of R. Isaac of Acre. R. Isaac of Acre termed his system the 'four ways of NiSAN', an acronym for Nistar (hidden), Sod (secret), 'Ernet (truth), and 'Emet Nekhona (correct truth)." This study compares R. Isaac of Acre's intriguing system of exegesis to the other kabbalistic interpretative schemes, examines its mystical aims, and explores the cultural factors that had an impact on the form it took. I will argue that, similar to other modes of kabbalistic exegesis, the NiSAN method was directed not only at explicating texts, but also at achieving ecstatic experience through the exegetical activity. The structure of the NiSAN system expresses R. Isaac of Acre's critique of the dominant

'Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes, Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics' The Midrashic Imagination, Jewish Exegesis, Thought, and History, ed. M. Fishbane, Albany 1993, pp. 155-156. Moshe Idel, 'PaRDeS: Some Reflections on Kabbalistic Hermeneutics', Death, Ecstasy, and other Worldly Journeys, ed. JJ Collins and M. Fishbane, Albany 1995, pp. 249-268.

2 Moshe Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, New Haven and London 1988, pp. 235-237; Idem, Lan~age, Torah, and Hermeneutics in Abraham Abulafia, Albany 1989, pp. 82-124; Elliot R. Wolfson, 'The Doctrine of the Sefirot in the Prophetic Kabbalah of Abraham Abulafia', Jewish Studies Quarterly 2 (1994), pp. 348-350.

3 The methods R. Joseph of Hamdan uses are 'in accordance to the words of the Sages', 'by way of plain meaning' ('al derekh ha-peshat], and 'by way of the Kabbalah',{'al derekh ha-kabbalah), 'by way of inner Kabbalah' Cal derekh he-kabbalah ha-penimity; 'by way of the true Kabbalah' ('al derekh ha-Kabbalah ha- 'amitit) and 'by way of wisdom' ('al derekh ha-J;okhma). See: Alexander Altmann, 'Regarding the Authorship of Seier Ta 'amei ha-Mizwoth attributed to Isaac Ibn Farhi', Qiryat Seier 40 (1965), pp. 406-407 [Hebrew], Menachem Meier 'A Critical Edition of The Seier Ta 'amey Ha-Mizwoth'; Ph.D Di~sertation, Brandei~ University, 1974, pp. 19-23. Melila HeIner, 'Transmigration of Souls in the Kabbalistic Writings ofR. David ibn Zimra', Pe 'amim 43 (1990), p. 25 [Hebrew].

4 Although several scholars have touched upon R. Isaac's interpretative scheme there is no in-depth treatment in the literature. See: Ephraim Gottlieb, Studies in the Kabbala Literature, Tel-Aviv 1976, p. 239, n. 16 [Hebrew]; Moshe Idel, 'Prometheus in Hebrew Garb', 'Eshkolot 5-6 (1981), p. 121 [Hebrew]; Amos Goldreich, 'sefer Me'irat Einayim by R. Isaac of Acre, a Critical Edition' Ph.D diss. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1981, p. 401, n. 31 [Hebrew]; Elliot R. Wolfson, 'By Way of Truth: Aspects of Nahrnanides' Kabbalistic Hermeneutic', AJS Review 14 (1989), pp. 106-107, n, 11; Daniel Abrams, 'The Literary Emergence of Esotericism in German Pietism', Shofar 12 (1994), p. 75. n. 24; Paul Fenton, R. Judah Ibn Malkah's Commentary on Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, With the Translation and Reservation of R. Isaac of Acre, 'Jerusalem 1991, p. 13 [Hebrew].

Boaz Huss 157

intellectual and mystical schools of his day, and posits his unique f of

Kabbalah as the supreme form of mystical knowledge.'

2. The Four Ways ofNiSAN

R. Isaac of Acre left Palestine for Spain after the conquest of Acre in 291,6 and probably resided in North Africa in his later days." He develop d the NiSAN method in his latter works, O?Gr l;layyirn,S and his supercomment ry on R. Judah Ibn Nisim Ibn Malkah's commentary on Pirqei de-Rabbi 'EWe r.9 In comparison to the PaRDeS system, which is classified according to the ious interpretative methods used in Hebrew literature (literal, home etical, philosophical and kabbalistic),'" R. Isaac's four categories of alle orical interpretation are classified according to the different realms in the c being to which they refer. 11

The first interpretative method of the NiSAN system is 'the hidden w '( 'al derekh ha-nistary. These interpretations refer to the human realm, usu By to psychological and intellectual faculties. R. Isaac's discussion of the word 'this' (zeh) and 'stranger' (zar) found in various biblical verses, is illustrative:

I, the young Isaac of Acre, was dreaming in my sleep and whilst in m bed I recited in my bed: 'This (zeh) is the man that I told you would gove My people' (I Sam 9:17) 'No stranger (zar) shall come to the shrine' ;12 'Let a stranger (zar) praise you, and not your own mouth' (Prov 27:2) ... I woke from my slumber for the second time and contemplated upon the e two words which are 'this' and 'stranger'. Then, I saw their secret accor ing to the four ways of NiSAN. That is, I saw that 'stranger' refers to th false imagination and to the appetitive - bestial, alien, cruel - soul, of whi h it is said 'You shall have no foreign (zar) god and you shall bow not t a an

5 Similar factors shaped the structure of the PaRDeS system as well as Ab lafia's

hermeneutic systems. See Idel, 'FaRDeS', pp. 250-256.

6 Isaiah Tishby, The Wisdom of the Zohar, Oxford 1989, vol. 1, pp, 13-15. 7 Goldreich, Me'irat 'Einayim, pp, 368,412.

8 Ozar Hayyim is found (in part) in several manuscripts, see: Gottlieb, Studie in the Kabbalah Literature, p. 579. According to Goldreich (Me'irat 'Einayim, p. 3 4) this book was written after 1313, perhaps as late as 1331 or 1336.

9 R. Judah Ibn Malkah's commentary was published by Fenton. Parts were pu lished previously by Georges Vajda, 'Les Observations critiques d'Isaac d'Acco (7) sur les ouvrages de Juda ben Nissim Ibn Malka', Revue des etudes juives 115 (1956)

10 Idel, 'PaRDeS', pp. 250-251.

11 See Goldreich, Me 'irat 'Einayim, p, 401; Wolfson, 'By Way of Truth' , p. 10 n.11. 12 There is no such verse. But see Lev 22: 10.

158 NiSAN - The Wife ofthe Infinite

alien god' (Ps 81:10); '%0 is the foreign Czar) God within man? That is the evil inclination' (b. Sabb. 105b). And 'this' refers to the good inclination and to the intellect. This is (the interpretation) according to the hidden way. 13

The second method, the way of secret ( 'al derekh ha-sod), refers to the angelic world, especially to the angel Metatron (usually denoted by the acronym MoSHe, i.e Metatron sar ha-panimy. Following the above-quoted passage, R. Isaac writes: 'And according to the way of secret, "this" refers to Metatron the prince of countenance (MoSHe)'. 14 In his interpretation of Ezek 10:2 (' step inside the wheelwork, under the Cherubs'), he comments: 'According to the way of secret these Cherubs refer to Metatron and Sandalfon' .15 Elsewhere in O?'Gr Hayyim, R. Isaac interprets the meaning of the five senses and the rational faculty according to the four ways of NiSAN: 'And according to the way of secret these five senses are Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael and Sandalphon. And the sixth who rules over these five is Metatron, the prince of countenance (MoSHe),.16

The higher [onus of exegesis of the NiSAN system, the way of truth ('al derekh ha-'emet), and the correct way of truth Cal derekh ha-iemet ha-nehona), refer to the realm of divine emanations, the Sefirot, Interpretations according to the way of truth refer usually to the lower seven Sefirot. In his commentary on the word 'this', R. Isaac writes: 'And according to the way of truth [this' refers] to the Righteous One (Z=zadik)17 and to the Wreath (A='af.arah/s, as we said above'. When discussing the Musaf blessing for the new moon (Rosh Hodesh), 'Blessed art thou God, sanctifier of Israel and the new moons' he asserts: 'And according to the way of truth, Israel refers to the Wreath ('A;::'af.arah) and the new moons to the affluence of the Righteous One (2=?Qddik) and the Beauty (T=ti/ereth)19 in the Wreath (,A='atarah), .20 Interpretations according to the correct way of truth refer to higher divine emanations, usually to the three upper Sefirot, but sometimes to the emanator as well. His interpretation of the word 'this' tells the reader: 'And according to the correct way of truth: "this" refers to

13 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (previously 775), fols. 122a-123a. 14 Ibid., fol. 123a.

15 Ibid., fol. 14a.

16 Ibid., fol. 37a.

17 The ninth Sefirah, also called Yesod. 18 The last Sefirah, also called Malkhut. 19 The sixth Sefirah.

20 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol, 49b.

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Greatness (G=gedullahfl and Fear (P=palJad)22 and also to Wis am (H=1;okhmal3 and Understanding (B=binah), .24 In regard to the blessing 0 the new moon R. Isaac writes: 'And according to the correct way of truth, I rael refers to the Beauty (T=tiferet) and the new moons to the aftluenc of Understanding (B=binah) in the Beauty (T=tiferet),.25

R. Isaac offers other ways of interpretations not included in the Ni AN scheme. Some of these, designated as 'universal', refer to the Infinite (Ein of) - the emanator, which, according to R. Isaac, is distinct from the realm 0 the ten Sefirot, R. Isaac's analysis of Ps 27:1, for instance, presents an interpretation according to the universal way ( 'al derekh ha-klalits, in addi ion to the four ways ofNiSAN:

I, the young Isaac of Acre, saw fit to interpret the verse, 'The Lord is my light and my help' etc. CPs 27:1), according to the four ways of NiS N, 'The Lord is my light and my help' refers to the acquired intellect hat dwells in the discursive soul. And according to the way of secret, 'The L rd is my light and my help' refers to Metatron the prince of counten ce (MoSHE), 'The Lord is the stronghold of my life' to the Wreath (' 'atarah). And according to the correct way of truth, 'The Lord is my Ii ht and my help', to Wisdom OJ "" hokhmahy; 'The Lord is the stronghold of my life', to Crown (K "" keter),26 And according to the universal way 'at derekh ha-klalit) it refers to the Blessed One, the unique Master blesse is the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever."

Similarly, after interpreting Prov 30:1 ('The words of Agur ben Jake ') according to the hidden way, the way of secret, and the way of truth," R, Is ac writes:

And according to the universal correct way of truth Cal derekh ha-' e ha-nekhona ha-klality Agur refers to the whole (realm) of 'ABI'A29

21 The fourth Sefirah, also called Hesed.

22 the fifth Sefirah, also called Gevurah or Din, 23 The second Sefirah.

24 The third Sefirah,

25 Ms, Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fa!. 49b. 26 The first Sefirah.

27 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol, 31a-b.

28 R. Isaac does not mention the correct way of truth by name, but one of . s interpretations, in which Agur refers to Sefirat Keter and Jakeh to the 'First withe t beginning, the Last without end' (i.e, to the Ein Sof), is undoubtedly according 0 the correct way to truth.

160 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

Jakeh to the first without beginning, the last without end," which vomits" and influences the whole (realm) of 'ABI'A, as He is the affluent which does not receive, sz blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever."

In his supercommentary on R. Nisim Ibn Malkaha's interpretation of Pirqei de-Rabbi Eliezer, R. Isaac juxtaposes an interpretation according to the individual way of truth ('al derekh ha- 'emet ha-pratit], which refers to sefirat Binah, with an interpretation according to the universal way to truth ( 'al derekh ha- 'erne! ha-klalit), which refers to the emanator."

R. Isaac also offers interpretations 'according to the way of the Castilian kabbalists', ideas which relate to the external, demonic emanations." Several times these are juxtaposed with interpretations 'according to the way of the Catalan kabbalists'. For instance, his exegesis to Jer 51 :51 ('We were ashamed we heard taunts; humiliation covered our faces when aliens entered the sacred areas of the Lord's house'), relates:

'Aliens' refers to the external gradations that overruled Endurance (N=nezah), Majesty (H=hod},l6 Beauty (T=tif'eret), the Righteous One (Z=~addiq), Greatness (G=gedullah) and Fear (P=pa./ad), which are the sacred areas of the Wreath (' A =' a fLJrah), which is the Lord's house. This (interpretation) is according to the kabbalists of Castile (Sepharad) who merited the right to receive the tradition of the external gradations. However, according to the kabbalists of Catalonia who have the correct

29 Le. the worlds of 'Azdut (emanation), Beriah (creation), Yezirah (formation) and

'Asiyyah (making). See Gershom Scholem, Kabbalah, Jerusalem 1974, pp. 118-119. 30 RaE R. 'ABA, i.e. Rishon Bli Reshit, 'Aharon Bli 'Abril.

31 R. Isaac relates the word 'Jakeh' to the root K.LA., to vomit. 32 HaEaM, i.e., Ha-Mashpi 'a Bilti Mekabel.

33 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol 35a. See also fol. I13a.

34 Fenton, R Judah Ibn Malkah's Commentary, p, 40. R. Isaac also offers interpretations according to the universal Kabbalah (kabbalah kialit) [Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol, 153a), which he identifies as 'the most correct, high way of truth' (derekh ha- 'emet ha- 'eliona nekhonat ha-nekhonoty [ibid., fol. 9Ia]. He also mentions 'the most high, most correct, correct way of truth' ('al derekh ha- 'emet ha-nekhona, nekhonat ha-nekhonot ha- 'elyona) [ibid., 49b] and the 'truthful way of truth which is the correct way' ('al derekh ha- 'emet ha- 'ami/it she-hi ha-derekh ha-nekhona) [Fenton, R Judah Ibn Malkah 's Commentary, p. 40],

35 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fols. 12a, 85b; See also: Ms. New York-JTSA Mic 1674 (previously Adler 1589), fol. 12lb.

36 The seventh and eighth Sefirot.

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tradition in (matters of) the ten Sefirot, but did not receive anyt ing in (matters of) the external gradations ... these 'aliens' refer to the strong affluence which is drawn from Fear (p=pal;ad) into Beauty (T=tife t) and Wreath ('A== 'a.tarah), which are the 'sacred areas of the Lord's Hou ,37

According to R. Isaac, the distinction between Castilian and Catalan ka alistic exegesis lies in the different ontic realms to which the interpretations re r.38 As mentioned above, the NiSAN interpretative scheme is arranged accor ing to ascending realms in the chain of being. The correlation between the iSAN method and the ascending ontic levels is stated explicitly by R. Isaac, W 0 uses the term 'the chain of NiSAN', and equates NiSAN with the chain 0 being, from the human realm to the uppermost Sefirah: 'The secret of the ain of NiSAN (is) from the discursive soul to the Crown (K=keter), whic is the primordial air' .39 In another passage, R. Isaac identifies NiSAN with t realm of emanated being - the worlds of 'ABI'A,40 and personifies his inte method as the wife of the Infinite, from whom she receives the divine in ux:

I, the young Isaac of Acre, was contemplating the secret of the tw words which are in my opinion great principles. in the wisdom of the entir reality and in the secrets of the written and oral Torah: NiSAN (and) 'ABI'A. NiSAN means a miracle (NeS), a sign, a marveland a wonder of 'A ,that is of the unique Master and the fifty gates of wisdom that He c eated." Further, the secret of NiSAN is 'my wife' (,Itatl), because the seer t of the

37 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fols. 12a-13a. Gottlieb, Stu die in the Kabbalah Literature, pp. 341-342; Elliot R. Wolfson, The Book of the Pomegranate, Atlanta 1988, p. 41, n. 149. See also Ms. Moscow-Guenzb rg 1062 (775), fol. 13b and Ms New York-JTSA Mic 1674, fol. 123b.

38 According to Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol. 13b, the inte retation according to the Kabbalah of the sages of Castile refers to the external e anations ('who were in existence previous to the existence of the holy, divi e, inner attributes'), and that of the Catalan Kabbalah to the affluence of stem ju ent in the 'Atarah. According to Ms. New York-JTSA Mic 1674, 123b, th Catalan kabbalists explicate the word 'Iiamez' as referring to the 'Aiarah' , bile the Castilian kabbalists say it refers to the ten external emanations.

39 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg, fol. 116a.

40 Le. the worlds of 'Azilut (emanation), Beriah (creation), Yesirah. (form ion) and 'Asiyyah (making). See note 29 above. It is interesting to note that Lurianic Kabbalah correlates the four methods of PaRDeS with the worlds of 'A J'A. See Idel, 'PaRDeS', 254.

41 'Aleph equals 1, and thus refers to the 'Unique' master. Nun equals 50, an refers to the fifty gates of wisdom. Possibly R. Isaac also has in mind the Catalan title 'en', written in Hebrew IX.

162 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

final N is seven hundred." That is what the first without beginning, the last without end (RaB R. ABA) says concerning NiSAN: My wife CItati). This is my wife who receives the influx from me."

3. The Mystical Nature of R. Isaac's Hermeneutics

R. Isaac's multifold interpretative system was designed not only to elucidate the interpreted text, but also to approach and experience the divine realm, through the interpretative activity. As such, R. Isaac's exegesis represents a pneumatic or mystical form of hermeneutics.

In his study of kabbalistic pneumatic interpretations," Moshe Idel discusses the notion that altered states of consciousness were a prerequisite for a deeper understanding of the text: 'Mystical interpretation of a text was thus a function not only of its symbolic or esoteric nature but also of the spiritual state of their reader or exegete himself .45 The pneumatic nature of the NiSAN method comes to the fore in R. Isaac's frequently voiced assertion that he reached his various interpretations in a state of semiconscious free association, usually after awaking from sleep." Elliot Wolfson, in his observations on mystical hermeneutics.f emphasizes the revelatory function of exegesis in Jewish mysticism, focusing on the hermeneutics of visionary experience in the Zohar: 'kabbalistic exegesis, therefore, is a form of revelatory experience, for the study of the Torah not only generates a visionary experience but itself constitutes such a vision'. 48 Several forms of kabbalistic mystical hermeneutics evolved during the second half of the thirteenth century. According to Abulafia's

42 R. Isaac counts the final Nun as 700 (T = 500; 0 =: 600; 1 = 700; I"J = 800; r = 900).

Thus the numerical value of NISAN is 811, as that of the word 'Itati. R. Isaac was probably also thinking of the word 'Niswan', 'women' in Arabic.

43 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fo1. 92b. See Gottlieb, Studies in the Kabbala Literature, p. 239, n. 16.

44 Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, pp. 234-249. See also, idem, 'PaRDeS', pp.

254-255.

45 Idem, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, p. 234.

46 See for instance Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fo1. 35a

47 Elliot. R. Wolfson, Through A Speculum that Shines, Princeton 1994, pp. 121-124, 326-392. See also Fishbane's discussion ofthe notion that study of scripture leads to ecstatic vision and audition in the Book of Daniel. Michael Fishbane, The Garments of Torah, Bloomington 1989, p. 68. Idem, 'Response to Ithamar Gruenwald', Gershom Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 50 Years After, ed, P. Schafer and J. Dan, Tubingen 1993, p. 52.

48 Wolfson, Through a Speculum that Shines, p. 376.

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sevenfold method of interpretation, studied by Idel,49 the interpret who achieves the highest level of exegesis becomes a prophet.'? 'The prophet-commentator is, as part of the interpretative act, undergoing a ystical transformation, which posits him as beyond the ordinary status of an in society' .51 Zoharic literature offers mysticalf as well as theurgical perc ptions of Torah exegesis in which, according to Wolfson: 'the two modes, re lation and interpretation, are identified and blended together' .53 Idel recently d picted the mystical' nature of the PaRDeS hermeneutic system, asserting tha, 'The PaRDeS system involved a certain version of scala mentis ad deum; gr dually immersing himself in the various aspects of the text, the kabbalist was at the same time fathoming the depths of reality: the Bible became a t 01 for metaphysical exploration ... exploring the text, the kabbalist entered other, higher spiritual domain' .54

The NiSAN method was influenced by the mystical hermeneutic Abraham Abulafia and bears a resemblance to the mystical nature PaRDeS system, as described by Idel, Because the four ways of correspond to ascending levels of the emanated reality, throu h the interpretative act, the mystic-interpreter follows the textual reference to the various realms of the sub-divine and divine worlds and ascends through em.

The mystical import of R. Isaac's hermeneutics comes to the fo e in a passage in which he identifies the different ways of interpreting the To with ascending levels of human perfection and describes the highest 1 vel of interpretation as prophecy. R. Isaac communicates his thoughts on th verse:

49 Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, pp. 235-237; idem, Language, To ah, and

Hermeneutics, pp. 82-124. 50 Ibid., p. 123.

51 Ibidem.

52 Elliot R. Wolfson, 'Circumcision, Vision of God, and Textuallnterpretati n: From Midrashic Trope to Mystical Symbol', History of Religions 27 (1987), pp. 89-215, reprinted in idem, Circle in, the Square, Albany 1995, pp, 29-48; id m, 'The Hermeneutics of Visionary Experience: Revelation and Interpretation in Th Zohar', Religion 18 (1988), pp. 311·345; ,idem, Through a Speculum that S 'nes, pp. 326·392.

53 Ibid., p. 333.

54 Idel, 'PaRDeS', 255. But see: Wolfson, 'Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes, p. 156.

According to R. Moshe Cordovero, the different levels of the PaRDe system correspond to the ascending psychic elements of the interpreter. See: Bra ha Sack, The Kabbalah of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero Jerusalem 1995, p. 21 [in Hebre ].

164 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infmite

'This is the law of (lJuKal) the Torah that the Lord has commanded: Instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish .. .' (Num 19:2):

I, the young Isaac of Acre, was sitting and contemplating the word 'Law' (lJuKal) which I have used above'" as a sign for the three great ranks which the Holy One blessed be He gave Moses our Rabbi to distribute to the people of IsraeL.. and while I was contemplating it, I saw that the one that achieved an understanding of the literal (pshat) and homiletical (midrash) meaning of the written and oral Torah, without their secret and inner content, only their overt significance, that one is called a Torah scholar (ba'al Torah), but not a leamed sage (bakham maski!). And the one who also achieved an understanding of their (i.e. the written and oral Torah's) hidden (nistar) and intelligible (muska!) content, yet only according to the hidden way is called also a sage (hakham), but not a kabbalist. And if he also achieved the secrets of the Torah and its intelligible content according to the way of truth, than he will be called also a kabbalist. And if on top of all these he also achieved excellent and worthy virtues, as well as proper fear of heaven and piety, that one surely will be caned holy, and the sign lJuKaT is fulfilled in him, 'This is the law of (lJuKal) the Torah' (Num 19:2). He will be like the red cow which purifies the defiled and defiles the pure," i.e. he will kill and give life. He will kill the wicked one, even if he is powerful and strong and healthy: 'And slay the wicked with the breath of his lips' (Isa 11:4). And he will revive the righteous one, (even) if he is weak and on the verge of death, he will revive and strengthen him with his prayers and blessing. '!JuKaT' is the acronym of wisdom (!Jokhma), holy (Qadosh) and Torah. And if he achieved all this and he will further comprehend the secrets of the laws57 and the innovated reality" according to the correct veracious way of truth ('al derekh ha- 'emet ha- 'amitit ha-nekhona) which is all essentially the name of the

55 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), foL 46a.

56 This expression is cited in R. Abraham Ibn Ezra's Yesod Mora, chapter 9 (Jerusalem 1931, p. 15) in the name of R. Sa'adia Gaon. It appears also in Tikunei Zohar (Jerusalem 1978), fol. 48a (noted by D. Tamar, 'Book Review: Galya Raza, R. Elior, 1982', Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 2 (1982), p. 652). I am graetful to Prof. Ze'ev Gries for these references.

57 Le. the written and oral Torah.

58 Compare to the above-cited passage: 'the two words which are in my opinion great principles in the wisdom of the entire reality and in the secrets of the written and oral Torah: NiSAN 'ABI'A, Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg, fol. 92b.

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165

Holy One Blessed be He, in it and through it he has achieved the ank of prophecy."

According to R. Isaac's exegesis the law (IjuKaT he-Torahs of the refers to the different hermeneutic methods given to the Israelites. Th level is that of the Torah scholar (ba 'al Torah) who employs lit homiletic means of interpretation. These methods (which are not includ d in the NiSAN scheme) are denoted by the letter Taf(Torah) in the word Hi aT. A higher level is that of the enlightened sage (bakham masld!) - the Philo opherwho interprets the Torah according to the hidden way. This level is de oted by the letter Het (I;Jakham) of the word !JuKaT. A still higher level is t t of the kabbalist who masters also the exegesis by way of truth. When an in erpreter also possesses moral virtues, he is called a holy man (Qadosh) and is enoted by the letter Kuf of the word QuKaT. A person who masters the three ethods of exegesis attains supernatural powers. Because of his ability to revive and kill by the power of speech, he is compared to the red cow who purifies and defiles.

R. Isaac refers to another method of interpretation which supersed s those alluded to by the acronym !JuKaT: the correct veracious way of trut , - the highest rank of human interpretative skills. The person who masters . uKaT, and employs this method of interpretation as well achieves prophecy.

The identification of the highest interpretative method as prophecy, and the comparison between the various methods of interpretation and the g ades of human perfection hark back to Abulafia's mystical hermeneutics, A ulafia's sevenfold method of interpretation falls into three basic categories: e three aspects of plain meaning, allegory, and the two methods of the ecstatic Kabbalah. These three interpretative categories are parallel to the three ranks of human perfection, namely that of the righteous (z,addiq), the pious (I;Ja id), and the prophet (navi).60 Elsewhere, Abulafia refers to three exegetical ethods: plain meaning (darkhe ha-peshaty, wisdom (darkhe ha-bokhmay and rophetic Kabbalah (darkhe ha-kabbalah ha-nevui'ti, which are associated with iraelites, Levites and Priests." In 'Imrei Shefer Abulafia asserts that: 'Only he who has already acquired knowledge of Scripture and Talmud, and afte he has

59 Ibid., fo1. 148b (this page is located in the manuscript after fol. 106 ). In this passage R. Isaac paraphrases R. Pinchas ben Yai'r's description of the cending human virtues. See: Shir ha-Shirim Rabba 1:9 and PT Shabbat 1:3 (I am i debted to Ze'ev Gries for referring me to these sources) See also: Gottlieb, Stud es in The Kabbala Literature, p. 239.

60 Idel, Language. Torah and Hermeneutics, pp. 109-110. 61 Wolfson, 'The Doctrine ofSefirot', p. 348, n, 38.

166 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

philosophized and he has received the wisdom of Kabbalah pertaining to the Sefirot and letters, will understand my comprehensive view'. 62 According to Abulafia, the aim of the highest method of exegesis is to bring the interpreter to the rank of prophecy, by means of transforming the interpreted verses into divine names." This notion is echoed in R. Isaac's notion that the correct veracious way of truth (which leads the interpreter to prophecy) explicates the text as referring to the name of God.

Nevertheless, there are significant differences between R. Isaac's and Abulafia's hermeneutic systems. Abulafia's scheme of exegetical modes does not include interpretations according to theosophical Kabbalah." R. Isaac on the other hand, asserts that the higher methods of interpretation allude to the world of the Sefirot; indeed, he identifies the name of God, through which the interpreter achieves prophecy, with the ten Sefirot.f' Abulafia argues that the interpreter attains prophecy through the transformation of the interpreted text into divine names;" R. Isaac contends that the interpreter achieves the prophetic state by uncovering the text's reference to the name of God, i.e. the ten Sefirot. Thus, while Abulafia claims that the mystical exegete deconstructs the text, R. Isaac believes that the mystical interpreter uncovers a higher level of meaning in the text. 67

The nature of the mystical state reached by the master interpreter is revealed in a description of a contemplation technique which R. Isaac received from an anonymous kabbalist:

I, the young Isaac of Acre, was contemplating the tradition I received from the greatest of his generation in modesty, and in the wisdom of Kabbalah and philosophy, and in the wisdom of the combination of letters, who had

62 Cited by Wolfson, ibid., p. 354.

63 Idel, Language, Torah and Hermeneutics, p. WI.

64 Wolfson has shown that the notion of the ten Sefirot is mentioned in conjunction with Abulafia's sixth path of interpretation, yet, Abulafia identifies the Sefirot as separate intellects, rather than divine emanations. See: Wolfson, 'The Doctrine of Sefirot', pp. 349-350.

65 See, for instance, ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), 39b, 48b. 66 Idel, Language, Torah and Hermeneutics, p. 102.

67 According to. Abulafia, the highest mode of interpretation, that leads to prophecy, enables the interpreter-prophet to manipulate nature. (Ibid. pp. 105-106). R. Isaac, however, differentiates between the rank that enables the manipulation of nature (i.e, to cure the righteous and harm the wicked), which is related to the interpreter according to the way of truth, and the rank of prophecy, which is related to the interpreter according to the correct veracious way of truth.

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the ability to visualize" the ten sefirot of belimah, as it written '1 a ever mindful of the Lord's presence. He is at my right hand I shall n ver be shaken' (Ps 16:8). And I saw them (i.e. the ten Sefirot) upon m bead, above me, like a pillar, their feet upon my head, and their heads wa above [the worlds of} 'ABI'A - the feet of the ladder upon my head and is head above 'ABI'A. And as long as I was contemplating this ladder, whic is the name of Holy One Blessed be He, 1 was seeing my soul attache to the Infinite, with the Unique Master blessed be the name of the Glory of His kingdom for ever and ever.69

The teacher" mentioned in this passage is described as having m stered Kabbalah, philosophy, and the combination of letters. As R. Isaac id ntifies philosophy with the hidden way of interpretation and Kabbalah ith the way of truth, it is reasonable to assume that the wisdom of the comb nation ofletters parallels the highest methods ofR. Isaac's interpretative sc erne. I therefore believe that the vision of the ten Sefirot and the attachmen to the Infinite describe the state of prophecy which the master interpreter a hieves through contemplating the divine name.

The visualization of the ten Sefirot and attachment to the Infi mentioned elsewhere in Ozar Hayyim. In a passage that describes the ascension of a person contemplating the words of the 'shma Yisrael' Israel), R. Isaac asserts:

When a person says 'Hear, 0 Israel' he should scatter his thoughts 11 over the horizon of the sphere" to join together all the Israelite souls and levate them to Metatron Sar ha-Panim (MoSHe) as the word 'Israel' i eludes them as one. And when he says 'The Lord God the Lord' he should

68 Literally, 'to put in front of him.' I have amended the text which reads: 'in front of me.'

69 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fo1. 100a. See Gottlieb, Studies in the abbala

Literature, p.236.

70 Gottlieb (Ibid., p, 236, n. 8) notes that R. Isaac refers to R. ha-David Coh n as the greatest man of his generation (gedol dora), in ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 10 2 (775), fol. 22a. On R. David ha-Cohen, see Goldreich, Me'irat 'Einayim, pp. 62-363. Goldreich has doubts as to whether our passage refers to R. David h -Cohen, Elsewhere, R. Isaac refers to the RaShBA as the greatest man of his genera ion (see Goldreich, Ibid), yet it is unlikely that the reference in our passage is to him.

71 Compare this notion to R. Isaac's discussion of Moses, who contemplated he fiery Torah written in the horizon, ms, Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol. 1 5b. See Gottlieb's discussion of the passage in Gottlieb, Studies in the Kabbala Li erature, p.244.

168 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

contemplate the first without beginning, the last without end (RaB R. ABA) and His name, which is the ten Sefirot. That means that always, i.e. by day and by night, the person should visualize the ten Sefirot upon his head included in a pillar, or a ladder, which is poised on his head - the foot of the ladder upon his head and the head of the ladder above the three worlds" with the first without beginning, the last without end (RaB R. 'ABA). And when he says 'the Lord' ('Adonai) he should elevate the thought of his mind through the Wreath (,A;;:'a{arah) which is upon his head and through the Beauty (T=:;tif' eret), and all the rest of the Sefirot included in Him, until he shall reach the first without beginning, the last without end (RaB R. 'ABA) ... 73

The notion of the return of the soul to its source, described as an ascent through the four worlds of 'ABI'A and union with the Infinite, appears in R. Isaac's exegesis of the verse, 'But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy for praisegiving to the Lord' (Lev 19:24). According to R. Isaac, the three years in which the fruits are forbidden allude to the three subdivine worlds (Beriah, Yezirah and 'Asiyyah) and the fourth alludes to the cleaving of the soul to the world of the Sefirot CA?iluth). The fifth year (in which one may eat the fruit) is a reference to the union with the Infinite," when the soul returns to its source and becomes total and universal:

I have seen the secret of[the verse], 'But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy for praisegiving to the Lord' (Lev 19:24). namely, that God has commanded us to increase the power of our rational soul over that of our appetitive soul [during] three years, which allude to the three worlds. [This is to be done] in order that our soul will cleave to the secret of the fourth year, which alludes to the secret of the Godhead which transcends the three worlds. 'And in the fifth year' (Ibid) alludes to the Infinite which surrounds everything. And this soul shall cleave to the Infinite and will become totally universal (kol klali gamour),75 after she had been individual - due to her

72 l.e, the worlds of'A;ilut, Beria'h and Yezirah'

73 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fols. 39b-40a.

74 For the notion of unio mystica in the Kabbalah of R. Isaac of Acre, see: Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, pp. 67-68.

75 Idel, Ibid., pp. 62 and 294, n. 74.

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palace," while she was imprisoned in it - she will become uni ersal, because of the true secret of her source."

Although this passage does not make reference to any exegetical activi , the scheme of mystical ascent it describes correlates with the mystical herme eutics of the NiSAN system. As illustrated above the worlds of 'ABI'A, through vhich the mystic ascends, are explicitly compared to the hermeneutic lev Is of NiSAN. Furthermore, the notion that the souls which cleave to the I finite become universal and shed their individuality explains the distinction R Isaac draws between the individual way of truth and the universal way of truth. 8 The universal way of truth," or the universal correct way of truth," refers 0 the Infinite, and encompasses the Infinite and the world of the Sefirot, Th term 'universal' used by R. Isaac alludes to the mystical union reached throu h the practice of the higher modes of exegesis, in which the soul 10 es its individuality and becomes universal.

What are the differences between R. Isaac's hermeneutics and other kabbalistic forms of mystical exegesis? According to some kabbalis s, the interpreted text - the Torah - is an embodiment of the divine entity." ence, exegesis entails apprehension, attachment, or penetration into the divine realm." R. Isaac, however, does not perceive the text as being divine, b t only as denoting the divine (as well as the subdivine) realms. The mystic d es not penetrate the divine realm through contemplation of the divine text, but rather

76 Ibid., p. 307, n. 71.

77 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol. 112a. I have loosely folIo ed the translation of Idel, Ibid., p, 48.

78 Fenton, R. Judah Ibn Malkah's Commentary, p. 40. See above, n. 34. A dis inction between the 'individual Kabbalah' and the superior 'universal true K balah' appears in a text from the circle of the fourteenth-century kabbalist R. Da id ben Yehuda he-Hasid, See: Moshe Idel, 'Kabbalistic Materials from the School Rabbi David ben Yehudah he-Hasid', Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 2 (19 2/3), p. 40 [Hebrew].

79 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol. 3Ib.

80 Ibid. fols, 35a, Il3a. According to folio 91 a, 'the highest, most correct, co ct way of truth (derekh ha- 'emet ha- 'elyona nekhonat ha-nekhonot) ... is the u iversal Kabbalah ... ' The interpretation offered alludes to the Infinite.

81 Scholem, On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism, p. 44; Moshe Idel, 'Infi ities of Torah in Kabbalah', in G. Hartman and S. Budick, Midrash and Literatu e, New Haven 1986, pp. 144-145; Wolfson, Through a Speculum that Shines, p. 376

82 Idel, Kabbalah' New Perspectives, pp. 244-247; Wolfson, Through a S culum That Shines. pp. 376-377.

170 Ni$AN - The Wife of the lnfmite

ascends to the divine realm by following the reference of the text to the higher realm. R. Isaac's perception of the text as a vehicle to reach the divine, rather than a divine manifestation, explains the fact that he accords greater significance to the interpretative system than to the interpreted text. This may explain why R. Isaac does not include the literal meaning in his hermeneutical system, in striking contrast to the PaRDeS scheme, as well as all the other Jewish interpretative systems developed in the thirteenth century.

In an intriguing passage in the Ozar Hayyim, R. Isaac relates a story (an interesting parallel to the Myth of Prometheus f3 he heard from a Christian. Although R. Isaac rejects the literal truth of this tale, he employs his exegetical method to find hidden truths in it:

I, the young Isaac of Acre heard from an uncircumcised gentile a very strange thing. And although my limited wisdom did not accept it as true tradition;" as he was an Edomite, and the Edomites destroyed the second temple, I saw fit to write it down, because although we say it is not literally true it is a correct truth according to the hidden secret. 85

Although R. Isaac usually interpreted canonical texts (most often biblical verses and passages from the prayer book), this passage indicates that he viewed any text as a springboard for a mystical interpretative journey. Here R. Isaac's approach differs from the PaRDeS scheme and other Jewish medieval

83 On this passage see, Idel 'Prometheus in Hebrew Garb', pp. 119-122.

84 On R. Isaac's use of the term 'my limited wisdom', see: Goldreich, Me'irat 'Einayim, p. 394.

85 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), foI. 85a. After recounting the story about King Solomon, who, on account of his transgressions, is confined to a throne in a desert, where his flesh is constantly eaten by ravens but immediately grows back again, R. Isaac offers his interpretation: 'And the secret I have seen in this is that Solomon is the king whom peace belongs to and he is the congregation of Israel, the divine presence that dwells in the souls of the people of Israel who are in exile under the yoke of the nations. And the ravens are according to the hidden way the nations who torment the people of Israel with all kind of hardships and subdue them in body and fortune. According to the way of secret this Solomon refers to Metatron the prince of countenance (MoSHE): 'In all their troubles He was troubled' (lsa 63:9); '1 will be with them in distress' (Ps 91:15). And according to the way of truth this Solomon refers to Beauty (T=tif'eret) and the Wreath ('A= 'otarahs. And the ravens, according to the way of the wise kabbalists of Castile refer to the external levels that rise up and torment the divine attributes. And in the days of the Messiah, may he come soon in our days, these external levels will be cast down and return to the abyss of the land.'

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interpretative methods, which were applied only to canonical (primary bi lical) texts, and resembles Abulafia's system of mystical interpretation, which could be applied to any linguistic phenomenon. go R. Isaac's underscoring of the value of the interpretative method rather than the interpreted text is also expres ed in the personification of the NiSAN method and its depiction as the wife f the Infinite." In contradistinction to the famous image of the Torah in the ohar and other kabbalistic writings as a feminine persona," R. Isaac personif interpretative method rather than the canonical text."

4. Cultural Context

An itinerant kabbalist, R. Isaac encountered in his travels several intel ctual and mystical schools, including the three major kabbalistic trend that flourished at the end of the thirteenth and early fourteenth centu : the prophetic Kabbalah of Abraham Abulafia and his disciples (in a form influenced by Sufism), the school of the disciples of Nahmanides and ashba (R. Solomon ben Aderet), and Castilian Kabbalah, including the majo work produced in that circle, the Zohar. R. Isaac was affiliated with scholars f the three major trends of Kabbalah, and incorporated their ideas and m stical practices in his writings. His relations with the various mystical circle were complex. Although profoundly influenced by prophetic Kabbalah," R. Isaac does not mention Abulafia and his school in his writings, most likely bee se of the Rashba's strong opposition to Abulafia." R. Isaac was affiliated w th the Rashba and his disciples, yet it is doubtful whether he was actually part f this elitist coterie." The tension between R. Isaac and this circle comes thro gil his criticism of the Catalan kabbalists, discussed below, and his vehement att ck on

86 Idel, Language, Torah and Hermeneutics, p. 107.

87 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol. 92b, cited above. 88 Wolfson, Circle in the Square, pp. 9-28.

89 In his introduction to Language, Torah and Hermeneutics, p. xiv, Idel obse es that the feminine personification of the Torah is absent from the writings of A raham Abulafia and his disciples, including R. Isaac of Acre. 90 Moshe Idel, Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah, Albany 1988, pp. 92-95.

91 See Moshe Idel, 'Kabbalah and Elites in Thirteenth-Century Spain', Medite Historical Review 9 (1994), p. 18.

92 Gottlieb, Studies in the Kabbala Literature, p. 578; Goldreich, Meirat 'Ein im, p. 389. On the elitist character of the Catalan Kabbalists of Nahmanides' sch I, see:

Idel, 'Kabbalah and Elites', pp. 10-11. Idem, 'PaRDeS', p. 256. Idel regar s these kabbalists as representative of what he terms the primary or first elite.

172 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

R. Shem Tov Ibn Gaon, one of the prominent disciples of the Rashba." The friction between R. Isaac and the Catalan kabbalist school may be related to R. Isaac's affiliation with Abulafia's school. as well as to his lower social and intellectual status. While the Rashba and his disciples were important halachic figures who held leading positions in their communities, R. Isaac belonged to what Moshe Idel has termed the 'secondary elite'." The lack of harmony between R. Isaac and the Catalankabbalists was most probably the reason for R. Isaac's journey to Castile and his famous search for Zoharic literature. Yet, despite the strong impact that the Castilian school and the Zohar had on him, R. Isaac criticizes the Castilian kabbalists for their incomplete kabbalistic tradition, and does not accept the Zohar's claim to supreme authority.

R. Isaac's spiritual biography and his complicated associations with the various mystical and intellectual groups that were competing for cultural hegemony in his lifetime underlie the structure of his hermeneutical system. The interpretative methods of the NiSAN scheme which are explicitly related to the various realms of the chain of being, also correspond with the major i~tellectual and mystical circles of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century. This correlation and the criticism lodged against the dominant mystical and philosophical schools, imparted through the structure of the NiSAN method, are discussed below.

In formulating a quadruple interpretative scheme (although actually using more than four methods of interpretation), R. Isaac implicitly juxtaposes his scheme with the PaRDeS system, as well as other Jewish (and perhaps also Christian and Moslem) fourfold hermeneutical systems. R. Isaac's perception of the superiority of his NiSAN system to the PaRDeS system is expressed by his use of the highest method of the PaRDeS scheme, secret (Sod), as his second level of interpretation. While PaRDeS presents theosphical kabbalistic exegesis as the highest interpretative method, R. Isaac does even better, and offers two

93 In Me'irat 'Einayim, pp. 245·246, he writes: 'The author of Keter Shem Tov (i.e. R.

Shem Tov Ibn Gaon) made a grave mistake. It is impossible that he received (such a tradition). Rather, he wrote it according to his own speculation. If, indeed, he presents his own speculations as "the way of truth," as if he received them from a pious kabbalist, his offense is extremely grave ; .. The Rabbi (i.e the Rashba) did not intend ever such a thing as was 'Written by R. Shem Tov Gaon. And this mistake and error is one among other errors which he wrote in his book, with other things he fabricated of his own mind ... ' Later, he cites an anonymous disciple of the Rashba and Rabbi Isaac ben Todros, who accuses R. Shem Tov Ibn Gaon and R. Joshua Ibn Shueib of distorting the Rashba's teachings.

94 Idel, 'Kabbalah and Elites', p. 255. Idem, 'PaRDeS" pp. 256-257.

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kabbalistic levels of interpretation, the way of truth and the correct wa of truth, as well as even higher forms of kabbalistic exegesis, such as t correct veracious way of truth. Furthermore, the exegetical methods denot d by R. Isaac by the acronym lfuKaT resemble, and, most likely allud to, the interpretative ways of the PaRDeS system. The level of the Ba' 1 Torah parallels Peshat and Derash (which are not included in the NiSaN sc me); the level of the enlightened sage, i.e. the philosopher, who interprets ac rding to the hidden way (Nistar), parallels Remez; and the level of the kabb list, who interprets according to the way of truth, parallels Sod. R. Isaac's cons ction of even higher methods of interpretation presents PaRDeS as an in omplete, limited hermeneutic system."

R. Isaac's critical attitude towards contemporaneous circles is ex ressed in the correlation between the lower methods of the NiSAN schem and the exegetical methods of the various intellectual and mystical sc ols. As suggested above, the lowest method in the hierarchy of the NiSAN sc erne, the hidden way reflects philosophically oriented interpretations: 'the hidd n way is the method of the philosophers Cl;akhmei ha-mehkar)' .96 In this, R. Isaac follows Abulafia, who referred to the fourth interpretative way of his evenfold scheme, philosophical allegorizations, as hidden (nistar).97 The secon method

95 The seventeenth century kabbalist R. Naftali Bachrach construed an int rpretative scheme including a fifth exegetical method which supersedes the fou ways of PaRDeS. Bachrach refers to his system as 'PaRDeSaN Shel-Hakhami " i.e. the orchard ofthe sages. PaRDeSaN stands for Psaht, Remez, Drash, Sod, an Neshama (soul). See R. Naftali Bachrach, Emek ha-Melekh (Amsterdam 164 ) fo1. 5a. Yehuda Liebes ['On the character, 'Writings and Kabbalah of the autho of 'Emeq ha-Melekh', Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 11 (1993), p. 122] su ests that Neshama was a mystical way of exegesis. Howard Schwartz [Gates t the New City - A Treasury of Modern Jewish Tales, edited with an introduction y Howard Schwartz (New York 1983), p. 108, n. 101] mentions that 'Moshe b n Yizhaq ha-Pardesan has suggested the theoretical possibility of a fifth level 0 Pardesnisraf, suggesting purification through unification - in which all four oth r leve~s of interpretation might be forged into one, permittin~ the text to be percel~ed simultaneously in all its levels of meaning as a total umty and wholeness, not unlike that which is the goal of Gestalt psychology.' Moshe ha-Pardesan, wh e modern midrashim were published in Schwartz's collection, was identified (Ibid., . 731), as 'the pseudonym for an American scholar who teaches in Jerusalem. He i presently completing a critical text of Midrash Tanhuma.' I am grateful to Marc B egman for this reference.

96 Fenton R. Jehuda Ibn Maika 's Commentary, p. 40.

97 Idel, L~nguage, Torah and Hermeneutics, p. 91. Idel translates 'nistar' as

174 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

in R. Isaac's scheme, Sod, may refer to the highest method of the PaRDeS scheme, yet, here the interpretations according to the way of secret do not refer to the Sefirot, but rather to the angelic realm. This corresponds to interpretation typical of circles that were interested in angelic figures, especially Metatron. R. Isaac probably had in mind the Kabbalah of R. Jacob ha-Cohen's Sefer ha- 'Orah, which R. Isaac characterizes as dealing principally with the archangel Metatron: ' ... and I was reminded of the words of R. Jacob of blessed memory from Segovia, who said in the book he entitled Seier ha- 'Orah, most of whose words concern Metatron the prince of countenance (MoSHe) .. .'98 The third category of NiSAN, the way of truth, correlates in name and in content with the esoteric interpretations of Nahmanides and his disciples.

R. Isaac's criticism of the various dominant schools of his day is imparted through his placing their methods of exegesis in an hierarchical scheme that includes superior forms of exegesis. Thus, R. Isaac present these schools as possessing valid, yet inferior forms of knowledge."

Criticism of the various intellectual elite circles as holding only partial knowledge appears also explicitly in R. Isaac of Acre writings. R. Isaac takes aim at narrow-minded Talmudists (identifying them as the Rabbis of Germany and France), for their limited knowledge and polemics against philosophers,"? and philosophers for their restricted theological notions: 'The philoposophisers (rnitpalsephim) whose main wisdom is the negation of corporeality (from God] and nothing more'. 101 The philosophers' knowledge is incomplete because they are ignorant of theosophical Kabbalah:

98 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol. 95b. On the central role of Metatronin Seier ha-Orah, see Daniel Abrams, '''The Book of Illumination" of R. Jacob Ben Jacob haKohen: A Synoptic Edition from Various Manuscrtpts', Ph.d diss., New York University, 1993, pp. 65-91. Interestingly, R. Isaac refers to R. Jacob ha-Cohen (together with R. Joseph Gikatilia) as representing one fonn of Jewish intellectual revival alongside Maimonides, Nahmanides, and the Zohar. See ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fo!' 183a.

99 ldel has pointed out that a similar stance towards the non-kabbalistic traditional bodies of knowledge is expressed in the PaRDeS system. According to ldel, the PaRDeS scheme portrayed Jewish mysticism not as an alternative to the existing bodies of literature, but rather as their culmination. Idel also argues that R. Abraham Abulafia's sevenfold exegetical scheme posits Abulafia's mystical approach to the text as superior to other modes of kabbalistic interpretation. See Idel, 'PaRDeS', p, 52.

100 See ms. Oxford 1911, fo!. 4a, cited and discussed by Goldreich, Me'irat 'Einayim, p.412.

101 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol. 70b. and see n. 113 below.

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And the philosophers, even those who are Jewish, when they decla the unity of God, it is tantamount in their mouth to the sound uttered by Because the meaning they ascribe to the unification of the Unique M ter is nothing but the negation of corporeality - as they do not understan nor comprehend the secret of His Name ... because they do not posse s the correct, received secret of the ten Sefirot Belimah.l'"

Elsewhere, R. Isaac finds fault with 'the fools among the philosop ers', defining them as heretics (minim). In his discussion of the meaning f the difference between the direct and indirect reference to God in biblical erses and in prayers and blessings, R. Isaac writes:

The one who believes only in the Hidden (God) [nistar, i.e. the Ein oj] 103 is included among the heretics, and these are the fools amon the philosophers who philosophize and depend upon knowledge ac uired through their own speculation. They are wise in their own eyes, yet t y do not possess knowledge of the ten Sefirot Belimah, which are the na e of the Holy One, blessed be He. Their belief is evil and deficient, becaus they consider futile the prayer and blessings and they act negligently in reg d to all the commandments. 104

Despite this strong condemnation, R. Isaac does not present the philoso hers' knowledge as mistaken, but rather as partial. 105 The 'fools amon the philosophers' are those who recognize only the hidden (nistar) God, the ivine aspect to whom one refers in prayer in the third person (nistar). hese

102 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fo1. 28a.

103 At the end of the passage, R. Isaac states outright that 'nistar' (indirect spe ch) is intended for the unification ofthe 'Bin Sof, while direct speech (nokhal;z) is in ended to unify the ten Sefirot. See: ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol, 49b. n fol. 70a, R. Isaac writes, 'the word "You" (,atah) which is mentioned in the bl ssings refers tothe ten sefirot belimah ... and the word He (hu) refers to the Infinite. For a different understanding of these words (and hence, the whole passage), see W lfson, 'Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes', pp. 166-167.

104 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol. 49a. See: Wolfson, 'Beautiful Without Eyes', pp. 166-167; Goldreich, Mei'rat 'Einayim, p. 414. Idel, 'Mal and Kabbalah', p. 73, n. 153.

105 According to R. Isaac (see also Ms. Moscow~Guenzberg 1062 (775), fo!. 8 b), the partial knowledge of the philosophers is the reason for their negligence in pra er and observance of the commandments. This is a common theme in the criticism odged against philosophers in the thirteenth century. See R. Jacob ben Sheshet i Seier Sha 'ar ha-Shamayim cited by R. Isaac in Me'irat 'Einayim, p. 58, and Gold eich's notes, pp. 409-~ 14.

176 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

individuals lack the knowledge of the presence of God, the ten Sefirot (the name of God) that are referred to in the second person (nokha/:l).I06 The notion that the knowledge of the philosophers is the recognition of the hidden aspect of God may explain why their exegetical method is referred to as the 'hidden way'.

R. Isaac criticizes not only philosophers, but also kabbalists for possessing incomplete knowledge. According to a passage cited above, the Catalan kabbalists possess true knowledge of the ten Sefirot but not of the evil emanations: 'The kabbalists of Catalonia who have the right tradition in (matters of) the ten Sefirot, but did not receive anything in (matters of) the external gradations' .tOi R. Isaac accepts the claim of thirteenth-century Castilian kabbalists that because of their traditions concerning the demonic gradations, their Kabbalah was superior to other forms of Kabbalah, lOS yet, he takes issue

106 Elsewhere R. Isaac maintains that the second person pronoun 'atah' refers to the whole of the emanated reality, the worlds of 'ABJ'A, See ms, Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol, 90a, Idel ('Maimonides and Kabbalah', p, 73, n. 153) observes that a statement attributed. to R. Isaac the Blind puts forth the notion that one who believes only in the infinite aspect of the divine (probably, a philosopher), and denies the Sefirot, is a heretic (min). See G. Scholem, 'A New Document for the History of the Beginning of Kabbalah', Sefer Bialik, Tel Aviv 1934, p, 150 [Hebrew], Scholem expresses his reservation regarding this attribute, and suggests that this statement was voiced by R. Azriel, The similarity to Ozar Hayyim suggests that R. Isaac may have been the author of this passage - and indeed, a very similar statement is found in a fragment from Ozar lfayyim in Ms. Oxford 1911, fol. ISla: 'the one who believes, in regard to God may He be blessed, in the Infinite ('Ein So./) - but does not believe in the Sefirot - that one is a complete heretic, because he does not believe in the innovation of the world.'

107 Ms. Moscow-Guenzeberg 1062 (775), fol, 12a and see above, n. 37.

108 See Gershom Scholem, 'R. Moses of Burgos, the disciple of R. Isaac', Tarbiz 3 (1932) 280 [Hebrew]; Asi Farber, 'A Commentary on Ezekiel 1, by R, Jacob ha-Cohen', (M.A diss. Hebrew University, 1978), p. 6 [Hebrew]; Michal Kushnir-Oron, Sha 'ar Ha-Razim: Edited from the Manuscripts with Introduction and Annotations, Jerusalem 1989, pp. 25, 27-28, 81 [Hebrew]; Yehuda Liebes, Studies in the Zohar, Albany 1993, p. 16. R. Isaac refers explicitly to the words of R. Todros ha-Levi Abulafia, 'And because of that Rabbi Todros ha-Levi, who composed Sefer ha-Hayyim and Ozar ha-Kavod, said that they (the Catalan kabbalists) did not descend below Ten (i.e. the Ten Sefirot).' Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol, 12a. (,seier ha-Hayyim' is probably a mistake for Seier 'ha-Razim '. See Gottlieb, Studies in the Kabbala literature 342). See also:

Me'irat 'Einayim, p. 103; Sha'ar ha-Razim, p. 81; Ozar Ha-Kavod, Warsaw 1879, fol. lOb [Hebrew]. The perception of the knowledge of the powers of evil as a

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with their self-perception as the superior group of kabbalists, and he ber tes them for lacking knowledge possessed by the Catalan kabbalists, A pas age from O?Qr Hayyim found in Ms. New York, JTSA 1674, reads: 'The sage of Catalonia who received the secret of (the Sefirah of) Fear (P=paJ;;ad) and 0 the Wreath ('A = 'atarahi but did not receive the secret of the ten exte al gradations ... while the sages of Castile (Sefarady who received the secret 0 the external gradation but have not received the secret of the Fear and the Wr ath

,109

Criticism against kabbalists appears elsewhere in Oear Hayyim. In the continuation of a passage partly cited above, R. Isaac contrasts the fools am ng the kabbalist with the fools among the philosophers:

And the one who believes solely in the present (nokhaJ;;) are the f, ols among the kabbalists, for it is inappropriate to separate between the oly One blessed be He and His name. It is certainly the case that the Holy ne blessed be He is His name and His name is the Holy One, blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever ... Therefore, the ith is not correct without belief in that which has no boundary - that is the in Sof, as well as in the boundary without boundary - that is the ten se rot belimahP" And this is an excellent interpretation: the present tnokhah, i.e. second person) is intended to unify the ten Sefirot Belimah, and the hi en (nistar, i.e. third person) to unify the Ein Sof, blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever. III

R. Isaac posits that the second person used in reference to God in bib verses, prayers and blessings denotes the ten Sefirot which are the reve 'present', aspect of the divine. The fools among the kabbalist are those believe in the ten Sefirot, but ignore the hidden aspect of the divine, the Infi ite

superior type of knowledge (possessed only by R. Shimo'n bar Yohai) appears in the Zoharic literature. See: Liebes, Studies in the Zohar, pp. 15-17.

109 Ms. New York-JTSA Mic 1674, fol. 123b. Interestingly, R. Isaac continues to

say that the kabbalists of Catalonia depend upon Sefer ha-Bahir, while the kabbalists of Castile depend upon Seier ha-Zohar. See: Scholem, Major Tren s in Jewish Mysticism 394, n.127; Daniel Abrams, The Bahir, An Edition Based 0 the Earliest Manuscripts, Los Angeles 1994, p. 78; Boaz Huss, 'sefer Ha-Bahir, ook Review of: Daniel Abrams, The Book Bahir', Tarbiz 65 (1996) 338,

110 These expressions are taken from the writings ofR. Azriel of Gerona. See Wol 'Beautiful Maiden without Eyes', p. 195, n. 74. 111 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fol, 49a. For a different reading 0 passage, see Wolfson, 'Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes', pp. 166-167.

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(denoted by the third person).':" This polemic is presumably directed towards R. Isaac's contemporaries, probably the disciples of the Rashba. Indeed, the notion that neither ritual nor exegesis can refer to the Ein Sof appears in Sefer Ma 'arekhet ha- 'Elohut, written in this circle in the early fourteenth century: 'And you should know that the Ein Sof which we have mentioned is not alluded to in the Torah, or in the Prophets or Writings, or in the words of the sages of blessed memory' .113

In Ozar Hayyim kabbalists described as the 'great ones (gedalei 'olami of our generation', are also accused of possessing incomplete kabbalistic knowledge:

I, the young Isaac of Acre have seen a wonderful secret, which is elevated and hidden and concealed and exalted from the great ones in our, generation. They possess the right intentions of the prayers, supplications, benedictions, songs, praises and thanksgivings, according to the secret of the ten Sefirot, which they have found in the hidden compilations of the kabbalists. Although they are great in wisdom and good deeds [they do not possess J the right principle that was in the hands of our Rabbis of blessed memory, the first ones and the last, who have merited the right [to possess] it. And those who err, those who are mocked by the philosophers, whose main wisdom in the negation of corporeality [from God] and nothing more, did not merit [to posses] it, because they did not hear and the one who did not hear will not prophesize.i"

112 R. Isaac's criticism of the fools amongst the kabbalists echoes the words of R. Meir of Narvona, who, a century previous, had taken aim at the kabblists for directing their prayers to the Sefirot: 'these fools say that thanksgiving, prayer and benedictions should not be addressed to the primeval God who is without beginning or end ... the fools for whom all the prayers and benedictions are addressed to divinities of whom they say they are created and emanated and that they have a beginning and end.' See: Scholem, 'A New Document for the History of the Beginning of Kabbalah', pp. 148-149; idem, Origins of the Kabbalah, Princeton 1987, p. 399. See also Scholem's discussion of this passage Ibid., pp. 398-401.

113 Ma 'arekhet ha- 'Elohut (Mantua, 1558 [Reprint, Jerusalem, 1963] fol. 82b.) See:

Tishby, The Wisdom of the Zohar 1, p. 234. This attitude also characterizes the main strata of the Zohar.

114 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fo1. 70b. According to my reading, R. Isaac changes his tone and moves from describing these kabbalists as great in wisdom and good deeds to deeming them those who err. According to a different reading of the text, 'those who err' can refer to the philosophers: 'and those who err, the philosophers who mock them [or: whom they mock) ... , did not merit the right [to possess J it.' This reading solves the problem of having the same passage refer to the

Boaz Huss 179

In this passage, directed at either the Castilians or the Catalans, R. saac proclaims that even though these kabbalists possess the intention of pr yers . according to the ten Sefirot, they are ignorant of the secret of the int tion of prayers to the Ein Sof:

And this is the secret; you must know [concerning] the place mention d by the kabbalists, to which one should intend when making a benedictio , and praying ... the correct thing he should do, and the correct thought he s ould think, so that his words would be accepted willingly by the master 0 will, blessed be the name of His kingdom for ever and ever, is to imagin that place is a book of white fire and that the letters, words and things at he reads are written on it with black fire. us And while he reads, the eyes f his flesh should be on it, and the eyes of his heart should [concentrate] n the unique master blessed be the name of His kingdom for ever and ev r, the Ein Sof.1l6

The knowledge other kabbalist lack - and R. Isaac possess - is the kno ledge of directing prayers to the Infinite. According to R. Isaac, this knowle ge is necessary for achieving a mystical experience, i.e. reaching the prophetic state. As discussed above, R. Isaac believes those who lack this knowledge c not prophesize, In. the end of the passage he writes: 'Happy is the man who understands these words and follows them in his benedictions, pray rs ... certainly that one is a disciple of the father of sages and master of pro hets, Moses our Rabbi peace be on him'. 117 Here again we can posit a corre ation between the secret of prayer to the Ein Sof and the highest interpr ative methods of the NiSAN scheme. Both lead to mystical experiences, an both were unknown to contemporaneous kabbalists, The reference to the kab alists who 'did not hear, and one who did not hear will not prophesize' possibly efers to the Rashba and his school, who rejected Abulafia's prophetic Kabbalah

As suggested earlier, the highest interpretative methods in R. I aac's hermeneutic system contain elements derived from Abulafia's m stical

kabbalist as the great ones and as those who err. Nonetheless, it leaves the se tence 'Although they are great in wisdom ... ' incomplete.

115 According to Tanbuma, Genesis, 1; y. Seqalim 6:1, etc., the Torah given to oses was composed of black fiery letters written on white fire. I Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fols. 106b-108a, R. Isaac explicates the se Moses's seeing the fiery Torah written in the sky. See Gottlieb, Studies ·n the Kabbala literature, p. 244.

116 Ms. Moscow-Guenzberg 1062 (775), fo1. 70b. 117 Ibid.

180 NiSAN - The Wife of the Infinite

hermeneutics, yet, R. Isaac of Acre does not attribute these exegetical methods to Abulafia or to the school of prophetic Kabbalah, neither of which are mentioned in his writings.!" This is striking, considering that R. Isaac was profoundly affected by prophetic Kabbalah, and that he had a tendency to mention the names of kabbalists he met and to describe the various intellectual trends he encountered -. The absence of any explicit reference to Abulafia and his school was undoubtedly due to the strong opposition of the Rashba and his school to prophetic Kabbalah. Although R. Isaac succumbed to the Rashba's authority in this instance, he undermines the Rashba's authority and reveals his high regard for prophetic Kabbalah by positing ecstatic hermeneutics as the superior form of kabbalistic exegesis. Nonetheless, the highest form of exegesis suggested by R. Isaac is not a purely Abulafian method, but rather an innovative synthesis between ecstatic and theosophic Kabbalah.

Conclusion

Similar to other kabbalistic systems of exegesis, R. Isaac of Acre's NiSAN interpretative scheme is a mystical form of hermeneutics. R. Isaac correlates the various methods of interpretation with the different realms in the chain of being, and regards his exegetical system as a ladder of ascent to the divine world. The employment of the highest interpretative method of the NiSAN system leads, through the contemplation of the ten Sefirot, to a mystical union with the Infinite, which R. Isaac identifies as prophecy. Thus, the reference to the highest forms of R. Isaac's hermeneutic scheme as 'universal', alludes to the soul which overcomes its individuality and becomes universal,

R. Isaac's fourfold interpretative system presents an innovative combination of theosophical and prophetic Kabbalah, as well as an implicit critique of contemporary mystical and philosophical schools. R. Isaac undermines the authoritative Castilian and Catalan kabbalistic forms of exegesis by offering an alternative quadruple interpretative system to the PaRDeS scheme and by positing a 'correct way of truth' as a higher method of exegesis than Nahrnanides' 'way of truth'. Instead of the theosophical interpretations of the dominant kabbalistic schools of his day R. Isaac presents his own idiosyncratic theosophical-ecstatic Kabbalah as the superior form of kabbalistic knowledge and exegetical practice.

118 On the possibility that the teacher R. Isaac mentions in Ibid., fol, 168a is Abraham Abulafia, see Idel, The Mystical Experience, pp. 117-118.

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R. Isaac's social status as an itinerant intellectual who did not belong 0 the elite Sephardic circles, his physical and spiritual wanderings, an his acquaintance with diverse and sometimes anti pathetical intellectual tren s left their mark on his allegorical scheme. The NiSAN method is the product of R. Isaac of Acre's unique synthesis of theosophic and prophetic Kabbalah d his criticism of the dominant kabbalistic schools of his day, as well as hi own mystical quest.