Remarkable René Braginsky Manuscript Collection is now available online. These pages are from the 13th century Abraham Abulafia’s “Sefer Hashem”. One can see that the art of gematria practiced by Abraham Abulafia was called after the Greek geometria for reason evident in this book.
In describing ‘Hayey haolam haba’ [this sefer], one of the principal works of R. Abraham Abulafia, the noted mystic R. Hayyim Joseph David Azulai (1724-1807), better known as the Hid”a, wrote:
“This is a book written by R. Abraham Abulafia, concerning the circle of the seventy-two letter [Divine] Name, which I saw on the manuscript parchment. And know that the Raba [R. Solomon ben Adret] in his Responsa, sec. 548,2 and Rabbi YaSar [R. Joseph Solomon del Medigo of Candia], in Sefer Mesdref le-Hokmdh, expressed contempt toward him as one of the worthless people, or worse. However, I say that in truth I see him as a great rabbi, among the masters of secrets, and his name is great in Israel, and none may alter his words, for he is close to that book mentioned, and his right hand shall save him.”
These remarks of the Hid “a aptly summarize the problem involved in Abulafia’s thought and his role in the development of the Kabbalah. To begin with, despite his greatness as a mystic, being “among the masters of secrets,” he was fiercely attacked by the major halakhic figure of his generation, R. Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret, and was placed under the ban. It follows from this that R. Azulai’s words, “as one of the worthless people, or worse,” were a deliberate understatement, intended to safeguard the honor of both Abulafia and his critics. The fact that ‘Hayyey haolam haba’ remained in manuscript form until the eighteenth century would suggest that the effect of Rasba’s ban had not worn off even then, or for that matter until our own day. Nevertheless, it seems to me that, between the final years of the thirteenth century, when Abulafia was excommunicated by his opponent in Barcelona, and the seventeenth century, a striking change occurred in the status of the banned Kabbalist.
A figure such as R. Azulai (Hid”a), who was expert in all dimensions of Jewish culture and who at the same time represented post-Sabbatian Kabbalistic thought in the East, did not hesitate to praise the man and to describe his system in glowing terms: “his name is great in Israel, and none may alter his words.” Such a drastic change-from excommunication to a position in the foremost ranks of Jewish mystics-is indicative of an unprecedented phenomenon in the development of Jewish mysticism.”
It’s a shame that Chassidim who nominally were called upon to uphold this teaching did their best to obfuscate this heroic spiritual legacy. In fact the entire Chabad Chasidus is nothing but an evil attempt to conceal the teaching behind an elaborate, populist smokescreen.
collection via menachem mendel