General

Title

Jerusalem (Israel), National Library of Israel: Ms. Heb. 4=9794

Manuscript name

The Hammerschlag Poppers

Summary

This ilan is a slightly modified copy of the original Meir Poppers ilan. Were it a component in a Great Tree, it would be classified as type “Pu.” The copy was made by Nathan (Nosen) Neta Hammerschlag, whose distinctive artistic style is immediately apparent from its opening lines. The absence of Sabbatean allusions, which are found in Hammerschlag's codices (held by the Bodleian Library in Oxford) and in his grand 1691 Ilan of Adam Kadmon (Munich, BSB, Cod.hebr. 450), points to the likelihood that he copied the Poppers ilan before his infatuation with Shabtai Ẓevi began. At the top of the rotulus, Hammerschlag added the title “With good fortune (be-tov gada) I will begin” followed by a quote from Psalms 71:16, and lengthy instructions for using the ilan. He also polemicizes against so-called “abusers of secrets,” the identify of whom remains a mystery. At the bottom of the rotulus, Hammerschlag added three additional kabbalistic diagrams that present diverse synoptic representations of the World of Azilut.

Support material

paper

Identifier

Ms. Heb. 4=9794

NLI identifier

997012314165705171

Repository

National Library of Israel

Country

Israel

Settlement

Jerusalem

Research literature

J. H. Chajes, The Kabbalistic Tree (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2022), 240–243, 384, 394, 402.

Creation time

Date

c. 1660