Bahir

Bahir or Sefer Ha - Bahir סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר (Hebrew, "Book of the ( bright ) gloss " ) is an anonymous work of Jewish mysticism ( Kabbalah ), which is pseudepigraphical the Tannaim Nechonja ben ha - Qana, a contemporary of Johanan ben Zakkai attributed. This write-up is based on the opening words of the book: " R. Nehunya ben ha - Qana said. " It is also known as Midrash of Rabbi Nehunya ben ha - Qana מִדְרָשׁ רַבִּי נְחוּנְיָא בֶּן הַקָּנָה.

The Bahir was first published in the 12th century in southern France. Historians believe as an author Rabbi Jitzchaq Saggi Nehor, who is also known as Isaac the Blind. Counter whose authorship speaks however, that the term Ein Sof ( " infinity " ) does not occur as God's name in the Bahir, though this term in the work of Isaac is to find the blind.

Title

Nachmanides cited as one of the first in his commentary on the Torah ( first book of Moses 1) the Sefer ha - Bahir, under the title Midrash R. Nehunya ben ha - Qana with the opening sentence " R. Nehunya ben ha - Qana said. "

Under medieval Kabbalists, the plant was known as the Sefer ha - Bahir. This term was taken from the opening part: One verse says: "And now you can not see the light, which is lit ( ' bahir ' ) in the sky " Hi 37.21 EU.

Authorship

See kabbalists R. Nehunya, a rabbi from the time of the Mishnah, who lived around the year 100, the author of the Sefer ha - Bahir. Medieval Kabbalists report that the Sefer ha - Bahir was not present them as a single book, but found in individual parts, which she scattered in rolls and booklets. The dismembered and broken character of the texts of the Sefer ha - Bahir support this assumption. So sometimes a discussion in the middle of a sentence is canceled or suddenly jump from one to the next topic.

The historical- critical research argues for a later dating with regard to the composition of the Sefer ha - Bahir. Some researchers believe that it was written to the blind in the 13th century by Isaac or comes from his school. Because in their opinion, the first sentence, "And now you can not see the light, which is lit ( ' bahir ' ) in the heavens " (Job 37:21 EU) stands alone with no connection to the next, they see in it an allusion the blindness of the author. Modern investigators of Kabbalah suggests that at least parts of the Sefer ha - Bahir is a recording of the older Werkens Sefer Raza Rabba. This older book is called in some works of Geonim, but not a complete copy of the Sefer Raza Rabba exists. However, quotes from this work in some ancient writings can be found.

Many Kabbalah researchers are convinced that the Sefer ha - Bahir added Gnostic elements to its predecessor work. One of the main points of discussion of modern research is the question of how much Gnostic ideas of the Kabbalah has influenced. More to this discussion can be found in the works of Gershom Scholem and Moshe Idel. There is a certain affinity between the symbolic language of the Sefer ha - Bahir, on the one hand, and the Gnostic speculation over the eons on the other. A fundamental question in the study of this work is whether this affinity is due to an as yet unknown historical connection between Gnosticism from the time of the Mishnah and Talmud and the sources that were used for the Sefer ha - Bahir.

Publication history

• Kabbalists believe that the oral tradition of the Sefer ha - Bahir to the 1st century goes back and consider it possible that there have been secret manuscripts before the first publication in the 12th century.
• 1174 - Sefer ha - Bahir is published as a manuscript in a Kabbalistenschule Provence and made ​​a limited readership available.
• 1331 - The earliest commentary on the Sefer ha - Bahir is by Rabbi Meir ben Shalom Abi- Sahula written, a student of Rabbi Shlomo ben Avraham Aderet ( Rashba ), this comment will be published anonymously under the title 'Or ha - Ganus.
• At the end of the 15th century - the Sefer ha - Bahir, translated into Latin by Flavius ​​Mitridates, his translation is indeed wordy but not particularly accurate.
• 1651 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Amsterdam together with Majin ha - Chochma the first time in printed form.
• 1706 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Berlin together with Majin ha - Chochma.
• 1784 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Sklav and Korets.
• 1800 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Lviv.
• 1830 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Lviv.
• 1849 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in an unknown place as part of Chamischa Chumsche Kabbalah.
• 1865 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Lviv.
• 1883 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Vilnius.
• 1913 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Vilnius.
• 1923 - A German translation is published by Gershom Scholem, who in 1922 received his doctorate on the subject.
• 1951 - The Sefer ha - Bahir is published in Jerusalem.
• 1979 - An English translation will be published.
• 1980 - A Latin translation ( Guillaume Postel ) is published by Francois Secret.
• 1983 - A French translation (Joseph Gottfarstein ) is published.
• 1994 - The Hebrew text is published on the basis of the manuscripts of Daniel Abrams.
• 2005 - The Latin translation of Flavius ​​Mithridates is published together with a critical edition of the Hebrew text by Saverio Campanini.
• 2008 - The German translation of Gershom Scholem appears as a special limited edition in Hamburg Aurinia Publishing (ISBN 978-3-937392-15-8 ).

Content

The Sefer ha - Bahir consists of five sections, which are divided into 200 short paragraphs. It has the form of an exegetical Midrasches in the typical question-answer style as a dialogue between students and masters. The main characters are R. Amora (or Amorai ), and R. Rahamai (or Rehumai ). Some statements in the book are Berechiah R., R. Johanan, R. Bun attributed to rabbis who are mentioned in later midrashim.

The Sefer ha - Bahir contains comments that explain the mystical meaning of biblical verses. It 's all about the first chapter of the book bereshith (1st book of Moses ), ie to the fundamental relationship between God and the world. This is illuminated by many more quotes from the Torah and its interpretation. In addition, the shape of the Hebrew letters and their vocalization is explained. Also statements of the Sefer Yetzirah ( Book of Creation ') are recorded and interpreted.

The Sefer ha - Bahir is rich in parables, in which especially the figure of a king is the focus, with the help of the nature and action of God is illustrated.

Departments

Section 1 ( § 1-16) includes comments on the opening verses of the book bereshith (1st book of Moses ) and general of the creation narrative.

Section 2 ( § 17-44 ) talks about the Aleph -Beth ( the Hebrew alphabet) and gets its inspiration from the Sefer Yetzirah, which connects the creation of letters in the Torah with the omnipresent mystique.

Section 3 ( § 45-122 ) contains the seven voices and the Sefirot.

Section 4 ( § 124-193 ) is grouped by the titles of the ten Sefirot.

Section 5 ( § 193-200 ) concludes the argument and calls the mysteries of the soul.

Sefirot

The Hebrew word Sefirot in the Sefer Yetzirah was first connected with the numbers from 1 to 10 called and there had not been the importance of the later Kabbalists have given him. Only in the Sefer ha - Bahir, one finds the first discussion of the kabbalistic concept of the Sefirot as divine attributes or powers of the emanated God.

The Creation

The world is, according to the Sefer ha - Bahir, not the product of a creative act. Just as God exists, this book since all eternity, not only in power but also in actuality. The creation consists mostly of the phenomenon, which from the first Sefirah, Or ha - Ganus or, as it is also called: apparent Keter Elyon, from God.

This gave birth to the Sefira Chochma (wisdom ) from which the Bina (intelligence ) emanated. Of these three, the upper Sefirot, and from the first principles of the universe emanated, one by one, the seven lower Sefirot. From these, all material existence is shaped. The ten Sefirot are connected to each other, and each has an active and a passive part in the process of getting and passing on the Emanierungen. The discharge of a Sefira in the other is symbolized by the shape of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So represents the Gimel ( ג ), shaped like a tube with openings at each end, the Sefira, which strength of one side gets and passes it on to the other. The ten Sefirot are in its being manifests the power of God, the form itself.

Reincarnation

The Sefer ha - Bahir takes the idea of ​​reincarnation to solve the theodicy: "The righteous may have been in his previous life evil and the evil one needs. "

Issues and comments

• One of the best-preserved manuscripts of the original form of the Sefer ha - Bahir was written in 1331 by Solomon Meir ben Abi- Sahula; his commentary on Sefer ha - Bahir was anonymously under the name of Or ha - Ganus (, The hidden light ') was released.

• Sefer ha - Bahir was translated into German in 1923 by Gershom Scholem in his doctoral thesis. Scholem used this Pico della Mirandola's 1486 edition of the translation appeared in 1969 edition. The Book Bahir. A written monument from the early days of the Kabbalah on the basis of the critical edition of Gerhard Scholem. Series, sources and research on the history of Jewish mysticism ', ed. by Robert Eisler, Drugulin Vlg, Leipzig 1923 reissue University Press, Darmstadt 1969.. ; 4th Edition, 1989, ISBN 3-534-05049-5

• A translation into English was made by Aryeh Kaplan.

• A critical edition has issued Saverio Campanini: The Book of Bahir. Flavius ​​Mithridates ' Latin Translation, the Hebrew Text, and an English version, edited by Saverio Campanini with a Foreword by Giulio Busi, Torino, Nino Aragno Editore 2005, ISBN 88-8419-239-0.

Also refer to:

• G. Busi, SM Bondoni, S. Campanini (ed.): The Great Parchment: Flavius ​​Mithridates ' Latin Translation, the Hebrew Text, and an English version; Biblioteca della Mirandola GP cabbalistica di, 1; Turin: Nino Aragno, 2004; ISBN 88-8419-189-0.