The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia

«In describing fJayye ha-<Olam ha-Ba, one of the principal works of R. Abraham Abulafia, the noted mystic R. Hayyim Joseph David Azulai (1724-1807), better known as the fJid"a), wrote:» — Idel abre el libro con el juicio de un cabalista tardío sobre una de las obras principales de Abulafia; la transliteración del título y del apodo del *Hida* son las que imprime el facsímil.

«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.» — según Idel, así describe Azulai el libro: obra de Abulafia sobre el círculo del Nombre divino de setenta y dos letras, que dice haber visto en el pergamino manuscrito.

«And know that the Rashba [R. Solomon ibn AdretJ in his Responsa, sec. 548,2 and Rabbi Ya§ar [R. Joseph Solomon del Medigo of Candia], in Sefer Ma~ref le-ljo/s.mah,3 expressed contempt toward him as one of the worthless people, or worse.» — y así consigna Azulai el desprecio de dos autoridades hacia Abulafia: el Rashba en sus Responsa y del Medigo de Candia en el Sefer Masref le-Hokmah.

«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.» — y el juicio propio de Azulai, que Idel cita contra el anterior: gran rabino entre los maestros de secretos, cuyo nombre es grande en Israel y cuyas palabras nadie puede alterar.

«These remarks of the fJid"a aptly summarize the problem involved in Abulafia's thought and his role in the development of the Kabbalah.» — Idel lee esas líneas como resumen del problema que plantean el pensamiento de Abulafia y su papel en el desarrollo de la cábala.

«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.» — el primer término del problema, según Idel: pese a su grandeza como místico, Abulafia fue atacado por la mayor figura halájica de su generación, R. Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret, y puesto bajo excomunión.

«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.» — y la lectura que Idel hace de la fórmula de Azulai: un eufemismo deliberado para salvar a la vez el honor de Abulafia y el de sus críticos.

«The fact that If.ayye ha-<Olam ha-Ba remained in manuscript form until the eighteenth century would suggest that the effect of Rt'fshba's ban had not worn off even then, or for that» — el indicio que Idel toma de la historia editorial: que la obra siguiera manuscrita hasta el siglo XVIII sugiere que el efecto de la excomunión no se había disipado ni entonces; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«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.» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el grado que Idel se pone: le parece que entre el fin del siglo XIII y el siglo XVII hubo un cambio llamativo en el estatus del cabalista excomulgado.

«A figure such as R. Azulai (1;1id"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:» — y a quién adjudica el giro: Azulai, experto en todas las dimensiones de la cultura judía y representante del pensamiento cabalístico post-sabatiano en Oriente.

«Such a drastic change-from excommunication to a position in the foremost ranks of Jewish mystics-is indicative of the unprecedented phenomenon in the development of Jewish mysticism.» — cómo califica Idel ese paso de la excomunión a las primeras filas de los místicos judíos: indicativo de un fenómeno sin precedente en el desarrollo de la mística judía.

«Who was Abraham Abulafia, and what was his uniqueness as a Kabbalist?» — las dos preguntas con que Idel cierra la primera sección de la introducción.

«Unlike many other Kabbalists who preceded him or were his contemporaries, Abulafia provided extensive details regarding his life.» — el rasgo con que Idel abre la biografía: a diferencia de otros cabalistas, Abulafia dio abundantes datos sobre su propia vida.

«In this context I shall present only the basic information concerning Abulafia's life, based exclusively upon the testimony contained in his own writings.» — y la base que declara para esa reseña: exclusivamente el testimonio de los escritos del propio Abulafia.

«Abraham was born in the Hebrew year 5000 (1240 C.E.) in Saragossa in the province of Aragon to his father, Samuel; the family moved to Tudela, where Abulafia continued to study with his father until the death of the latter, when Abraham was a young man of eighteen years.» — según Idel, Abulafia nació en 1240 en Zaragoza, en Aragón, hijo de Samuel, y estudió con su padre en Tudela hasta la muerte de éste.

«Two years later, Abulafia left Spain and travelled to the land of Israel in search of the mythical River Sambatyon.» — y a los veinte dejó España rumbo a la tierra de Israel en busca del río mítico Sambatión.

«However, the battle between the Mamelukes and the Tatars in Ein-Harod brought an abortive end to Abulafia's Palestinian travels in the city of Acre.» — el episodio que según Idel cortó ese viaje: la batalla entre mamelucos y tártaros en Ein-Harod, que lo dejó en Acre.

«He returned to Europe via Greece, where he was married, and after a few years he went on to Italy.» — el regreso que Idel le atribuye: Grecia, donde se casó, y luego Italia.

«There, in Capua, he studied philosophy and especially the Guide of the Perplexed with R. Hillel of Verona, and after some time returned to Catalonia.» — y la formación filosófica que le adjudica: en Capua estudió la Guía de los perplejos con R. Hillel de Verona.

«In 1270 he had a vision, in which he was commanded to meet with the» — la visión de 1270 en la que, según Idel, se le ordenó ir a ver al papa; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«pope. During that same period, and possibly in the same place, he began to study the Kabbalah, which he had earlier opposed, his studies being concentrated primarily on the commentaries of Sefer Y~irah.» — y el momento en que sitúa su entrada en la cábala, que antes había combatido, con los comentarios al Sefer Yezirah como estudio principal.

«From Catalonia he travelled to Castile, where he taught the Guide to R. Joseph Gikatilla and R. Moses b. Simeon of Burgos, two of the leading Castillian Kabbalists during the 1270's and 1280's.» — según Idel, en Castilla enseñó la Guía a R. Joseph Gikatilla y a R. Moses b. Simeon de Burgos, dos de los cabalistas castellanos principales de esas décadas.

«At the end of the decade, he again taught the Guide in the Greek cities of Thebes and Patros, and in 1279 returned to the Italian city of Capua, where he continued to teach the work of Maimonides.» — y el regreso a Capua en 1279, donde siguió enseñando la obra de Maimónides.

«Because of his peculiar method of studying the Guide, based on combinations of letters and similar linguistic techniques, as well as his messianic statements about his intention to meet with the pope, he was persecuted by his fellow Jews.» — la causa que Idel adjudica a su persecución: el método peculiar de estudiar la Guía por combinaciones de letras y las declaraciones mesiánicas sobre su intención de ver al papa.

«At the end of the Hebrew year 5040 (i.e., Fall 1280), he attempted to meet with Pope Nicholas Ill, who rejected these overtures.» — el intento de otoño de 1280 ante el papa Nicolás III, que según Idel rechazó los acercamientos; la grafía Nicholas Ill es la del facsímil.

«While the pope was still in his vacation palace in Soriano, near Rome, Abulafia made a daring attempt defying the pope's threats to burn him at the stake, and arrived at the castle.» — el atrevimiento que le atribuye: presentarse en Soriano desafiando la amenaza papal de quemarlo en la hoguera.

«However, soon after his arrival the pope suddenly died, thus saving Abulafia from a certain death.» — y el desenlace que consigna: la muerte súbita del papa poco después de su llegada.

«After a brief period of imprisonment in Rome by the "Little Brothers" -the Minorites-Abulafia left the Apennine Peninsula, arriving in Sicily in the year 1281, where he continued his literary and messianic activities.» — tras un encarcelamiento breve a manos de los Menores, Abulafia pasó en 1281 a Sicilia, donde según Idel siguió su actividad literaria y mesiánica.

«He succeeded in establishing not only a circle of students and admirers who "moved at his command," but apparently also opponents.» — el círculo de discípulos que Idel le reconoce allí, y también los adversarios.

«His prophetic and messianic pretensions evidently caused the leaders of the island to turn to R. Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (ca. 1235-ca. 1310, known as Rashba) for instructions on how to deal with this personality;» — la reacción que Idel narra: los dirigentes de la isla acudieron a ibn Adret para saber cómo tratar con él.

«and ibn Adret, who was both an halakhic sage and a Kabbalist, began an all-out war against Abulafia.» — y lo que ibn Adret, sabio halájico y cabalista a la vez, emprendió según Idel.

«Even if his letters against the ecstatic Kabbalist did not always find a sympathetic ear among Abulafia's many disciples in Sicily, there is no doubt that Abulafia's status was nevertheless severely damaged, and he was forced to go into exile on the island of Comtino near Sicily,» — el efecto que Idel le adjudica pese a la resistencia de los discípulos sicilianos: el daño severo a su estatus y el exilio en la isla de Comtino.

«The polemic between Abulafia and ibn Adret continued throughout the second half of the 1280s and concluded, insofar as we can tell, with Abulafia's death towards the end of the year 1291.» — y el término que le pone a la polémica: la muerte de Abulafia hacia el fin de 1291.

«In any event, there is no indication of any activity of Abulafia following that date.» — la abstención con que cierra la datación: no hay indicio de actividad suya después de esa fecha.

«Abulafia was an extremely prolific Kabbalist author, doubtless among the most fertile of the thirteenth century.» — el juicio de Idel sobre la productividad de Abulafia, al que llama de los más fértiles del siglo XIII.

«During a relatively short period of time, during the twenty years between 1271 and 1291, Abulafia composed nearly fifty works, long and short, which may be divided into several principle literary types:» — y la cuenta que da: unas cincuenta obras entre 1271 y 1291, repartibles en varios tipos literarios; *principle* por *principal*, errata del facsímil.

«The most significant and fully developed genre is that of handbooks for the acquisition of prophecy (i.e., ecstasy) and cleaving to God (devequt)-i.e., what is in contemporary language called mystical experience.» — el género que Idel pone por delante: manuales para adquirir la profecía —es decir el éxtasis— y la adhesión a Dios, el *devequt*, que en lengua contemporánea se llama experiencia mística.

«The most imyortant of these works are lfayyi ha-'Olam ha-Ba, referred to above; Or ha-Selfel, Imri Sefer, O!flr 'Eden Ganuz, and Sefer ha-lfdeq.» — los manuales que nombra, con las transliteraciones y erratas del facsímil, *imyortant* incluida.

«The former three enjoyed extensive circulation, at least insofar as is indicated by the large number of surviving manuscripts, and there can be no doubt that these enhanced Abulafia's prestige among Kabbalists.» — el indicio de circulación que aduce —el número de manuscritos supervivientes— y el prestigio que les atribuye entre los cabalistas.

«Abulafia composed a commentary on the Torah, entitled Sefer ha-Maftefwt, almost all of which is extant. He likewise interpreted Sefer Y~irah and Maimonides' Guide a number of times each, as well as the "prophetic books" which he himself composed.» — el segundo tipo, según Idel: comentario a la Torá, al Sefer Yezirah y a la Guía de Maimónides varias veces, y a sus propios libros proféticos.

«Beginning in 1279, Abulafia composed a series of "prophetic" books, the vast majority of which have been lost.» — el tercer tipo: la serie de libros proféticos empezada en 1279, casi toda perdida según Idel.

«Their nature is, however, apparent from the single work of this genre which has survived, Sefer ha-Ot, as well as from the extant interpretations which the author gives to his other works of this kind.» — y de dónde infiere su naturaleza: el único superviviente, el Sefer ha-Ot, y las interpretaciones que el propio autor dio a los demás.

«One may assume, on the basis of these two documents, that these books contained Abulafia's mystical and messianic visions, which he enjoyed during a very fruitful spiritual period.» — el grado con que formula el contenido: cabe suponer que contenían visiones místicas y mesiánicas de un periodo espiritual muy fecundo.

«There are also occasional works, such as epistles and poems, which constitute only a small part of his corpus; albeit, the epistles' contribution to our understanding of Abulafia's thought and his spiritual development is particularly significant.» — el cuarto tipo, las obras ocasionales, al que Idel concede peso pese a su volumen pequeño.

«All told, some thirty works or fragments of works written by Abulafia have survived, preserved in some one hundred manuscripts.» — la cuenta de lo conservado: unas treinta obras o fragmentos en un centenar de manuscritos.

«Only a very small proportion of his total oeuvre has been printed, and even this small number has had the misfortune to have been printed with many mistakes.» — y el estado de lo impreso, que Idel declara escaso y con muchos errores.

«It follows from this that in almost every case one needs to refer to the manuscripts-an unusual phenomenon if one is speaking about a key figure for the understanding of Kabbalah as a mystic phenomenon.» — la consecuencia que saca: hay que ir al manuscrito casi siempre, cosa insólita tratándose de una figura clave para entender la cábala como fenómeno místico.

«The refusal of the Kabbalists and printers to publish Abulafia's literary works creates great difficulties in clarifying his system and, as the reader will find below, the bulk of the material considered here comes from manuscripts scattered over different continents, awaiting a wider audience. This is the reason for our constant reliance upon manuscripts.» — a qué adjudica esa situación —la negativa de cabalistas e impresores a publicarlo— y por qué el libro se apoya constantemente en manuscritos.

«However, an understanding of Abulafia's mystical path cannot suffice with these written testimonies alone. There is considerable material extant from the period preceding him, such as the writings of the Ashkenazic Hasidim or those of R. Baruch Togarmi, from which Abulafia learned basic fundamental areas of his thought.» — lo que Idel declara insuficiente: los testimonios escritos de Abulafia solos, porque aprendió fundamentos de los hasidim askenazíes y de R. Baruch Togarmi.

«No less important are those works which were influenced by Abulafia's writings, such as the anonymous Sefer ha-~eruf and Ner Elohim; the works of R. Isaac of Acre, first and foremost the 6yzr lJayyim; Sacari Zedeq, attributed to R. Shem Tov Ibn Gaon; and R. Judah Albotini's Sullam ha-cAliyah.» — y las obras posteriores que declara igual de necesarias: el anónimo Sefer ha-Zeruf, Ner Elohim, la Ozar Hayyim de R. Isaac de Acre, el Sacare Zedeq atribuido a R. Shem Tov ibn Gaon y el Sullam ha-Aliyah de R. Judah Albotini.

«Thus, analysis of Abulafia's mysticism demands reference to an entire Kabbalistic school, spreading over many years and requires careful study of the writings of many different Kabbalists.» — la exigencia metodológica que enuncia: analizar la mística de Abulafia obliga a una escuela cabalística entera y a muchos cabalistas distintos.

«However, the difficulties entailed and the time demanded to master this extensive background are well justified, as only study of this type can enable us to understand the complex development and spread of ecstatic Kabbalah of the Abulafian type through various regions-Italy, Greece, Palestine6-and assist us in comprehending properly that most important contemporary mystical phenomenon: Hasidism.» — y lo que justifica ese costo, según él: entender la difusión de la cábala extática por Italia, Grecia y Palestina y comprender el jasidismo.

«The present work will clarify only a few of these questions, and others will be dealt with elsewhere, while such major questions as the contribution of ecstatic Kabbalah to the shaping of Hasidic mysticism» — la reserva con que cierra la sección: el libro aclara solo algunas de esas cuestiones; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana, y del otro lado la frase acaba diciendo que la contribución de la cábala extática al jasidismo requerirá todavía mucha aclaración.

«The present study represents the first in-depth study of a central subject in ecstatic Kabbalah-that of the religious experience.» — cómo sitúa Idel su propio libro: el primer estudio a fondo de un asunto central de la cábala extática, el de la experiencia religiosa.

«The material presented here is essentially an expansion and reworking of one section of a more extensive work devoted to Abulafia's thought, presented as a doctoral dissertation at the Hebrew University under the guidance of Professor Shlomo Pines.» — y su procedencia: la ampliación y reelaboración de una sección de su tesis doctoral en la Universidad Hebrea, dirigida por Shlomo Pines.

«Since its original presentation in 1976, I have published a number of articles concerning matters which I did not discuss at length in the dissertation, and the data presented in those studies enriched my own perception of Kabbalah in general and of ecstatic Kabbalah in particular.» — el intervalo que declara desde 1976 y lo que dice haber aprendido de sus artículos posteriores.

«Several chapters from the dissertation have been reworked from a broader perspective, derived from ten years of additional study. The present expansion also includes significant new material, based on the study of hundreds of manuscripts.» — la reelaboración que declara, con diez años más de estudio y material nuevo de cientos de manuscritos.

«Some of this material has been identified for the first time as belonging to the school of ecstatic Kabbalah and was previously unknown in the research literature.» — y lo que reclama como identificación primera: material adscrito por él a la escuela de la cábala extática y desconocido hasta entonces en la literatura de investigación.

«My method of dealing with Abulafia's thought has been to gather the relevant material from the scores of manuscripts and to present it, with the intention of enabling the reader to have unmediated connection with the texts, but also to interpret them, both by presenting them within a specific context, as well as by deciphering the allusions and sources of the author.» — el método que enuncia: reunir el material disperso de decenas de manuscritos, presentarlo para que el lector tenga contacto sin mediación con los textos, y a la vez interpretarlo situándolo en contexto y descifrando alusiones y fuentes.

«The success or failure of this approach may only be judged by the overall picture thereby created, which wiD hopefully contain fewer internal contradictions and wiD clarify to the reader matters which are discussed in Abulafia's writings in scattered places and in fragmentary form.» — y cómo pide que se juzgue: por el cuadro de conjunto resultante, con menos contradicciones internas y más claro que lo que en Abulafia está disperso y fragmentario; *wiD* por *will*, errata del facsímil.

«I would like to conclude this introduction by describing several characteristics of Abulafian Kabbalah in comparison with that of the theosophical-theurgic school-that is to say, that Kabbalah which concentrated upon discussions concerning the nature of the Sefirot (theosophy) and the theurgical significance of the mi~wot, i.e., the ability of the Kabbalist to alter the Sefirotic system, which had been» — el propósito con que cierra la introducción: describir rasgos de la cábala abulafiana frente a la escuela teosófico-teúrgica, la que se ocupa de la naturaleza de las sefirot y del sentido teúrgico de los mandamientos; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«hurt by the sin of Adam. 19 Abulafia describes this system with two basic terms: prophetic Kabbalah and the Kabbalah of Names.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: el sistema sefirótico dañado por el pecado de Adán, y los dos términos con que Abulafia nombra el suyo propio, cábala profética y cábala de los Nombres.

«The former term (which I have generally translated as ecstatic Kabbalah in the body of this work) refers to the goal of this mystical path: namely, the attainment of 'prophecy' or 'ecstasy,' i. e., manifestations of revelation and union with the Divine (devequt), designated by the classical term prophecy (nevu)ah) in the absence of any other more suitable, comprehensive term.» — Idel declara la traducción que él mismo emplea —cábala extática por cábala profética— y qué designa: la obtención de profecía o éxtasis, revelación y unión con lo divino, el devequt, bajo el término clásico de profecía por falta de otro más amplio.

«The second term, the Kabbalah of Names, refers to the esoteric traditions concerning the nature of the Divine Names and their use in order to attain ecstasy.» — y qué designa el segundo término, según Idel: las tradiciones esotéricas sobre la naturaleza de los nombres divinos y su uso para alcanzar el éxtasis.

«The two terms are not new in principle and were at most adjusted to the needs of Abulafia's particular system.» — el grado con que acota la novedad: los dos términos no son nuevos en principio y a lo sumo fueron ajustados al sistema de Abulafia.

«This Kabbalah is distinguished from the other Kabbalistic systems of its time both by the essential purpose of ecstatic Kabbalah, as well as by the techniques for its attainment.» — los dos ejes por los que Idel la distingue de los demás sistemas cabalísticos de su tiempo: el propósito esencial y las técnicas para alcanzarlo.

«In the extensive Kabbalistic literature composed during the last third of the thirteenth century in Catalonia and Castile, a central place is given to discussions concerning the nature of the divine system, including both its deepest and most remote level-the En Sof (the Infinite)-and its revealed aspect-the ten Sefirot.» — lo que ocupa el lugar central en la literatura cabalística catalana y castellana del último tercio del siglo XIII, según Idel: el sistema divino desde el En Sof hasta las diez sefirot.

«An additional characteristic of this literature is the stress upon the role of the mi~wot, whose performance in the Kabbalistic manner, with the intention of actualizing the effect of these acts upon the Divine world, is a basic element of Spanish Kabbalah, and specifically of Sefer ha-Zohar.» — el segundo rasgo que le adjudica: el peso de los mandamientos cumplidos con intención de actualizar su efecto sobre el mundo divino, base de la cábala española y del Zohar.

«This complex doctrine of Divinity, developed above and beyond that which existed in a Kabbalah at the beginning of the thirteenth century, was alien to the spirit of Abulafia, who sees in it a danger of heresy.» — y lo que Idel dice que Abulafia veía en esa doctrina compleja de la divinidad: un peligro de herejía, ajeno a su espíritu.

«He accuses certain Kabbalists-apparently referring to Ibn Adret, among others-of being even worse than Christians: while the latter believe in a triune God, the Sefirotic Kabbalists believe in a system of ten distinct divine forces!» — la acusación que le atribuye, con su propio grado de conjetura sobre el destinatario: los cabalistas sefiróticos serían peores que los cristianos, porque donde éstos creen en un Dios trino aquéllos creen en diez fuerzas divinas distintas.

«Abulafia advocates a theology similar to that of Maimonides in lieu of the Kabbalistic theosophy; he stresses primarily the understanding of God as IntellectlIntelligible/Act of Intellection, a definition allowing, as we shall see below, for the union of the actualized human intellect and the divine Intellect.» — la teología que Idel le adjudica en lugar de la teosofía cabalística: cercana a Maimónides, con Dios entendido como Intelecto, Inteligible y Acto de intelección, definición que permite la unión del intelecto humano actualizado con el divino.

«The position of the mipgot is also different in Abulafian Kabbalah from that in classical Spanish Kabbalah.» — y el lugar distinto que ocupan los mandamientos en su cábala frente a la española clásica; la transliteración corrompida es la del facsímil.

«While the Kabbalists of Castile and Catalonia stress the mystical path which travels via the performance of the mi~wot, Abulafia teaches a completely different way, consisting primarily of the pronunciation of Divine Names and a complex technique involving such components as breathing, singing and movements of the head, which have nothing whatsoever to so with the traditional» — la vía completamente distinta que según Idel enseña Abulafia: la pronunciación de los nombres divinos y una técnica compleja de respiración, canto y movimientos de la cabeza, sin relación con los mandamientos; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana y *to so* es errata por *to do*.

«Another significant and striking difference between ecstatic Kabbalah and the theosophical-theurgic is manifested in their respective exegetical approaches.» — el tercer eje de diferencia que Idel señala: el enfoque exegético de cada corriente.

«While that of Abraham Abulafia is filled with uses of numerology and plays on lettersgematria, notariqon, and letter-combinations (~erufa otiot)-as may be' seen from his commentaries, the main bulk of Spanish Kabbalistic exegesis is essentially symbolic, and only in passing do they make use of the methods favored by Abulafia.» — el contraste que traza: numerología y juegos de letras —gematria, notariqon y combinación de letras— en Abulafia, frente a una exégesis española simbólica que solo de paso usa esos métodos; el impreso separa *letters* y *gematria* con una raya que la capa de texto rinde como guion de fin de renglón, y span() los une.

«In using these methods, this ecstatic Kabbalist followed in the footsteps of the Ashkenazic Hasidim, as he also did in his mystical techniques based upon letter-combinations and pronunciations.» — y de quién dice que los toma: los hasidim askenazíes, tanto en esos métodos como en las técnicas místicas de combinación y pronunciación.

«Another difference between these two branches of Kabbalah is to be found in their relationship towards the community or the public.» — el cuarto eje: la relación de cada rama con la comunidad o el público.

«Abulafia, more than any other Kabbalist who preceded him, stressed the need for isolation in order to achieve prophetic ecstasy.» — lo que Idel le adjudica en ese punto: haber subrayado la necesidad de aislamiento para alcanzar el éxtasis profético más que ningún cabalista anterior.

«This elevation of the ideal of separation or withdrawal from society in order to attain religious perfection developed simultaneous with the emphasis in theurgic Kabbalah upon the communal religious service within a community of mystics, as expressed in SeIer ha-Zohar.» — y la simultaneidad que registra: ese ideal de separación crece a la vez que el énfasis de la cábala teúrgica en el servicio religioso comunitario dentro de una comunidad de místicos.

«This school turned towards the [ulvurah, the mystical confraternity, the combined force of whose members is able to repair the Divine world, and through that world the entire cosmos.» — la cofradía mística a la que dice que se vuelve esa escuela, cuya fuerza conjunta puede reparar el mundo divino y con él el cosmos; la transliteración corrompida es la del facsímil.

«Finally, an interesting difference which does not pertain directly to the different Kabbalistic systems, but to the biographies of their leading figures: namely, that the vast majority of the works of the ecstatic Kabbalah were written by itinerant Kabbalists.» — el último rasgo que añade, biográfico y no doctrinal: la mayoría de las obras de la cábala extática las escribieron cabalistas itinerantes.

«This was the case with Abulafia; this was also, apparently, the fate of Sacare ~edeq, by his own testimony, and of R. Isaac of Acre.» — y a quiénes lo extiende, con su grado: Abulafia, el autor del Sacare Zedeq por su propio testimonio y R. Isaac de Acre.

«By contrast, through the 1280's we do not know of any Kabbalists who contributed to the formation of the theosophical-theurgic Kabbalah whose lives were uprooted.» — el contraste con la otra corriente: hasta la década de 1280 no se conoce cabalista teosófico-teúrgico de vida desarraigada.

«At most, one hears of a move from Catalonia to Provence and back again, or visits to the various cities of Castile, but not of migration from one continent to another.» — y el alcance máximo de sus desplazamientos, según Idel: Cataluña, Provenza y las ciudades de Castilla, nunca de un continente a otro.

«Many of the Spanish Kabbalists-such as Nahmanides, ibn Adret, and R. Todros Abulafia -resided permanently in the major cities and constituted the religious establishment.» — quiénes formaban según él el establecimiento religioso: Nahmánides, ibn Adret y R. Todros Abulafia, residentes fijos en las ciudades mayores.

«On the other hand, the ecstatic Kabbalists found difficulty in striking roots in anyone place, but tended to wander about without being subject to any system of authority for any extended period of time.» — y la condición opuesta que atribuye a los extáticos: dificultad para arraigar y andar errante sin someterse mucho tiempo a ninguna autoridad.

«If we add to this the tension that grew up between Abulafia, the spokesman of the ecstatic Kabbalah, and R. Solomon ibn Adret, who was among the major representatives of the theosophical-theurgic Kabbalah, we may conclude by saying that» — la tensión entre Abulafia y R. Solomon ibn Adret como último dato de la comparación; el tramo se corta aquí por el cambio de plana.

«we have two mystical schools whose ideational and experiential structure differ from one another in the most radical conceivable manner.» — y la conclusión al otro lado del corte: dos escuelas místicas cuya estructura ideacional y experiencial difieren del modo más radical concebible.

«Abulafia was considered by the Christian Kabbalist Johannes Reuchlin21 as a pillar of Christian Kabbalah,22 as well as one of the two pillars of Jewish Kabbalah.» — la recepción que Idel registra: el cabalista cristiano Johannes Reuchlin lo tuvo por pilar de la cábala cristiana y por uno de los dos pilares de la judía.

«Christian Kabbalah is based to a considerable extent upon the thought of Abulafia, whose writings were translated into Latin and Italian.» — y el alcance que le da: la cábala cristiana se apoya en buena medida en el pensamiento de Abulafia, cuyos escritos se tradujeron al latín y al italiano.

«I intend to devote a lengthy discussion elsewhere to the details of the polemic between Abulafia and Ibn Adret, one of the main records of which is found in this responsum of the latter.» — en las notas a la introducción Idel anuncia un estudio aparte sobre la polémica entre Abulafia e ibn Adret, cuyo registro principal sitúa en el responsum citado.

«In practice, Ya§ar of Candia copied the attack of R. Judah Hayyat, found in the introduction to his Commentary to Macare!et ha-Elohut (Mantua, 1558), fol. 3b of the introduction.» — la filiación que establece para el ataque: del Medigo de Candia copió el de R. Judah Hayyat en la introducción a su comentario al Macarefet ha-Elohut de Mantua, 1558.

«It is astonishing that a person as expert in Kabbalistic literature as R. Azulai saw fit to mention Ya§ar's copy of this attack rather than the original, cited here explicitly at the end of Chap. 11.» — y el reparo que Idel le hace a Azulai en nota: le extraña que un experto tal citara la copia del ataque y no el original.

«The most important sources for Abulafia's life were published by Jellinek, Bet ha-Midra§, 1lI, pp. xl-xlii, and Idel, "Abraham Abulafia and the Pope." See also idem., "Maimonides and the Kabbalah," on Abulafia as teacher of the Guide of the Perplexed (in press).» — las fuentes que declara para la vida de Abulafia: las publicadas por Jellinek en el Bet ha-Midrash y trabajos propios, uno de ellos anunciado como en prensa.

«For a full listing of Abulafia's original works-both those that have been preserved and those that were destroyed-and the material ascribed to him or belonging to his circle, see Idel, Abraham Abulafia, pp. 3-85.» — y adónde remite para el catálogo completo de las obras de Abulafia, conservadas o destruidas, y de lo que se le atribuye o pertenece a su círculo: su propia tesis.

«A braham Abulafia's system differs from that of other medieval ~ Jewish thinkers in presenting a detailed, systematic path enabling the seeker to attain to mystical experience.» — la tesis con que Idel abre el capítulo primero: el sistema de Abulafia se distingue del de otros pensadores judíos medievales por presentar una vía detallada y sistemática hacia la experiencia mística; la separación de la capital adornada es del escaneo.

«In this system various concepts used to describe reality by Arab and Jewish philosophers are transformed into subjects of personal experience by means of a suitable technique.» — lo que según Idel hace esa técnica: convertir en materia de experiencia personal conceptos con que los filósofos árabes y judíos describían la realidad.

«This technique paves the way towards the zenith of mysticism: the total unity between man's intellect and the supreme Being, whether this is understood as God or as the Active Intellect.» — y hacia dónde dice que lleva: la unidad total entre el intelecto del hombre y el Ser supremo, entendido como Dios o como Intelecto Agente.

«While other medieval thinkers as well saw this experience as their soul's desire, which they strove to attain with all their strength, we nevertheless do not find in philosophical works of this period any detailed, specific instructions as to the means of realizing such contact.» — el contraste que traza: otros pensadores medievales desearon esa experiencia, pero en las obras filosóficas del periodo no se hallan instrucciones detalladas para realizar el contacto.

«The discussions by R. Abraham ibn Ezra and Maimonides and by their disciples concerning the nature of 'prophecy,' in which they saw the hallmark of this ideal experience are not to be read as concrete instructions, rooted in a specific path towards the realization of the desired goal.» — y cómo pide leer las discusiones de ibn Ezra, Maimónides y sus discípulos sobre la profecía: no como instrucciones concretas arraigadas en una vía específica.

«They rather describe a phenomenon from the distant past, namely, Biblical prophecy, without claiming-although not explicitly denying-that similar experiences are possible within their own generation.» — sino como descripción de un fenómeno del pasado remoto, la profecía bíblica, sin afirmar —aunque tampoco negarlo de modo explícito— que experiencias semejantes sean posibles en su propia generación.

«In my opinion, the path propounded by Abulafia in his books is an adaptation of the Jewish mystical traditions which he had learned from the Ashkenazic world of Franco-Germany to the spiritual needs» — la hipótesis que Idel marca como opinión propia: la vía de Abulafia adapta tradiciones místicas judías aprendidas del mundo askenazí francoalemán a las necesidades espirituales de otro público; el tramo se corta antes del folio impreso al pie de la plana.

«of Jews educated within the philosophical schools of Spain and Italy, which primarily thought in Maimonidean concepts.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: judíos de España e Italia que pensaban ante todo en conceptos maimonidianos.

«To these were added elements originating in mystical techniques outside of Judaism-Greek-Orthodox hesychasm, Indian Yoga and possibly also Sufism.» — y los elementos externos al judaísmo que suma, con su grado: el hesicasmo greco-ortodoxo, el yoga indio y posiblemente el sufismo.

«The last mentioned is, however, primarily visible in the writings of his students, rather than in Abulafia's own writings.» — la acotación que le pone al sufismo: se ve sobre todo en los escritos de los discípulos, no en los de Abulafia.

«As recitation of the Divine Names was the main technique developed by this school, we shall begin our discussion with this topic.» — y por qué empieza por ahí: la recitación de los nombres divinos es para Idel la técnica principal desarrollada por esta escuela.

«The recitation of the Name or Names of God as a means of attaining ecstasy is a widely-known mystical practice, playing a significant role in techniques known from India, Tibet and Japan, in Islam and in Orthodox Christianity.» — el marco comparativo que Idel abre: la recitación del Nombre o de los Nombres de Dios como práctica mística de amplia difusión, con papel en la India, el Tíbet, Japón, el islam y el cristianismo ortodoxo.

«Before discussing Abulafia's system, however, we shall examine the Jewish precedents for use of the Divine Names in order to achieve ~hanges in human consciousness.» — el orden que declara: examinar primero los precedentes judíos del uso de los nombres divinos para producir cambios en la consciencia humana.

«When a man wishes to ascend to the Merkavah, he calls to Suryah,the Prince of the Presence, and adjures him one hundred and twelve times with the Name fwfrsy'y h', which is read fwfrsy'y ~wrfq fWfrky'l fwfgr 'srwyly'y zbwdy'l wzhrry'l tnd'l §qhwzy' dhybwryn w'dyrryrwn Ha-Shem Elohei Yisra'el.» — el precedente tardoantiguo que Idel traduce del Hekhalot Rabbati: quien quiere ascender a la Merkavá conjura ciento doce veces al príncipe de la presencia con un nombre que el facsímil transcribe así, sin vocales.

«He may neither add nor subtract from these one hundred and twelve times-for were he to add or subtract he might lose his life-but he shall recite the names with his mouth, and the fingers of his hands shall count one hundred twelve times-and immediately he ascends to and rules the Merkavah.» — y la condición que ese texto impone, según la traducción de Idel: ni añadir ni quitar, recitar los nombres con la boca contando con los dedos ciento doce veces, y de inmediato asciende a la Merkavá y la gobierna.

«His mouth utters names and the fingers of his hands count one hundred eleven times; so shall whoever makes use of this aspect [i,e., technique], let his mouth utter names and the fingers of his hands count one hundred eleven times, and he must not subtract from these names, for if he adds or subtracts, he may lose his life.» — el pasaje paralelo de otro tratado de la misma literatura, donde el número es ciento once y la advertencia de perder la vida se repite.

«Both these passages would seem to imply that this refers to an established custom connected with the "descent to the Merkavah."» — la lectura que Idel propone de los dos pasajes, con su grado: parecen implicar una costumbre establecida ligada al descenso a la Merkavá.

«And likewise [regarding] a dream question: there were several elders and pious men who [lived] with us who knew them [the Names] and fasted for several days, neither eating meat nor drinking wine, [staying] in a pure place and praying and reciting great and well-known verses and [their] letters by number, and they went to sleep and saw wondrous dreams similar to a prophetic vision.» — el responsum de R. Hai Gaon que Idel traduce: ancianos y piadosos que conocían los Nombres ayunaban varios días, sin carne ni vino, en lugar puro, rezando y recitando versículos y sus letras por número, y veían sueños maravillosos semejantes a visión profética.

«Many scholars thought that, when one who is distinguished by many qualities described in the books seeks to behold the Merkavah and the palaces of the angels on high, he must fast a number of days and place his head between his knees and whisper many hymns and songs whose texts are known from tradition. Then he will perceive within himself and in the chambers [of his heart] as if he saw the seven palaces with his own eyes, and as though he had entered one palace after another and seen what is there» — el segundo responsum que traduce: quien busca contemplar la Merkavá y los palacios ayuna, pone la cabeza entre las rodillas y susurra himnos conocidos por tradición, y percibe dentro de sí los siete palacios como si los viera con sus ojos.

«In my opinion, this refers to the use of the Divine Name of seventy-two letters: the "great and well-known verses" are probably the three verses, Exodus 14:19-21, each one of which contains seventy-two letters in the Hebrew original, i.e., "letters in number."» — la lectura que Idel opone marcándola como propia: se trataría del Nombre divino de setenta y dos letras, y los versículos grandes y conocidos serían Éxodo 14:19-21, de setenta y dos letras cada uno en el original hebreo.

«The second quotation also seems to me to be connected with the use of Divine Names.» — y el grado con que extiende esa lectura a la segunda cita.

«Pardes is that which is expounded in He!gllot Rabbati and Helfalot Zutrafi; i.e., that they would perform certain actions, and pray in purity, and use the crown and see the Helfalot and the bands of angels in their position, and see how there was one chamber after another, and one within another.» — lo que el Sefer ha-Aruk de R. Nathan b. Jehiel de Roma transmite en nombre de R. Hai Gaon, según la traducción de Idel: el Pardés es lo expuesto en los Hekhalot, con acciones, oración en pureza, uso de la corona y visión de los palacios y de las bandas de ángeles.

«cleansed themselves of all impurity, and fasted and bathed themselves and became pure, and they used the names and gazed at the He}gllot.» — continuación del testimonio de Rabbenu Hananel sobre los sabios que entraron al Pardés, en la traducción de Idel: se limpiaron de toda impureza, ayunaron, se bañaron y usaron los nombres.

«In Rashi's opinion, the ascent to heaven signifying the entry into Pardes was performed "by means of a name."» — y la opinión que Idel le atribuye a Rashi: el ascenso al cielo que significa la entrada al Pardés se hacía por medio de un nombre.

«A vision (mareh) occurs when a man is awake and reflects upon the wonders of God, or when he does not reflect upon them, but pronounces the Holy Names or those of the angels, in order that he be shown [whatever] he wishes or be informed of a hidden matter-and the Holy Spirit then reveals itself to him, and he knows that he is a worm and that his flesh is like a garment, and he trembles and shakes from the power of the Holy Spirit, and is unable to stand it. Then that man stands up like one who is faint, and does not know where he is standing, nor does he see or hear or feel his body, but his soul sees and hears-and this is called vision and sight, and this is the matter of most prophecy.» — la descripción del Sefer ha-Hayyim, atribuido a R. Abraham ibn Ezra, que Idel traduce: pronunciados los Nombres santos o los de los ángeles, el espíritu santo se revela, el hombre tiembla, queda como desvanecido y no ve ni oye ni siente su cuerpo, pero su alma ve y oye.

«And two of those who were lacking in knowledge [among] the schismatics [thought] to make themselves prophets, and they were accustomed to recite Holy Names, and at times performed kawwanot during this recitation, and the soul was astounded, and the body fell down and was exhausted. But for such as these there is no barrier to the soul, and the soul becomes the principle thing [in their constitution] and sees afar; [but] after one hour, when the power of that Name which had been mentioned departs, he returns to what he was, with a confused mind.» — el testimonio hostil de R. Moses Taku en su Ketav Tammim, en la traducción de Idel: los que recitaban Nombres santos con kawwanot quedaban con el alma atónita y el cuerpo caído, veían lejos y al cabo de una hora volvían a lo que eran con la mente confusa; el *sic* del corchete es de Idel.

«The last two passages corroborate one another: during the procedures of reciting the Names, the body trembles violently, freeing the soul from its dependence upon the senses and creating a new form of consciousness.» — lo que Idel lee en los dos testimonios juntos: durante la recitación el cuerpo tiembla con violencia, lo que libera al alma de su dependencia de los sentidos y crea una forma nueva de consciencia.

«The process is in both cases compared to prophecy; one should note that prophecy is also mentioned, in a similar context, in R. Hai Gaon's previously quoted words: "similar to a prophetic vision.» — y el término común que subraya: en ambos casos el proceso se compara con la profecía, como en las palabras ya citadas de R. Hai Gaon.

«R. Eleazar of Worms (ca. 1165-<:a. 1230, the Roqea~), a contemporary of the above-mentioned anonymous author of Sefer ha-IJayyim, also knew the technique of recitation of the Names of» — el otro askenazí que Idel suma, R. Eleazar de Worms, contemporáneo del anónimo del Sefer ha-Hayyim; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana y las grafías corrompidas son las del facsímil.

«God-a usage likely to bring about results similar to those mentioned in the works of R. Hai Gaon or in SeIer ha-l;layyim. These are his comments in SeIer ha-l;lo!Jnah:» — continuación al otro lado del corte, con el grado que Idel le pone: un uso que probablemente daba resultados semejantes a los de R. Hai Gaon o del Sefer ha-Hayyim.

«Ahg yt;13-these the six letters, each and every letter [standing for] a [Divine] name in its own right14; A - Adiriron; B - Bihariron ; G - Gihariron; Y - Yagbihayah; T - Talmiyah; ~ - Yltnitayah. By rights, one oughtn't to write everything or to vocalize them, lest those lacking in knowledge and those taken [sic-should be 'stricken'] in understanding and of negligible wisdom use them.» — el pasaje de R. Eleazar de Worms que Idel traduce: seis letras, cada una un nombre divino por derecho propio, que en rigor no debieran escribirse ni vocalizarse para que no las usen los faltos de conocimiento; la llamada de nota queda pegada a la palabra en el facsímil.

«However, Abraham our father passed on the name of impurity to the children of the concubines, in order that they not know the future by means of idolatry. IS Thus, some future things and spirits were revealed to us by means of the [Divine] attributes, through the pronunciation of the depths of the Names, in order to know the spirit of wisdom-thus far the Sefer Yirqa~.» — y el resto del mismo pasaje: Abraham pasó el nombre de impureza a los hijos de las concubinas para que no supieran el futuro por idolatría, y por la pronunciación de las profundidades de los Nombres se revelaron cosas futuras y espíritus.

«R. Eleazar of Worms' statements reflect an awareness of the antiquity of involvement in Divine Names and their recitation as a means of acquiring knowledge of the future or various wisdoms; the patriarch Abraham already knew these secrets and attempted to conceal them from the children of the concubines, and they were subsequently passed down from generation to generation until the Jewish medieval mystics.» — lo que Idel lee ahí: conciencia de la antigüedad del trato con los nombres divinos, con los secretos de Abraham transmitidos de generación en generación hasta los místicos judíos medievales.

«The expression, "pronunciation of the depths of the names," is particularly interesting in light of the fact that Abulafia-who explicitly admits to Eleazar's influence-was to see his own Kabbalah, that of Names, as the deepest path within the Jewish esoteric tradition.» — y la expresión que le interesa: Abulafia, que admite explícitamente el influjo de Eleazar, iba a ver su propia cábala de los Nombres como la vía más profunda de la tradición esotérica judía.

«All of these quotations share the fact that they were formulated outside of the framework of the great speculative systems of the age-the Aristotelian and the Neoplatonic.» — el rasgo común que Idel les atribuye a todas esas citas: se formularon fuera del marco de los grandes sistemas especulativos de la época.

«Upon the emergence of philosophy, the use of Divine Names became transformed into a means for realizing forms of consciousness which transcend the ordinary frame of mind.» — el giro que Idel data con la aparición de la filosofía: el uso de los nombres divinos se convierte en medio para realizar formas de consciencia que trascienden el estado ordinario de la mente.

«The attainment of [knowledge of] the existence of God is the highest form, including three kinds of comprehension (hasagah),18 which are: conceptual comprehension, prophetic comprehension, and that comprehension which is hidden until the coming of the Righteous one, who shall teach [it].» — los tres grados de comprensión que Idel traduce de las Ginze ha-Melek de R. Isaac ibn Latif: conceptual, profética y la que queda oculta hasta la venida del Justo que la enseñará.

«The first kind is the comprehension of the existence of a first cause for all [things], by means of conclusive» — el primer grado según ese texto: la comprensión de que hay una causa primera de todas las cosas, alcanzada por pruebas concluyentes; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«proofs: this is speculative philosophical comprehension, grasped through knowledge of those things which exist apart from the First Cause.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: comprensión filosófica especulativa, aprehendida por el conocimiento de lo que existe aparte de la causa primera.

«The second kind is comprehension that the First Cause acts by a simple will, designated as spiritual speech, and this is [known as] prophetic comprehension, grasped by means of the Divine influx emanated upon the prophets by knowledge of the secret of His glorious names, through the comprehension of each one of them» — el segundo grado: que la causa primera obra por voluntad simple, llamada habla espiritual, y ésa es la comprensión profética, aprehendida por el influjo divino emanado sobre los profetas mediante el secreto de sus nombres gloriosos; el tramo se corta aquí por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«and of their wholeness; this level is one to which the master of conceptual speculation has no entry.» — y el cierre de ese grado al otro lado del corte: un nivel al que el maestro de la especulación conceptual no tiene entrada.

«The third kind is comprehension of this knowledge by means of the Name which is completely and utterly hidden [and] described as within, and this is the essence and the highest of comprehensions, and it is this one which is reserved in the future for those who fear God and contemplate His name [Malachi 3:16].» — y el tercero: comprensión por el Nombre entera y absolutamente oculto, la más alta, reservada para quienes temen a Dios y contemplan su nombre.

«The first kind of understanding mentioned here is that of natural theology based upon philosophy, which is the province of "scholars of speculation.» — la lectura que Idel hace del primer grado: teología natural fundada en la filosofía, propia de los llamados maestros de la especulación.

«The second is a combination of the approach of R. Solomon ibn Gabirol (ca. 1020-<:a. 1057; known in Latin as "Avicebrol"), which asserts the identity of will and speech,19 and speculation upon the Divine Names.» — y del segundo: combinación de la identidad entre voluntad y habla que sostiene R. Solomon ibn Gabirol, el Avicebrón latino, con la especulación sobre los nombres divinos.

«At the time, the explicit connection between prophecy and contemplation of the Divine Names was an unusual one and, in my opinion, is indicative of the penetration into Ibn Latif's thought of a view from one of Abulafia's sources.» — el grado con que Idel formula su inferencia: ese enlace explícito entre profecía y contemplación de los nombres era entonces inusual, y a su juicio indica que en el pensamiento de ibn Latif penetró una idea venida de alguna fuente de Abulafia.

«The third kind of comprehension mentioned above involves the hidden Name of God; this is an allusion to the Name 'hwy, which was considered the hidden Name of God both by the circle of Seter hIl-'Iyyun and by Abulafia.» — y el tercero: alusión al Nombre oculto que tanto el círculo del Sefer ha-Iyyun como Abulafia tenían por tal; las transliteraciones corrompidas son las del facsímil.

«The similarity to Abulafia is particularly great, as both Abulafia and Ibn Latif believed that knowledge of the hidden Name of God will be realized in the times of Messiah.» — el punto en que Idel los acerca más: los dos creían que el conocimiento del Nombre oculto de Dios se realizará en los tiempos del Mesías.

«What we have seen in some of the books of those sages22 concerning the division of the names is that one who has knowledge of their essence will have a great and wondrous superiority in Torah and wisdom and prophecy above all his contemporaries. These are the things which God has chosen above all else in the world of the soul; therefore, He has given them to the soul in potentia, and when they go from potentia to actu, the soul acts on another soul, so that the souls are renewed, and this knowledge shall save many souls from Sheol.» — el pasaje del Ozar Eden Ganuz de Abulafia que Idel traduce: quien conoce la esencia de la división de los nombres tiene superioridad grande y maravillosa en Torá, sabiduría y profecía, y ese conocimiento salva del Sheol a muchas almas.

«Three different approaches to the Divine Names appear in this passage: that true knowledge of the Names is liable to make one wise;» — los tres enfoques que Idel distingue en ese pasaje, empezando por el primero: que el conocimiento verdadero de los Nombres puede hacer sabio.

«that they are capable of bringing an individual to the level of» — el segundo enfoque que Idel distingue en el pasaje de Abulafia: que los Nombres pueden llevar a un individuo a cierto nivel; el tramo se corta aquí por el cambio de plana, y del otro lado la frase dice que ese nivel es el de la profecía.

«prophecy, i.e., to a mystical experience; and that they contain hidden powers to change reality by "renewal" of souls.» — y el tercero, ya en la plana siguiente: que contienen poderes ocultos para cambiar la realidad por la renovación de las almas.

«All three of the approaches combined here-the informative, the magical, and the ecstatic-were present within the circle of Kabbalists whom Abulafia knew.» — el uso que hace de esa tríada: los tres enfoques —informativo, mágico y extático— estaban presentes en el círculo de cabalistas que Abulafia conoció.

«It is truly known that those prophets who concentrated intensely in deed and in thought, more so than other people of their species, and whose pure thoughts cleaved to the Rock of the World with purity and great cleanliness-that the supernal Divine will intended to show miracles and wonders through them, to sanctify His great Name, and that they received an influx of the supernal inner emanation by virtue of the Divine names, to perform miraculous actions in physical things, working changes in nature.» — el pasaje de R. Moses b. Simeon de Burgos que Idel traduce: los profetas de pensamiento puro adherido a la Roca del Mundo recibían por virtud de los nombres divinos un influjo de la emanación interior superna para obrar milagros en las cosas físicas.

«These words of R. Moses of Burgos indicate that a technique for receiving prophetic flow by means of Divine Names was known in Spain in the second half of the thirteenth century.» — lo que Idel lee en ese pasaje: que en España, en la segunda mitad del siglo XIII, se conocía una técnica para recibir el flujo profético por medio de los nombres divinos.

«As we shall see below in the chapter on prophecy and music, Abulafia's approach to music was likewise known to the circle of R. Moses of Burgos.» — y el adelanto que hace de otro capítulo: el enfoque musical de Abulafia también era conocido en ese círculo.

«Before we continue to analyze Abulafia's technique, I should like to mention one feature common to all the passages quoted above: namely, that they refer to the Divine Names as distinct linguistic units, which the one 'prophesying' must repeat several times.» — el rasgo común que Idel subraya en todos los pasajes citados antes: tratan los nombres divinos como unidades lingüísticas distintas que el que profetiza debe repetir varias veces.

«In these passages, the Name is not broken down into a multitude of units, which constantly change by means of different combinations and vocalizations.» — y lo que en ellos no ocurre: el Nombre no se descompone en multitud de unidades que cambien sin cesar por combinaciones y vocalizaciones distintas.

«This technique of breaking-down or atomizing the Name is the most distinctive characteristic of Abulafia's technique;» — lo que Idel declara rasgo más distintivo de la técnica de Abulafia: esa descomposición o atomización del Nombre.

«the Holy Name contains within itself 'scientific' readings of the structure of the world and its activities, thereby possessing both an 'informative' character and magical powers.» — lo que el Nombre santo contiene según ese planteamiento: lecturas científicas de la estructura del mundo y de sus actividades, con carácter informativo y poderes mágicos a la vez.

«It is reasonable to assume that both qualities are associated with the peculiar structure of the Name.» — el grado con que Idel enlaza esas dos cualidades a la estructura peculiar del Nombre.

«However, in Abulafia's view this structure must be destroyed in order to exploit the 'proph~tic' potential of these Names and to create a series of new structures by means of letter» — y lo que dice que exige la vista de Abulafia: destruir esa estructura para explotar el potencial profético de los Nombres y crear series nuevas; la palabra se corta por el guion de fin de renglón.

«In the course of the changes taking place in the structure of the Name, the structure of human consciousness likewise changes.» — el paralelismo que Idel establece: mientras cambia la estructura del Nombre, cambia también la de la consciencia humana.

«As Abulafia indicated in a number of places,25 the Divine Name is inscribed upon man's soul, making it reasonable to assume that the process of letter-combination worked upon the Name is understood as occurring simultaneously in the human soul: "In the thoughts of your mind combine and be purified.» — y en qué lo funda: según Idel, Abulafia indica en varios lugares que el Nombre divino está inscrito en el alma del hombre, de modo que la combinación de letras ocurriría a la vez en el alma, como dice la frase que cita.

«how the Divine Names are used as a means of attaining mystical experience or, as Abulafia writes,27 "in the name my intellect found a ladder to ascend to the heights of vision.» — la frase de Abulafia con que Idel abre el examen de la técnica: en el nombre su intelecto halló una escalera para subir a las alturas de la visión.

«Just as the letters themselves generally appear on three levels-writing, speech and thought28-so do the Names of God; one must 'recite' the Names first in writing, then verbally, and finally mentally.» — los tres niveles en que según Idel se recitan los Nombres, como las letras mismas: por escrito, de palabra y mentalmente.

«The act of writing the combination of the letters of the Divine Names is mentioned in several places in the writings of Abulafia and his followers, only two of which we shall cite here: "Take the pen and the parchment and the ink, and write and combine Names"29 and, in Sa(are Zedeq,30 "when midnight passed [over] me and the quill is in my hand and the paper on my knees.» — los dos testimonios del nivel escrito que cita: tomar pluma, pergamino y tinta y combinar Nombres, y el pasaje del Sacare Zedeq donde el autor tiene la pluma en la mano y el papel sobre las rodillas pasada la medianoche.

«The second level, that of verbal articulation, is more complex, including several components which must be analyzed separately: 1) the seeker of mystical experience must sing the letters and their vocalization (this point will be discussed separately in the chapter on music and prophecy); 2) he must maintain a fixed rhythm of breathing; 3) his head must be moved in accordance with the vocalization of the letter pronounced; 4) he must contemplate the internal structure of the human being.» — los cuatro componentes que Idel distingue en el nivel verbal: cantar las letras y su vocalización, mantener un ritmo fijo de respiración, mover la cabeza según la vocalización de la letra pronunciada y contemplar la estructura interna del ser humano.

«The third level involves the mental combination of the Divine Names: "Know that mental [letter-]combination performed in the heart brings forth a word, [the latter] being [the result of the letter-]combination, entirely mental and born from the sphere of the intellect,» — y el nivel mental, en la frase que Idel traduce: la combinación de letras hecha en el corazón produce una palabra enteramente mental, nacida de la esfera del intelecto.

«One must take the letters 'ms yhw, first as instructed in the written form which is an external thing, to combine them, and afterwards one takes them from the book with their combinations, and transfers them to one's tongue and mouth, and pronounces them until one knows them by heart. Afterwards, he shall take them from his mouth [already] combined, and transfer them to his heart, and set his mind to understand what is shown him in every language that he knows, until nothing is left of them.» — el paso de un nivel a otro según el Ozar Eden Ganuz de Abulafia, en la traducción de Idel: se toman las letras en su forma escrita, se pasan a la lengua y la boca hasta saberlas de memoria, y de la boca ya combinadas al corazón, hasta que nada queda de ellas.

«An explicit process of interiorization is presented here: the letters of the Divine Name undergo a process of 'purification' by which they are transformed from tangible letters, existing outside of the intellect, into intellective letters, existing in the heart.» — lo que Idel lee ahí: un proceso explícito de interiorización, en el que las letras tangibles y exteriores al intelecto se vuelven letras intelectivas que existen en el corazón.

«This process is one of construction of the intellect, beginning with sensibilia and ending in inteIligibilia.» — y cómo lo describe: construcción del intelecto que empieza en los sensibilia y termina en los inteligibilia; la mayúscula intrusa es del escaneo.

«levels, one may arrive at the highest level of consciousness: prophecy, or mystical experience.» — adónde lleva, según Idel, la combinación de letras en los tres niveles: al nivel más alto de la consciencia, la profecía o experiencia mística.

«It is known that when he received this verse ('I am that I am' [Ex. 3:14]), Moses our teacher, of blessed memory, attained the very essence of wisdom and the highest level in the renewal of miracles and wonders, by the combination of its letters.» — el testimonio del cabalista castellano R. Isaac b. Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, contemporáneo de Abulafia, en la traducción de Idel: al recibir el versículo del Éxodo, Moisés alcanzó la esencia misma de la sabiduría por la combinación de sus letras.

«And begin by combining this name, namely, YHWH, at the beginning alone, and examine all its combinations and move it and turn it about like a wheel returning around, front and back, like a scroll, and do not let it rest, but when you see its matter strengthened because of the great motion, because of the fear of confusion of your imagination and the roIling about of your thoughts, and when you let it rest, return to it and ask [it) until there shall come to your hand a word of wisdom from it, do not abandon it. Afterwards go on to the second one from it, Adonay, and ask of it its foundation [yesodo) and it will reveal to you its secret [sodo). And then you will apprehend its matter in the truth of its language. Then join and combine the tWo of them [YHWH and Adonay), and study them and ask them, and they wiD reveal to you the secrets of wisdom, and afterwards combine this which is, namely, EI Sadday, which is tantamount to the Name [EI Sadday = 345 = ha-Sem), and it will also come in your portion. Afterwards combine Elohim, and it will also grant you wisdom, and then combine the four of them, and find the miracles of the Perfect One [Le., God), which are miracles of wisdom.» — la instrucción del Hayye ha-Nefesh de Abulafia que Idel traduce: combinar el Tetragrámaton haciéndolo girar como rueda sin dejarlo reposar hasta que dé una palabra de sabiduría, y luego encadenarlo con Adonay, El Shadday y Elohim hasta combinar los cuatro; *tWo* y *wiD* son erratas del facsímil.

«From this passage, as well as from the one cited above from 6~ar C Eden Ganuz, we learn that one must combine the letters of a given Name, and then combine them in turn with the combinations of the letters of another Name.» — lo que Idel saca de los dos pasajes juntos: hay que combinar las letras de un Nombre y luego combinarlas a su vez con las de otro.

«This activity is referred to by Abulafia by the term Macaseh Merkavah, i,e., the act of combining [harkavah] the letters of one Name in another, which brings about the receiving of metaphysical knowledge, i.e., the standard meaning of Macaseh Merkavah in Abulafian Kabbalah.» — y el término con que dice que Abulafia la nombra: Maaseh Merkavah, el acto de combinar las letras de un Nombre dentro de otro, que trae el conocimiento metafísico.

«One who concentrates upon the Ineffable Name which is combined in twelve ways-six of them inverted-which causes the grandeur of Israel, shall rejoice in it, and the joy and happiness and gladness will combine in the heart of each one who seeks the Name, in the Name Yh'whdyhnwh Eloha EI Sadday YHWH ywaot.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot de Abulafia que Idel traduce: quien se concentra en el Nombre inefable combinado de doce maneras, seis de ellas invertidas, tendrá gozo y alegría en el corazón; la transliteración es la del facsímil.

«The first and second of these Names are combinations of one Name within another: YHWH - ADNY - YHWH - YHWH.» — la lectura que Idel da de esos dos primeros nombres: combinaciones de un Nombre dentro de otro.

«The two Divine Names most frequently used by Abulafia in letter-combination are the Name of seventy-two letters, whose combinations are mostly described in lfayyl ha-cOlam ha-8a, and the Tetragrammaton (the Name of Four letters or the "Ineffable Name"), details of whose combinations are discussed in 6r ha-Se!el. We shall begin our discussion with the latter.» — los dos nombres divinos que Idel declara más usados por Abulafia en la combinación de letras: el de setenta y dos letras, descrito sobre todo en el Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba, y el Tetragrámaton, cuyas combinaciones se tratan en el Or ha-Sekel.

«The method of combination expounded in 6r ha-Se!el is exemplified by the use of the letter Aleph, which is combined in turn with each of the letters of the Tetragrammaton, so that one arrives at four combinations, as follows: Vh'w'h. Each of these units is in turn vocalized by every possible permutation of the five vowels, ~olam, qamaz, biriq, yre, qubu~, in the sequence of both 'y and ye and so on. One thereby derives four tables, each containing fifty vocalized combinations.» — el método que Idel describe: la letra alef combinada con cada letra del Tetragrámaton da cuatro unidades, y cada una se vocaliza con todas las permutaciones de las cinco vocales, hasta cuatro tablas de cincuenta combinaciones vocalizadas.

«But, as Abulafia states in the book, it is not only by chance that he 'chose' this form of combination as an example; in his view, the letter Aleph constitutes part of the hidden Divine Name,» — y por qué, según Idel, Abulafia eligió la alef como ejemplo: a su juicio esa letra forma parte del Nombre divino oculto.

«However, this explanation seems a kind of exegesis of material which he already» — la reserva que Idel le opone en el mismo párrafo: esa explicación le parece más bien exégesis de un material que Abulafia ya tenía; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«found in his earlier sources. In one of the works of R. Eleazar of Worms (ca. 116S-ca. 1230), we find a combination-technique quite similar to that of Abulafia; in this technique, the letter Aleph is also combined with each of the four letters of the 'Jetragrammaton, each unit being vocalized by two vowels. We shall cite one example:» — continuación al otro lado del corte: en una obra de R. Eleazar de Worms Idel halla una técnica de combinación muy semejante, con la alef combinada con cada letra del Tetragrámaton y cada unidad vocalizada por dos vocales.

«The main difference between Abulafia's table and R. Eleazar's lies in the total number of vowels used: rather than five vowels,39 as in Abulafia, in R. Eleazar there are six, by means of the addition of the kwa.» — la diferencia principal que Idel señala entre las dos tablas: cinco vocales en Abulafia, seis en Eleazar por la adición del shwa; la transliteración es la del facsímil.

«In my opinion, Abulafia adapted an Ashkenazic system of combination to the Sephardic system of vocalization, based upon five major vowels; the kwa, counted as a vowel by the Ashkenazim, disappeared, thereby decreasing the total number of vocalized combinations.» — la hipótesis que marca como propia: Abulafia adaptó un sistema askenazí de combinación al sistema sefardí de vocalización de cinco vocales, y el shwa, que los askenazíes contaban como vocal, desapareció.

«Abulafia, for whom this system of combination was exemplified by the use of the letter Aleph and the other letters of the Ineffable Name, saw this as an allusion to his view that the Name 'hwy is the Hidden Name of God.» — y qué vio Abulafia en ello, según Idel: una alusión a su tesis de que el nombre oculto de Dios es el que la alef abre; la palabra se corta por el guion de fin de renglón.

«Whereas the system described above is based upon a square, each of whose sides contains a different combination of the letters of the Divine Name, the system found in lfayy2 ha-'Oblm ha-Ba is based upon the circle.» — el contraste de figuras que Idel traza: el sistema del Or ha-Sekel se apoya en un cuadrado y el del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba en el círculo.

«The Name of seventy-two letters is recited while contemplating circles, each of which contains nine letters out of the 216 letters of the Name; one thereby arrives at a system of twenty-four circles, containing in toto all in all the Name of seventy-two letters.» — cómo describe el segundo: el Nombre de setenta y dos letras se recita contemplando círculos de nueve letras cada uno, hasta veinticuatro círculos que contienen las doscientas dieciséis letras.

«It seems to me that the source of this system can also be identified; in the longer commentary to Exodus by R. Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1164), the author describes the mathematical qualities of the letters constituting the Ineffable Name, and thereafter writes that» — el grado con que Idel propone la fuente de ese sistema: le parece identificable en el comentario largo al Éxodo de R. Abraham ibn Ezra.

«all of the numbers are nine from one direction, and ten from the other direction. If one writes the nine in a circle, and doubles over the end» — el pasaje de ibn Ezra que cita: todos los números son nueve por un lado y diez por otro, y escribiendo los nueve en círculo; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«with every number, one will find the units on the left side, and the tens, which are like units, on the right side.» — y el cierre de esa frase en la plana siguiente: las unidades quedan a la izquierda y las decenas, que son como unidades, a la derecha.

«It seems unlikely to assume that Abulafia based his system in If.ayye ha-cOlam ha-Ba upon circles of nine letters by mere chance, without any relation to the above quotation from Ibn Ezra's commentary.» — la inferencia que Idel formula por vía negativa: le parece poco probable que Abulafia fundara sus círculos de nueve letras por mero azar y sin relación con ese pasaje.

«As was the case in the adaptation of R. Eleazar of Worms' system of combination to the Sephardic system of grammar, here Abulafia incorporated the idea of the nine-letter number into a circle with the seventy-two letter Name.» — y el paralelo que traza con el caso anterior: aquí Abulafia incorporó la idea del número de nueve letras a un círculo con el Nombre de setenta y dos.

«It is worth mentioning that the nine letters within a circle reappear in Abulafia's Sefer ha-Haftarah,42 where they appear within the circle of the letters of the forty-two letter Name, while preserving the number nine.» — el reaparecer que registra: las nueve letras en círculo vuelven en el Sefer ha-Haftarah de Abulafia, dentro del círculo de las letras del Nombre de cuarenta y dos.

«We should also note that the use of concentric circles' in order to combine the letters of various Divine Names likewise appears in other works of Abulafia, such as Imre Sefer» — y las demás obras suyas donde aparecen círculos concéntricos para combinar nombres divinos.

«It is also interesting to note that circles including Divine Names appear in Islam as well, as one learns from a study by G. Anawati,45 although I have not yet found significant points of contact between the use of the circle in Abulafia and in the Arabic sources.» — la abstención con que cierra la comparación: hay círculos con nombres divinos también en el islam, según un estudio de G. Anawati, pero Idel declara no haber hallado todavía puntos de contacto significativos.

«Any technique in which the pronunciation of letters occupies a central place must attach importance to proper principles of breathing.» — por qué la respiración entra en el método, según Idel: toda técnica en la que la pronunciación de letras ocupa un lugar central tiene que dar importancia a los principios de la respiración.

«Discussions of breathing appear in Yoga, in Sufism and in Hesychasm, albeit with different emphases.» — y los tres marcos comparativos que nombra: el yoga, el sufismo y el hesicasmo, con énfasis distintos.

«Abulafia's writings contain brief statements about and allusions to a technique of breathing to be practiced by one who pronounces the Ineffable Name.» — lo que declara hallar en Abulafia sobre el asunto: enunciados breves y alusiones a una técnica de respiración para quien pronuncia el Nombre inefable.

«One must take each one of the letters [of the Tetragrammaton] and wave it with the movements of his long breath (!) so tltat one does not breathe between two letters, but rather one long breath, for however long he can stand it, and afterwards rest for the length of one breath. He shall do the same with each and every letter, until» — la instrucción del Mafteah ha-Shemot que Idel traduce: ondear cada letra con el movimiento del aliento largo, sin respirar entre dos letras, y descansar después lo que dura un aliento; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«there will be two breaths in each letter: one for pausing when he enunciates the vowel of each letter, and one for resting between each letter.» — y el cierre de la instrucción al otro lado del corte: dos alientos por letra, uno para la pausa al enunciar su vocal y otro para descansar entre letra y letra.

«It is known to all that every single breath of one's nostrils is composed of taking in of the air from outside, that is, mi-ba"r le-ga"w [from outside to inside], whose secrets allude to the attribute of Gevurah and its nature, by which a man is known as gibbor [mightyJ-that is, the word ga"w ba"r [a rearrangement of the consonants of the word gibborJ-for his strength by which he conquers his Urge.» — la parte doctrinal del mismo pasaje: el aliento que entra de fuera adentro alude, según ese texto, al atributo de Guevurá, por el que un hombre es llamado fuerte, y a la fuerza con que vence su Impulso.

«This passage combines together two significant elements: the technical description of breathing, and the theoretical discussion of the meaning of breathing.» — los dos elementos que Idel distingue en ese pasaje: la descripción técnica de la respiración y la discusión teórica de su sentido.

«The technical aspect includes three different elements, comprising one unit: 1) the intake of air, namely, breathing; 2) the emission of air while pronouncing the letter and its vowel; 3) the pause between one breath and the next.» — los tres elementos de la parte técnica, según su análisis: la toma de aire, la emisión al pronunciar la letra y su vocal, y la pausa entre un aliento y el siguiente.

«In his epistle Seva' Netivot ha-Torah, p. 7, Abulafia refers to "the secret of the Name and the vocalization of some of its letters, their knowledge, and the resting breath, the interrupting [breath] and the extending [breath].» — los tres términos que Idel encuentra nombrados en la epístola Sheva Netivot ha-Torah: el aliento que reposa, el que interrumpe y el que se extiende.

«Comparison of the three terms used in Sefer Maftea~ ha-Semot indicates that the resting breath is parallel to the phrase, "he shall rest for the length of one breath"; the extending breath parallels the intake of air before pronouncing a letter, "so that he not breathe between two letters, but takes one long breath, as much as he is able to stand in length"; while the interrupting breath is parallel to the emission of air which accompanies the pronunciation of the letter, "one for pausing, as at the time of pronouncing the vowel of that letter.» — y la correspondencia que establece entre esos tres términos y los tres momentos de la instrucción del Mafteah ha-Shemot.

«Abulafia refers to three breaths elsewhere as well,so but only for purposes of gematria, without any technical interpretation likely to assist in the understanding of his approach.» — la acotación que le pone: en otros lugares Abulafia menciona los tres alientos solo para la gematria, sin interpretación técnica que ayude a entender su método.

«The division of the breathing process into three stages is not new; it already appears in Yoga, in which the process of breathing is divided into puraka, the intake of breath; recaka, the emission of breath; and kumbhaka, the retention of air.» — el precedente que Idel señala para esa división en tres: el yoga, con puraka, recaka y kumbhaka.

«True, there is no exact parallel between the retention of breath in Yoga, whose aim is to use up the oxygen present in the air one breathes by means of slight physical effort, to the state of rest mentioned by Abulafia, which follows the emission of breath.» — y el límite que le pone de inmediato: no hay paralelo exacto entre la retención del yoga, que busca consumir el oxígeno del aire respirado, y el reposo de Abulafia, que sigue a la emisión.

«It may be that the word 'halt,' which refers to the holding of the air in order to pronounce the letter of the Divine Name, is a parallel to the halt practiced in Yoga, but we cannot state this with any certainty.» — la conjetura con que sigue y la abstención con que la cierra: quizá el alto que retiene el aire para pronunciar la letra corresponda al alto del yoga, pero declara no poder afirmarlo con certeza.

«In both systems, one arrives at an extremely slow pace of breathing, which is a goal in and of itself in» — el rasgo que Idel da por común a los dos sistemas: un ritmo de respiración extremadamente lento, fin en sí mismo; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana, y del otro lado la frase nombra al yoga y a la práctica de Abulafia.

«Yoga, and in practice also in Abulafia. Without stating so directly, he emphasizes the need for a long period of emission, on the one hand, and the maximum exploitation of the air held in the lungs, on the other: "that he should not breath between two letters except for one long breath, for so long as he is able to stand.» — lo que Idel dice que Abulafia subraya sin decirlo de manera directa: emisión larga y aprovechamiento máximo del aire retenido en los pulmones.

«Indeed, in Pe'uiat ha-Ye;irah, he states that "one should pronounce one letter of the Name with a great voice, in one breath, until he exhausts his breath from breathing out.» — la instrucción de la Peulat ha-Yezirah que Idel cita: pronunciar una letra del Nombre con gran voz, en un solo aliento, hasta agotarlo.

«When he begins to pronounce one letter with a given vocalization, one should remember that it alludes to the secret of the unity, so do not extend it more than the length of one breath and do not interrupt it during that breath at all until you complete its expression. And extend that [particular] breath in accordance with the strength of the length of one breath, as much as you are able to extend it.» — y la del Or ha-Sekel: recordar que la letra alude al secreto de la unidad, no extenderla más de un aliento ni interrumpirla, y extender ese aliento cuanto se pueda.

«As we have seen, one ought to extend both the breath and its emission. The same is not true, however, for the pause between breaths; Maftea~ ha-Semot speaks of the pause as equalling the length of one breath, while in Or ha-Se!el there is a slight variation:» — la asimetría que Idel señala entre las dos reglas: se extienden el aliento y su emisión, pero no la pausa, sobre la que el Mafteah ha-Shemot y el Or ha-Sekel discrepan levemente.

«Do not separate between one breath and the breath of the letter, but cling to it, whether one long breath or a short one .... But between the letter of the Name and the Aleph, in the direct ones, or between the Aleph and the letter of the Name, in the inverted ones,56 you may take two breaths-no more-without pronouncing anything. At the end of each column, you may take five breaths, and no more, but you may also breathe less than five breaths.» — la regla del Or ha-Sekel sobre las pausas, en la traducción de Idel: dos alientos como máximo entre la letra del Nombre y la alef, y cinco al final de cada columna.

«/fayye ha-cOiam ha-Ba gives a different version, which allows for the possibility that one may take three breaths between the pronunciation of each letter.» — y la variante que Idel consigna sin armonizarla: el Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba permite tres alientos entre la pronunciación de cada letra.

«Another rule entailed in the art of pronouncing the Names refers to the prohibition against pronouncing the letters while breathing in: "and it is possible that the speaker [i.e., the person who recites] may breathe, and will not speak with his lips between the emission of air and its intake, but he is not allowed to speak with his mouth and take in the breath together, 58 but that the speech and the emission of air may occur together.» — otra regla del arte de pronunciar los Nombres: no se pronuncian las letras mientras se inspira, aunque el habla y la emisión de aire pueden ir juntas.

«Turning to the theoretical significance of breathing, we find that the process of intake and emission of air is alluded to in the afore-cited passage from Maftea~ ha-Semot by the words mi-ba"r le-ga"w, which symbolize the attribute of Gevurah within man-that is, his ability to» — el sentido teórico que Idel le adjudica al par de términos hebreos que designan la entrada y la salida del aire: simbolizan el atributo de Guevurá en el hombre; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«overcome his evil Urge. For this reason, man pronounces the Name of forty-two letters60 incorporating the expression qera< satan ["cut off Satan"] which corresponds, in my opinion, to "conquering his Urge."» — la conexión que Idel marca como propia al otro lado del corte: por eso se pronuncia el Nombre de cuarenta y dos letras, que incorpora la expresión que él traduce como cortar a Satán.

«The ability to overcome corporeality, tantamount to the Evil Urge and to Satan, by means of breathing is likewise alluded to in another formulation from If.ayy~ ha-'Olam ha-Ba:» — y el otro lugar donde Idel dice que se alude a vencer la corporeidad por medio de la respiración.

«And you may yet again, if you wish, breathe three breaths which are one. . . . And immediately the Satan will die, for they were enemies to the perceptions which are in the blood of man, and the blood is the animal [attribute]. But the secret of the one breath is &zdday-[i.e.,] ~in Dalet Yod-and that is the second seal ... which killed the demons with the seal of the Messiah, which kills the evil blood, and also kills the evil attribute, so it immediately dies by the hand by the strength of those three breaths.» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce: tres alientos que son uno matan a Satán, enemigo de las percepciones que están en la sangre del hombre, con el sello del Mesías que mata la sangre mala.

«The function of the three breaths which are one is that, as they constitute one unit connected with the pronunciation of one letter,» — la función que Idel le atribuye a esa unidad de tres alientos: constituir una unidad ligada a la pronunciación de una letra; el tramo se corta aquí por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«they may destroy or murder the Satan and the imagination, i.e., the adverse perceptions inherent in the blood of man, in the evil blood,» — y lo que según él destruye esa unidad al otro lado del corte: a Satán y a la imaginación, las percepciones adversas inherentes a la sangre del hombre.

«On the other hand, the breath is the means of strengthening the spiritual element in man: the "precious hand," Sadday, the seal of Messiah.» — y la otra cara que consigna: el aliento fortalece el elemento espiritual del hombre.

«eighteen breaths, which will add to you years of life, which are the life [in gematria: 18] of the soul, from the two creatures in which there is the life of the soul. And there are in you two nostrils in which they are mingled, and understand this, for they are the nostrils of the soul, whose secret is the two cherubim, and they are two chariots which force the Shekhinah to dwell on earth and to speak with man.» — el otro pasaje de la misma obra: dieciocho alientos que añaden años de vida, con las dos fosas nasales como narices del alma cuyo secreto son los dos querubines, dos carros que hacen morar la Shekiná en la tierra.

«This passage suggests the ability of the breath to bring about a mystical experience, and through that the survival of the soul.» — lo que Idel lee ahí: la capacidad del aliento de producir una experiencia mística y, por ella, la supervivencia del alma.

«The two aspects of breath-that of overcoming corporeality and of strengthening spirituality-are symbolized by the two angels, Gabriel and Michael: "from his two nostrils one may recognize the two archangels, of whom it is said that the names of all the angels change in accordance with their work and their deeds and their activities,65 [i.e.,] Michael and Gabriel.» — los dos ángeles con que se simbolizan, según el pasaje que traduce, las dos caras del aliento: Miguel y Gabriel.

«In Abulafia, Michael is identified with the Active Intellect or Metatron, while Gabriel is identified with Sandalphon, to whom is encharged the corporeal realm.» — y las identificaciones que Idel le atribuye a Abulafia: Miguel con el Intelecto Agente o Metatrón, Gabriel con Sandalfón, encargado del reino corpóreo.

«In two other passages, we learn of the service and knowledge of God with the help of breathing: "Remember Yah and his activities, for He is the» — los dos pasajes más que Idel aduce sobre el servicio y el conocimiento de Dios con ayuda de la respiración; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«one who seals and makes an impress--know Yah through your breath.68 III All that has breath shall praise Yah, Hallelujah'69 and it is said,7o 'with each and every breath that is within you praise God.» — la continuación al otro lado del corte: conocer a Yah por el propio aliento, con los versículos del salmo y la sentencia rabínica sobre alabar a Dios con cada aliento.

«In conclusion, we must mention the connection between breathing and the recitation of the Name as it appears in Resit l;l0p"ahJ2 The sixteenth century Safedian Kabbalist, R. Elijah de Vidas, quotes therein a certain book not mentioned by title» — el testimonio tardío que Idel añade: el cabalista safedí del siglo XVI R. Elijah de Vidas cita en su Reshit Hokmah un libro cuyo título no da.

«There are 1080 divisions to an hour, corresponding to which the Tetragrammaton is combined and permutated in various combinations of vocalizations of the alphabet, in a total of 1080 combinations. These 1080 combinations correspond to the 1080 breaths which a man breathes, and to each breath there corresponds one letter of the name of four letters, which gives vitality to that breath.» — lo que ese libro dice, en la traducción de Idel: mil ochenta divisiones de la hora corresponden a mil ochenta combinaciones vocalizadas del Tetragrámaton y a los mil ochenta alientos que un hombre respira, cada uno vivificado por una letra.

«As God gives breath and life, it is appropriate that all his [man's] breaths be devoted to the service of the Creator, and to this our sages referred in Genesis Rabba [in their interpretation of] the phrase "all that has breath shall praise Yah.» — y la consecuencia devocional que saca ese texto: si Dios da aliento y vida, conviene que todos los alientos del hombre se consagren al servicio del Creador.

«The connection between the act of breathing and the recitation of the 1080 combinations of the Ineffable Name, with all possible vocalizations,74 is made here, to the best of my knowledge, for the first time.» — el grado con que Idel data esa conexión: hasta donde él sabe, es la primera vez que se enlazan la respiración y la recitación de las mil ochenta combinaciones del Nombre inefable.

«It is based upon R. Eleazar of Worms' <Eser Hawayot and on the quotation from Or ha-Se}fel, both of which appear in Pardes Rimmonim,75 the major work of de Vidas' master, R. Moses Cordovero.» — y de dónde dice que procede: el Eser Hawayot de R. Eleazar de Worms y la cita del Or ha-Sekel, ambos presentes en el Pardes Rimmonim de R. Moses Cordovero, maestro de de Vidas.

«From a practical viewpoint, it is difficult to imagine that one may breathe 1080 times in one hour, particularly when one also needs to pronounce letters; in any event, such a pace would seem to contradict Abulafia's whole approach.» — el reparo práctico que Idel le pone a esa cuenta: cuesta imaginar mil ochenta respiraciones en una hora pronunciando letras, y ese ritmo parecería contradecir todo el planteamiento de Abulafia.

«However, the very occurrence of the breathing technique together with the pronunciation of letters of the Divine Name evinces the practice of an Abulafian-like technique among the Safedian Kabbalists, a fact further strengthened by other evidence.» — y lo que sin embargo saca del testimonio: que entre los cabalistas de Safed se practicaba una técnica de tipo abulafiano.

«In Abulafia, the act of pronouncing the letters is accompanied by motions of the head corresponding to the vowels of the letters pronounced.» — la segunda técnica que Idel describe: la pronunciación de las letras va acompañada de movimientos de la cabeza que corresponden a las vocales.

«After you begin to pronounce the letter, begin to move your heart and head: your heart by your intellection, because it is an inner [organ], and your head itself, because it is external.» — la instrucción del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce en extenso: mover el corazón por la intelección, por ser órgano interno, y la cabeza misma, por ser externa.

«And move your head in the form of the vowel [-point] of the letter which you are pronouncing. This is the manner of the form of the motion: know that the vocalization which is above is called l;lolam, and that alone is marked above the letter, but the other four vowel sounds are below the letter.» — y la forma del movimiento: la cabeza imita el punto vocálico de la letra que se pronuncia, con el holam encima y las otras cuatro vocales debajo.

«And that [vowel] which is above the letter Aleph, which you pronounce with the letter KAf or Qof: do not in the beginning incline your head either to the right or the left, nor below or above at all, but let your head be set evenly, as if it were in a scale [i.e., balanced], in the manner in which you would speak with another person of the same height as yourself, face to face.» — la posición inicial que prescribe: la cabeza nivelada como en una balanza, como si se hablara cara a cara con alguien de la misma estatura.

«Thus, when you extend the vowel of the letter in its pronunciation, move your head up towards the heavens, and close your eyes and open your mouth and let your words shine,77 and clear your throat of all spittle so that it not interfere with the pronunciation of the letter in your mouth, and in accord with the length of your breath shall be the upper movement, until you interrupt the breathing together with the movement of your head.» — y el movimiento propiamente dicho: alzar la cabeza al cielo, cerrar los ojos, abrir la boca, limpiar la garganta de saliva, y hacer durar el movimiento lo que dura el aliento.

«And if after uttering [the letter] there is a moment left to complete the breath, do not lower your head until you complete everything.» — la última acotación de la instrucción: si después de emitir la letra queda un instante de aliento, no bajar la cabeza hasta terminarlo todo.

«And your head is crowned with tefillin, facing east, for from there light emerges to the world, and [from] there you may move your head towards five directions. And on [the vowel] ~olam begin from the center of the east, and purify your thoughts, and lift your head with the breath bit by bit until it is complete, and your head shall be facing up. And after this is completed bow down to the earth once ... and on [the vowel] !ere move your head from left to right, and on qama! from right to left.» — la versión breve de la misma práctica en el Or ha-Sekel, según la traducción de Idel: la cabeza coronada de tefilín mirando al este, y el movimiento en cinco direcciones según la vocal.

«As one can clearly see, the head motions are simply attempts to imitate the written form of the vowel sounds, an attempt repeated in the use of music, where the vocalization is transformed into musical notes, as we shall see in the next chapter.» — la lectura que Idel da de esos movimientos: intentos de imitar la forma escrita de las vocales, repetidos en el uso de la música, donde la vocalización se convierte en notas.

«We find a description in SeIer ha-l;Ideq of the hand movements to be performed during the pronunciation of the Divine Names.» — la tercera técnica que Idel documenta: los movimientos de las manos durante la pronunciación de los nombres divinos, descritos en el Sefer ha-Heshek.

«This description is unique in Abulafia's extant works and it reflects the position of the hands during the Priestly Blessing:» — y el grado con que la sitúa: descripción única en las obras conservadas de Abulafia, que refleja la posición de las manos en la bendición sacerdotal.

«Let my prayer be acceptable as incense, the offerings of my hands as sweet meal-offerings. "80 And lift your eyes up to the heaven, and lift your left and right hands, like the lifting up of hands of the kohen, who divides his fingers, five on one side and five on the other, with two on the right and two on the left [in each hand], the two smallest fingers, qemipth and zeret (i.e., the little finger and the ring finger) joined together, and these two next to them also joined. And divide between them with the thumb stuck out by itself, and your hands shall also be in this form-W W -and your tongue shall separate between them, like a balance stone» — el pasaje que Idel traduce: alzar los ojos al cielo y las manos como el kohen, dividiendo los dedos cinco de un lado y cinco del otro, con los meñiques y anulares unidos y el pulgar aparte.

«and immediately put down your hands, which you lifted before God with ease, in the image of the ten Sefirot from the right, like the image of the ten fingers, five over against five, to the right and left. And you have switched the powers and made meritorious the one who was guilty; therefore place your left hand on your heart, spread out with the five fingers, and above it place your right hand, outstretched with its five fingers, to indicate that the meritorious one has overcome him» — y el cierre de la instrucción: bajar las manos en la imagen de las diez sefirot, cinco frente a cinco, poner la izquierda sobre el corazón y la derecha encima, para indicar que el meritorio ha vencido.

«and if you wish to lift your hands for a longer period of time, you are allowed to do so; but if not, you need not worry.» — la licencia con que termina: se puede alzar las manos más tiempo, y si no, no hay de qué preocuparse.

«Thus far, we have described those actions which one is to perform while pronouncing the letters. A separate chapter will be devoted to the song or "melody," as Abulafia calls the pronunciation of the letters in different tones.» — el balance que hace Idel de lo descrito hasta ahí y el anuncio del capítulo sobre el canto o melodía, como Abulafia llama a la pronunciación de las letras en tonos distintos.

«We shall now turn to the third stage of the pronunciation of the Divine Name, namely, the inner activities performed in the "the heart," that is, with the powers of the soul: the intellect and the imagination.» — y el tercer estadio al que pasa: las actividades interiores hechas en el corazón, con las potencias del alma, intelecto e imaginación.

«From the mid-thirteenth century, there appears in Hebrew mystical literature a technique, one of whose components is the imagining of the letters of the Divine Names.» — la técnica que Idel data desde mediados del siglo XIII: una de cuyas componentes es imaginar las letras de los nombres divinos.

«Evidence of such a practice appears in R. Isaac Ibn Latif, who enumerates three different stages of contemplation of the letters of the Divine Name.» — y el testimonio con que la documenta: R. Isaac ibn Latif, que enumera tres estadios de contemplación de las letras del Nombre divino.

«The desired end is to strip the Name of [its] matter and to imagine» — el comienzo del pasaje de la Zurat ha-Olam que Idel traduce: el fin buscado es despojar al Nombre de su materia e imaginarlo; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«it in your mind, although it is impossible for the imagination to depict it without some physical image, because the imagination is not separate from the sensibilia, and most of what is attained by the activity of the imagination is performed through the contemplation of the shape of the letters and their forms and number.» — y la reserva que sigue al otro lado del corte: la imaginación no puede representarlo sin alguna imagen física, porque no está separada de los sensibilia.

«And it must also be understood that its letters [i.e., those of the Divine Name] are that which make it move and speak, and that the other letters move about, but one cannot image them in speech except for the letters of the Name, even though they do not become mingled and do not change their places in the squaring of the numbers» — lo que ese texto añade sobre las letras del Nombre: son las que lo hacen moverse y hablar, y no se mezclan ni cambian de lugar al elevarse los números al cuadrado.

«And it is known to anyone who is wise of heart that when the imagination goes away, so do the letters. Therefore, the straightforward intellect must strip this Name of simple matter, and imagine it in the form of pure mind.» — y su conclusión: cuando la imaginación se va, se van las letras, de modo que el intelecto recto debe despojar al Nombre de la materia simple e imaginarlo en forma de mente pura.

«The subject of this passage is the letters of the Divine Name, )hwy, which enliven speech and shoe numerical counterparts (i.e., 1, 5, 6, 10) each retain their final digit when they are squared.» — la lectura que Idel da del pasaje: se trata de las letras del Nombre oculto, cuyos valores numéricos conservan su última cifra al elevarse al cuadrado; *shoe* por *whose*, errata del facsímil.

«According to Ibn Latif, there are three levels of contemplation of these letters: the material, the imaginative, and the intellective.» — y los tres niveles que le atribuye a ibn Latif: el material, el imaginativo y el intelectivo.

«The second stage is to be understood, in my opinion, as the depicting of the letters in the power of the imagination, without the physical presence of the written letters.» — el segundo nivel según la lectura que Idel marca como propia: representar las letras en la potencia imaginativa, sin la presencia física de las letras escritas.

«These imaginary letters are thereby transformed into an object of contemplation of the intellect just as, according to the Aristotelian theory of knowledge, an imaginary form is the material for intellectual activity.» — y el estatuto que les da: objeto de contemplación del intelecto, como en la teoría aristotélica del conocimiento la forma imaginaria es la materia de la actividad intelectual.

«Ibn Latifs words indicate that the technique which he discusses at length in several places was already in use some time before its occurrence in Abulafia.» — la cronología que Idel deriva de ahí: la técnica ya se usaba algún tiempo antes de aparecer en Abulafia.

«Prepare your true thoughts to imagine the Name, may He be Blessed, and with it the supernal angels. And visualize them in your heart as if they are human beings standing or sitting around you, and you are among them like a messenger .... And after you have imagined this entirely, prepare your mind and your heart to understand the thoughts whose matters are to be brought to you by the letters you have thought of in your heart.» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce: imaginar el Nombre y con él los ángeles supernos, visualizarlos en el corazón como seres humanos en pie o sentados alrededor, y estar entre ellos como un mensajero.

«It becomes clear several pages later that this refers to the letters of the Ineffable Name, of which it is said that they are the ones portrayed "and he shall close his eyes and intend in his thought, and the first intention is that he is to imagine that there are four camps» — y lo que Idel dice que se aclara unas planas más adelante: son las letras del Nombre inefable, y quien las representa cierra los ojos e intenciona en su pensamiento; el tramo se corta aquí por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«of the Indwelling, or a Tabernacle around them, and four beautiful flags in round forms surrounding the fifth camp.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: cuatro campamentos de la Presencia o un tabernáculo alrededor, y cuatro banderas hermosas en formas redondas en torno al quinto campamento.

«passage, Abulafia describes the image that is to be imagined: the seventy-two letters Name in the center, with the four Names of four letters in the four corners of the square.» — la imagen que según Idel manda representar Abulafia: el Nombre de setenta y dos letras en el centro y los cuatro Nombres de cuatro letras en las esquinas del cuadrado.

«Next to the seventy-two letter Name is written thirty-two [probably an allusion to the thirty-two netivot mentioned in SeIer Ye~irahJ; this is an allusion to the gematria: 72+32 =104=4 x 26 [26 is the gematria of the Tetragrammaton].» — y la gematria con que Idel explica el treinta y dos escrito junto al Nombre: alusión probable a los treinta y dos senderos del Sefer Yezirah, con la suma que da cuatro veces el valor del Tetragrámaton.

«One also ought to note here the parallels to the techniques of imagining in the writings of other Kabbalists. Abulafia's younger contemporary, R. Joseph b. Shalom Ashkenazi, cites an extremely interesting quotation in the name of lithe philosophers.» — el paralelo que Idel señala en otro cabalista: R. Joseph b. Shalom Ashkenazi, contemporáneo más joven, cita un pasaje en nombre de los filósofos; las comillas salen corrompidas en el facsímil.

«The unidentified philosophers cited, who were presumably contemporaries or predecessors of Abulafia, proposed a technique of contemplation quite similar in several respects to that contained in the above quotations from Abulafia: though not identical with it.» — el grado con que los sitúa: filósofos sin identificar, presumiblemente contemporáneos o predecesores de Abulafia, con una técnica de contemplación semejante en varios respectos aunque no idéntica.

«The philosophers have already written on the issue of prophecy, saving that it is not improbable that there will be a person to whom things will appear in his imaginative faculty comparable to that which appears to the imaginative faculty in a dream.» — el pasaje que Idel traduce: los filósofos escribieron que no es improbable que a una persona le aparezcan cosas en la facultad imaginativa como las que aparecen en el sueño; *saving* por *saying*, errata del facsímil.

«All this {could take place] while someone is awake, and all his senses are obliterated, as the letters of the Divine Name {stand] in front of his eyes, in the gathered colours.» — y la condición que ese texto pone: todo ello despierto, con los sentidos anulados y las letras del Nombre divino delante de los ojos, en colores reunidos.

«Sometimes he will hear a voice,86 a wind, a speech, a thunder and a noise with all the organs of his hearing sense, and he will see with his imaginative faculty with all the organs of sight, and he will smell with all the organs of smell, and he will taste with all the organs of taste, and he will touch with all the organs of touch, and he will walk and levitate.» — los fenómenos que enumera: voz, viento, habla, trueno y ruido con todos los órganos del oído, y lo mismo con la vista, el olfato, el gusto y el tacto, hasta caminar y levitar.

«All this while the holy letters are in front of his eyes, and its colours are covering it;» — y el estado en que ocurre: con las letras santas delante de los ojos y sus colores cubriéndolas, lo que ese texto llama el sueño de la profecía.

«The similarity of the content of this quotation to Abulafia's teaching is interesting, despite the fact that he is clearly not the author quoted here; the contemplation of the letters of the Divine Name as a technique for bringing about 'prophecy' is clearly parallel to Abulafia's own path.» — lo que Idel saca del parecido, con su reserva: aunque Abulafia no es el autor citado, contemplar las letras del Nombre como técnica para producir profecía es paralelo a su vía.

«Moreover, the quotation of these words in the name of lithe philosophers, II despite the fact that it is mingled with ideas from SeIer Ye~irah, fits the mixture of Maimonidean philosophy and SeIer Ye~irah mysticism characteristic of Abulafia's own writings.» — y el segundo indicio que añade: atribuirlo a los filósofos, mezclado con ideas del Sefer Yezirah, encaja con la mezcla de filosofía maimonidiana y mística del Sefer Yezirah propia de Abulafia.

«Nevertheless, the presence here of a certain motif which is definitively rejected by Abulafia-i.e., "and its colors are enwrapped in it"88-makes it difficult for us to identify this passage with any» — y el motivo que se lo impide: el envolverse de los colores, que Abulafia rechaza de manera definitiva; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«likelihood as one of the "lost" writings of Abulafia. Yet it is precisely this conclusion, taken together with the quotation from Ibn Latif, which is significant for our understanding of the development of the teaching of this ecstatic Kabbalisl.» — lo que Idel declara significativo de esa conclusión junto con la cita de ibn Latif, para entender el desarrollo de la enseñanza del cabalista extático.

«Abulafia did not create a new theory, but developed an already existing tendency, albeit one in some respects rather different from that expressed in his works.» — la tesis que saca: Abulafia no creó una teoría nueva, sino que desarrolló una tendencia ya existente, en algunos respectos bastante distinta de la que sus obras expresan.

«R. Isaac of Acre, an ecstatic Kabbalist of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century, saw the act of imagining of the letters composing the name of God as a means of achieving the life of the world to come.» — el tercer testimonio que Idel aduce: R. Isaac de Acre veía en imaginar las letras del nombre de Dios un medio para alcanzar la vida del mundo venidero.

«I, Isaac the young, the son of Samuel, of Acre, may it speedily be rebuilt, say [as follows], to the elite as well as to the vulgus: that whoever wishes to know the secret of attaching one's soul above and cleaving one's thought to Almighty God, so that one may acquire the World to Come with that same constant thought, without interruption, and God will always be with him, in this [world] and the next [do as follows]:» — el pasaje del Meirat Enayim que Idel traduce, dirigido por igual a la élite y al vulgo, sobre el secreto de adherir el alma a lo alto y el pensamiento a Dios.

«Let him place before his eyes and his thought the letters of the Ineffable Name, as if they are written before him in a book, in Assyriac writing, and let him visualize each letter before his eyes as great, without limits.» — y la instrucción propiamente dicha: poner ante los ojos y el pensamiento las letras del Nombre inefable como escritas en un libro en escritura asiria, y visualizar cada letra sin límites de tamaño.

«I mean by this to say that when you envision the letters of the Ineffable Name before your eyes, [imaginatively] put your mind's eye on them but the thought of your heart be on the Infinite [Ein Son, [the envisioning and the thought] both concomitantly.» — el desdoblamiento que ese texto prescribe: el ojo de la mente en las letras y el pensamiento del corazón en el Infinito, los dos a la vez.

«And this is the true cleaving of which Scripture said, "to cleave to Him. "90 "and to Him shall you c1eave,"91 "and you who c1eave,"92 etc.» — y el nombre que le da con los versículos que aduce: la adhesión verdadera, el devequt; las grafías corrompidas del facsímil quedan tal cual.

«And so long as the soul of man cleaves to the Name, may He be blessed, no evil shall befall you, and you shall come to no error in any matter, either intellective or sensory, and you will not fall into the hand of chance, for so long as one is cleaving to God, may He be blessed, he is above all chance and rules over them.» — lo que ese texto promete mientras dura la adhesión: ningún mal, ningún error intelectivo ni sensorio, y estar por encima del azar y gobernarlo.

«Another sentence in the same work describes the technique of imagination: I, Isaac ... of Acre, have come to write a tradition pertaining to the intention of the punctuation of the Holy Name . . . of which whosoever knows it will think in his heart of its vocalization as if it is vocalized before him.» — la segunda frase de la misma obra que Idel cita: una tradición sobre la intención de la puntuación del Nombre santo, que quien la conoce piensa en su corazón como si estuviera vocalizada ante él.

«Another way. YHWH with the vocalization of devarelfa. Imagine in your mind the letters of the Ineffable Name before your eyes, in a circle colored red as fire, and» — el pasaje mágico de los manuscritos que Idel traduce: imaginar en la mente las letras del Nombre inefable en un círculo coloreado de rojo como fuego; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«your thought shall perform much. From Rabbi Tanhum.» — y el cierre de ese pasaje al otro lado del corte, con la atribución que trae.

«The expression, "your mind shall perform much," and the end of the previous passage from Me'irat CEnayim, suggest an explicitly magical direction, conveying a technique, the main element of which is the attainment of cleaving to God (devequt).» — lo que Idel lee en esa expresión y en el cierre del pasaje anterior: una dirección explícitamente mágica, con el devequt como elemento principal.

«It may be that R. Isaac of Acre combined Abulafia's teaching with a magical understanding of the imagining of the letters of God's Name which also was practiced in the thirteenth century.» — y el grado con que lo formula: puede que R. Isaac de Acre combinara la enseñanza de Abulafia con una comprensión mágica de la imaginación de las letras.

«You may picture the Ineffable Name like the white flame of the candle, in absolute whiteness, and the light in your looking at the candle, and even when there is no candle, remember the flame, and there you may see and look at the light, from the pure white light.» — el pasaje del manuscrito Sasson 290 que Idel traduce: representarse el Nombre inefable como la llama blanca de la vela, en blancura absoluta, y recordar la llama aun sin vela.

«And one must always imagine that you are a soul without a body, and the soul is the light, and you are always within the above-mentioned flames, by way of the pure clouds.» — y la instrucción que sigue: imaginarse siempre alma sin cuerpo, siendo el alma la luz, y estar dentro de aquellas llamas por vía de las nubes puras.

«And strive to be pure and full, and if it is daytime wearing !i~.it and tefillin and the ring upon your finger, and at night as well the ring upon your finger. And be accustomed to cleanliness in that house where you stand in the sanctuary of God, within His precious, holy and pure names.» — las condiciones rituales que ese texto añade: pureza, tsitsit y tefilín de día, el anillo en el dedo de día y de noche, y limpieza en la casa donde se está ante Dios.

«I have discussed the visualization of the Divine Names at some length, because it concerns an extremely widespread technique, known to a number of different Kabbalists.» — por qué Idel se detiene tanto en la visualización de los nombres divinos: por tratarse de una técnica muy difundida y conocida por cabalistas distintos.

«However, there is one point which is critical for the understanding of Abulafia's doctrine: what he assumes to be a means, in the passages we have cited from l:Iayye ha-cOlam ha-Ba, become (in other passages of his to be discussed in the third chapter) the goal.» — el punto que declara crítico para entender la doctrina de Abulafia: lo que en unos pasajes es medio, en otros es el fin.

«The letters of the Divine Name are not only a component of the method of cleaving to God; the process of imagining the letters in the first stage precedes the vision of the letters in the final stage of the ecstatic process.» — y cómo lo desdobla: imaginar las letras en el primer estadio precede a verlas en el estadio final del proceso extático.

«This distinction between technique and goal is not dear in other authors, so that in their descriptions the imagining of the letters is transformed into immediate deaving to them.» — la distinción que Idel declara no clara en otros autores, donde imaginar las letras se convierte en adherirse a ellas de inmediato; *dear* y *deaving* son erratas del facsímil.

«Finally, let us note that the technique of imagining already appears in the early thirteenth century mystic Ibn Arabi.» — y el paralelo externo con que cierra: la técnica de imaginar aparece ya en el místico Ibn Arabi, de comienzos del siglo XIII.

«Another interesting element of Abulafia's technique of contemplation appears in lJayye ha-CO/am ha-Ba. In several places there, he refers to a technique of recitation and contemplation connected to the three main organs of the body: the head, the belly, and the torso:» — el cuarto elemento técnico que Idel describe: una recitación y contemplación ligadas a tres órganos principales del cuerpo, la cabeza, el vientre y el tronco.

«And he should again pronounce the head of the end, which is L» — el comienzo de la instrucción del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce; el tramo se corta aquí por el cambio de plana.

«and imagine as if you are gazing at your belly, and do not breath between pronouncing the place of your organ and pronouncing that letter which rules over that organ.» — y su continuación: imaginar que se mira el propio vientre y no respirar entre pronunciar el lugar del órgano y la letra que lo gobierna.

«Again, go and mention the head of the middle of the Name. You already know that you ought to pronounce [the names of] the organs from what I have said, that there are so to speak three spots on your head: the inside, which is the head of the head; the middle, which is the inside of the head; and the behind, which is the end of the head.» — el otro pasaje de la misma obra: tres puntos en la cabeza, el interior o cabeza de la cabeza, el medio o interior de la cabeza, y el detrás o fin de la cabeza.

«And likewise imagine as if there are three points on your torso, which is the place of your heart: the head, which is the center of the middle; the middle, which is the middle of the middle, which is but one point in its center; and the behind, which is the end of the end.» — y los tres puntos del tronco, que es el lugar del corazón, con el medio del medio reducido a un solo punto en su centro.

«And likewise imagine that there are three points in your belly: the front, which is the point of your navel, the head of the end; the middle, which is the point of your entrails; the middle of the end, and behind, which is the point of the end of your spine, which is the place of the kidneys where the spinal cord is completed, the end of the end.» — y los tres del vientre: el ombligo, las entrañas y el fin de la espina dorsal, en el lugar de los riñones donde acaba la médula.

«This passage is based upon the pronunciation of the letters of the Name of seventy-two letters, consisting of units of three letters, each three of which constitute one column. A unit consists of a beginning, the first letter; a middle, the second letter; and an end, the final letter.» — la clave que Idel da para leer ese pasaje: la pronunciación del Nombre de setenta y dos letras en unidades de tres, cada tres una columna, con principio, medio y fin.

«It follows from this that, by reciting a column of nine letters pertaining to the bodily organs, one thereby refers to the human head, torso, and belly.» — y la consecuencia: recitar una columna de nueve letras referidas a los órganos remite a la cabeza, el tronco y el vientre del hombre.

«An error in the recitation of one letter is likely to bring about a change in one of the organs of the body, for which reason the name of seventy-two letters also includes the combination Mum» — el riesgo que ese sistema declara, según Idel: un error en la recitación de una letra puede cambiar uno de los órganos del cuerpo, y por eso el Nombre incluye la combinación que significa defecto.

«Know that there are within man three matters created by the three pillars [i.e., primary letters], 'mA, combined with yhw, and these are the angels of fire, wind and water. Behold, the head is created by three forms of fire, corresponding to taC"q [corresponding to] fire,» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce: tres materias en el hombre creadas por los tres pilares combinados, que son los ángeles de fuego, viento y agua, con la cabeza creada de fuego; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«and the belly [is created of] water, corresponding to sed [corresponding to) water, and the torso, created from the wind, corresponding to tm"d [corresponding to] wind.» — y su cierre al otro lado del corte: el vientre creado de agua y el tronco de viento.

«This division of the human body originates in Seter Ye~irah iii, 4, where it states "[There are] three pillars [called] 'm§ in the soul: fire, water and wind. The head is created from fire, the belly is created from water, end the torso, which is created from wind, mediates between them.» — de dónde procede esa división según Idel: del Sefer Yezirah, que pone tres pilares en el alma, con la cabeza de fuego, el vientre de agua y el tronco de viento mediando entre ambos; *end* por *and*, errata del facsímil.

«Abulafia added a new element to this division,» — el elemento nuevo que Idel le adjudica a Abulafia; el tramo se corta aquí por el límite de chunk del troceo, y del otro lado la frase remite a la Baraita de-Mazalot.

«occurring already in 8araita de-Mazalot, 103in which the astrological signs are divided into three groups, each element belonging to» — la continuación al otro lado del corte: la Baraita de-Mazalot, donde los signos astrológicos se reparten en tres grupos, cada elemento en uno; la grafía corrompida es la del facsímil.

«t("q= faleh, Aryeh, Qeset (i.e., Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) = fire; tm"d = Te'omim, Moznayim, Gedi (i.e., Gemini, Libra, Capricorn) = wind; sa'ad = Sartan, (Aqrav, Deli (i.e., Cancer, Scorpio, Aquarius)= water.» — el reparto mismo, con las transliteraciones del facsímil: Aries, Leo y Sagitario para el fuego, Géminis, Libra y Capricornio para el viento, y Cáncer, Escorpio y Acuario para el agua.

«Through this, there came about the view that the three parts of the human body are likewise connected to the three letters.» — y la consecuencia que Idel saca: de ahí surge la idea de que las tres partes del cuerpo humano están ligadas a las tres letras.

«Abulafia used the letters of the Name of seventy-two letters rather than the initials of the names of the constellations.» — la variante que Idel le atribuye a Abulafia: usar las letras del Nombre de setenta y dos en vez de las iniciales de los nombres de las constelaciones.

«Viewed in this way, it is clear that according to his approach the navel is no more than one of the nine points of the human body, and that there is no special significance to its contemplation.» — y lo que de ahí concluye contra la lectura hesicasta: el ombligo no es más que uno de los nueve puntos del cuerpo, sin significación especial.

«It is worth mentioning here the magical character of the technique of pronouncing the name of the organ and the letter appointed over it.» — el carácter que Idel le reconoce a la técnica de pronunciar el nombre del órgano y la letra puesta sobre él: mágico.

«Head and belly and torso, that is, the head, beginning inside the end. The "head" is the first point that you imagine in it; the "end" is the purpose of the head, and is like a tail to it, and the belly is likewise like a tail to the head, and is the image of the torso, wherein the heart is located.» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que lo ilustra, en la traducción de Idel: cabeza, vientre y tronco como principio, fin y sede del corazón.

«And the image that you ought to imagine at the time of pronunciation, in order to change within that image the nature of [one] part of the bodies, alone or with others, is: think in your heart the name of that thing, and if it is [composed] of two letters, such as yam [sea], and you wish to invert it, and the name of the reversal is yaba§ah [dry land), the companion of yam with yaba§ah, and this is "beginning and end, yah." But the middle is me-yabes yam; behold, Yah meyabe§ Yam (God makes dry the sea), for He in truth makes the sea into dry land.» — y la operación que prescribe: pensar en el corazón el nombre de la cosa y, para invertirla, aparearlo con su contrario, como el mar con la tierra seca.

«And pronounce in this image whatever you remember, and thus you will first say heh, in the middle of your head, and draw it within your head as if you were contemplating and see the center of your brain, and its central point in your thoughts, and envision the letter heh inscribed above it, which guards the existence of the points of your brain.» — el cierre de la instrucción: decir primero la letra he en medio de la cabeza, atraerla dentro, contemplar el centro del cerebro y ver la letra inscrita encima, guardando la existencia de sus puntos.

«We may now understand Abulafia's remarks in Pluiat ha-Ye~irah: Begin at the head of your head, until there the first eight lines to preserve the head, and he shall mention the second eight lines to fulfill the first, in the first order, and he shall mention the eight third lines, the storm and the wind, and one image emerges.» — el pasaje de la Peulat ha-Yezirah que Idel traduce: empezar por la cabeza de la cabeza y mencionar tres series de ocho líneas, la tormenta y el viento, hasta que emerge una imagen.

«There is no doubt that this refers to the head, the torso and the belly, with the help of a slightly different classification: (a) the head; (b) the first [qama; the correct reading may be q6mah-stature); (c) end.» — la clasificación que Idel lee ahí, con la lectura que propone para una palabra del texto: cabeza, estatura y fin.

«As in lfJtyye ha-cOlam ha-Ba, the letters of the Name of seventy-two letters, which are pronounced over the organs of the body, are here mentioned in order to create the homunculus, while» — y la diferencia de fin que señala entre las dos obras: allí las letras pronunciadas sobre los órganos sirven para crear el homúnculo.

«while in lfayye ha-'Olam ha-8a, "in order to change nature," namely the spiritual nature of man-his psyche.» — y aquí para cambiar la naturaleza, es decir la naturaleza espiritual del hombre, su psique; la repetición de la palabra es del facsímil.

«It is worth mentioning that this technique incorporates two different planes of activity: the letters must be pronounced while one envisions in one's mind the place which they influence.» — los dos planos de actividad que Idel distingue en la técnica: pronunciar las letras y a la vez representarse el lugar sobre el que influyen.

«The magical character of this technique is manifested in R. Judah Albotini's Sullam ha-cAliyah. Here the author copies almost word for word, the relevant passages from the two major works by Abulafia,» — dónde se manifiesta según Idel el carácter mágico de la técnica: en el Sullam ha-Aliyah de R. Judah Albotini, que copia casi al pie de la letra pasajes de Abulafia.

«that the angels were created and all creatures were made from the twenty-two letters and their combinations and their permutations, and as fire by nature warms, and water cools, so do the letters by their nature create all sorts of creatures, and [fulfill] the requests of those who mention them with wisdom and knowledge.» — el pasaje de Albotini que Idel traduce: como el fuego calienta y el agua enfría por naturaleza, así las letras crean por su naturaleza toda clase de criaturas y cumplen las peticiones de quien las menciona con sabiduría.

«Of this our sages saidlO8 that Bezalel knew how to combine the letters with which heaven and earth were created. Likewise, the other prophets and pious men in each generation, by means of the combination and permutation of letters and their movements, used to perform miracles and wonders and turn about the order of Creation, such as we find it explained in our Talmud109 that Rabba created a man and sent him to R. Zeira.» — y los precedentes que ese texto invoca: Besalel, que sabía combinar las letras con que se crearon cielo y tierra, y el relato talmúdico de Rabba creando un hombre y enviándolo a R. Zeira.

«Having described the details of the technique of reciting the Divine Name, we shall now discuss the necessary preparations related to this act.» — el paso siguiente que Idel anuncia: las preparaciones necesarias para el acto de recitar.

«At the time that you wish to recite this Ineffable Name as engraved above with its vocalization, adorn yourself and seclude yourself in a special place so that your voice will not be heard to anyone apart from yourself, and purify your heart and your soul from all thoughts of this world.» — la primera condición que traduce de Abulafia: adornarse y recluirse en un lugar especial donde no se oiga la voz, y purificar el corazón y el alma de todo pensamiento de este mundo.

«Be prepared for thy God, 0 Israelite! Make thyself ready to direct thy heart to God alone. Cleanse the body and choose a lonely house where none shall hear thy voice. Sit there in thy closet and do not reveal thy secret to any man. If thou canst, do it by day in the house, but it is best if thou completest it during the night. In the hour when thou preparest thyself to speak with the Creator and thou wishest Him to reveal His might to thee, then be careful to abstract all thy thought from the vanities of the world.» — la segunda, en la traducción de tono arcaizante que Idel reproduce: limpiar el cuerpo, elegir casa solitaria, no revelar el secreto a nadie, mejor de noche, y apartar todo pensamiento de las vanidades del mundo.

«When you wish to recite the Name of seventy-two letters, following the preparation we have mentioned, you must arrange to be alone in a special place, to pronounce the secret of the Ineffable Name, and to separate and isolate yourself from every speaking creature, and from all vanities of [the world, so as not to view them as) attributes [of God). And also so that there not remain in your heart any thoughts of human or natural things, of either voluntary or necessary [matters], as if you are one who has given a writ of divorce to all forms of the mundane world, as one who has given a testament in the presence of witnesses in which he orders [another] to take care of his wife and his children and his property, and has relieved himself of all involvement and supervision and transferred it from himself and one away.» — la tercera, del Sefer ha-Heshek: estar solo, separarse de toda criatura que hable y de las vanidades, como quien ha dado carta de divorcio a todas las formas del mundo y ha testado ante testigos.

«The two main stipulations appearing here-separation from the vanities of-the world and isolation in a special house for the purpose of this recitation-reappear in Sacare ~edeq:» — las dos estipulaciones que Idel destaca como principales: separarse de las vanidades del mundo y aislarse en una casa especial.

«He should also ascend to purify his soul above all other wisdoms which he has learned; the reason for this being that, as they are natural and limited, they contaminate the soul and prevent the Divine forms, which are extremely fine, from passing through it ... therefore one must isolate oneself in a special house, and if the house is such that he will not even hear a voice, this is even better.» — y la versión del Sacare Zedeq: purificar el alma por encima de las demás sabidurías, que por naturales y limitadas contaminan el alma e impiden el paso de las formas divinas, y aislarse en una casa donde no se oiga voz alguna.

«A third preparation for the act of recitation is to adorn oneself in talit and tefillin:» — la tercera preparación que Idel enumera: ataviarse con talit y tefilín.

«And wrap yourself in a tallit and place your tefillin on your head and your arm, so that you may be fearful and in awe of the Shekhinah, which is with you at that time. And cleanse yourself and your garments, and if possible let them all be white, for all this greatly assists the intention of fear and love.» — la instrucción que traduce: envolverse en el talit, poner los tefilín en la cabeza y el brazo para estar en temor ante la Shekiná, y vestir de blanco si es posible.

«And sit enwrapped in clean white pure gannents or new gannents over all your gannents, or over your tallit, and your head adorned with tefillin.» — la variante que cita de otro lugar, con las erratas de *garments* que trae el facsímil.

«To this atmosphere of mystery is added the instruction that "if it is night, light many candles, until it shall enlighten your eyes well.» — y el detalle que añade a esa atmósfera: si es de noche, encender muchas velas hasta que alumbren bien los ojos.

«Once these conditions have been fulfilled, the one contemplating begins to combine letters according to the methods described above.» — lo que sigue a las preparaciones, según Idel: el contemplador empieza a combinar letras por los métodos ya descritos.

«The immediate goal of these combinations is to achieve a state of "wanning of the heart":» — y el fin inmediato que les adjudica: llegar a un estado de calentamiento del corazón; la errata es del facsímil.

«And begin to combine small letters with great ones, to reverse them and to permutate them rapidly, until your heart shall be warmed through their combinations and rejoice in their movements and in what you bring about through their permutations; and when you feel thusly that your heart is already greatly heated through the combinations . . . then you are ready to receive the emanated influx.» — el pasaje que lo describe, en la traducción de Idel: combinar y permutar letras con rapidez hasta que el corazón se caliente y se alegre en sus movimientos, y entonces se está listo para recibir el influjo emanado.

«In SeIer ha-Melamed, Abulafia says, "but that of which I have infonned you concerning the matter of the secret of combination, that when you mention the words combined, then the divine spirit shall rest upon you through the heating of your heart.» — la formulación paralela del Sefer ha-Melamed: mencionadas las palabras combinadas, el espíritu divino reposa sobre uno por el calentamiento del corazón.

«We read another formulation of this motif in Sa(ar2 ?:.edeq, "all these acts must be perfonned with rapid motion, which warms the thought and increases the longing and joy.» — y la del Sacare Zedeq: todos esos actos han de hacerse con movimiento rápido, que calienta el pensamiento y aumenta el anhelo y el gozo.

«This motif of "wanning" the heart or the thought is decisive for understanding the nature of the technique suggested by Abulafia;» — el peso que Idel le da a ese motivo: decisivo para entender la naturaleza de la técnica que Abulafia propone.

«one may easily be misled by the external similarity between the components of Abulafia's path towards the mystical experience and certain detail in Yoga or hesychasm.» — y contra qué lectura lo pone: contra dejarse llevar por la semejanza externa con detalles del yoga o del hesicasmo.

«But beyond the details, which are clearly borrowed from outside sources, Abulafia's way is an original one in tenns of the» — la tesis que sostiene pese a los préstamos: la vía de Abulafia es original en cuanto al mecanismo psicológico que activa; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana y *tenns* es errata del facsímil.

«psychological mechanism by which the new consciousness that he reaches is activated.» — el cierre de esa frase al otro lado del corte.

«While in the other known techniques-Yoga, Sufism and hesychasm-the goal is to attain the maximum degree of concentration by means of a generally simple formula, to be repeated over and over again, Abulafia's method is based upon the contemplation of a constantly changing object: one must combine the letters and their vowel signs, "sing" and move the head in accordance with the vocalization, and even lift one's hands in the gesture of Priestly Blessing.» — el contraste que traza: donde el yoga, el sufismo y el hesicasmo buscan concentración máxima con una fórmula simple repetida, el método de Abulafia contempla un objeto que cambia sin cesar, con letras, canto, movimientos de cabeza y manos alzadas.

«This combination of constantly changing components is entirely different from what we know of these other techniques.» — y el juicio que saca: esa combinación de componentes en cambio continuo es enteramente distinta de lo que se conoce de aquellas técnicas.

«Abulafia is not interested in relaxing the consciousness by means of concentration on a "point," but in purifying it by the necessity to concentrate intensely on such a large number of activities that it is almost impossible at that moment to think about any other subject.» — el fin que Idel le adjudica: no relajar la consciencia concentrándose en un punto, sino purificarla obligándola a atender tantas actividades que resulte casi imposible pensar en otra cosa.

«By this means, the consciousness is purified of every subject apart from the names being uttered.» — y el resultado de esa vía.

«The concentrated effort also assures rapid results; in fJayye ha-cOlam ha-Ba,l22 Abulafia states: . . . it is the tradition among us that the influx comes to the complete man when he completes the first verse following the pronunciation of the twenty-four Names, whose mnemonicl23 is liMy beloved is white and ruddy: the voice» — el rendimiento que Idel le atribuye al esfuerzo concentrado: resultados rápidos, con la tradición que sitúa la llegada del influjo al completarse el primer versículo tras pronunciar los veinticuatro Nombres; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota.

«The point here is that, after one utters the twenty-four Names (symbolized by the gematria of the word dOdi), each of which consists of three letters, it is possible to reach contact with the archangel Metatron.» — la lectura que Idel da de esa tradición: dichos los veinticuatro Nombres de tres letras cada uno, es posible llegar al contacto con el arcángel Metatrón.

«One does not find in Abulafia experiences of contemplative mysticism which are continued over a long period of time.» — y lo que declara no hallar en Abulafia: experiencias de mística contemplativa prolongadas en el tiempo.

«Instead, his approach is intense; for this reason, the duration of the experience is also limited, as it is impossible for the mind to function on such an intensive level over a long period of time.» — la consecuencia que saca de esa intensidad: la duración de la experiencia es limitada, porque la mente no puede funcionar así mucho tiempo.

«Abulafia's system directs one towards short bursts into Eternal Life, followed by a rapid return» — y la forma que le da al conjunto: irrupciones breves en la Vida Eterna seguidas de un retorno rápido; el tramo se corta aquí por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«The more the sublime inteIIective flow is strengthened within you, the more your external and internal organs become weakened, and your body begins to tremble greatly and mightily, until you think that you shaII surely die at that time, for your soul will become separated from your body out of the great joy in attaining and knowing what you have known.» — el pasaje de Abulafia con que Idel cierra ese punto: cuanto más se fortalece el flujo intelectivo sublime, más se debilitan los órganos externos e internos y el cuerpo tiembla, hasta creer que se va a morir de la gran alegría de conocer.

«I would like to note one interesting side aspect of Abulafia's technique: namely, that his method is based upon the actual expression or pronunciation of the Ineffable Name, and that, in every possible combination of vocalization and of the letters themselves.» — el aspecto lateral que Idel destaca: el método se apoya en la pronunciación efectiva del Nombre inefable, en toda combinación posible de vocalización y letras.

«According to the Mishnah, "One who pronounces the Name in its letters [i.e., as it is written] has no share in the World to Come.» — la sentencia de la Mishná que Idel pone al lado: quien pronuncia el Nombre según sus letras no tiene parte en el mundo venidero.

«Abulafia claims the exact opposite: that the way to attain the World to Come is precisely, and only, by pronouncing the Ineffable Name.» — y lo que sostiene Abulafia según Idel: exactamente lo contrario, que la vía al mundo venidero es precisamente, y solo, pronunciar el Nombre inefable.

«Thus, we find here an extraordinary phenomenon: Abulafia's system is based upon the performance of an act, the recitation of the Holy Name, which constitutes a definite halakhic transgression.» — cómo llama Idel a esa situación: un fenómeno extraordinario, un sistema fundado en un acto que constituye una transgresión halájica definida.

«It is therefore quite surprising that neither Abulafia nor his opponents even mention this problem.» — y lo que declara sorprendente: que ni Abulafia ni sus adversarios mencionen siquiera ese problema.

«This makes an interesting contrast to a somewhat similar case in the Christian world. I refer to a religious movement which sprang up in Russia in 1913 which saw the Name of God as the principal means for connection with Him; in its view, the recitation of God's Name during worship brings about the unification of the worshipper with God Himself through the very act of pronouncing. Its opponents argued against this view that one is categorically proscribed from uttering God's name unnecessarily.» — el contraste que trae del mundo cristiano: un movimiento religioso surgido en Rusia en 1913 que veía en el Nombre de Dios el medio principal de unión con él, y la objeción de sus adversarios de que está prohibido pronunciarlo sin necesidad.

«Abulafia claimed that one could alter both man's nature and his soul.» — lo que Idel dice que Abulafia sostenía: que cabe alterar tanto la naturaleza del hombre como su alma.

«For this reason, while his path ought to be identified as a magical one because it alludes at times to the possibility of changes in external nature, its main intention of influencing the soul deserves the term technique rather than magic.» — y el término que Idel prefiere: aunque la vía aluda a veces a cambios en la naturaleza externa, su intención principal de influir en el alma merece llamarse técnica más que magia.

«As against the vain attempt to change the outside world, Abulafia at least succeeded in changing his own consciousness, as did the other mystics.» — el balance con que cierra el capítulo: frente al intento vano de cambiar el mundo exterior, Abulafia logró al menos cambiar su propia consciencia, como los demás místicos.

«The letters of the forty-two letter Name are here interpreted as the initials of mystical Names of God. This is an ancient approach, which had considerable influence on the medieval mystics; R. Eleazar of Worms seems to have been one of the important avenues through which this approach made its way into Europe.» — lo que Idel declara en nota sobre las letras del Nombre de cuarenta y dos: se interpretan como iniciales de nombres místicos de Dios, planteamiento antiguo que a su juicio entró a Europa sobre todo por R. Eleazar de Worms.

«The interpretation of each of the letters as a Name in itself already appears in the Hekhalot literature; see, for example, He!a'ot Zutarti, ed. R. Elior, p. 28.» — y la antigüedad que le adjudica a interpretar cada letra como un Nombre en sí: ya en la literatura de los Hekhalot.

«The reference is to R. Ishmael, R. Nehunyah ben ha-Kanah and R. Akiba, "who are among the great ones of Israel among the authors, such as Pirqe Hefialot, Sefer ha-Bahir and Otiyot de-Rabbi 'Aqiva," as Abulafia explains below, in fol. 148a.» — a quiénes remite en nota la mención de los sabios en el pasaje de Abulafia: R. Ishmael, R. Nehunyah ben ha-Kanah y R. Akiba, con los Pirqe Hekhalot, el Sefer ha-Bahir y las Otiyot de-Rabbi Aqiva.

«The verbs "combine" and "be purified" are different forms of the root» — la observación filológica que Idel hace en nota: los dos verbos de la frase citada son formas distintas de una misma raíz.

«And now I shall point out what the three times YHWH refers. Know that there are two (kinds] of comprehension which one may comprehend of Him, may He be blessed.» — el pasaje anónimo de un manuscrito de Maguncia que Idel traduce en nota, con dos clases de comprensión de Dios.

«The first is that He exists: this comprehension is the one spoken of when they say that we may understand God through His deeds, for it is impossible without there being a first cause.» — la primera de ellas según ese texto: que Dios existe, comprensión por sus obras, porque es imposible que no haya causa primera.

«The second is that, even though we have not yet reached it, we are confident that in the future awesome things are to be generated, from which we may recognize the rank (ma'alah] of the cause which generated them, on a level greater than that which we know now, in what has been generated in the act of Creation.» — y la segunda: la confianza en que en el futuro se generarán cosas temibles por las que se reconocerá el rango de la causa que las genera.

«And albeit that this comprehension is greater than the former one, the common element of both is that through His actions one knows the Active Agent. But these comprehensions differ in that the former is a comprehension of his existence, and the latter is comprehension of his rank.» — el elemento común y la diferencia que ese texto establece entre las dos: por sus actos se conoce al Agente, pero una comprende su existencia y la otra su rango.

«But there is yet a third (kind of] comprehension, with which created beings are not involved at all, and this is the comprehension of the essence, which is hidden from all beings but God alone, who alone comprehends His essence, and none other. And these three comprehensions are alluded to in the verse, "God has reigned, God does reign, God will reign forever and ever.» — y la tercera: la comprensión de la esencia, oculta a todos los seres salvo a Dios mismo, con las tres aludidas en el versículo que cita.

«The first Spanish Kabbalist to use an Ashkenazic system in his books was R. David b. Judah he-Hasid, in Matt Mar'ot ha-~ov'ot, p. 95.» — el dato de historia de la transmisión que Idel da en nota: el primer cabalista español que usó un sistema askenazí en sus libros.

«These are the first and last letters of the Name of forty-two letters.» — la identificación que Idel da en nota de las dos series de letras citadas en el pasaje sobre la respiración.

«The accepted interpretation of kumbhaka is "halting" -an interruption in the breathing activity after one draws in air.» — la interpretación admitida del término del yoga que Idel consigna en nota: una interrupción de la respiración después de tomar aire.

«In one place only have I succeeded in finding an interpretation suitable to Abulafia as well: in the French translation of the lectures of Vivekananda on the sutra of Patanjalil, Jean Herbert, the translator, remarks that the meaning of kumbhaka is a halt before or after the breath. The former interpretation suits the idea of rest in Abulafia, but I cannot verify the reliability of this interpretation.» — y la única lectura que dice haber hallado compatible con Abulafia, con su abstención: la de Jean Herbert, traductor francés de las conferencias de Vivekananda, que da al término el sentido de alto antes o después del aliento, cuya fiabilidad Idel declara no poder verificar.

«And between each letter you are allowed to wait aad to prepare yourself and breathe for the duration of three breaths of the breaths of pronunciation.» — la variante manuscrita que Idel transcribe en nota sobre la espera permitida entre letra y letra; *aad* por *and*, errata del facsímil.

«The sentence "but he is not allowed ... together" appears twice; I have eliminated the repetition.» — la intervención editorial que Idel declara en nota: la frase aparece dos veces en el manuscrito y él eliminó la repetición.

«In Sephirotic Kabbalah, the forty-two letter Name serves as a symbol for the attribute of Gevurah-the Sefirah of rigor.» — el valor que ese Nombre tiene en la cábala sefirótica, según la nota de Idel: símbolo del atributo de Guevurá, la sefirá del rigor.

«There may be a connection between the positive valuation of breathing as a means of strengthening the spiritual element, and the idea of the Orphic poets, quoted and rejected by Aristotle in De AnimJI 410b, 28, that the soul is drawn in by breathing.» — la conexión que Idel apunta en nota con su grado: la valoración positiva de la respiración y la idea de los poetas órficos, citada y rechazada por Aristóteles, de que el alma se inhala al respirar.

«As it is said (Gen. 2:7], "And he breathed into their nostrils the breath of life," and one who weighs the letters must contemplate the secret of the recitation of the names, with the hidden breaths sealed by all the wisdoms, and in them he shall live after death.» — el pasaje del Gan Naul que Idel traduce en nota: quien pesa las letras debe contemplar el secreto de la recitación de los nombres con los alientos ocultos, y en ellos vivirá después de la muerte.

«And with the unique Name [there are] letters created and revealed miracles performed in the world . . . for with His Name He spoke and the world was, and there is no chance in his words, but through them he splits the Sea and the Jordan.» — y el pasaje de Nahmánides que pone al lado, del comentario al Eclesiastés: con el Nombre único se crearon letras y se obraron milagros, y no hay azar en sus palabras.

«Abulafia derives the word mal'a! (angel) from mel'a!f:rh (labor).» — la etimología que Idel le atribuye a Abulafia en nota: deriva la palabra ángel de la palabra trabajo.

«The division of the hour into 1080 seconds, as well as the 10SO combinations, also appears in Abulafia, but he does not draw any connection between them in his known works, no doubt because no connection of this type exists in actuality.» — el juicio con que Idel explica en nota que Abulafia nunca enlazara las mil ochenta divisiones de la hora con las mil ochenta combinaciones: a su ver no existe tal conexión en realidad.

«In the printed version the word magiCot appears there, which I have corrected in accordance with the meaning here.» — la corrección textual que Idel declara en nota sobre una palabra de la edición impresa de ibn Latif.

«Here, it refers to the letters of the Ineffable Name, which move the letters of Alef Bet, an idea which appears already in Kuzari IV:25, and was already known among the Kabbalists of Cerona, and afterwards by R. Joseph of Hamadan.» — y la genealogía que da a esa idea: las letras del Nombre inefable mueven las del alfabeto, idea ya presente en el Kuzari, conocida por los cabalistas de Gerona y después por R. Joseph de Hamadán.

«The problem of the contemplation of colors and lights in Kabbalah will be discussed in a separate work, in which I shall analyze this passage from R. Joseph from other aspects.» — el estudio aparte que Idel anuncia en nota sobre la contemplación de colores y luces en la cábala.

«Abulafia does not mention colors at all in his works, while elsewhere, in the ep!stle We-Zot li-Yihudah, p. 16, Abulafia criticizes the contemplation of lights as being of a lower type of Kabbalah than that which he advocates.» — y el dato con que apoya su reserva: Abulafia no menciona los colores en ninguna de sus obras y en su epístola We-Zot li-Yihudah critica la contemplación de luces como cábala de tipo inferior a la suya.

«There is no doubt that R. Isaac of Acre's remarks were influenced by Maimonides' understanding of providence in Guide, III:51, albeit his intellectual approach was given a magical significance.» — la filiación que Idel le adjudica en nota a R. Isaac de Acre: influido por la doctrina maimonidiana de la providencia, con su enfoque intelectual revestido de sentido mágico.

«The circle used by Abulafia in his technique turns afterwards into a subject revealed in his vision.» — el desplazamiento que Idel anota: el círculo que Abulafia usa como técnica se convierte después en objeto revelado en su visión.

«It is worth noting that the concept of "forms" (~urot), which appears in the section quoted from 1f.ayy~ ha-'Olam ha-Ha, means "constellations";» — la aclaración terminológica que Idel deja en nota: el término hebreo que aparece en el pasaje citado significa constelaciones.

«The motif of the "white garments" appears in a number of texts connected with the recitation of the Divine Name.» — el motivo que Idel rastrea en nota: las vestiduras blancas en varios textos ligados a la recitación del Nombre divino.

«Among the actions which precede this recitation are immersion in a ritual bath, fasting, and wearing white clothes,» — y las acciones que preceden a esa recitación en uno de esos textos: inmersión en baño ritual, ayuno y ropa blanca.

«When you wish . . . to make your question, turn your heart from all other involvements, and unify your intentions and your thoughts to enter Parties. Sit alone in awe, wrapped in tallit and with tefillin on your head, and begin [to recite) 'Mikhtam for David' IPs. 16), the entire psalm ... and read them with their melodies.» — el pasaje que Idel atribuye en nota a R. Elijah de Londres: apartar el corazón de todo, sentarse solo con talit y tefilín y recitar con sus melodías el salmo que indica.

«Thereafter he should bow on his knees with his face to the east and say as follows . . . and think of the Name which is written before him, but not utter it with his lips» — el pasaje atribuido a R. Elijah de Londres que Idel traduce en nota: arrodillarse mirando al este y pensar el Nombre escrito delante sin pronunciarlo con los labios.

«and the Name of four letters, which is divided on the the perfection of the vocalization into thirty-eight sections, and they are not to» — y la instrucción que sigue: el Nombre de cuatro letras, dividido por la perfección de la vocalización en treinta y ocho secciones; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana y la duplicación de la palabra es del facsímil.

«be pronounced, but he is only to direct his thoughts to them.» — y el cierre de esa instrucción al otro lado del corte: no se pronuncian, solo se dirige a ellas el pensamiento.

«I, R. Isaac of Nre, felt in myself a great longing to gaze at the milui [i.e., the plene writing of each letter] of the Ineffable Name in all its ways, for I already knew that the ways of heh and waw four and four, thus, h Ira hh hy w ww waw wyw. But the first one has only one milui, thus, ywd.» — el testimonio de R. Isaac de Acre que Idel traduce en nota, con el anhelo de contemplar la escritura plena del Nombre inefable; la grafía del topónimo es la del facsímil.

«But now guard yourself and guard your soul lest you read the letters hhwyh, and do not read them, for whoever pronounces the Name by its letters as they are written has no portion in the World to Come. See this and ask your soul, but contemplate them.» — y la advertencia con que ese texto lo acota: no leer esas letras, porque quien pronuncia el Nombre según se escribe no tiene parte en el mundo venidero, sino contemplarlas.

«T.here are two main aspects to the association between mystical ecstasy and music in the ecstatic Kabbalah: on the one hand, music served as an analogy for the technique giving rise to ecstasy and the ecstatic experience; on the other, it was an important element of the actual technique of Abulafia and his students.» — los dos aspectos con que Idel abre el capítulo segundo: la música como analogía de la técnica y de la experiencia extática, y como elemento efectivo de la técnica de Abulafia y sus discípulos.

«Know that [Ietter-] combination is like the hearing of the ears, for the ear hears and the sounds are combined according to the form of the tune and the sound-enunciation.» — el pasaje del Gan Naul que Idel traduce: la combinación de letras es como el oír de los oídos, donde los sonidos se combinan según la forma de la melodía.

«Witness the (stringed instruments) kinndr and nevel; their sounds are combined, and with the combination of the sounds the ears hear variation and exchange3 in the pangs of love.» — el símil que ese texto propone: el kinnor y el nevel, cuyos sonidos combinados hacen oír variación y cambio en las penas del amor.

«The strings which are struck with the right hand and with the left hand vibrate, bringing the sweet taste to the ears, from which sound moves to the heart, and from the heart to the spleen.» — el recorrido que describe: las cuerdas heridas vibran y llevan el sabor dulce a los oídos, de ahí al corazón y del corazón al bazo.

«In the meantime, joy is renewed through the pleasure of the variation of the tunes, which can only be renewed by the form of the combinations.» — y de dónde viene según ese texto la renovación del gozo: del placer de la variación de las melodías, que solo se renueva por la forma de las combinaciones.

«That is, the player plucks the first string, which is analogous to the letter ale!, for example, and it moves from there to one string,6 to bet, gimel dalet, or h~-that is to say, a second, third, fourth, or fifth string, as we are using five as an» — la equivalencia que traza entre cuerdas y letras: la primera cuerda es análoga a la alef y de ahí se pasa a la segunda, tercera, cuarta o quinta; el tramo se corta antes del folio impreso al pie de la plana.

«example. From there the pluckings are transposed, and by means of transposition tunes and melodies are brought about which transpose the heart by means of the ears. Thus also is the matter of combining letters from the outside with the pen, in the form of the combinations of the letters ('ale! mem lin), as follows: 'ml, '1m, mt, m'l, s'm, 1m'; thus all cognates and similar things.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: las pulsaciones se transponen y producen melodías que transponen el corazón por los oídos, igual que la combinación de letras con la pluma.

«There are parallels between music and the technique of combination in three areas: 1) Music-making and letter-combination operate by means of the harmony which is produced by the conjoining of two different principles: two different instruments (kinn6r and nevel), two different tones from the same musical instrument, or the joining of two different letters in the process of combination.» — el primero de los tres paralelos que Idel distingue: música y combinación operan por la armonía que produce la conjunción de dos principios distintos.

«The movement from one string to another described by Abulafia is similar to a certain technique of combination which begins with a particular letter and either moves to the adjoining letter or skips over one or more letters:» — y el paralelo técnico que añade: el movimiento de una cuerda a otra se parece a la combinación que pasa a la letra contigua o salta una o más.

«I..etter-combination, like music, gladdens the heart; it does so by means of the "hidden things which are found in the transposition of the letters," wherein the joy comes from uncovering the secrets.» — el segundo paralelo: la combinación de letras alegra el corazón, y el gozo viene de descubrir los secretos escondidos en la transposición de las letras.

«Like music, letter-combination is an activity which takes place outside the soul, influencing the soul inwards.» — y el tercero: como la música, la combinación de letras es una actividad que ocurre fuera del alma y la influye hacia dentro.

«You must first verify in your heart, anyway that you can verify it, that the letters are in essence signs and hints in the image of characters and parables, and were created because they are instruments by which man is taught the way of understanding; and to us they are in the image of the strings of the kinn6r.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Heshek que Idel traduce: las letras son en esencia signos e indicios, creados como instrumentos para enseñar al hombre el camino de entender, y son para nosotros como las cuerdas del kinnor.

«For by means of the production of sound when it is plucked on the string with the plectrum with the shift of the plucking from string to string, and with the combination of the sound-enunciations which are produced by it, the soul of the man wishing to be joyous is awakened to joy, happiness, and gladness, and it receives from this its pleasure and much benefit to the soul.» — y el efecto que ese texto les atribuye: el alma del que quiere alegrarse despierta al gozo y recibe placer y mucho provecho.

«And how the letters transpose, change, conjoin, separate, and jump about in the first letters, in the middle of the word, and at the end of the word, and the whole word, and the kind of the form of combination of vowel points, and their pronunciation, and these are carried over to the second degree, which is the form of the sound» — el pasaje del Sacare Zedeq, del discípulo anónimo de Abulafia, que Idel traduce: las letras se transponen, cambian, se juntan y saltan, y se pasa al segundo grado; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«and melody, until its melodic sound is made to be like kinn6r, putting in motion his soul to the fineness of the melody and its variation. Then the true pronunciation of the letter is revealed to him, according to their special natures which function by means of the variation of melody, in a motion working in his soul. Just as music affects the [properJ balance 10 of the body, so has this an effect on the soul by the power of the Name.» — y su continuación: el sonido melódico se hace como el del kinnor y pone en movimiento el alma, hasta revelarse la pronunciación verdadera de la letra; como la música afecta el equilibrio del cuerpo, esto afecta el alma por el poder del Nombre.

«When we pronounce the various combinations of the letters, we affect the soul alone, whereas the influence of music is perceptible both in the soul and in the body.» — la diferencia que Idel establece entre las dos: la combinación de letras afecta solo al alma, mientras que la música se percibe en el alma y en el cuerpo.

«There is an important distinction to be added between the citation from Gan Nacul and that from ~care ~eq: the influence of the revelation of the secrets-that is, the intellectual principle behind the process of letter-combination-in the latter passage turns into an influence on sensation: the voice of the one uttering the letters of the Name is pleasant, as is the sound of the harp, and thus influences the soul.» — y la distinción que marca entre los dos pasajes citados: donde el Gan Naul pone la revelación de los secretos, el Sacare Zedeq pone una influencia sobre la sensación, con la voz del que pronuncia grata como el sonido del arpa.

«The comparison between the mystical experience and the hearing of music12 (a motif which often appears in mystical literature) serves to describe the actual occurrence in terms of a non-verbal medium, which makes it possible to compare the sensation at the moment of the experience with something familiar from everyday experience.» — el uso corriente que Idel le reconoce al símil musical en la literatura mística: describir lo ocurrido en un medio no verbal, comparable con algo familiar.

«Abulafia's approach is different: in his view, the analogy of music serves to describe the mechanism of the coming about of 'prophecy' itself.» — y en qué se aparta Abulafia según Idel: la analogía musical le sirve para describir el mecanismo mismo por el que se produce la profecía.

«It is known that sound is heard more loudly in a place which is hollow or pierced, due to the purity of the spiritual air which enters therein, as in the case of the kinn6r and similar musical instruments, which produce sound without any speech, and so also the concavities of the upper stories, caves, mountains, bathhouses, ruins, etc., whose interior is hollow.» — el pasaje del Mafteah ha-Raayon que Idel traduce: el sonido se oye más fuerte en un lugar hueco o horadado, como en el kinnor, las bóvedas, las cuevas, los montes, los baños y las ruinas.

«Notice that from them there is also produced a sound like the sound of one who is speaking. By means of this secret you will understand the meaning of 'Moses spake and God answered him by a voice' [Ex. 19:19J, i.e., in a voice similar to that of Moses.» — y la lectura escrituraria que saca: de esos huecos sale un sonido como de quien habla, y así se entiende que Dios respondiera a Moisés con una voz semejante a la suya.

«You must know that the body of man is full of holes and cavities, from which you may undt!rstand how the Shekhinah dwells in the body which is pierced and [contains] cavities and which produces speech.» — y la aplicación al cuerpo: lleno de agujeros y cavidades, de donde se entiende cómo la Shekiná mora en un cuerpo horadado que produce habla; *undt!rstand* es errata del facsímil.

«Here, Abulafia compares the body to the kin nor or some other musical instrument, as the human body is filled with cavities and holes which are apt to produce a sound when a wind blows. This process is similar to the Holy Spirit-the Shekhinah-moving in the human body, giving rise to prophecy.» — la lectura que Idel da del pasaje: el cuerpo comparado a un instrumento cuyas cavidades suenan al soplar el viento, proceso semejante al del Espíritu Santo moviéndose en el cuerpo.

«Just as the owner of a garden has the power to water the garden at will by means of rivers, so does the one making music with the Name have the power to water at will his limbs by means of his soul, through the Almighty, Blessed Name; and this is [the meaning of] "and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him" [II Kings 3:15l-this is the kinnbr hung above David's bed, which used to play of itself and praise Him with the nevel and kinn6r lPs. 150:).16 But this would only be after receiving the divine effluence, which is called the seventy-two letter name, together with the understanding of its paths.» — el pasaje del Imre Sefer que Idel traduce: como el dueño de un jardín riega a voluntad, el que hace música con el Nombre riega sus miembros por medio de su alma, y así el kinnor colgado sobre el lecho de David tocaba por sí mismo.

«It seems to me that the analogy of the garden to the body also extends to the kin nor: just as the garden and the body are passive, receiving the action of the gardener and the musician with the Name of the seventy-two letters, so also does David's kinnar play "of itself" when the divine effluence reverberates within it.» — la extensión que Idel propone con su grado: la analogía del jardín alcanza también al kinnor, pasivo como el cuerpo, que suena por sí mismo cuando el efluvio divino resuena en él.

«AbuIafia here appears to suggest that David's kin nor resembles the human body: like the kin nor, man also makes music "of himself" when the wind blows.» — y el grado con que la formula: Abulafia parece sugerir que el kinnor de David se asemeja al cuerpo humano, que también hace música por sí mismo cuando sopla el viento.

«The body is like a garden, which is the master of vegetation, and the soul is Eden, which is the master of delights: and the body is planted in it. The secret of gan 'eden [Garden of Eden) is 'ad naggen [through playing) for prophecy dwells when <eved naggen [the servant plays?), e.g., when the minstrel played [II Kings 3:15], as in the case of Elisha.» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba con que lo apoya, en la traducción de Idel: el cuerpo es jardín y el alma es Edén, y el secreto del jardín del Edén se lee por juego de letras como tocar, porque la profecía mora cuando el siervo toca.

«If we have deciphered Abulafia's meaning correctly, then we are confronted with the widespread analogy of man to the kinnor or nevel upon which God plays music.» — la conclusión que Idel marca como condicional: si su desciframiento es correcto, estamos ante la analogía difundida del hombre como instrumento que Dios tañe.

«This motif is hinted at as early as Philo;18 since Montanus19 it appears explicitly several times in mystical literature,20 nor is it absent from Hebrew literature.» — y la genealogía que le da al motivo: apuntado ya en Filón, explícito desde Montano en la literatura mística, y presente también en la hebrea.

«The Midrash21 speaks of prophets as those "who were like an instrument full of speech.» — la fórmula del midrás que Idel cita para los profetas.

«R. Judah the Hasid describes the Glory as a nevel upon which God plays in order to arouse the prophet to prophesy.» — y la imagen de R. Judah el Hasid que consigna: la Gloria como un nevel que Dios tañe para despertar al profeta.

«The motif later reached Hasidism, which spoke of converting the musician to a musical instrument, and of the analogy of the shofar, which produces a sound when one blows into it, with the prophet, who prophesies only when God dwells within him.» — y hasta dónde lo sigue: el jasidismo, que habló de convertir al músico en instrumento y comparó el shofar con el profeta, que solo profetiza cuando Dios mora en él.

«In thE:' above-cited passages, music does not play any part in the . manifestation of 'prophecy', although such a function is among the most ancient ascribed to it.» — el giro que Idel marca al abrir la tercera sección: en los pasajes citados la música no interviene en la manifestación de la profecía, aunque ésa es de sus funciones más antiguas.

«It fulfills such a role in the Bible,25 in the Talmud,26 and in the medieval literature.» — y dónde sí cumple esa función según él: la Biblia, el Talmud y la literatura medieval.

«In the latter period, there was a widely-held view that music performed a two-fold function: through its mediation, 'prophecy' descended directly upon the individual; moreover, it was within the capacity of music to prepare the intellect, the instrument of 'prophecy', and thereby facilitate its reception.» — la doble función que Idel atribuye a la opinión difundida en el medievo: que por mediación de la música desciende la profecía y que la música prepara el intelecto para recibirla.

«Medieval authors considered music as an integral part of their theoretical education and as a means of strengthening their intellectual powers.» — el lugar que Idel le da a la música en la formación de los autores medievales: parte integral de su educación teórica y medio de fortalecer las potencias intelectuales.

«The science of music is a propaedeutic one, leading to improvement of the psychological disposition as well as to understanding of some of the higher intellectual principles.» — la definición de Isaac ibn Latif que Idel cita: la ciencia de la música es propedéutica, mejora la disposición psicológica y lleva a entender algunos principios intelectuales superiores.

«With the increase in joy. the intellectual power which resides in the soul is fortified and is better prepared to grasp the intelligibles. as was the case with Elisha. "bring me a minstrel." As our Sages of Blessed Memory taught.30 "The Shekhinah does not dwell as a result of inaction or sadness. but rather through a joyous thing.» — y la de Solomon ibn Adret: con el aumento del gozo se fortalece la potencia intelectual del alma y queda mejor preparada para captar los inteligibles, porque la Shekiná no mora por inacción ni tristeza.

«Poetic words: the whole art of song-making performed on musical instruments which have the effect of rousing the intelligent soul, and which was termed in ancient times music.» — la formulación de Joseph ibn Caspi que añade: el arte de hacer canción con instrumentos que despiertan el alma inteligente.

«If he shall praise with [hisJ voice he is more likely to bring pleasure to the soul and lead it to the Holy Spirit, as it is said. "with nevel and to! and /Jalil and kinn6r before them. and they shall prophesy"[I Sam. 10:5J. and so also in the matter of Elisha [II Kings 3:15J "but now bring me a minstrel.» — y la del Or ha-Menorah, obra de la escuela de Abulafia del siglo XIV, en la traducción de Idel: alabar con la voz lleva más fácilmente el alma al Espíritu Santo, con los versículos de Samuel y de Eliseo.

«You likewise find that in the Eternal House [i.e .• the TempleJ they played and performed upon musical instruments.» — y lo que ese texto añade sobre el Templo.

«was by means of instruments," although some said, "the most important music was vocal."33 It was all through the enunciation of sound alone, rising and falling. The main intention was to arouse the soul to make use of all of its glorious power, which is the power of intellectual attainment.» — el cierre del pasaje del Or ha-Menorah: la disputa sobre si la música principal era instrumental o vocal, y la intención de despertar el alma para que use toda su potencia de aprehensión intelectual.

«Another interesting testimony is given by an early fourteenth century Byzantine kabbalist, R. Isaiah ben Joseph, who writes:» — el testimonio bizantino que Idel añade: el del cabalista R. Isaiah ben Joseph, de comienzos del siglo XIV.

«Know that the prophet, when he wishes to prophesy, must first isolate himself for a determined period of time and perform his ablutions. Afterwards he settles into his special place, and he then summons musicians on various instruments who play for him and sing spiritual songs, and he will deal with certain chapters of this book.» — lo que ese texto prescribe, en la traducción de Idel: aislarse un tiempo determinado, hacer sus abluciones, instalarse en su lugar especial y convocar músicos que toquen y canten cantos espirituales.

«Afterwards the musicians will begin to play, as we explained in the eighth chapter of Sefer ha-Hdgafrah, which is the fourth part of our treatise HaSqafat ha-Se!el, and there is no need to repeat it here.» — y la remisión con que ese autor cierra, a otro capítulo de su propio tratado.

«These are the views of some savants of Abulafia's period. We find a different point of view on music in the writings of two other contemporaries, both of them mystics.» — el giro que Idel marca: frente a esos sabios, dos contemporáneos místicos sostienen otra cosa.

«One of them, Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen, maintains that the science of music was known to those who served in the Temple and to the prophets, who employed it in order to receive the Holy Spirit:» — lo que sostiene el primero, Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen: que la ciencia de la música era conocida por los del Templo y por los profetas, que la usaban para recibir el Espíritu Santo.

«Those who served in our glorious Temple were expert in the subtleties of the nequdd6f36 which went forth from their mouths when they made music, with the known measure and references to the musical instruments of David,» — el pasaje que Idel traduce: los que servían en el Templo eran expertos en las sutilezas de las notas que salían de su boca al hacer música, con los instrumentos de David.

«At the moment when [the melody] emanates from their mouths with awe, reverence, holiness and pleasant voice, rising and falling, extending and shortening,31 by the Holy Spirit, of specified measure according to the prophets of blessed memory, and on the basis of the pattern of the notes (nequdddt) drawn according to the melodic [evolution] of the rising and falling sounds» — y cómo describe la ejecución: con temor, reverencia, santidad y voz grata, subiendo y bajando, alargando y acortando, por el Espíritu Santo y según el patrón de las notas.

«The measures and the drawings [of the notes according to] the melodic [evolution] of the sounds are all based upon and directed to the inner spiritual qualities-then the Holy Spirit awakens, sparkles,» — y adónde va dirigido todo: a las cualidades espirituales internas, con lo que el Espíritu Santo despierta y centellea.

«The High Priest ... knows how to fully direct his concentration on all inner and outer emanations, in order to exert influence by means of the secret of the holy Seraphim; his elevation is according to either his closeness or remoteness, and his power is awakened by the sweetness of the song and the pure prayer.» — el segundo pasaje de Isaac ha-Kohen que Idel traduce, del Tratado sobre la emanación izquierda: el sumo sacerdote dirige su concentración a todas las emanaciones y su poder se despierta por la dulzura del canto y la oración pura.

«So do the musicians direct their fingers, according to their elevation and understanding, [placing themJ on the keyholes of [wind instrumentsJ kinn6",' [!J and [onJ strings, arousing the song and the melody to direct their hearts toward God. Thus the Blessing is aroused and the Shekhinah resides in them, each one according to his performance and according to his understanding.» — y lo que hacen los músicos según ese texto: dirigir los dedos a los agujeros y las cuerdas, despertando canto y melodía para dirigir sus corazones a Dios, con lo que se despierta la Bendición y la Shekiná reside en ellos.

«The first passage had an influence on Isaac ha-Kohen's follower's student, Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, who studied Kabbalah with Moses of Burgos.» — la filiación que Idel traza: el primer pasaje influyó en Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, que estudió cábala con Moses de Burgos.

«Properly speaking, the Sage should have calIed it "Song of Songs" and no other name, because of the science of song which was known among that nation in that period.» — el pasaje del comentario al Cantar de los Cantares de ibn Abi Sahula que Idel traduce: el título mismo remite a la ciencia del canto conocida entonces en esa nación.

«The levites used to perform according to it in the Temple at the time of service, as it is written, "he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God," [Deut. 18:7] and we learned in our tradition: "What service is it which is in the name of God? One must say that it is that of song.» — y el fundamento escriturario y tradicional que da: el servicio en el nombre de Dios que la tradición identifica con el canto.

«This singing was a great and awesome matter, Ita crown of glory and a diadem of beauty" [lsa. 28:5J. By means of the melodic song, both vocal and instrumental, the soul is awakened and the Holy Spirit shines within it and it is elevated, understanding things far more sublime that it had understood beforehand.» — el efecto que le atribuye: por el canto melódico, vocal e instrumental, el alma despierta, el Espíritu Santo brilla en ella y entiende cosas más sublimes que antes.

«This praiseworthy song is the sound emanating from the musicians' mouth with awe, reverence, and holiness, rising and falling, extending and shortening as if it were emanating from the song of the heavenly angels.» — y cómo describe ese canto: sonido que sale de la boca de los músicos con temor y santidad, subiendo y bajando, como emanado del canto de los ángeles.

«By moving4S in known measures, which are understood by the pattern of the notes [nequdd"tJ which are drawn according to the melodic [evolution] of the sounds, they are directed towards the spiritual degrees, as is explained in the science of music.» — el mecanismo que da: medidas conocidas, entendidas por el patrón de las notas, dirigidas hacia los grados espirituales.

«Among the holy musicians there were some who were superior to others in this science, as they said:46 Hogras ben levi had a chapter of song, i.e., more than the chapters which his fellow musicians had. This indicates that they had books composed on the tradition of song, arranged like the chapters of the Mishnah.» — y el indicio que aduce de que había libros compuestos sobre la tradición del canto, ordenados como los capítulos de la Mishná.

«AlI this was intended to awaken the soul to its loftiness, in order that it arrive at its true character. Then the Holy Spirit arises, sparkles, and craves with fondness, care, and great love, and then it achieves an even greater degree.» — el fin que ese texto declara: despertar el alma a su altura, hasta que el Espíritu Santo se levanta y anhela con amor grande.

«There is a close connection between this passage and the first citation from Isaac ha-Kohen; one might even say that ibn Abi Sahula expanded upon what was said by Isa!lc ha-Kohen.» — la relación que Idel establece entre los dos pasajes: ibn Abi Sahula amplía lo dicho por Isaac ha-Kohen.

«With regard to our subject, these passages may be summarized as follows: 1) There is a connection between the science of music, though it is now lost, and prophecy; 2) The singing of the Levites and of the prophets was connected with the Name of God; 3) The somewhat ambiguous use of the term nequddah (musical note/vowel-point) seems to indicate a connection between the song of the Levites and vowel points.» — los tres puntos en que Idel resume ambos pasajes: la conexión entre ciencia de la música y profecía, el canto de levitas y profetas ligado al Nombre de Dios, y el uso ambiguo del término que designa a la vez nota musical y punto vocálico.

«These ideas appear also in the SOd ha-Salselet. It is difficult to determine exactly when this work was written, but it appears to date from the end of the thirteenth or the beginning of the fourteenth century.» — la tercera fuente que suma y su datación, con el grado que le pone: el Sod ha-Shalshelet, difícil de fechar, probablemente de fines del XIII o comienzos del XIV.

«The secret of the §al§elet: In a few places in the Torah there is a cantillation note called §al§elet, whose form is: . It is found on the words wa-yitmahmah ("and he lingered") [Gen. 19:16], and [wa-y'omar ("and he said") in the verse] "and he said, '0 Lord, God of my master Abraham' " [Genesis 24:12], and also in the Hagiographa and in the Psalms.» — el pasaje que Idel traduce: la nota de cantilación llamada shalshelet, que aparece en pocos lugares de la Torá y también en los Hagiógrafos y los Salmos.

«The Kabbalists say that this note is like the lovely music which the angels sing and play before God, and that David received some of this music by means of the Holy Spirit.» — lo que ese texto atribuye a los cabalistas: esa nota es como la música que los ángeles cantan ante Dios, de la que David recibió parte por el Espíritu Santo.

«So also with the Levites, who performed the holy songs in the Temple, that is, the Psalms. They made their voice pleasant by singing the song in a lovely, pleasant, clear, and good voice. They pronounced their speech with a significant melodic movement, with that same suspended pronunciation as with the great §ai§elet,» — y lo que hacían los levitas según ese texto: cantar los salmos con voz grata y pronunciar con movimiento melódico significativo.

«in order to elevate that speech with the note of the §al§elet, which is made at the beginning of the word, and before he ends that particular word, he makes a lovely turn with the small §al§elet.» — el detalle técnico que da: la shalshelet grande al principio de la palabra y un giro con la pequeña antes de terminarla.

«He would thereby elevate his tune higher, and then lower it a little, as, for example, in chanting according to the science of music.» — y el movimiento de la melodía que describe, según la ciencia de la música.

«If he has received no tradition, and he knows how to innovate a pleasant tune on his own-a tune which will have a pleasant cantillation and a pronunciation similar to the enunciation of the §al§elet-then he must pronounce the Name in this order and with this sound, for this is what the High Priest used to do.» — la licencia que ese texto concede a quien no recibió tradición: innovar una melodía grata con cantilación semejante y pronunciar el Nombre en ese orden, como hacía el sumo sacerdote.

«He used to proclaim the Name with this tune while in the Holy of Holies, and he would vocalize it while employing a tune according to the rule of the §al§elet, so that he would swallow the letters of the Name.» — y lo que se lograba con ello: proclamar el Nombre en el Sancta Sanctorum tragándose las letras, de modo que los oyentes solo percibieran la melodía.

«This can be done also by one graced by God to proclaim Names, by» — la extensión que ese texto hace a quien sepa proclamar Nombres; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«one who knows how to do this, and who directs the letters and performs the necessary activities, and this is the secret of "He within Whose dwelling there is Joy."48 Joy comes only from the joy of music, and the joy of music comes from the Holy Spirit, as it is written, "and when the minstrel played, the power of the Lord came upon him.» — y la cadena que traza al otro lado del corte: el gozo solo viene del gozo de la música, y el gozo de la música del Espíritu Santo, con el versículo de Eliseo.

«Such also was the incident of the two young French girls in the city of Montpellier 49 in ancient times, who knew how to perform music, and had pleasant voices, and excelled in the science of music.» — el relato que ese texto trae: dos muchachas francesas de Montpellier que sabían hacer música y sobresalían en esa ciencia.

«They began to recite [Psalms 45:1]: "to the chief musician upon Sobnnim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of Loves." They chanted according to the straight path, and they fused with the higher [entities], and they were so absorbed in song that before they finished half the psalm, God rejoiced at hearing the song from their mouths, as is His way, that the tune rose upwards, they achieved union, and their souls ascended to Heaven.» — y su desenlace: cantando el salmo por el camino recto se fundieron con las entidades superiores y sus almas ascendieron al cielo antes de terminar la mitad.

«See how God rejoices at hearing a tune done correctly, and how much power there is in good music! As proof, notice that when the cantor has a good appearance, a pleasant voice, clear speech, and good melodies, the congregation rejoices with him, and for this reason the souls, which are sublime, take pleasure.» — la moraleja con que ese texto sigue: la fuerza que hay en la buena música, con el ejemplo del cantor de buena voz que alegra a la congregación.

«In this passage we find some of the ideas which we found in the circle of Isaac ha-Kohen. Music is described as a science which, in ancient times, was known to the High Priest; it leads to devotion and is connected with the pronunciation of the Name.» — lo que Idel reconoce ahí del círculo de Isaac ha-Kohen: la música como ciencia conocida antiguamente por el sumo sacerdote, que lleva a la devoción y se liga a la pronunciación del Nombre.

«However, in the passage quoted above, music is described as still effective, and not as a lost science.» — y la diferencia que registra: aquí la música se describe como todavía eficaz, no como ciencia perdida.

«It seems that this science was preserved in the circle of Abraham Abulafia, who was closely associated with one of the disciples of Isaac ha-Kohen, namely, Moses b. Simeon of Burgos.» — el grado con que propone dónde se conservó esa ciencia: el círculo de Abulafia, en estrecha relación con un discípulo de Isaac ha-Kohen.

«In striking contrast to the philosophers and kabbalists, Abulafia says very little about the theoretical aspects of the connection between music and 'prophecy.'» — el contraste que Idel marca al abrir la cuarta sección: frente a filósofos y cabalistas, Abulafia dice muy poco sobre los aspectos teóricos de la relación entre música y profecía.

«In his writings one only finds instructions concerning music-making while pronouncing Divine Names, which is the path by which we arrive at 'prophecy.'» — y lo que sí halla en sus escritos: instrucciones sobre hacer música al pronunciar los nombres divinos, que es la vía hacia la profecía.

«The proof that song indicates the degree of prophecy is that it is the way of song to make the heart happy by means of tunes, as it is said, "And when the minstrel played, the power of the Lord came upon» — el pasaje del Ozar Eden Ganuz que Idel traduce: la prueba de que el canto indica el grado de profecía es que alegra el corazón con melodías; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«him," [II Kings 3:15) for prophecy does not dwell in him [unless there is) joy [see ~abbat 3Ob). This was already hinted at in two words appearing at the end of Ecclesiastes [12:13), where he says, "The end of the matter, all being heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Join yar~ (fear) with §amar (keep), and you find §ir amar (i.e., "saya song"). There ia a hint [of this) in [Numbers 6:27) "and they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them"-yar~ samar, et §emi.» — y el juego de palabras con que ese texto lo apoya: unir los verbos temer y guardar del final del Eclesiastés para leer di un canto, con el versículo de Números que menciona poner el nombre sobre los hijos de Israel; *ia* por *is*, errata del facsímil.

«Elsewhere, Abulafia speaks of music in terms of practical instruction. We read in his book lfayye 'Olam ha-Ba: "In this manner» — el giro que Idel marca hacia la instrucción práctica, con la cita del Hayye Olam ha-Ba; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«he should transpose each letter frontwards and backwards, using many tunes.» — y la instrucción misma al otro lado del corte: transponer cada letra hacia adelante y hacia atrás usando muchas melodías.

«Make that special breath as long as you can, according to your capacity for taking one long breath, as long as you can possibly make it, and sing the ale! and every other letter which you proclaim with awe, fear and reverence, until the joy of the soul is combined with its understanding, which is great. The form of the tune i· ~ach letter should be in the image of the vowel points. It should be in the form of the ~Olam upwards.» — la instrucción más larga que traduce: alargar el aliento cuanto se pueda y cantar la alef y cada letra con temor y reverencia, hasta que el gozo del alma se combine con su entendimiento, con la melodía en la imagen de los puntos vocálicos; las erratas son del facsímil.

«Again, in Or ha-Se!el we find: "Until you say he properly, and in the image of the [Wlam which extends upwards, play the ~iriq which extends downwards.» — la instrucción paralela del Or ha-Sekel, con el holam que se extiende hacia arriba y el hiriq hacia abajo.

«Similarly, in Ozar 'Eden Ganuz: "Your tongue should always speak with a pleasant and pleasing tune, and very gently.» — y la del Ozar Eden Ganuz sobre el tono de la lengua.

«On page 70 of SeIer ha-Ot, music is mentioned as an additional element of the sacred text along with letters and vowel points.» — el lugar que la música ocupa en el Sefer ha-Ot, según Idel: elemento del texto sagrado junto a las letras y los puntos vocálicos.

«The parallel between music and vowel points emerges from these citations. The vowel point serves as a sort of note which gives the pitch to the one proclaiming the Name: fwlam indicates a high pitch, and ~irjq a low pitch.» — el paralelo que Idel extrae de esas citas: el punto vocálico funciona como una nota que da la altura al que proclama el Nombre.

«This usage calls to mind the lost science of music mentioned by Isaac ha-Kohen. Both he and Abulafia hold that this science leads to 'prophecy.'» — y con qué lo empareja: la ciencia perdida de la música que menciona Isaac ha-Kohen, ya que ambos sostienen que esa ciencia lleva a la profecía.

«There is no doubt that the remarks (. ~ the anonymous author of Ner Elohim58 also represent in essence a description of a technique which was employed in practice, and not a "lost" science:» — lo que Idel afirma del anónimo del Ner Elohim: sus observaciones describen una técnica empleada en la práctica y no una ciencia perdida.

«The niggun [i.e., music] is the beauty of pronunciation and indicates the production of sounds, with reference to five matters, because of the five varying pronunciations of the vowel points. 59 Moreover, the lute (kin nor), which has five strings, encompasses all music.» — el pasaje del Ner Elohim que traduce: la música es la belleza de la pronunciación y remite a cinco asuntos, por las cinco pronunciaciones de los puntos vocálicos, y el laúd de cinco cuerdas abarca toda la música.

«The philosophers call this science muziqa in Greek, because the word kin nor [is equivalent to] music. 61 We also call it nocam and taCam, as with the cantillation accents (tlamim), which are zarqa, tarsa, twir,» — y las equivalencias de nombre que ese texto da entre el término griego, el hebreo del instrumento y los acentos de cantilación; el tramo se corta por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«revica, gertl, etc., because by means of them the entire recitation is made more beautiful and more pleasing to those listening to it. It [the recitation] climbs up, becomes longer, and then turns backwards.» — el cierre del pasaje del Ner Elohim al otro lado del corte: los acentos hacen la recitación más bella y grata a quien la oye, y ella sube, se alarga y vuelve atrás.

«Further evidence of the integt:ation of music into the technique of Abulafia's students is found in Sa<are Z,edeq:» — el testimonio que Idel aduce para la integración de la música en la técnica de los discípulos de Abulafia.

«He should then continue with a pleasant voice and with melodies in the verses of praise and out of love of the Torah, for the joy of the living soul which is partnered to the rational [soul].» — el pasaje del Sacare Zedeq que traduce: seguir con voz grata y melodías en los versículos de alabanza, por el gozo del alma viva asociada a la racional.

«Based upon this passage, Judah al-Botini writes in Sullam ha-<Aliyyah: He should continue to play on all sorts of music[al instruments] if he has such or if he knows how to play on them; if not, he should make music with his mouth, by means of his voice, [singing] the verses of praise and out of love for the Torah, in order to gladden the living soul which is partnered to the speaking, intellectual soul.» — y la reelaboración de Judah al-Botini en el Sullam ha-Aliyah: tocar instrumentos si se sabe y, si no, hacer música con la boca para alegrar el alma viva asociada al alma parlante e intelectual.

«Music's sphere of influence is the living soul. Its task is to make this soul happy, so as not to interfere with the proper functioning of the intellectual soul, or the intellect.» — la esfera de influencia que Idel le adjudica a la música en esa doctrina: el alma viva, a la que alegra para que no estorbe el funcionamiento del alma intelectual.

«This view also appears in Yesod cOlam, written at the end of the thirteenth century by Elpanan ben Abraham Eskira, who belonged to a circle close to the views of Ginnat Egoz and the Sefer clyyun.» — y dónde más la halla: en el Yesod Olam de Elhanan ben Abraham Eskira, de fines del siglo XIII, cercano al Ginnat Egoz y al Sefer ha-Iyyun.

«When the soul craves for solitude and to regale itself in the luxuries of the intellect, were it not that Nature stands in its way with a temptation of images, it would separate itself from the body.» — el pasaje que traduce de esa obra: si la Naturaleza no le opusiera una tentación de imágenes, el alma que anhela la soledad y los lujos del intelecto se separaría del cuerpo.

«For this reason, the kinn6r was struck in front of the altar at the time that the sacrifice was offered.67 When the priest entered the Holy of Holies, which is the solitude, his garment produced sounds from the thirty-two bells, as it is written, "and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place ... that he die not"» — y la explicación ritual que ese texto da: por eso se tocaba el kinnor ante el altar en el sacrificio, y por eso las campanillas de la vestidura sonaban al entrar el sacerdote al Sancta Sanctorum, que es la soledad.

«It is known to those who speak of the science of music that music is intermediate between the spiritual and the material, in that it draws forth the intellect at the time of its imprisonment, as it is written, "but now bring me a minstrel" [II Kings 3:15], and as it is written, "awake nevel and kinn6r"» — la definición que ese texto da de la música: intermedia entre lo espiritual y lo material, porque saca al intelecto en el momento de su prisión.

«Nature drags the intellect, so to speak, to leave the intellectual [world] and to amuse itself with material things.» — y el contrapeso que describe: la Naturaleza arrastra al intelecto fuera del mundo intelectual para que se entretenga con cosas materiales.

«In another work written at the same time, Joseph ben Shalom» — la cuarta fuente que Idel suma: el comentario al Sefer Yezirah de Joseph ben Shalom Ashkenazi; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«Ashkenazi's commentary to SeIer Ye~irah, 68 the entry of the Hi~h Priest into the Holy of Holies is also seen as a symbol of mystical experience connected with music:» — y lo que halla en ella al otro lado del corte: la entrada del sumo sacerdote al Sancta Sanctorum vista también como símbolo de experiencia mística ligada a la música.

«The letters go out in the ways of the paths through the way of music, and this is the secret of the cantillation accents (te'amim) of the Torah, for they come in and go out with the sound of singing. The secret of this is the golden bell and pomegranate with which the High Priest used to enter the Holy of Holies, so that its sound may he heard. From this you will understand the secret of the Holy Spirit which resides in prophets in the manner of music.» — el pasaje que traduce: las letras salen por el camino de la música, secreto de los acentos de cantilación, y de ahí se entiende el del Espíritu Santo que reside en los profetas a la manera de la música.

«The author of the SeIer ha-Peli'ah combines the views of Yesod 'Olam with those of the Commentary to SeIer Ye~irah when he writes: He should draw the spirit of the Living God by means of known melodies which are the thirty-two melodies according to which the Torah is transposed. They say that those melodies are the cantillation accents of the Torah (ta'ame torah).» — la síntesis que Idel señala en el Sefer ha-Peliah: atraer el espíritu del Dios vivo con las treinta y dos melodías según las cuales se transpone la Torá, identificadas con los acentos de cantilación.

«Finally, let us quote the remarks of J:layyim Vital, who in the fourth part of Sa'ar~ Qedu§ah writes:7o And this is the secret of the "sons of the prophets," before whom went the drum and the flute, etc. For by means of the sweetness of the sound of music, dumbness [of senses]11 descends upon them with the pleasantness of the sound. They withdraw their souls,72 and then the musician stops playing, and the "sons of the prophets" are left with this supreme union and prophesy.» — el testimonio tardío con que cierra el capítulo, de Hayyim Vital: por la dulzura del sonido desciende sobre los hijos de los profetas un adormecimiento de los sentidos, retiran sus almas, el músico deja de tocar y quedan en la unión suprema profetizando.

«I have not found this metaphorical usage prior to the period of Abulafia. This author uses the combination 'pangs of love" ("and the spirit of his love is drawn out with the pangs of true love")» — la búsqueda negativa que Idel declara en nota: no halló ese uso metafórico antes de la época de Abulafia, que emplea la misma expresión en otra obra suya.

«This phrase appears a few years later in the work of the Kabbalist known as Joseph of Hamadan, fa<ame IuI-Mi!UJOt, MS. Jerusalem 8B 3925, fol. 82b.» — y dónde reaparece pocos años después, según él: en la obra del cabalista conocido como Joseph de Hamadán.

«This connection between the spleen and joy stems from a misunderstanding of the saying in Bera!ot 51b dealing with the "grinding» — el origen que Idel le adjudica en nota a la conexión entre el bazo y el gozo: un malentendido de un dicho talmúdico; el tramo se corta antes del término hebreo.

«However, in the Middle Ages the verb ~l;lQ was understood to mean the same as Sl;lQ;» — y cómo se consolidó ese malentendido en la Edad Media, con la confusión de dos raíces que el facsímil transcribe corrompidas.

«Instead of yeter )e~d perhaps read yeter )a~er, giving the translation: "moves from there to another string, such as bet, gimmel.» — la enmienda que Idel propone en nota a la lectura del pasaje musical del Gan Naul.

«The combination "in the voice of Moses" appears several times in the work of Abraham Abulafia, in order to emphasize the inner source of prophecy.» — el uso que Idel le atribuye en nota a esa fórmula en Abulafia: subrayar la fuente interior de la profecía.

«It cannot be that the Glory speaks of His Own accord in the same way that man speaks of his own accord. Take the nevel as an example; the man plays on it, and the sound is not of the nevel's own accord.» — el pasaje de R. Judah el Hasid que Idel traduce en nota: la Gloria no habla por su propia cuenta, como el nevel no suena por la suya sino porque el hombre lo tañe.

«R. Judah transfers the analogy from the sphere of the God-man connection to the sphere of God-glory, given that the Glory is the source of prophecy and the place of its occurrence.» — y el desplazamiento que Idel le señala: la analogía pasa de la relación Dios-hombre a la relación Dios-Gloria.

«The experts in this art call these six notes, in their language, lu]t, mil!] re fa sol la, and there is another fine note which joins in with them all, together and equally, and it is the song of (all] songs, "a great sound which did not cease." It is possible that David of blessed memory alluded to this art with the seven sounds, firstly, the "sound on the water" to instruct us in the Name. This art is truly material and spiritual, and therefore it arouses the perfection of the qualities by which prophecy sets in, as it is written, "But bring me now a minstrel, and when the minstrel played.» — el pasaje anónimo del Toledot Adam, escrito en 1444, que Idel traduce en nota: las seis notas con sus nombres, la nota fina que las une, y el arte a la vez material y espiritual que despierta las cualidades por las que sobreviene la profecía.

«This work was written under the influence of Abulafia's theory.» — y la filiación que le adjudica a esa obra.

«The tenth gate: the musical service in the 1emple, vocal and instrumental, in order to draw hearts towards Blessed God, and to lift the souls to the supreme world, the spiritual world. This is the issue of the pleasantness of voice (required) in the synagogues for prayers, qerovot and piyyutim, and in the 1emple they had proper command of the science of music.» — el pasaje del Piah Olam de Solomon ben Samuel que Idel traduce en nota: el servicio musical del Templo, vocal e instrumental, para atraer los corazones a Dios y levantar las almas al mundo espiritual.

«NequtltMt, usually denomination of vowel points; here, the term was probably used in the sense of musical notes.» — la aclaración terminológica que Idel deja en nota, con su grado: el término, que suele designar puntos vocálicos, se usa aquí probablemente en el sentido de notas musicales.

«I have omitted the passage dl!aling with music indicated by dots, which deals with music from Midras ha-Ne'elam, which Scholem published there.» — la omisión editorial que Idel declara en nota dentro del pasaje de ibn Abi Sahula.

«The idea that the science of music had originated with Israel and was then lost also appears in the passage ci,.!d above from Adn~ Kesef, and also in the important musical discussion of Moses Isserles in Torat ha-'O/ah, pt. 2, chap. 38: "the science of music which, due to sin, has been forgotten by us from the day on which the song-service ceased to exist.» — el motivo que Idel rastrea en nota: la ciencia de la música nacida en Israel y luego perdida, con la formulación de Moses Isserles que la da por olvidada desde que cesó el servicio del canto.

«There is question that there is a very close connection between the conception of music found in SOd ha-Salselet and that found among members of the circle of the SeIer ha-Temunah. I hope to write at length elsewhere on the conception of music in this circle.» — la conexión que Idel apunta en nota entre la concepción de la música del Sod ha-Shalshelet y la del círculo del Sefer ha-Temunah, con el estudio aparte que anuncia.

«fo1. 62a. This passage is based upon the gematria of 751, by which yar~ samar=et semi.» — la gematria que Idel explicita en nota para el juego de palabras del Ozar Eden Ganuz.

«In this manuscript, as well as in several other manuscripts of this treatise, there is an addendum which explains that the term niggunim is used in the sense of niqqudim; this is also the case in our following quotation» — la equivalencia de términos que Idel señala en nota entre melodías y puntos vocálicos, presente como añadido en varios manuscritos.

«The author refers here to the five long vowels which were accepted in Hebrew grammar from the time of Joseph Qimhi and which appear in Abulafia's books.» — a qué remite en nota la mención de las cinco pronunciaciones: las cinco vocales largas admitidas en la gramática hebrea desde Joseph Qimhi.

«The four-stringed Cud (short-necked lute), considered by the Arabs to be the musical instrument par excellence ("instrument of the philosophers"), was liable to be supplemented by an added fifth string» — el instrumento que Idel pone al lado en nota: el laúd árabe de cuatro cuerdas, tenido por instrumento por excelencia y ampliable con una quinta.

«Of particular interest as regards our text is the source quoted (after H.G. Farmer) by Werner-Sonne, HUCA 16 (1941), pp.275-276, referring to the analogy of the four strings with the four elements, and associating the added fifth string with the soul.» — y la analogía que le interesa de esa fuente: las cuatro cuerdas con los cuatro elementos y la quinta añadida con el alma.

«Indeed man is made up of five elements which encompass the whole body. One element is simple and heavenly, and it is one of the heavenly forces, and it is called in its entirety soul (ne{e§), spirit (rua!rJ or higher soul» — el pasaje del Ner Elohim que Idel traduce en nota: el hombre se compone de cinco elementos, uno simple y celeste, que es una de las fuerzas celestes.

«The animal soul found in the living being does not deny the action of nature, but rather rejoices in the colors and sounds which nature produces, for they exist potentially in the animal soul.» — el pasaje de Averroes que Idel traduce en nota: el alma animal no niega la acción de la naturaleza, sino que se alegra en los colores y sonidos que ella produce, porque existen en potencia en esa alma.

«At most times of the day which are the times of solitude, in the morning and in the evening, he should sit in the garden which delights the soul, which [soul] feels through the five senses that there exists a beauty of variety of sights-the flowers, roses, and the sight of the fruit-and a beauty of the variety of sounds-various songs with which the birds, while nesting, make pleasant melodies . . . in this manner his sensitive soul will not be sad at the beginning of solitude.» — y el de Yohanan Alemanno que pone al lado: sentarse en el jardín en las horas de soledad, donde los cinco sentidos perciben la belleza de las flores y de los cantos de los pájaros, para que el alma sensitiva no se entristezca al empezar la soledad.

«The sensitive soul of AIlemanno is the animal soul of Averroes and the living soul of ~care ~eq.» — la equivalencia que Idel establece entre las tres nociones; la grafía duplicada del nombre es del facsímil.

«It is worth addressing the difference between ~("are ydeq and Sullam ha-CAliyah: in the latter book, primarily instrumental music is discussed, and we may here be encountering the influence of the Sufi practice of samac, which was based upon instrumental music.» — la diferencia que Idel señala entre las dos obras y la hipótesis con que la explica: en el Sullam ha-Aliyah se trata sobre todo de música instrumental, y quizá haya ahí influjo de la práctica sufí del sama.

«The phrase, "the harp was struck in front of the altar" seems to be based on the Mishnaic phrase "the !talil (flute) was played in front of the altar," in cAra!in 2:3.» — la fuente que Idel propone en nota para esa frase, con su grado: parece basarse en una fórmula de la Mishná sobre la flauta tocada ante el altar.

«It would be superfluous to point out that the connection between High Priest and ecstasy appears as early Philo, and from there moved on to Plotinus.» — la genealogía que Idel da en nota a la conexión entre sumo sacerdote y éxtasis: ya en Filón y de ahí a Plotino, y también en el Zohar.

«In the matter of the number of bells, there is a clear paralJel between Yesod cOlam and Seier ha-Peli'ah; the number thirty-two does not appear in Zevabim 88b, where thirty-six or seventy-two, but not thirty-two, bells, are spoken of.» — el paralelo numérico que Idel señala en nota entre el Yesod Olam y el Sefer ha-Peliah, y la discrepancia con la fuente talmúdica sobre el número de campanillas.

«Vital himself admits that his conception of prophecy was influenced by Abulafia whom he quotes (among others) in chapter 4.» — lo que Idel consigna en nota sobre Vital: admite él mismo que su concepción de la profecía recibió el influjo de Abulafia, a quien cita.

«Hitbodedut: here the meaning is not "solitude" or "isolation," as in the usual connotations of this term.» — la precisión terminológica que Idel deja en nota: aquí el término no significa soledad ni aislamiento.

«The interpretation of hitbodedut as dumbness of the senses also seems plausible in Pseudo Ibn-Ezra, Sefer h4-c~mim (London, 1901), p. 13.» — y la lectura que declara plausible en otro texto: el término entendido como adormecimiento de los sentidos.

«A bulafia' s system of thought is dominated by two major concepts: .r-s.. the intellect and the imagination. The literal meaning of the Torah is associated with the imagination, while its esoteric meaning is associated with the intellect.» — los dos conceptos que Idel pone al frente del capítulo tercero: el intelecto y la imaginación, con el sentido literal de la Torá ligado a la imaginación y el esotérico al intelecto.

«These concepts also provide a key to understanding his visions and their hidden meaning. The allegoric approach characteristic of his sCriptural hermeneutics will thus assist us in understanding the meaning of his own visions.» — y el uso que les da: leer las visiones de Abulafia por la misma clave alegórica de su hermenéutica bíblica.

«While Abulafia's Biblical interpretation is a clear example of allegorization of the text-that is, the introduction of an allegorical meaning into a text in which there is ab initio no such significance-his interpretation of his visions is not subject to such a c1earcut definition.» — la asimetría que Idel señala: la interpretación bíblica de Abulafia es alegorización clara, la de sus visiones no admite definición tan neta.

«On the one hand, Abulafia attempts to interpret personal experience through the use of concepts inappropriate to the type of material which they are meant to interpret;» — el primer término de esa tensión: Abulafia interpreta experiencia personal con conceptos inadecuados al material que quieren interpretar.

«on the other hand, those concepts which Abulafia made into cornerstones of his thought may be expressed allegorically in his visions, so that the interpretation itself is not so much an allegorization as an uncovering of the allegorical element inherent within the vision.» — y el segundo: esos conceptos pueden expresarse alegóricamente en las visiones, de modo que interpretarlas sería descubrir el elemento alegórico ya presente.

«We will not attempt to decide this question at this point, but it is worth citing here Abulafia's own words concerning the need for an interpretation of his visions.» — la abstención que Idel declara: no intenta decidir la cuestión en ese punto.

«This is the meaning revealed to all, but the hidden meaning may only be understood by one who comprehends it by himself.» — las palabras del Sefer ha-Ot con que la ilustra: el sentido revelado a todos y el sentido oculto que solo entiende quien lo comprende por sí mismo.

«One may ask why Abulafia felt such a great need to interpret his visions. The answer to this question is embedded in his prophetic-mystical approach. Following Maimonides, Abulafia states that» — la pregunta que Idel se plantea y adónde remite la respuesta: a su planteamiento profético-místico; el tramo se corta antes del folio impreso al pie de la plana.

«prophecy is impossible without the imaginative faculty, 2 through which the flow of the intellect is transformed into visual images and sounds.» — la tesis que Idel le atribuye a Abulafia siguiendo a Maimónides: no hay profecía sin facultad imaginativa, por la que el flujo del intelecto se vuelve imágenes visuales y sonidos.

«The function of interpretation is to return to the intellective influx, which contains within itself the intellectual contents of the revelation.» — y la función que le adjudica a la interpretación: volver al influjo intelectivo, que contiene los contenidos intelectuales de la revelación.

«Abulafia saw himself as a prophet in every respect, as we may see from his Sefer hR,-Haftarah, which he asked to have read every Sabbath in the synagogue3; consequently, his visions include an intellectual message in imaginative garb.» — lo que Idel sostiene sobre la conciencia profética de Abulafia y su consecuencia: sus visiones llevan un mensaje intelectual en ropaje imaginativo, y por eso pidió que su Sefer ha-Haftarah se leyera cada sábado en la sinagoga.

«Our discussion must therefore be divided into two: one part will concern the sensualimaginative aspect of his experience, and the other, the interpretive and "intellectual" part.» — el reparto que Idel hace del capítulo: la parte sensorial e imaginativa de la experiencia y la parte interpretativa e intelectual; el impreso escribe *sensual-imaginative* con guion léxico partido por el salto de renglón, y span() lo une sin el guion.

«The tangible part of Abulafia's experience is not subject to interpretation; the feeling of joy or of mission, the fear which pursues the prophet~ and similar feelings, are well-known signs accompanying a message in visual or verbal form.» — y lo que declara no interpretable: la parte tangible, con el gozo, la misión y el miedo, signos conocidos que acompañan al mensaje.

«The connection between mystical experience and related phenomena-such as foretelling the future, magic, and extraordinary physical sensations and emotional feelings-was well known from ancient times.» — la antigüedad que Idel le reconoce a la conexión entre experiencia mística, predicción, magia y sensaciones físicas extraordinarias.

«During the Middle Ages, these phenomena continued to be viewed as epi-phenomena of prophetic experiences; Maimonides characterizes all the prophets, with the exception of Moses, with the phrase that, at the time of prophecy, "his powers would fail; he would be overcome with dread, and nearly lose his mind.» — y la caracterización de Maimónides que consigna: en el momento de la profecía las potencias fallan y el profeta queda sobrecogido de espanto.

«Elsewhere, Maimonides compares the magician to "one who falls sick," and goes on to offer an explanation of the connection between prophecy and various physical and psychic phenomena in terms of the major role played by the imaginative faculty.» — el otro lugar de Maimónides que aduce: la comparación del mago con un enfermo y la explicación por el papel de la facultad imaginativa.

«It is impossible for those possessing these imaginative powers not to perform one of those acts by which this power is actualized and brought to light. And among these are those who strike upon the ground many times with a stick which is in their hand, or scream out in strange cries and abandon their thoughts and gaze at the earth a long time until they find it, as in the matter of falling sickness [epilepsy], and will relate what is to occur in the future.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Mizvot que Idel traduce: quienes tienen esas potencias imaginativas golpean el suelo con un palo o gritan de modo extraño y miran largo tiempo la tierra, como en el mal caduco, y cuentan lo que va a ocurrir.

«Maimonides is saying here that the strengthening of the activity of the imagination is inevitably accompanied by various external manifestations.» — lo que Idel lee ahí: el fortalecimiento de la imaginación viene acompañado inevitablemente de manifestaciones externas.

«Ibn Rushd (Averroes), on the other hand, holds that» — la posición contraria que Idel consigna, la de Averroes; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana, y del otro lado la frase dice que la actividad plena de la imaginación depende de acallar los sentidos.

«the fullest activity of the imagination is contingent upon silencing the activities of the senses. In his Epitome of Paroa Naturalia, we read:» — el enunciado completo al otro lado del corte, con la obra de la que Idel lo toma.

«It is fitting that the power of the imagination act more completely and more spiritually in sleep, for at the time of sleep the soul has already nullified the senses of sight and its organs, and has turned them towards the inner sense.» — el pasaje del Epítome de los Parva naturalia que Idel traduce: la potencia imaginativa obra más completa y espiritualmente en el sueño, porque el alma ha anulado los sentidos y los ha vuelto al sentido interno.

«And the proof that the inner powers act more perfectly when the external senses are at rest is that, when the thought of the people does greatly, they turn their powers of feeling towards within the body until they faint from sleep, and they will intend to rest the external senses in order to improve the thought.» — y la prueba que ese texto aduce: cuando el pensamiento se esfuerza, las potencias de sentir se vuelven hacia dentro del cuerpo hasta desmayarse de sueño.

«And for this reason. .. prophecy indeed necessarily comes about in a similar matter. And that is because, when these inner powers move a strong movement, the external [organs] contract until at times there occurs in this something similar to fainting.» — y la conclusión que saca sobre la profecía: cuando esas potencias internas se mueven con fuerza, los órganos externos se contraen hasta producirse algo semejante al desmayo.

«Both of these opln1ons appear in Abulafia-that claiming a strengthening, and that asserting a diminution, of external activity simultaneous with the strengthening of the imagination, while only the latter view appears among the members of his circle.» — el desacuerdo que Idel consigna sin armonizarlo: las dos opiniones —fortalecimiento y disminución de la actividad externa— aparecen en Abulafia, y solo la segunda entre los de su círculo.

«Know that so long as you combine letters rapidly, and the hairs of your head do not all stand up in trembling, you have not yet attained one of the levels of the spirit in which all of the limbs [of the body] are moved, and you have not known even His existence, let alone His essence.» — el pasaje del Sitre Torah que Idel traduce: mientras al combinar letras con rapidez no se ericen todos los cabellos en temblor, no se ha alcanzado ninguno de los grados del espíritu ni se ha conocido siquiera su existencia.

«But the beginning of that apprehension is the whirlwind, of which it is said,9 "and I looked, and behold, a whirlwind coming from the north." And it is said, to "and God answered Job out of the whirlwind.» — y el nombre que ese texto le da al comienzo de esa aprehensión, con los dos versículos que aduce: el torbellino.

«The "storm" refers here to the storm of the limbs, as Abulafia describes it in OYlr <Eden Ganuzll» — la lectura que Idel da de ese término: la tormenta de los miembros, tal como Abulafia la describe en el Ozar Eden Ganuz.

«The hairs of your head will begin to stand up and to the storm. And your blood-which is the life blood which is in your heart, of which it is saidt2 "for the blood is the soul," and of which it is likewise said,13 "for the blood shall atone for the soul" -[this blood] will begin to move out because of the living combination which speaks, and all your body will begin to tremble, and your limbs will begin to shake, and you will fear a tremendous fear, and the fear of God shall cover you» — el pasaje que traduce: los cabellos se erizan, la sangre de vida del corazón empieza a salir por la combinación viva que habla, el cuerpo entero tiembla y los miembros se sacuden con un temor tremendo.

«And the body will tremble, like the rider who races the horse, who is glad and joyful, while the horse trembles beneath him.» — y el símil con que ese texto cierra: el cuerpo tiembla como el jinete que corre el caballo, alegre y gozoso mientras el caballo tiembla bajo él.

«The meaning of this trembling is explained in the previous page of that same work, where we read:» — adónde remite Idel para el sentido de ese temblor: la plana anterior de la misma obra.

«And his intellect is greater than his imagination, and it rides upon it like one who rides upon a horse and drives it by hitting it with [a whip] to run before it as it wills, and his whip is in his hand to make it [i.e., the imagination] stand where his intellect wills.» — el pasaje correspondiente: el intelecto es mayor que la imaginación y cabalga sobre ella como quien monta un caballo y lo gobierna con el látigo.

«Another description of the trembling which overcomes one who meditates at the time of the 'prophetic' experience appears in lfayye ha-<Olam ha-Ba: "By his concentration he again brings upon himself fear and trembling, and the hairs of his head stand, and all his limbs tremble.» — la tercera descripción que aduce, del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba: por su concentración se atrae temor y temblor, se erizan los cabellos y tiemblan todos los miembros.

«Abulafia's disciples likewise testify to such a feeling; the anonymous author of Sacare Z.edeq writes, "great trembling seized me, and I could not gather strength, and my hairs stood Up.» — y el testimonio del anónimo del Sacare Zedeq: un gran temblor lo tomó, no pudo reunir fuerzas y se le erizaron los cabellos.

«A second element manifested in the descriptions of Abulafia's experience is "spirit"; further on in the above-cited passage from Sitre Torah, we learn that "the second apprehension is that of spirit, not like the spirit of God.» — el segundo elemento que Idel distingue: el espíritu, segunda aprehensión según el Sitre Torah.

«And you shall feel another spirit awakening within yourself and strengthening you and passing over your entire body and giving you pleasure, and it will seem to you that balm has been poured over you from the crown of your head to your feet, once or many times, and you shall rejoice and feel from it a great pleasure, with gladness and trembling.» — el pasaje del Ozar Eden Ganuz que lo describe: otro espíritu despierta dentro, pasa por todo el cuerpo y da placer, como si se hubiera derramado bálsamo desde la coronilla hasta los pies.

«The feeling of pleasure and relief following the trembling is also depicted in l;layye ha-cOlam ha-Ba:19 Afterwards, should you merit it, the spirit of the living God shall pass over you,20 and there shall dwell upon you the spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and fear of God, and one will imagine that it is as if one's entire body has been anointed with anointing oil from head to feet, and he will be the Messiah of God and his messenger.» — y la versión del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba: el espíritu del Dios vivo pasa sobre uno, con el espíritu de sabiduría, entendimiento, conocimiento y temor, como ungido con óleo de la cabeza a los pies.

«Behold, I was anointed from head to foot as with the anointing oil, and we were surrounded with great joy, and 1 do not know how to» — y el mismo motivo en el discípulo del Sacare Zedeq: ungido de la cabeza a los pies y rodeado de gran gozo; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«compare to it any image because of its great spirituality and the sweetness of its pleasure; all this occurred to your servant at the beginning.» — y el cierre de ese testimonio al otro lado del corte: no sabe con qué imagen compararlo por su gran espiritualidad y la dulzura de su placer.

«Abulafia's disciples testify to the absence of sensation following "the storm of the organs." In the same work, the author states: "And I immediately fell down as if I were not in the world, for I did not feel any strength in any organs,» — el testimonio de ausencia de sensación que Idel recoge del Sacare Zedeq: caer de inmediato como si no estuviera en el mundo, sin sentir fuerza en ningún órgano.

«while R. Judah Albotini writes: "until all of the physical powers were taken away from me, and his intellect also departed him (sic), like [the will] to act, and he falls to the earth as if dead, and lies down and falls asleep.» — y el de R. Judah Albotini: retiradas todas las potencias físicas, el intelecto también lo deja y cae a tierra como muerto; el *sic* es de Idel.

«These texts, which in at least some cases reflect personal experiences, are quite rare in Jewish mysticism, and constitute important evidence of ecstatic moods and tendencies accompanied by distinctive bodily phenomena.» — el valor que Idel les da con su grado: reflejan al menos en algunos casos experiencias personales, son raros en la mística judía y son evidencia importante de disposiciones extáticas con fenómenos corporales distintivos.

«In Sitre Torah, Abulafia goes on to describe the various stages of mystical experience. We have already noted above his words referring to the storm and the wind as two primary "comprehensions." Let us now proceed to the other stages:» — el retorno de Idel a la serie de estadios del Sitre Torah tras la tormenta y el viento.

«and the third is the tumult,25 and God was not in the tumult"; and the fourth, fire: "And God was not in the fire, and after the fire there was a still small voice.» — los estadios tercero y cuarto según ese texto: el tumulto y el fuego, definidos por versículos como los dos primeros.

«Like the first two, the third and fourth stages are defined by means of scriptural verses.» — la observación de Idel sobre el procedimiento del texto.

«The significance of the third stage-the tumult-is not clear to me, and it may be connected with the movement of the limbs referred to above.» — la abstención que Idel declara sobre el tercer estadio: su significado no le queda claro, y conjetura que pueda ligarse al movimiento de los miembros.

«We must examine the fourth level carefully, as it includes two different elements: fire, that is, the visual element; and speech, the verbal element.» — los dos elementos que distingue en el cuarto nivel: el fuego, elemento visual, y el habla, elemento verbal.

«The order in which these two elements are cited is determined by the verse from the book of Kings, but this order would seem in fact to reflect the preference of hearing over seeing.» — y lo que ese orden refleja según su lectura: la preferencia del oír sobre el ver.

«But all of the early ones of the Kabbalists mentioned are called "prophets for themselves," and those who know God from his actions [i.e., the philosophers] share with them to an extent this title. Those called prophets in terms of this aspect speak within themselves alone, and the light of God illuminates part of their thoughts at some of the times [by] a small light, and they themselves recognize that this light is not from themselves, but no speech comes to them that they might recognize that it is speech, but rather Iight.» — el pasaje de la carta a R. Judah Salmon que Idel traduce: los primeros cabalistas son profetas para sí mismos, hablan dentro de sí y la luz de Dios ilumina parte de sus pensamientos, sin que les llegue habla que reconozcan como tal, sino luz.

«In this passage, as in the verse cited from Sitri Torah, a distinction is drawn between the visual and verbal element, with preference given to the latter as a higher level of prophecy.» — la distinción que Idel extrae de ahí: entre elemento visual y verbal, con el segundo como nivel más alto de profecía.

«According to Abulafia, the revelation of light is characteristic of 'prophetic' experience among the Kabbalists who followed the Sephirotic system» — y a quién adjudica Abulafia la revelación de luz: a los cabalistas del sistema sefirótico.

«There is extensive basis for this statement; in the writings of R. Isaac the Blind, and particularly in those of R. Azriel of Gerona, we find an abundance of symbols related to light.» — el apoyo que Idel le da: la abundancia de símbolos de luz en R. Isaac el Ciego y sobre todo en R. Azriel de Gerona.

«Whoever fixes a thing in his mind wit1~ complete firmness, that thing becomes for him the principle thing.» — el pasaje del Sacar ha-Kawwanah atribuido a R. Azriel que Idel traduce: aquello que se fija en la mente con firmeza completa se vuelve para uno la cosa principal.

«Thus, when you pray and recite benedictions or [otherwise] wish to direct the kilWWflnma to something in true manner, then imagine that you are light, and all about you is light from every direction and every side, and in the midst of the light a stream of light, and upon it a brilliant light, and opposite it a throne, and upon it the good light» — y la instrucción que sigue: al orar o dirigir la kawwanah, imaginarse luz, con luz alrededor por todos lados, un arroyo de luz, sobre él una luz brillante y frente a ella un trono con la luz buena.

«And turn to the right and you find [there] pure light, and to the left and you will find an aura, which is the radiant light. And between them and above them the light of the glory, and around it the light of life. And above it the crown of light that crowns the objects of thought, illuminates the paths of ideas, and brightens the splendor of visions. And this illumination is inexhaustible and unending.» — el resto de esa jerarquía luminosa: luz pura a la derecha, resplandor a la izquierda, la luz de la gloria entre ellas y encima, la luz de la vida alrededor y la corona de luz que corona los objetos del pensamiento.

«The first sentence is the most important one for understanding this passage: by concentrating his thought upon a particular subject, man is able to enter into a world whose structure is dictated by the contemplator: the "thing" which the contemplator "fixes ... in his mind with complete firmness." In our passage, this is the light which he "makes the main thing" in wake of his spiritual effort.» — lo que Idel declara más importante del pasaje: concentrando el pensamiento en un asunto, el hombre entra en un mundo cuya estructura la dicta el contemplador.

«Evidence for the connection between the light and prophecy appears already in R. Ezra of Gerona, who writes, "for he sat and learned, and would connect his thoughts on high ... for all light requires the supernal light which is above it, and to be drawn to it, for each light is in accordance with the subtlety of its inwardness.» — el testimonio más antiguo que aduce, de R. Ezra de Gerona: se sentaba y aprendía y conectaba sus pensamientos en lo alto, porque toda luz requiere la luz superna que está sobre ella.

«These passages, and others which we could have brought,30 indicate that the light was an important focal point to the early Kabbalists, and that it continued to be an important source of symbols for the Kabbalah of R. Moses de Leon as well.» — lo que Idel concluye de esos pasajes: la luz fue foco importante de los primeros cabalistas y siguió siendo fuente de símbolos para la cábala de R. Moses de León.

«From this, it follows that Abulafia's distinction concerning the Kabbalists who experience light visions and those who have a "speech" experience is in many cases correct.» — y el grado con que aprueba la distinción de Abulafia entre cabalistas de visiones de luz y de experiencia de habla: correcta en muchos casos.

«the early Kabbalists were "prophets to themselves"-that is, their experiences remained confined to restricted circles, and those who underwent» — la segunda afirmación de Abulafia que Idel declara verdadera: los primeros cabalistas eran profetas para sí mismos, con experiencias confinadas a círculos restringidos; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«these experiences deliberately refrained from making them widely known. From this point of view, Abulafia argues, the early Kabbalists were similar to the philosophers, who sufficed with knowledge of God in terms of His actions, and did not generally attempt to disseminate their teaching in public.» — y su continuación: se abstuvieron deliberadamente de difundirlas, con lo que se parecen, según Abulafia, a los filósofos que se contentaban con conocer a Dios por sus actos.

«Abulafia's third statement, that the Sefirotic Kabbalists do not receive lithe word," is likewise correct; as against the great number of sources dealing with light, there are very few Kabbalists who claim to have heard voices or Speech.» — y la tercera afirmación que Idel también aprueba: frente a las muchas fuentes sobre la luz, muy pocos cabalistas dicen haber oído voces o habla.

«To Abulafia, the receiving of light seems connected with the Sefirotic system,33 for which reason it is a lower level of prophecy.» — el lugar que Abulafia le da a la recepción de luz, según Idel: ligada al sistema sefirótico y por eso nivel inferior de profecía.

«they are all prophets who are beginning to see light in the light of life, and from there to ascend from light to light through the course of their thoughts, which are compounded and sweet» — el pasaje de la epístola We-Zot li-Yihudah que Idel traduce: los de la cábala de los Nombres son profetas que empiezan a ver luz en la luz de la vida y de ahí ascienden de luz en luz por el curso de sus pensamientos.

«We may infer from this that the revelation associated with light is a first stage in the path of prophecy, which also appears among those who follow Abulafia's path.» — lo que Idel infiere: la revelación de luz es un primer estadio de la vía profética, presente también entre los que siguen a Abulafia.

«Study of Abulafia's works indicates that the light has no significant function in his phenomenon of prophecy; this can be explained on the assumption that Abulafia's books are only concerned with the more advanced stage of mystical-prophetic experience, disregarding the initial stages.» — y la explicación que propone para su ausencia en Abulafia: sus libros solo se ocupan del estadio avanzado de la experiencia, dejando de lado los iniciales.

«Abulafia thought of himself as one who had reached the highest level, for which reason it was natural that the light would no longer occupy such a prominent place in his system.» — y a qué lo atribuye: Abulafia se tenía por quien había llegado al nivel más alto.

«On the other hand, one of Abulafia's students, the author of Sa<ar2 :Ydeq, comments that at the beginning of his path he experienced the appearance of light, and only later did he experience speech, exactly as described in Abulafia's above-mentioned comment.» — el testimonio contrario que consigna: el autor del Sacare Zedeq dice haber experimentado primero la aparición de luz y solo después el habla.

«The third night, after midnight, I nodded off a little, quill in hand and paper on my knees. Then I noticed that the candle was about to go out. I rose to put it right, as oftentimes happens to a person awake. Then I saw that the light continued. I was greatly astonished, as though, after close examination, I saw that it issued from myseH. I said: 1 do not believe it.' I walked to and fro aU through the house and, behold, the light is with me; I lay on a couch and covered myself up, and behold, the light is with me aU the while.» — la descripción de esa primera experiencia que Idel traduce: la vela a punto de apagarse, la luz que continúa, el asombro al ver que salía de sí mismo, y la luz que lo acompaña por toda la casa y en el lecho.

«There is no reference here to speech in this first revelation, which appeared after a number of days, after the author had progressed in» — lo que Idel señala de ese relato: no hay habla en la primera revelación, llegada tras varios días; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«the path of the Kabbalah of Names. One ought to point out that the system of Sacari ~edeq presents a synthesis between the Sefirotic Kabbalah and that of Names, a point on which it differs from that of Abulafia.» — y la diferencia doctrinal que registra al otro lado del corte: el sistema del Sacare Zedeq sintetiza la cábala sefirótica y la de los Nombres, cosa en que se aparta de Abulafia.

«and by the power of the combination and the meditation, there happened to me that which happened with the light which I saw going with me, as I mentioned in Sacar2 ~edeq.» — el otro pasaje del mismo autor, conservado en el Shoshan Sodot, que liga la aparición de la luz al poder de la combinación y la meditación.

«The two passages by this author are characterized by the fact that the source of the light is inside the person's own body.» — el rasgo común que Idel destaca en los dos: la fuente de la luz está dentro del cuerpo de la persona.

«Interestingly, this same phenomenon also appears in a mystical school which emerged in Greece contemporaneously with Abulafia and his disciples.» — y el paralelo que trae: el mismo fenómeno en una escuela mística surgida en Grecia contemporáneamente.

«In the biography of Symeon the New Theologian, the eleventh-century thinker who greatly influenced the shaping of hesychasm in Greece in the thirteenth century, we find a description of the uniting of Symeon with the light which he saw:» — de quién lo toma: la biografía de Simeón el Nuevo Teólogo, pensador del siglo XI que según Idel influyó mucho en la formación del hesicasmo griego del XIII.

«And as the light became stronger, and was bright as the sun at noon-time, he saw himself in the center of the light, and the sweetness which penetrated to his entire body caused him joy and tears. He saw the light adhering to his body in a manner which would not be believed, and gradually penetrating to all his limbs ... and the light gradually penetrated into his entire body, to his heart and his inwards, and transformed them into fire and light.» — el pasaje que traduce: la luz se hizo fuerte como el sol de mediodía, se vio en su centro, la dulzura penetró todo su cuerpo con gozo y lágrimas, y la luz penetró sus miembros, su corazón y sus entrañas.

«This passage also influenced The Book of the System of Holy Prayer and Concentration, the first work of the hesychastic school composed, according to scholars, in the thirteenth century, in which it states:: "When you seek the place of the heart in your insides, you shall attain the vision of the light, which will transform you into a being completely shining, and you shall feel a great joy which cannot bE~ described.» — y la obra hesicasta que según Idel recibió ese influjo: buscando el lugar del corazón en las entrañas se alcanza la visión de la luz, que transforma en un ser enteramente luminoso.

«The experience of light surrounding a holy thing or a mystic is, of course, not in itself extraordinary.» — la acotación con que Idel modera el paralelo: la experiencia de luz en torno a una cosa santa o a un místico no es en sí extraordinaria.

«However, thE~ appearance of two cases of a mystic enwrapped in light during the same period cannot be merely coincidental, given the feasibility of contact between the two schools in terms of geographical proximity.» — pero lo que sí declara: dos casos de místico envuelto en luz en el mismo periodo no pueden ser mera coincidencia, dada la posibilidad de contacto entre las dos escuelas.

«While Sacar2 ~edeq was evidently written in the land of Israel, it may be that the events described therein o~curred elsewhere: Abulaficl testifies that he had disciples in both Greece and Sicily,39 so we cannot disregard the possibility that the similarity in the appearance of light is the outcome of actual historical contact.» — y el grado con que deja abierta la hipótesis: como Abulafia declara haber tenido discípulos en Grecia y en Sicilia, no se puede descartar un contacto histórico efectivo.

«The vision of light continued to be a form of experience among those Kabbalists who used Abulafia's system. R. Isaac of Acre wrob~» — la continuidad que Idel registra: la visión de luz siguió siendo forma de experiencia entre los cabalistas que usaron el sistema de Abulafia; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«Moreover, in the third watch, when I was half asleep, I saw the house in which I was sleeping full of a light which was very sweet and pleasant, for this light was not like the light which emanates from the sun, but was [bright] as the light of day, which is the light of dawn before the sun rises.» — el testimonio del Ozar Hayyim de R. Isaac de Acre que Idel traduce: en la tercera vigilia, medio dormido, vio la casa llena de una luz muy dulce, no como la del sol sino como la del alba antes de salir.

«And this light was before me for about three hours, and I hastened to open my eyes to see whether the dawn had broken or not, so that I might rise and pray, and I saw that it was yet night, and I returned to my sleep with joy, and after I rose from my bed in order to pray, I suddenly saw a secret of the letter Ale!.» — y lo que siguió: la luz permaneció unas tres horas, comprobó que aún era de noche, volvió a dormir con alegría y al levantarse a orar vio de pronto un secreto de la letra alef.

«As in the case of the author of Sa'ari Zedeq, the light appears to R. Isaac of Acre in a state in which he was half-asleep, in the middle of the night.» — el paralelo que Idel señala: también aquí la luz aparece en estado de duermevela, en mitad de la noche.

«Let us now turn to the account of R. Shem Tov b. Abraham ibn Gaon: This Kabbalist, who at the beginning of his literary activity was involved with copying manuscripts and had contact with Kabbalists such as R. Solomon ibn Adret and R. Isaac Todros, later changed his path:» — el tercer testimonio que trae y la trayectoria de su autor: R. Shem Tov b. Abraham ibn Gaon, copista de manuscritos y allegado a ibn Adret y a R. Isaac Todros, que después cambió de camino.

«among other factors were his meetings with the Kabbalists R. Abraham, author of SeIer Yesod 'Olam and his son R. Hanannelof Esquira.» — a qué atribuye Idel ese cambio, entre otros factores: sus encuentros con el autor del Sefer Yesod Olam y su hijo; la grafía pegada es del facsímil.

«This change is seen in the study of Sefer Ye!irah, a book which did not enjoy an important position in the circle of Ibn Adret.» — y en qué se ve: el estudio del Sefer Yezirah, libro sin posición importante en el círculo de ibn Adret.

«has no companion to himself within his heart he shall sit in silence and be still, for it has come upon him,43 and he shall begin to write what he sees in his mind, like one who copies from a book that is written before him . . . a ball like the sun in true drawing, for the light has appeared to him at that hour.» — el pasaje del Badde ha-Aron que Idel traduce: quien no tiene compañero en su corazón se sienta en silencio y empieza a escribir lo que ve en su mente, como quien copia de un libro, una bola como el sol en dibujo verdadero.

«also at the time we composed this book, when we would articulate the Ineffable Name, things came into our eyes from verses in the image of red fire towards evening, until we were astonished by them and we left them. And this happened to us several times [while we were] writing.» — y el testimonio de R. Moses de Kiev que Idel recoge del Shoshan Sodot: al articular el Nombre inefable les venían a los ojos cosas de los versículos en imagen de fuego rojo hacia el atardecer, hasta quedar asombrados.

«It seems to me that we may summarize the passages concerning» — el resumen que Idel anuncia de los pasajes sobre la aparición de luz entre autores judíos; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«the appearance of light among Jewish authors in terms of two main characteristics. First, light appears in connection with the activity of writing or of combining the letters of the Ineffable Name in writing.» — y el primero de los dos rasgos, al otro lado del corte: la luz aparece ligada a la escritura o a la combinación escrita de las letras del Nombre inefable.

«Even though this is not explicitly stated by our authors, from our knowledge of the technique of the author of Sa'ar~ Zedeq and of R. Isaac of Acre there can be no doubt that they followed Abulafia's path in combining the letters of the Ineffable Name; among other authors, R. Shem Tov and R. Moses of Kiev, this is explicitly stated.» — y el grado con que lo apoya: no lo dicen de modo explícito, pero por lo que se sabe de la técnica del anónimo del Sacare Zedeq y de R. Isaac de Acre no cabe duda de que seguían la vía de Abulafia.

«Second, the appearance of light comes about unexpectedly; the light appears suddenly, and not as the result of a deliberate attempt to bring about an experience of light.» — el segundo rasgo: la luz aparece de manera inesperada, no como resultado de un intento deliberado.

«Unlike the description in Safar ha-Kawwanah, in which the experience of light is the result of a deliberate effort, the above-cited authors are astonished by the appearance of the light.» — y el contraste que traza con el Sacar ha-Kawwanah, donde la experiencia de luz sí resulta de un esfuerzo deliberado.

«An additional difference between them and the anonymous Kabbalist lies in the nature of the experience: from the description in Safar ha-Kawwanah, the vision of light seems to be a pneumatic vision, while» — la segunda diferencia que registra: en el Sacar ha-Kawwanah la visión de luz parece pneumática; el tramo se corta aquí por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«the other authors stress that this is an actual sensory phenomenon; they even attempt to describe the color of the light or the feelings which accompany the light.» — y lo que subrayan los demás autores al otro lado del corte: un fenómeno sensorial efectivo, cuyo color y sentimientos acompañantes intentan describir.

«An additional distinction concerns the magical possibilities inherent in the lights appearing to the anonymous Kabbalist. These lights constitute a kind of world in itself to which one may turn with "requests," something for which there is no parallel among other authors.» — y la tercera diferencia: las posibilidades mágicas de esas luces, que en el cabalista anónimo forman un mundo al que se puede dirigir peticiones, sin paralelo en los demás autores.

«In the above-cited cases, we may refer to an intellectual effort which preceded the appearance of light: writing or the combining of letters, or a deliberate and channeled effort on the part of the anonymous Kabbalist who wrote Safar ha-Kawwanah.» — el esfuerzo intelectual que Idel identifica como previo a la aparición de la luz en los casos citados: escribir o combinar letras, o el esfuerzo deliberado del cabalista anónimo.

«and they ascend from light to light . . . to the union, until their inner speech returns, cleaving to the primordial speech which is the source of all speech, and they further ascend from speech to speech until the inner human speech [is a] power in itself, and he prepares himself to receive the Divine speech, whether in the aspect of the image of speech, whether in the aspect of the speech itself; and these are the prophets in truth, in justice and righteousness.» — el pasaje de la carta a R. Judah Salmon que Idel traduce: ascienden de luz en luz hasta la unión, y su habla interior vuelve adhiriéndose al habla primordial, fuente de toda habla, hasta prepararse para recibir el habla divina.

«Unlike light, which is the source of "personal" prophecy, speech is the source of true prophecy-that is, that prophecy which is directed both to the prophet himself and to his fellow man.» — la distinción que Idel extrae: la luz es fuente de profecía personal y el habla de la profecía verdadera, dirigida también al prójimo.

«In Abulafia's doctrine, prophetic speech refers, among other things, to the flow received by the power of the imagination, that is, the voice which is heard at the time of prophecy.» — a qué remite el habla profética en la doctrina de Abulafia, según Idel: entre otras cosas al flujo recibido por la potencia de la imaginación, la voz que se oye en el momento de la profecía.

«In order for the mystic to receive the speech, he must strengthen his intellect, that is, according to the medieval Aristotelian epistemology, lithe inner speech," so that he may receive the flow-lithe Divine word" -whose source is in God or in the Active Intellect:.i.e., in lithe primordial speech.» — y la condición que impone: fortalecer el intelecto, el habla interior de la epistemología aristotélica medieval, para recibir el flujo cuya fuente está en Dios o en el Intelecto Agente; las erratas de comilla son del facsímil.

«The perception of speech is accomplished in two ways: either within the» — las dos vías de percepción del habla que Idel distingue; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«Active Intellect, that is, by means of speculation concerning the contents of prophetic flux, or by means of "speech itself" -apparently by hearing voices.» — y su enunciado completo al otro lado del corte: dentro del Intelecto Agente, por especulación sobre los contenidos del flujo profético, o por el habla misma, al parecer oyendo voces.

«The prophet not only delivers the prophecy by means of his voice, but also receives it "into his throat.» — la otra opinión que Idel halla en Abulafia y sus discípulos: el profeta no solo entrega la profecía con su voz, también la recibe en su garganta.

«There was a wide-spread belief among the Sages that the Shekhinah spoke through the instrument of Moses' voice,49 while the saying, "the Shekhinah speaks from his throat" was known at least from the time of Rashi's commentary on the Pentateuch.» — el trasfondo que le da: la creencia difundida entre los sabios de que la Shekiná hablaba por el instrumento de la voz de Moisés, y el dicho de que la Shekiná habla desde su garganta, conocido al menos desde Rashi.

«The sages based this upon the Biblical verse, "Moses spoke and God answered him with a voice. "51 So long as God was able to answer with a voice, the verse did not constitute an exegetical problem; however, with the emergence of Jewish philosophy, which developed the doctrine of the incorporeality of the Divine, those thinkers who saw God as a spiritual entity found it difficult to interpret this verse literally.» — y el problema exegético que Idel describe: mientras Dios podía responder con voz no había dificultad, pero la filosofía judía de la incorporeidad divina la hizo difícil de leer al pie de la letra.

«In order to remove the difficulties entailed in this, R. Abraham ibn Ezra writes, "The one speaking is man, and the one hearing is man,"52 alluding to the fact that God does not speak with the help of voices, but that He conveys the intellectual content through the instrument of spiritual speech addressed to the soul, whereafter the soul itself transforms this contents into speech which another human being is able to hear. The Divine voice is thus removed from prophecy, and in its place comes the voice of the prophet.» — la solución que Idel le atribuye a ibn Ezra: el que habla es hombre y el que oye es hombre, porque Dios transmite el contenido intelectual por habla espiritual dirigida al alma, y el alma lo convierte en habla audible.

«With this voice came wondrous verses from the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings, and of this it is said, "Moses spoke and God [Elohim]-which is the full nameSL-answered him with a voice," and they said,55 "with the voice of Moses." And behold, the voice of the living God speaks from within the fire, and it dwells within the heart, and thus is the speech there.» — el pasaje del Ozar Eden Ganuz que Idel traduce: con esa voz vinieron versículos maravillosos, y la voz del Dios vivo habla desde dentro del fuego y mora en el corazón.

«Here it states explicitly that the source of the Divine voice and speech is in man's heart, and not in the fire of the bush.» — lo que Idel subraya de ese pasaje: la fuente de la voz y del habla divinas está en el corazón del hombre y no en el fuego de la zarza.

«For this speech which comes from the Holy Spirit only comes to the prophet by means of human speech, and the evidence for this is "Moses spoke and God answered him with a voice"; and they» — el otro pasaje de Abulafia que aduce: el habla que viene del Espíritu Santo solo llega al profeta por medio del habla humana; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«revealed its secret when they said "with a voice' -this was the voice of Moses.» — y el secreto que ese texto adjudica a los sabios al otro lado del corte: la voz era la de Moisés.

«The speech issuing from man's inner being is also mentioned in Sacare Z.edeq. In describing the latest phase of his experiences, the anonymous author writes:» — el testimonio del Sacare Zedeq que Idel aduce para el habla que sale del interior del hombre, en la última fase de sus experiencias.

«Behold, like the speech which emerges from my heart and comes to my lips, forcing them to move; and I said that perchance, God forbid, it is a spirit of folly which has entered me, and I perceive it speaking wisdoms. I said that this is certainly the spirit of wisdom.» — el pasaje traducido: el habla sale de su corazón a sus labios y los fuerza a moverse, y tras temer que fuera espíritu de locura concluye que es el espíritu de sabiduría.

«Elsewhere, he writes, "and a voice went out from me.» — y la frase más breve del mismo autor que Idel cita.

«For the one who speaks with the Holy Spirit does not hear that voice, but that spirit comes within him and speaks by itself, as it comes from a high place, that from which the prophets draw [which is] in NeyJr and Hod . ... And there is no bringing together of lips there nor any other thing.» — el pasaje del comentario al Sefer Yezirah de R. Isaac de Acre: quien habla con el Espíritu Santo no oye esa voz, sino que el espíritu viene dentro de él y habla por sí mismo, sin juntar los labios.

«The idea of human speech as an expression of the reception of prophecy again appears in the writings of R. l;Jayyim Vital, who writes in SeIer ha-Gilgulim:» — la continuidad de esa idea que Idel registra hasta Hayyim Vital.

«Behold the secret of prophecy: it is certainly a voice sent from above to speak to that prophet, and the Holy Spirit is likewise in that manner. But because that voice is supernal and spiritual, it is impossible for it alone to be corporeaJized and to enter into the ears of the prophet, unless it first be embodied62 in that same physical voice which emerged from that person while engaged in Torah and prayer and the like. It then embodies itself in it and is connected to it and comes to the ears of the prophet, so that he hears; but without the human voice it cannot exist.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Gilgulim que traduce: la voz superna no puede corporeizarse ni entrar en los oídos del profeta si no se encarna primero en la voz física que ese hombre emitió estudiando y orando.

«But there are many changes, as is said, for that selfsame supernal voice comes and is embodied within his voice .... The supernal voice of the prophet and that voice mentioned come and combine themselves with the voice of that man at present, which emerges from him when prophecy rests upon him, as is said, "the spirit of God spoke within me, and His word is on my tongue."63 For the spirit and the original word dwell now upon my tongue, and there emerge from it the attribute of voice or speech from his throat and he speaks, and then the man hears them.» — y el resto de ese pasaje: la voz superna se combina con la voz del hombre en el momento en que la profecía reposa sobre él, y de su garganta salen la voz o el habla.

«This striking emphasis upon the appearance of the voice within» — el énfasis que Idel destaca en la aparición de la voz dentro del acto de profetizar; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«the act of prophesying is repeated by R. Elijah ha-Kohen of Izmir, who writes of the maggidim:M "from the power of the greatness of the soul65 which is within man and tells him things, and the manner of the telling,66 that a great voice comes out of his heart and enters into his heart and he hears, and those who stand before him do not hear anything.» — y el testimonio de R. Elijah ha-Kohen de Esmirna sobre los maggidim: una gran voz sale del corazón del hombre y entra en su corazón y él la oye, mientras los que están delante no oyen nada.

«The above-mentioned approaches likewise served as the background for the appearance of similar phenomena in Hasidism.» — y hasta dónde extiende esos planteamientos: al trasfondo de fenómenos semejantes en el jasidismo.

«The concept of the immediate source of speech in the mystical experience as residing within the human soul was further developed in two other works of Abulafia.» — el desarrollo que Idel señala en otras dos obras de Abulafia: la fuente inmediata del habla en la experiencia mística está dentro del alma humana.

«When you pronounce that matter found in the letters Ro§ To! So! [i.e., "head, middle, end"], do not draw them out, but pronounce them as one who inquires quietly to another: what letter does such and such a point guard, which is such and such a place [in the human body]?» — la instrucción del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce: pronunciar como quien pregunta en voz baja a otro qué letra guarda tal punto del cuerpo.

«And prepare yourself to hear that which will be answered in the pronouncing of the letter, and [when] you hear the letter pronounced from his mouth, do not pronounce it, for He has pronounced it for you, but receive the tidings that He shall speak with you, for 'in one [word] God speaks"i69 and rejOice in your heart, and pronounce again the head of the end, which is L. . . .» — y lo que sigue: prepararse para oír la respuesta, no repetir la letra que se oye pronunciada porque Él ya la pronunció, y recibir la nueva de que hablará contigo.

«And even if you wait a little while to hear, let it all be within one breath, and let the completion of the breaths be in the pronouncing of the letter, and not in any other thing, apart from the time that He answers you, and He shall pronounce the letter at the place which you have stated, and therefore the verse70 reads "in every place where I shall mention [My Name),,-not "where you shall mention."» — la precisión sobre el aliento y el versículo con que ese texto la apoya: en todo lugar donde yo mencionare mi Nombre, y no donde tú lo mencionares.

«And the secret of the matter is-if I will mention, you will mention, and if you shall mention, I shall mention. And consider his reply, answering as though you yourself had answered.» — y la reciprocidad que enuncia: si yo mencionare, tú mencionarás, y si tú mencionares, yo mencionaré, considerando la respuesta como si tú mismo hubieras respondido.

«This passage depicts the act of pronouncing the letters by means of letter-combination, and the answer received when they arE! articulated.» — lo que Idel dice que describe el pasaje: el acto de pronunciar las letras por combinación y la respuesta recibida al articularlas.

«We may infer two contradictory things from this concerning the nature of the one answering: 1) the respondent is God: "He shall already speak to you, for 'in one God speaks,' " while the subject of the second verse, "I will remember," is God. It follows from this that a dialogue occurs between God and the one combining at the time of the pronouncing;» — la primera de las dos cosas contradictorias que Idel infiere y consigna sin armonizar: el que responde es Dios, de modo que hay diálogo entre Dios y el que combina.

«2) the respondent is the person» — y el comienzo de la segunda; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«himself, lIand think when you respond, as though you yourself had» — y su enunciado al otro lado del corte: el que responde es la persona misma, que piensa al responder como si se hubiera respondido a sí misma; el tramo se corta por el límite de chunk del troceo y las erratas de comilla son del facsímil.

«Direct your face towards the Name, which is mentioned, and sit as though a man is standing before you and waiting for you to speak with Him, and He is ready to answer you concerning whatever you may ask Him, and you say IIspeak" and he answers» — la instrucción del Sefer ha-Heshek que Idel traduce: sentarse como si un hombre estuviera de pie delante esperando que le hables y dispuesto a responder a lo que le preguntes.

«And begin then to pronounce, and recite first "the head of the head" [i.e., the first combination of letters], drawing out the breath and at great ease; and afterwards go back as if the one standing opposite you is answering you, and you yourself answer, changing your voice, so that the answer not be similar to the question. And do not extend the answer at all, but say it easily and calmly, and in response recite one letter of the Name as it actually is.» — y el resto de la instrucción: responderse a uno mismo cambiando la voz para que la respuesta no se parezca a la pregunta, sin alargarla, recitando en respuesta una letra del Nombre; el tramo cruza la plana.

«This passage clearly elucidates that, during the process of pronunciation, the "respondent" is the person himself, who has altered his voice and imagines to himself that another person is standing opposite him and answering him.» — lo que Idel concluye de ese pasaje: durante la pronunciación el que responde es la persona misma, que altera su voz e imagina a otro enfrente.

«One may ask the significance of the dual meaning of the passages cited from lfayye ha-cOlam ha-Ba. The answer is to be found, in my opinion, in Sefer ha-l;le§eq, where it states:» — y dónde dice hallar, marcándolo como opinión propia, la respuesta al doble sentido de los pasajes del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba.

«Immediately make your heart straight, and prostrate yourself before that thought from ~uTah nefrkvetJ which you imagined in your heart, which is before you. And it is "the master of motion"-that is, it brings about that response which you have answered, which your heart has implanted within you like a throne, and made it into an angel of God, and it is that which is intermediate between yourself and your Creator, and that is His glory, may He be praised.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Heshek que traduce: postrarse ante esa forma pensada que el corazón implantó como un trono y convirtió en ángel de Dios, intermediario entre uno y su Creador, que es su gloria.

«But pronounce the names, one after another, as I have commanded you, whose secret is in the system of their motions, "one two." And if you are clean and perfect in all that I have instructed you, I have no doubt that the Glory will be revealed to you and appear before you in a form such that you will be able to feel its power, or it will bring to you speech so that you will be able to feel its power, or it will bring to you speech so that you will understand that it is from Him, and not from yourself.» — el otro pasaje de la misma obra: si eres limpio y perfecto, la Gloria se te revelará en una forma cuya fuerza podrás sentir, o te traerá habla para que entiendas que viene de Él y no de ti; la duplicación de la cláusula es del facsímil.

«I have already alluded above to the secret of "the radiance of the Shekhinah," concerning the matter of "one two." It is known that the Torah is called "this" (ha-zot), after the Ineffable Name, in saying, "the words of this (ha-zot) Torah,"" which is the secret of the Divine image. And it cannot be seen except by a vision when he speaks, or perhaps it refers to Gabriel, in the language of b"§ (!) that sees the form of man.» — el pasaje enigmático de R. Baruch Togarmi que Idel traduce del comentario al Sefer Yezirah, con el secreto del uno dos, la Torá llamada por el Nombre inefable y la forma que solo se ve en visión.

«The attributes of the "thought form" which is the reason for the "answering" seem contradictory: one may bow down before it, but it is within "your heart," the human heart being its dwelling place, "its throne.» — la contradicción que Idel señala en los atributos de esa forma pensada: cabe postrarse ante ella, pero está dentro del propio corazón, que es su morada y su trono.

«The form is portrayed as the Glory of God, whose purpose is to give witness that the source of the speech is not in» — y el papel que se le da: la Gloria de Dios, cuyo fin es testimoniar que la fuente del habla no está en el hombre; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«man, but outside of him. However, the exact character of "the form" is not clear: it is "the angel of God," "the Divine glory," "the intermediary" between man and God, or an "intermediate" between them.» — la abstención que Idel declara al otro lado del corte: el carácter exacto de esa forma no queda claro entre ángel de Dios, gloria divina, intermediario o intermedio.

«It seems to me that these characteristics fit the human intellect, described in l;layye ha-cOlam ha-Ba as "the flux of the intellect emanated upon us always, and it is emanated from the Active Intellect to us, and this is the angel which brings about cleaving between your soul and the Creator, blessed be He.» — la identificación que Idel propone con su grado: esos rasgos convienen al intelecto humano, descrito en el Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba como el flujo del intelecto emanado del Intelecto Agente, que es el ángel que hace cleavar el alma al Creador.

«This description was influenced by Ibn Ezra and Maimonides who wrote, respectively, "and the angel which is between man and his God is intellective"80 and "this is the intellect, which is emanated upon us from God, may He be blessed, and this is the connection which is between us and Him.» — y de quiénes dice que procede esa descripción: ibn Ezra, con el ángel intelectivo entre el hombre y su Dios, y Maimónides, con el intelecto emanado sobre nosotros como conexión con Él.

«The term "Glory" does not interfere with this identification, as it frequently appears as a term for the soul prior to Abulafia.» — el reparo que Idel se responde: el término Gloria no estorba esa identificación, porque antes de Abulafia designaba con frecuencia el alma.

«Let us now compare Abulafia's words in Sefer ha-l:Ideq with those of his predecessor in Commentary to SeIer Ye~irah: 1) in both passages, the term "one two" appears in the identical sense: i.e., as the Name of God:» — el primero de los cuatro puntos de comparación que Idel establece con Togarmi: el término uno dos en el mismo sentido, como Nombre de Dios.

«both authors mention revelation: in Abulafia it refers to "Glory," while in R. Baruch Togarmi it is the "image of God" which is revealed by Gabriel:» — el segundo: los dos mencionan revelación, la Gloria en Abulafia y la imagen de Dios revelada por Gabriel en Togarmi.

«the revelation involves "speech" in both places;» — el tercero: la revelación implica habla en ambos lugares.

«Abulafia speaks of the appearance of "a thought form" or "Glory," while R. Baruch Togarmi speaks of Gabriel (Gavriel) speaker (medabber) vision (ma'reh) the image of God (Z.elem Elohim), which equals 246 in gematria, on the one hand, and the human form» — y el cuarto, con la gematria que lo sostiene: Abulafia habla de una forma pensada o Gloria y Togarmi de Gabriel, que en gematria vale lo mismo que imagen de Dios y que forma humana.

«In Abulafia there are also signs of "the human form" which appear at the time of pronouncing.» — el rastro de la forma humana que Idel encuentra también en Abulafia, apareciendo al pronunciar.

«If Heaven forbid there has not yet come to him, while pronouncing the two verses, either the flux or the speech or the apprehension of the figure of man, and like visions of prophecy, he ought to start again from the third verse.» — la instrucción del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que lo muestra: si al pronunciar los dos versículos no llegó el flujo, ni el habla, ni la aprehensión de la figura de hombre, hay que empezar de nuevo desde el tercer versículo.

«The angel who advises you of the secret of God is named Gabriel, and he speaks from the first verse of the holy name mentioned by you, and he shows you the wonders of prophecy, for that is the secret of:85 "In a vision I will make myself known to him, in a dream I will speak to him," for "vision," which is the secret of the verse, equals Gabriel, and "dream," whose secret is86 "Edo," is Enoch.» — el otro pasaje que Idel traduce: el ángel que avisa del secreto de Dios se llama Gabriel, habla desde el primer versículo del nombre santo y muestra las maravillas de la profecía.

«Here, too, one finds the gematria for Gabriel) 246 ) pasuq (verse) ) ma'reh (vision) ) medabber (speaks). There seems no doubt that these» — la gematria que Idel explicita para ese pasaje; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«expressions allude to the Active Intellect. Consequently, in the» — y el comienzo de lo que sostiene al otro lado del corte: esas expresiones aluden al Intelecto Agente; el tramo se corta por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«prophetic vision the mystic sees "the figure of a human" by means of the Active Intellect, a revelation accompanied by speech.» — y su cierre: en la visión profética el místico ve la figura de un hombre por medio del Intelecto Agente, revelación acompañada de habla.

«We infer the connection between this figure, which is the reason for the "response," and the person speaking, from Abulafia's own words, who describes this situation as an answer given by man to himself.» — de dónde infiere la conexión entre esa figura y el que habla: de las propias palabras de Abulafia, que describe la situación como una respuesta que el hombre se da a sí mismo.

«It follows from this that we may reasonably assume that the human form is no more than a projection of the soul or intellect of the mystic, who carries on a dialogue with it at the time of pronunciation.» — y la hipótesis que declara razonable: la forma humana no es más que una proyección del alma o del intelecto del místico, con la que dialoga al pronunciar.

«We, the community of Israel, the congregation of the I..ord, know in truth that god, may He be praised, is neither a body nor a power within the body nor will He ever be corporeaIized. But at the time that the prophet prophesies, his abundance creates a corporeal intermediary, which is the angel.» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba sobre el estatuto ontológico de esa figura: Dios no es cuerpo ni potencia en el cuerpo, pero al profetizar el profeta su abundancia crea un intermediario corpóreo, que es el ángel.

«It follows from this that the human form seen is an imaginary creation, and is thus "bodily" (real) even though its source lies in the human intellect.» — y lo que Idel concluye: la forma humana vista es una creación imaginaria y por eso corporal, aunque su fuente esté en el intelecto humano.

«These opinions of Abulafia, in which 'prophecy, or mystical experience is interpreted in ternlS of a dialogue between man and hill inner essence-the intellect-are not new.» — la novedad que Idel le niega a esa lectura del profetizar como diálogo entre el hombre y su esencia interior.

«Already in Gnosticism, we learn of meetings between man and his own image as the climax of self-knowledge.» — y el precedente que le señala: ya en el gnosticismo hay encuentros del hombre con su propia imagen como cima del conocimiento de sí.

«Image (temunah)-this refers to a vision within a thing, like the electrum (f/dmal) within the fire, and in the manner that a man sees a form within the water or the form of the moon or the form of some other thing or the form of himself,90 "and he shall see the image of God"-he sees his own image in the light of God and His glory, and this is,91 "a form against my eyes.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Hayyim, atribuido a ibn Ezra, que Idel traduce: el hombre ve su propia imagen en la luz de Dios y de su gloria, como quien ve una forma en el agua.

«Testimonies of vision of the self, within the context of the process of prophecy, appear in those circles with which Abulafia had a certain degree of contact:» — el círculo en el que Idel sitúa esos testimonios de visión de sí: aquellos con los que Abulafia tuvo cierto contacto.

«All the camps of the Shekhinah have there neither image nor corporeal form, but spiritual emanation, and likewise on the other angelic levels. However, the tenth level, which is closest to human beings, called i§im, [i.e., persons] is visible to the prophets.» — el pasaje que traduce: los campamentos de la Shekiná no tienen imagen ni forma corporal sino emanación espiritual, salvo el décimo nivel, el más cercano a los hombres, visible a los profetas.

«All agree that they possess the form of a body, similar to [that of] a human being, and very awesome. And the prophet sees all sorts of his» — y la forma que se les atribuye: cuerpo semejante al humano y muy temible; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«powers becoming weaker and changing from form to form, until his powers cast off all forms and are embodied into the power of the form revealed to him, and then his strength is exchanged with that of the angel who speaks with him. And that form gives him strength to receive prophecy, and it engraved in his heart as a picture, and when the messenger has performed his mission the prophet casts off that form and returns to his original form, and his limbs and strength come back as they were before and are strengthened, and he prophesies in human form.» — el proceso que ese texto describe al otro lado del corte: las potencias se debilitan y cambian de forma hasta encarnarse en la forma revelada, intercambian fuerza con el ángel que habla, y al cumplirse la misión el profeta vuelve a su forma original.

«In R. Judah ibn MaIka's Commentary to SeIer Ye~irah, we read a passage similar to that of R. Isaac ha-Cohen:» — el cuarto testimonio que Idel trae: el comentario al Sefer Yezirah de R. Judah ibn Malka, semejante al de R. Isaac ha-Kohen.

«The author said: I have seen with my own eyes a man who saw a power in the form of an angel while he was awake, and he spoke with him and told him future things.» — el testimonio que ese texto refiere: haber visto con sus propios ojos a un hombre que, despierto, vio una potencia en forma de ángel, habló con él y le contó cosas futuras.

«The sage said: Know that he sees nothing other than himself, for he sees himself front and back, as one who sees himself in a mirror, who sees nothing other than» — y la lectura que el sabio le da: no ve otra cosa que a sí mismo, como quien se ve en un espejo; el tramo se corta aquí por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«himself, and it appears as if it were something separate from your body, like you. In the same manner, he sees that power which guards his body and guides his soul, and then his soul sings and rejoices, distinguishes and sees.» — y su continuación: le parece algo separado de su cuerpo, siendo la potencia que guarda su cuerpo y guía su alma, con lo que su alma canta y se alegra.

«And three powers overcome him: the first power is that which is intermediary between spirit and soul, and the power of memory and the power of imagination, and one power is that which imagines.» — las tres potencias que ese texto enumera: la intermedia entre espíritu y alma, la de la memoria y la de la imaginación.

«And these three powers are compared to a mirror, as by virtue of the mixing the spirit is purified, and by the purification of the spirit the third power is purified. But when the spirit apprehends the flux which pours out upon the soul, it will leave power to the power of speech, according to the flow which comes upon the soul, thus shall it influence the power of speech, and that itself is the angel which speaks to him and tells him future things.» — y el mecanismo que describe: las tres se comparan a un espejo, la mezcla purifica el espíritu, y cuando el espíritu aprehende el flujo lo pasa a la potencia del habla, que es el ángel que le habla y le dice cosas futuras.

«Here, as in Abulafia, a certain relationship is posited between the Active Intellect-i§im-and the human powers embodied within it.» — la relación que Idel señala como común con Abulafia: entre el Intelecto Agente y las potencias humanas encarnadas en él.

«However, while in the three examples thus far cited the element of dialogue is totally lacking, this element does appear among Abulafia's students, apparently as a result of his influence.» — y la diferencia que registra: el elemento de diálogo falta por completo en esos tres ejemplos y aparece entre los discípulos de Abulafia.

«there is a statement quoted in the name of R. Nathan, whom I believe to have been a direct disciple of Abulafia:» — de quién es el pasaje del Shoshan Sodot que va a citar, con el grado de su adjudicación: R. Nathan, a quien Idel cree discípulo directo de Abulafia.

«Know that the fullness of the secret of prophecy to the prophet is that suddenly he will see his own form standing before him, and he will forget himself and disappear from it, and will see his own» — el comienzo del pasaje de R. Nathan: de pronto el profeta ve su propia forma en pie ante él, se olvida de sí y desaparece de ella; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«form standing before him and speaking with him and telling him the future. Of this secret the sages said,97 "Great is the power of the prophets, for they make the form similar to its creator," and the sage R. Abraham b. Ezra said, "the one hearing is a man, and the one speaking is the man.» — el cierre del pasaje de R. Nathan al otro lado del corte: la forma que está delante habla y dice el futuro, con la sentencia de los sabios sobre el poder de los profetas y la frase de ibn Ezra sobre el que oye y el que habla.

«The connection between 'prophecy' and foretelling the future also appears in Abulafia, who writes in fjayy2 ha-(Olam ha-Ba98 that the third level of prophecy is "to receive the command of a thing in telling the future.» — la conexión que Idel registra también en Abulafia: el tercer nivel de la profecía es recibir el mandato de decir el futuro.

«By contrast, another disciple of Abulafia, the author of Sa(ar2 ~edeq, only knows of the appearance of the image of the self without speech.» — y el contraste que consigna sin armonizar: el autor del Sacare Zedeq solo conoce la aparición de la imagen de sí, sin habla.

«Another sage wrote about this as follows: By the power of [letter-] combination and concentration, that which I describe in Sa'are ~edeq happened to me, [namely,] that I saw the light going with me. But I did not merit to see the form of myself standing before me, and this I was unable to do.» — el pasaje del Shoshan Sodot que lo dice: por la combinación y la concentración vio la luz que iba con él, pero no mereció ver su propia forma en pie ante sí.

«This statement incorporates a double testimony: (1) that this disciple knew of the high level attained by R. Nathan; (2) that the omission of the subject of speech does not signify that the appearance of the self-image was unconnected with speech.» — el doble testimonio que Idel lee ahí: que ese discípulo conocía el nivel alcanzado por R. Nathan, y que la omisión del habla no significa que la aparición de la imagen careciera de ella.

«As we have seen above, this anonymous Kabbalist enjoyed speech which emerged from himself, for which reason it is not mentioned in the present context.» — y la razón que da: ese cabalista anónimo tenía habla que salía de sí mismo, por lo que no la menciona en este contexto.

«Abulafia's influence upon R. Isaac of Acre, through R. Nathan, may be seen in the former's OY'r fjayyim, where he writes:» — la vía de influjo que Idel traza: de Abulafia a R. Isaac de Acre a través de R. Nathan.

«Come and I will enlighten you concerning a major principle in reading; and speaking, or saying or vision (mafiazeh) or sight (fuzzon), and of the reality of the hands of God, and the reality of speech or of the burden of speech or elocution or a prophetic dream, or seeing or burden of the spirit or the down treading of the spirit or a gift of the spirit or the reality of the spirit of God and the spirit of God: all these and more than these similar to them are the new flux, the spirit of God, which comes to dwell in the pure soul which is worthy of it, in which it was not present at the beginning.» — el pasaje del Ozar Hayyim que Idel traduce: todos esos nombres de la revelación designan el flujo nuevo, el espíritu de Dios que viene a morar en el alma pura que lo merece.

«It is like the case of a king in a favorable hour, who gives a generous gift to one of his princes who came before him at that time; the prince will rejoice in it and divide it with the members of his household.» — y la parábola con que ese texto lo ilustra: el rey que en hora favorable hace un don generoso a uno de sus príncipes.

«So does this supenJal spirit of holiness suddenly come and dwell in the soul of this prophet or visionary who is deserving of the spirit of prophecy or in the soul deserving of the Holy Spirit in his soul alone, or the soul deserving only a Heavenly Voice speaking within it, teaching» — y su aplicación: así viene de pronto el espíritu de santidad a morar en el alma del profeta o del vidente que lo merece; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«him sciences which have never been heard or have never been seen, written without revealing the future, or revealing to him the future without any order concerning a mission, but to him alone: or with the command of a mission to an individual, or being commanded to go on a mission to many-all these will be heard when the ear hears and understands the voice of the words of its friend who speaks to him, but his fellow will not hear all this, but only he alone, even if at that time he is among a hundred or a thousand people.» — y lo que ese espíritu enseña: ciencias nunca oídas, el futuro, o un mandato de misión, todo oído solo por él aunque esté entre cien o mil personas.

«[All this will happen] after he has stripped off every corporeal thing, because of the great immersion of his soul in the divine spiritual world: this "container" [Heb.: he !ala; i.e., form of the body] will see his own form, literally, standing before him and speaking to him, as a man speaks to his friend; and his own form will be forgotten, as if his body does not exist in the world.» — la condición que ese texto pone: despojado de todo lo corporal, el continente ve su propia forma en pie ante él y le habla como un hombre a su amigo, y olvida su propia forma.

«Therefore the sages said, "great is the power of the prophets, for they make the form similar to its creator"; their soul stands opposite them in the form of the very "container" speaking with them, and they say that the Holy One, blessed be He, speaks with them.» — y la sentencia rabínica con que lo explica: grande es el poder de los profetas, que hacen la forma semejante a su creador, porque su alma se les pone enfrente en forma del propio continente.

«And what caused them this great secret? The stripping out of sensory things by their souls, and their casting off from them and the embodiment in the divine spirit.» — la causa que ese texto adjudica a ese gran secreto: el despojarse de las cosas sensibles y la encarnación en el espíritu divino.

«And this spirit shall at times come to all the prophets, according to the Divine Will. But the master of all the prophets, Moses our Teacher, peace upon him, always received a holy spirit which did not leave him for even one hour, only when his soul was still sunk in corporeal things, to hear the words of the Israelites that he might guide them and instruct them, either in temporary or permanent instructions, for which reason he had to say, "Stay and I shall hear what God commands" (Num. 9:8); he stood and separated from them and isolated himself and cast his soul off from those sensory things with which he was involved on their behalf, and there rested upon him the spirit and spoke within him.» — y la excepción que hace con Moisés: recibía siempre espíritu santo, salvo cuando su alma quedaba hundida en lo corpóreo para oír a los israelitas, y entonces se apartaba y se aislaba hasta que el espíritu reposaba en él.

«I should like to point out several ideas in this passage which are quite close to Abulafia's approach.» — el anuncio de Idel de las cuatro ideas de ese pasaje que declara cercanas al planteamiento de Abulafia.

«The parable of the king's generosity. R. Isaac of Acre's view was apparently influenced by a passage from Or ha-Se!el, in which it states that, "the flux. . . . And this is compared to a king and a pauper, the latter being in the most extreme destitution. And the king flowed with wealth, to make wealthy each man to his fellow, until the great wealth reached the slave's master.» — la primera: la parábola de la generosidad del rey, que Idel remonta a un pasaje del Or ha-Sekel sobre el rey y el pobre.

«In Or ha-Se!el, the above-cited passage is preceded by a discussion concerning the different levels of prophets, reminiscent of the discussion which appears in R. Isaac of Acre, following the» — la segunda: la discusión sobre los distintos niveles de profetas que precede a ese pasaje; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«parable of the generous king: "the level of those who pursue prophecy is greater than that of those who pursue wisdom, and the level of the prophets who speak and compose [books] is greater than that of the prophets who make intensive effort in prophecy, and those [prophets] who are sent are superior to the others," etc.» — y la jerarquía misma al otro lado del corte: quien busca profecía está por encima de quien busca sabiduría, los profetas que hablan y componen por encima de los que se esfuerzan, y los enviados por encima de los demás.

«These two ideas appear in a book written in honor of R. Nathan, Abulafia's disciple.» — y el dato de transmisión que Idel añade: las dos ideas están en un libro escrito en honor de R. Nathan.

«The double meaning of the word "speech" in Abulafia, as discussed above, is reflected in R. Isaac of Acre in the words: "the form of the very' container' speaking with them, and they say that the Holy One, blessed be He, speaks with them.» — la tercera: el doble sentido de la palabra habla, reflejado en R. Isaac de Acre cuando dice que la forma del continente habla con ellos y ellos dicen que es Dios quien habla.

«The understanding of Moses as one who at times abandoned the mystical life in order to lead the people is likewise alluded to in Abulafia, who speaks about the return of the mystic "from God" in order to help others to achieve perfection.» — y la cuarta: Moisés abandonando a ratos la vida mística para guiar al pueblo, que Idel enlaza con el retorno del místico desde Dios para ayudar a otros a perfeccionarse.

«Finally, one ought to take note of a passage in Even Sappir by R. Elnathan b. Moses Kalkish, a fourteenth-century Byzantine kabbalist, who knew Abulafia's writing and his circle well:» — el último testimonio del apartado: el Even Sappir de R. Elnathan b. Moses Kalkish, cabalista bizantino del siglo XIV que según Idel conocía bien los escritos de Abulafia.

«For every apprehension which man receives of the spiritual apprehensions, its beginning is in human thought, and when man thinks continually concerning things which exist and their essence and about supernal and mundane activities, and of the Divine guidance which guides all, and which guards all this order of existence which is ordered by God, may He be blessed, and he removes his thought from everything apart from this,» — el pasaje que traduce: toda aprehensión espiritual empieza en el pensamiento humano, cuando el hombre piensa sin cesar en lo que existe y en la guía divina y aparta su pensamiento de todo lo demás.

«and vie,vs all corporeal and bodily matters as the image of contingent things, and spiritual matters as the essential ones; and every day he adds to these sublime thoughts, until from the gathering of their multitude there is born its offspring, called wisdom, and from its abundance is born further understandinglO6 and knowledge.» — y lo que sigue: tener lo corporal por contingente y lo espiritual por esencial, hasta que de la multitud de esos pensamientos nace la sabiduría y de su abundancia el entendimiento; las erratas son del facsímil.

«And he shall do all this by combining the holy letters and words and the pure language, which are the vehicle of all thoughts, then there are born from their combination thoughts of wisdom and understanding, and, because of its intense meditation on them, the intellect will perceive reality, and there will come the renewed spirit, which made the fruit of the intellect, from the source of the wondrous thought and will speak by itself:» — el papel que ese texto le da a la combinación de letras: vehículo de los pensamientos, del que nacen sabiduría y entendimiento, hasta que llega el espíritu renovado y habla por sí mismo.

«but the thinker will recognize that there is a mover and cause which causes him to think and to speak and to guide and to compose until, through the great activity, the inner one will return as if it is externally apprehended, and the two» — y lo que el pensador reconoce, según ese texto: que hay un motor y una causa que lo hacen pensar y hablar, hasta que lo interno vuelve como si se aprehendiera desde fuera; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«of them, the one apprehending and the object of apprehension, are one thing, and they are intellectual apprehension.» — y el cierre de esa frase: el que aprehende y lo aprehendido son una sola cosa.

«We see here a description of the progress from apprehension of the intellectives of external things, their internalization, and their implantation within the human soul.» — lo que Idel lee en ese pasaje: el paso de aprehender los inteligibles de las cosas externas a interiorizarlos e implantarlos en el alma.

«By the process of letter-combination, the inner intellective objects are likely to be transformed into external ones, causing the impression or the experiences that the motivation for human actions is external to himself.» — y el efecto que le adjudica: por la combinación de letras los objetos intelectivos internos pueden volverse externos, con la impresión de que la motivación de los actos humanos está fuera de uno.

«We have seen above that the appearance of the "human form," and the conversation between it and the mystic, are both a phenomenon discussed on Abulafia's writings and something to» — el balance con que Idel abre la quinta sección: la aparición de la forma humana y la conversación con el místico son fenómeno tratado en los escritos de Abulafia; el tramo se corta por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«which his disciples referred as a personal experience.» — y su cierre al otro lado del corte: algo a lo que sus discípulos se refirieron como experiencia personal.

«Thus far, we have only dealt with the theoretical aspect of this subject in Abulafia-i.e., we have cited various passages which describe the path by which the prophetic state is reached-but we have not found any evidence of personal experience in these passages.» — lo que Idel declara no haber hallado hasta ahí: evidencia de experiencia personal en esos pasajes, que solo describen la vía por la que se llega al estado profético.

«We shall now turn to another work of Abulafia's which, in my opinion, includes direct first-person evidence of an experience of this kind.» — la obra a la que pasa y el grado con que la presenta: a su juicio incluye evidencia directa en primera persona de una experiencia de ese tipo.

«I was shown a new vision by God, with anew name upon a renewed spirit. ... I saw a man coming from the west with a great army, the number of the warriors of his camp being twenty-two thousand men» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot que traduce: una visión nueva con un nombre nuevo sobre un espíritu renovado, y un hombre que viene del oeste con un ejército de veintidós mil hombres.

«And when I saw his face in the sight, I was astonished, and my heart trembled within me, and I left my place and I longed for it to call upon the name of God to help me, but that thing evaded my spirit.» — y lo que sigue: al ver su rostro se asombró, le tembló el corazón, dejó su lugar y quiso invocar el nombre de Dios, pero aquello se le escapó del espíritu.

«And when the Man has seen my great fear and my strong» — el comienzo del desenlace de la visión; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«awe, he opened his mouth and he spoke, and he opened my mouth to speak, and I answered him according to his words, and in my words I became another man.» — y su cierre al otro lado del corte: el hombre abrió su boca y habló, y le abrió a él la boca para hablar, y respondiendo según sus palabras se volvió otro hombre.

«One needn't dwell upon the fact that "the form of a man" appears in this vision.» — lo que Idel da por evidente en esa visión.

«It is worthwhile taking note of the dialogue between them: the man wishes to speak, "opened his mouth and he spoke"; the speech was, however, externally caused: "and he opened my mouth ... and I answered him.» — y lo que sí destaca: el diálogo, donde el hombre abre su boca y habla, pero el habla es de causa externa porque también le abre la boca al vidente.

«The expression, "I answered according to his words," is indicative of the source of the speech.» — y qué indica, según él, la fórmula de responder conforme a sus palabras.

«verse quoted from the Book of Samuel likewise strengthens the interpretation of this passage as an expression of an event taking place within Abulafia's consciousness.» — y el segundo indicio que aduce: el versículo de Samuel refuerza leer el pasaje como expresión de un suceso dentro de la consciencia de Abulafia.

«It is appropriate to examine more fully the description of the man:» — el paso siguiente que Idel anuncia: examinar más de cerca la descripción del hombre de la visión.

«On his forehead was a letter inscribed in blood and ink on two sides, and the shape of the letter was like the shape of a staff separating between them, and it was a very hidden letter.» — el pasaje que traduce: en su frente había una letra inscrita en sangre y tinta por dos lados, con forma de vara que las separaba, letra muy oculta.

«The color of the blood was black, and changed to red, and the color of the ink was red, and behold it was black, and the appearance of the letter separating between the two was white.» — y los colores que ese texto describe: la sangre negra que se volvió roja, la tinta roja que resultó negra, y blanca la letra que separaba.

«Miraculous was that which was revealed by the seal, [which is] the key within the forehead of he who came [the man], and all the army of the band was turning about and travelling in accordance to it» — y el sello con que cierra: la llave dentro de la frente del que venía, según la cual se movía todo el ejército.

«Is this description meant as an external representation of Abulafia's soul? Let us first examine his words in Sitre Torah:» — la pregunta que Idel se plantea sobre esa descripción y adónde va a buscar la respuesta.

«It is known and conspicuous to all the Sages of the Torah who are Kabbalists, nor is it concealed to the true philosophers, that every man is given a choice without any compulsion and without any force, but there is a human power within man, and it is called the Stirring Power koa~ ha-me'orer, and it is that which arouses his heart to do or not to do [any thing].» — el pasaje del Sitre Torah que traduce: todo hombre tiene elección sin compulsión, y hay en él una potencia llamada la potencia que despierta, que mueve su corazón a hacer o no hacer.

«And after this, a man finds in his heart one who forces him between these two opposites, and whichever of them shall be victorious over him will activate the limbs to perform actions for good or for evil;» — y el conflicto que describe: quien lo fuerza entre esos dos opuestos, y el que venza activará los miembros para obrar bien o mal.

«and this principle shall return, of man always struggling and warring against the thoughts of this heart, the two former motivating all of the aspects of his many thoughts, as is written in Sefer Ye~irah,110 "The heart in soul [i.e., within man] is like the king in a battle» — y la regla que ese texto enuncia con el Sefer Yezirah: el hombre siempre luchando contra los pensamientos de su corazón, que es en el alma como el rey en la batalla.

«And a man possesses these two forms, called impulses or powers or angels or thoughts or comprehensions or however you wish to call them.» — los nombres alternativos que ese texto da a las dos formas: impulsos, potencias, ángeles, pensamientos o comprensiones.

«For the intent of them all refer to one thing, but the main thing is to apprehend His reality and to recognize their essence in truth, by proofs which are based upon tradition and reason, and to distinguish between two paths of reality which they have, and to know the great difference between them in degree. And if the two are one reality or two combined together, and if they may be separated or if they do not receive separation.» — y lo que declara principal: aprehender su realidad y reconocer su esencia por pruebas de tradición y razón, distinguir sus dos caminos y saber si son una realidad o dos, separables o no.

«And when we see their battle in the heart, we may recognize that they are two, and they act one upon the other and affect one another, and therefore there is time for this and time for that one, and it is like a small moment, like a point which cannot be divided, less than the blinking of an eye.» — y el criterio que da: al ver su batalla en el corazón se reconoce que son dos, que obran una sobre otra por turnos, en un instante como un punto indivisible.

«It is clear from this passage that he is speaking about a permanent struggle between the Intellect and the Imagination; the Angel of Life and the Angel of Death; rational thought and imaginative thought; the intellective apprehension and the imaginative one; the Good Impulse and the Evil impulse.» — lo que Idel lee en ese pasaje: una lucha permanente entre el intelecto y la imaginación, el ángel de la vida y el de la muerte, el impulso bueno y el malo.

«Abulafia returns to this inner battle in Sefer ha-6t, p. 81 "and the battle within the heart between the blood and the ink is very intense.» — y la formulación del Sefer ha-Ot que aduce: la batalla en el corazón entre la sangre y la tinta es muy intensa.

«On the same page, the nature of blood and ink are portrayed as image IYlem, i.e., intellect] and likeness [demut, i.e., imagination]: that is, ink as the spiritual element, the intellect, and blood as the imaginative one.» — la equivalencia que Idel establece: la tinta como elemento espiritual e intelectual y la sangre como imaginativo.

«These two elements, as they do battle within Abulafia's heart, are described in Sefer ha-6t, p. 81: "And I looked and I saw there [in my heart] my likeness and image moving in two paths.» — y el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot que las muestra en batalla: vio en su corazón su semejanza y su imagen moviéndose por dos caminos.

«The same symbols used by Abulafia to describe the inner battle of powers within man appear in the description of the man himself: "and on his forehead was a letter inscribed in blood and ink, into two sides.» — y el enlace que Idel establece: los mismos símbolos de la batalla interior aparecen en la descripción del hombre de la visión.

«From this, we see that the blood and the ink as they battle within the soul are projected outside, and thus do they appear in the prophetic vision.» — lo que de ahí concluye: la sangre y la tinta que batallan dentro del alma se proyectan afuera y así aparecen en la visión profética.

«What is the meaning of the "letter on the forehead" which separates between the other two letters? In Sefer ha-6t, p. 82, Abulafia relates that a fount of seventy tongues flowed from between the sign of his forehead; "the sign on his forehead was called the potion of death by the man, but I called it the potion of life, for I transformed it from death to life.» — la pregunta siguiente y el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot con que la responde: de la señal de su frente manaba una fuente de setenta lenguas, que el hombre llamaba poción de muerte y él llamó poción de vida.

«The allusion to "seventy tongues" may be properly understood if we assume that the meaning of the sign is the Active Intellect, which is the source of the seventy tongues.» — la lectura que Idel propone, marcada como suposición: la señal sería el Intelecto Agente, fuente de las setenta lenguas.

«The Active Intellect is the potion of life for those who are able to receive its flux, while for those who are unable to do so it is the potion of death.» — y el doble efecto que le adjudica: poción de vida para quien puede recibir su flujo y poción de muerte para quien no.

«This concept also has a double meaning in both the person and the soul; in SeIer ha-6t, p. 82, we read, "And see with your eyes and understand in your heart the hidden letter inscribed on your forehead explicitly.» — el doble sentido que Idel señala en la persona y en el alma, con la frase del Sefer ha-Ot sobre ver con los ojos y entender en el corazón la letra oculta inscrita en la frente.

«On the one hand, it is possible to see the sign, while on the other it is subject to understanding by means of the Intellect-your heart.» — y cómo lo desdobla: por un lado se puede ver la señal, por otro está sujeta a entendimiento por el intelecto.

«And I gazed at the letter inscribed on my forehead and I knew it, and my heart was enlightened when I looked at it, and my spirit lives with its eternal life, and its statue brought me to and its constitution» — el pasaje que enlaza la letra con el Intelecto Agente: al mirar la letra inscrita en su frente su corazón se iluminó y su espíritu vive con su vida eterna; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«moved me about, to speak and to compose this Book of the Sign.» — y el cierre de esa frase al otro lado del corte, con el libro que dice haber sido movido a componer.

«That cleaving which brings about "eternallife" is identical with that cleaving to the Active Intellect which is the source of the abundance causing the prophet to act and lito speak and to compose.» — la identificación que Idel hace: esa adhesión que trae vida eterna es la adhesión al Intelecto Agente, fuente de la abundancia que hace al profeta obrar y componer; las erratas de comilla son del facsímil.

«You have been victorious in my war, and you changed the blood of my forehead, and their nature and color, and you have stood up to all the tests of my thoughts. Ink you have raised and upon ink you shall be engrandized; the letter you have sanctified, and by means of the letter [ot: a pun upon the two senses of the word, "letter" and "sign"] and wonder you shall be sanctified.» — lo que el hombre le dice a Abulafia en la visión: que venció en su guerra, cambió la sangre de su frente y resistió todas las pruebas de sus pensamientos.

«This man, who is the outcome of the transformation of the flow of the Active Intellect from an intellectual flow to an imaginary form, praises Abulafia because he has transformed the blood, the imaginative element, into ink, the intellectual component.» — la lectura que Idel da de esa figura: resultado de transformar el flujo del Intelecto Agente de intelectual en imaginario, que alaba a Abulafia por haber vuelto la sangre en tinta.

«This transformation was accomplished by means of the "letter" -evidently a reference to the letters of the Divine name mentioned below, with whose help man can actualize his intellect.» — y el medio de esa transformación según él: las letras del nombre divino, con cuya ayuda el hombre actualiza su intelecto.

«The transformation of the color, mentioned on p. 82, is likewise depicted as a transformation from death to life, "Life replaces death, requires the letter to find innocent and to give life.» — y el otro par que registra: la transformación del color, presentada también como paso de la muerte a la vida.

«What is the connection between inklblood and life and death? In the Talmud, Tractate Shabbat, we read:» — la pregunta que Idel se hace sobre la relación entre tinta y sangre y vida y muerte, y adónde va a buscarla.

«The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel: Go and record upon the forehead of the righteous a line of ink, that the angels of destruction may not rule over them; and upon the foreheads of the wicked a line of blood, so that the angels of destruction may rule over them.» — el pasaje talmúdico que traduce: Dios manda a Gabriel trazar una línea de tinta en la frente de los justos y una de sangre en la de los malvados.

«What is meant by [the verse], 115 "you shall draw a line"? This teaches us that at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed that Jerusalem was to be destroyed, He called to the Angel of Death [alternative reading, "Gabriel"] and said to the angel: Go first to Jerusalem and pick out from within it the righteous and the wicked; and to every righteous man who is in it, draw a line of ink upon his forehead, a line of life, in order that he may live; and to every wicked person who is within it, draw a line of blood upon his forehead, that he may die.» — y el midrás de las Otiyot de-Rabbi Akiva que pone al lado: línea de tinta, línea de vida, para el justo, y línea de sangre para el malvado.

«Relying upon this midrash, Abulafia writes in Sefer IuI-Meli!: A line of life, a line of ink; and the line of death, a line of blood. And after this he showed us the form of his apprehension, and informed us that he had made the blood into ink-that is, from death to life. That is, he restored the soul of the spirit of life within him, with the apprehension, the form of a living, understanding and wise being, and he knew that it [i.e., the form] was deserving to survive eternany, by reason of the apprehension, and it was transformed from being dead to being alive.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Melitz que Idel traduce: línea de vida es línea de tinta y línea de muerte línea de sangre, y quien hizo la sangre tinta pasó de la muerte a la vida y restauró en sí el alma del espíritu de vida.

«A slightly different formulation appears in Sitre Wrah: "Adam and Eve" in gemafrm equals "my father and my mother" (avi ve-imi), and their secret is blood and ink, and this latter is proven by this name, YHWH, and one who merits it will have engraved upon his forehead a taw-for one a taw of blood, for the other a taw of ink. And the secret of the taw of blood (taw lei dam) is that she is born (le-muledet), and its matter is taw dam, which anudes to "likeness" (demut) [the letters of taw dam form the word demut], meaning that it precedes man in existence. And from that there comes "your soul" (nafle!fJ), and every "magician" (lalJfim) will be turned about the path of magic (ke§afim), and one who does so "spins blood" (§ofe! dam). And the secret of the taw of ink is "and the woman-that-gives-birth" (we-le-yoledet). Thus, you have one form when she is born (le-muledeO and another when she gives birth» — la formulación algo distinta del Sitre Torah, con la gematria que iguala Adán y Eva a mi padre y mi madre y con la tau de sangre y la tau de tinta grabadas en la frente.

«We learn from this that the message which the man gives to Abulafia is a confirmation of his success in transforming the imagination into intellect, by this means attaining eternal existence.» — lo que Idel concluye del conjunto: el mensaje del hombre a Abulafia confirma su éxito en transformar la imaginación en intelecto y con ello alcanzar existencia eterna.

«And when the false apprehenSion is negated, as mentioned, and is remembered in the mind from the heart of those who feel and the enlightened ones, then "death shall be shallowed up119 forever and God will erase tears from every face and the shame of his people will be removed for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." That is, the secret of the intellect will be revealed after its disappearance.» — y la definición de vida eterna que aduce del Or ha-Sekel: negada la aprehensión falsa, el secreto del intelecto se revelará tras su desaparición.

«More bitter than death is his filth, and therein is sunk his strength, and sweeter than honey is his blood, and therein resides his spirit, in the dwelling of his heart. The soul of every living, enlightened» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot que traduce: más amarga que la muerte es su inmundicia y más dulce que la miel su sangre, donde reside su espíritu; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«person travels from the tent of filth to the tent of the blood, and from the dwelling of the blood travels to the dwelling of the heart of heaven, and there you shall dwell all the days of your life.» — y su continuación: el alma viaja de la tienda de la inmundicia a la tienda de la sangre y de ahí a la morada del corazón del cielo.

«When man abandons the dwelling of the blood/imagination and actualizes his intellect, he cleaves to the Active Intellect, alluded to in "the heart of heaven," and thus brings about his survival.» — la lectura que Idel da: abandonada la morada de la sangre y actualizado el intelecto, el hombre se adhiere al Intelecto Agente aludido en el corazón del cielo.

«It is worth while mentioning an additional sign of the connection between "the man" and "the form" mentioned in Sefer ha-1;Ideq. In Sefer ha-6t, p. 83, he writes: "And I prostrated myself and bowed before him,» — el signo más que Idel añade entre el hombre y la forma: la postración ante él en el Sefer ha-Ot.

«That one who finds a person innocent and conquered beneath him the one who is culpable, until he is imprisoned himself and admitted and was conquered; and concerning this you straighten your heart immediately, that you bow before him [in] the form considered mentioned in your heart, which is before you.» — y el pasaje del Sefer ha-Heshek que pone al lado: hallado inocente uno y vencido el culpable, se endereza el corazón y se hace reverencia ante la forma pensada que está delante.

«The innocent and the guilty doubtless refer to the intellect and the imagination: when the imagination is conquered by the intellect, there appears both inside and "outside" "the form," before which one must bow.» — la identificación que Idel da a ese par: el inocente es el intelecto y el culpable la imaginación, y vencida ésta aparece dentro y fuera la forma ante la cual hay que inclinarse.

«Finally, we should take note that in two places in SeIer ha-6t-passages not included in the vision of "the man" described above-the idea of the prophet's conversation with himself appears. On p. 74, it states, "The heart of my heart (Ubbi) said to the inner heart of my heart (levavi) to write down the ways of God, etc.," while on p. 80 we read "my heart (libbi) said to my heart» — el último rastro que registra: en dos lugares del Sefer ha-Ot aparece la conversación del profeta consigo mismo, con las dos palabras hebreas para corazón.

«We may now refer to another vision appearing in Abulafia's writings to complete our discussion of the subject of "the form of a man.» — el paso que Idel anuncia a otra visión para completar el asunto de la forma de un hombre.

«Already in SeIer ha-Navon, attributed to one of the Ashkenazic Hasidim, we find the letters of the four-letter Divine Name revealed to the prophet121 or seen as identical to the "Angel of Glory" or to Metatron, who also fulfills an important function in the revelation.» — el precedente que aduce: en el Sefer ha-Navon, atribuido a un hasid askenazí, las letras del Nombre de cuatro letras se revelan al profeta o se ven idénticas al Ángel de la Gloria o a Metatrón.

«Abulafia connected the Ineffable Name to revelation by means of a gematria: And indeed YHWH is his vision, and this is what is meant by123 "and he shall see the image of God" -that is, that he gazes at the» — y el recurso con que Abulafia enlaza el Nombre inefable con la revelación, según Idel: una gematria; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«letters of this Name and at their ways, and all hidden things are revealed to him. And the proof of this is that [the phrase] "and he gazes at the image of God" is the equivalent in gematria to "at the name of God he gazes," for the number of the final Mem in ba-~em ("in" or "at the Name") equals 600.» — la gematria misma al otro lado del corte: mirar la imagen de Dios equivale a mirar el nombre de Dios, contando la mem final como seiscientos.

«This passage deals with Moses who, like Joshua in the passage mentioned from Sefer ha-Navon, received guidance for his activity through contemplation of the four letter Name.» — lo que Idel dice que trata ese pasaje: Moisés recibiendo guía por la contemplación del Nombre de cuatro letras, como Josué en el Sefer ha-Navon.

«The letters are without any doubt the root of all wisdom and knowledge, and they are themselves the contents of prophecy, and they appear in the prophetic vision as though [they are] opaque bodies speaking to man face to face [saying] most of the intellective comprehensions, thought in the heart of the one speaking them.» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce: las letras son la raíz de toda sabiduría y son ellas mismas el contenido de la profecía, y aparecen en la visión como cuerpos opacos que hablan al hombre cara a cara.

«And they appear as if pure living angels are moving them about and teaching them to man, who turns them about in the form of wheels in the air, flying with their wings, and they are spirit within spirit.» — y cómo se mueven según ese texto: como si ángeles vivos y puros las movieran y las enseñaran al hombre, que las hace girar en el aire como ruedas.

«And at times the person sees them as if they are resting in the hills and flying away from them, and that mountain which the person sees them dwelling upon or moving from was sanctified by the prophet who sees them, and it is right and proper that he call them holy, because God has descended upon them in fire,J27 and in the holy mountain there is a holy spirit.» — y la santificación del monte que ese texto describe: donde las letras reposan o de donde vuelan, porque Dios ha descendido allí en fuego.

«And the name of the holy high mountain is the Ineffable Name, and know this, and the ryw F216) and secret of the mountain is Gevurah (might";'216), and he is the Mighty One, who wages war against the enemies of God who forget His Name.» — y la gematria que iguala el monte a Guevurá, con el Poderoso que guerrea contra los enemigos de Dios.

«And behold, after this the letters are corporealized in the form of the Ministering Angels who know the labor of singing, and these are the Levites, who are in the form of God, who give birth to a voice of joy and ringing song, and teach with their voice matters of the future and new ways, and renew the knowledge of prophecy.» — y la última forma que ese texto les da: las letras se corporeizan en ángeles ministradores que saben el oficio del canto, los levitas, que enseñan con su voz cosas futuras.

«This passage is interesting in a number of respects: like the image of man which is revealed to the prophet at the time of prophecy, the letters which are revealed also "speak";» — el primer rasgo que Idel destaca: como la imagen de hombre revelada al profeta, las letras reveladas también hablan.

«these letters, which constitute the Divine Names, ]28 do battle with the enemies of God just as did the man in the vision on p. 83 of SeIer ha-6t: "And the man was concealed from my eyes after he spoke his words, and he went and grew greater and stronger in his battles until he overwhelmed every enemy.» — y el segundo: como el hombre de la visión, las letras que constituyen los nombres divinos combaten contra los enemigos de Dios.

«One may ask whether the central idea in the vision of "the man" is also present in the vision of the letters-that is, its being an imaginary expression of an inner process. The latter part of the» — la pregunta que Idel deja planteada: si la visión de las letras es también expresión imaginaria de un proceso interior; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«passage from lfayye ha-cOlam ha-Ba seems to allude to this view.» — y el grado con que la contesta al otro lado del corte: la última parte del pasaje parece aludir a esa lectura.

«In Sefer Ner Elohim,l29 the mountain from which the letters jump off and to which they return is interpreted as an allusion to the head.» — y el apoyo que trae del Ner Elohim: el monte del que las letras saltan y al que vuelven se interpreta como alusión a la cabeza.

«For it is known that the Torah was given on a mountain, and the blessing and curse on a mountain. And the harbinger [i.e., of Messianic redemption] will ascend a mountain, as is said, "on a high mountain get thee up, harbinger of Zion" [Isa. 40:9], etc. The mountain thus alludes to the head, for there is no other [organ] in the entire body as high and as distinguished as the head, and its secret is har e§ (mountain of fire), and it is like the comparison of the mountains to the land, for the heads are the roots,» — el pasaje que traduce: la Torá se dio en un monte, y el monte alude a la cabeza porque no hay órgano tan alto ni distinguido en el cuerpo.

«therefore it is said,l30 "And the lord called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses ascended" -that is, to the highest place that man may ascend, and even though it exists up above, it is impossible for any person to ascend higher than did Moses.» — y el versículo con que ese texto cierra: Moisés subió a la cumbre, al lugar más alto al que el hombre puede subir.

«An identity is established here between the "mountain of fire," i.e., the place from which the Torah was given, and the human head.» — la identidad que Idel registra ahí: entre el monte de fuego donde se dio la Torá y la cabeza humana.

«In Sefer ha-Haftarah, we find allusions to the duality of "mountain." On the one hand, it alludes to the power of the imagination:» — la dualidad del monte que Idel encuentra en el Sefer ha-Haftarah, con el primer término: alude a la potencia de la imaginación.

«He was revealed in his glory on the holy mountain, and it is there a high and awesome mountain in Italian monti barbaro, and it is alluded to [in the phrase] ~izzeq ha-qaseh (he strengthened the hard) and it was an act of miracle, which strengthened the breathing, and will also strengthen the soul, and it is the hidden name, the name of vengeance, which is the abominable name of the end and the sixth, which is "the false."» — el pasaje que traduce, con el topónimo italiano que trae: revelado en su gloria en el monte santo, alto y temible, con el nombre oculto de la venganza.

«And Raziel transformed the dwelling place of the imagination, as he did, for Monti is the imagination, and it is Azazel; in Italian, Monti.» — y la identificación que ese texto hace: Monti es la imaginación y es Azazel.

«This passage tells us that mountain equals Monti ha-dimyon (the imagination) Azazel = 155,an identification which seems to have existed even before Abulafia demonstrated it by gematria.» — lo que Idel lee ahí, con su grado: una identificación que parece anterior a que Abulafia la demostrara por gematria.

«On the other hand, as against the identification of "mountain" with "imagination" it is also identified with "intellect."» — y el otro término de la dualidad, sin armonizarlo: el monte identificado también con el intelecto.

«We have found in this two urges both of which have the form gold,» — el pasaje que lo apoya, con los dos impulsos que tienen forma de oro; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«in the allusion Of,l35 ''They were made two cherubim of gold," and this matter of gold is that it turns [something to] gold, and their allusion is §em we-§em §emo, §am me'!!lyyer u-me'!uyyar.» — y su continuación con los dos querubines de oro; la transliteración corrompida es la del facsímil.

«The two urges referred to here by Abulafia are identical with the imagination and the intellect, which are the two cherubim, both of which apprehend.» — la identificación que Idel da a esos dos impulsos: la imaginación y el intelecto, que son los dos querubines, y ambos aprehenden.

«The end of the passage from Ner Elohim likewise points toward the possibility of interpreting the mountain as an allusion to the highest intellectual virtue to which Moses can reach.» — y la lectura que ese cierre permite: el monte como alusión a la virtud intelectual más alta a la que Moisés puede llegar.

«One may interpret in similar fashion the passage from MS. Jerusalem 8 1303 fol. 56a, connected to Abulafia or his circle, that "also in the divine mountain one shall apprehend and ascend in level and understand the flux of God, which comes from the highest mountain.» — el pasaje manuscrito que Idel lee del mismo modo: en el monte divino se aprehende y se asciende de grado y se entiende el flujo de Dios.

«It is worth mentioning that, in Sefer ha-6t, p. 76, it states of Abulafia that "God shall surely find the top of a high mountain, and its name is the fallen mountain and upon it sits the shepherd of this flock for twenty years," an allusion to the redemption anticipated in the year 1290, the twentieth year of Abulafia's prophetic career.» — y el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot que trae al lado, con la redención esperada para 1290 según la lectura de Idel.

«To summarize our discussion of the passage in Jfayy2 ha-(Olam ha-Ba: the letters, which the prophet sees flying about, landing and returning to the mountains, are the letters of the Divine Name, which originate in the powers of the intellect and the imagination.» — el resumen que Idel hace: las letras que el profeta ve volar y posarse son las del Nombre divino, originadas en las potencias del intelecto y la imaginación.

«It may be shown that the Names of God are also found within the human soul, and that the flying about and coming to rest are essentially inner processes.» — y lo que sostiene de ahí: los nombres de Dios se hallan también dentro del alma humana, de modo que el volar y el posarse son procesos interiores.

«And he showed me the image and likeness moving about in two ways, in a vision in an image TR"Y K"W, one image and one likeness.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot que lo apoya, con la imagen y la semejanza moviéndose por dos caminos.

«The Ineffable Name within man's soul incorporates both the image and likeness, which are the intellect and the imagination.» — y la lectura que Idel le da: el Nombre inefable dentro del alma incorpora imagen y semejanza, que son el intelecto y la imaginación.

«the people of God, the supreme holy ones, looking upon His Name gaze at the source of your intellects and see the divine image within the image of your hearts. Indeed, the "image" refers to the head, for therein may be seen the heart of the vision.» — el otro pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot: los que miran su Nombre contemplan la fuente de sus intelectos y ven la imagen divina dentro de la imagen de sus corazones.

«In 6zar (Eden Ganuz, the same idea is repeated with a minor variation, "And the two names are engraved in the heart and in the head, and they are alluded to in [the verse],'there he gave them a law and a 5tat» — y la variante del Ozar Eden Ganuz: los dos nombres grabados en el corazón y en la cabeza; la palabra se corta por el guion de fin de renglón.

«while in Sitri Torah we speak of "the name inscribed in your soul in its truth.» — y la fórmula del Sitre Torah que pone al lado: el nombre inscrito en tu alma en su verdad.

«It is known to us by tradition that it is impossible for any of the prophets of Israel to prophesy without knowledge of the Name which dwells in his heart. And he is not aware [of this) except» — el pasaje del Ner Elohim que Idel traduce: ningún profeta de Israel puede profetizar sin conocer el Nombre que mora en su corazón; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«according to the hidden order in Sefer Y~irah by which the prophet attains the order in the hidden things, and from both of them he will know the name of the one arranging, and it will speak to him and he will respond to it and then it will show him the path in which he must go and deed that he must dO.» — y su continuación: por el orden oculto del Sefer Yezirah conoce el nombre del que ordena, y ese nombre le habla, él responde y le muestra el camino.

«The name is found "in his heart," but the prophet speaks to it and th~ Name answers him and reveals to him his way.» — lo que Idel subraya: el nombre está en su corazón, pero el profeta le habla y el Nombre le responde.

«This approach is reminiscent of the words of the eighteenth century Sufi sage, Nasser Muhammad ' Andalib of Delhi: "He sees the blessed form of the word 'Allah' in the color of light, written upon the table of his» — y el paralelo sufí que trae: el sabio de Delhi que ve la forma bendita de la palabra Alá en color de luz; el tramo se corta por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«heart and upon the appearance of his imagination.» — y el cierre de esa cita al otro lado del corte.

«To conclude, we shall cite a section from Sefer ha-lfe§eq, which clearly demonstrates that the letters seen by the prophet resemble in their function the "man" who is revealed:» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Heshek con que Idel cierra el apartado, que a su juicio muestra que las letras vistas por el profeta cumplen la misma función que el hombre revelado.

«After you find the appropriate preparation for the soul, which is knowledge of the method of comprehension of the contemplation of the letters, and the one who apprehends it will contemplate them as though they speak with him, as a man speaks with his fellow, and as though they are themselves a man who had the power of speech, who brings words out of his mind,» — el pasaje traducido: quien conoce el método de contemplar las letras las contempla como si hablaran con él, como un hombre con su prójimo, como si fueran ellas mismas un hombre con potencia de habla.

«and that man knows seventy tongues, and knows a certain specific intention in every letter and every word, and the one who hears it apprehends it in order to understand what he says, and the one hearing recognized that he does not understand, except for one language or two or three or slightly more, but he [that one] understands that the one speaking does not speak to him in vain, except after he knows all the languages; then every single word within him is understood in many interpretations.» — y lo que sigue: ese hombre sabe setenta lenguas y una intención específica en cada letra y cada palabra, y el que oye reconoce que no entiende sino una lengua o dos, hasta que sabiéndolas todas cada palabra se le entiende en muchas interpretaciones.

«The speech of the letters, whose image is like that of a man, which are the source of the seventy languages of man, reminds one of the "seventy tongues" of the man mentioned in Seier ha-6t.» — el paralelo que Idel señala: el habla de las letras, cuya imagen es como la de un hombre y que son fuente de las setenta lenguas, recuerda las setenta lenguas del hombre del Sefer ha-Ot.

«Finally, let us note the presence of a strikingly suggestive element in this passage: the mystic must "imagine" the letters-that is, make use of the technique described in the chapter dealing with this subject-· "and think as if they are speaking.» — y el elemento que declara sugerente: el místico debe imaginar las letras, es decir usar la técnica descrita antes, y pensar como si hablaran.

«On the other hand, in the writings of R. Isaac of Acre, the author of 6~r lfayyim, we find testimony of the spontaneous appearance of the Divine Names:» — el testimonio contrario que consigna: en R. Isaac de Acre hay aparición espontánea de los nombres divinos.

«The young one, R. Isaac of Acre said, I woke up from my sleep and there suddenly came before me three Tetragrammata, each one in its vocalization and place in the secret of the ten sefirot of the void,» — el pasaje traducido: despertó del sueño y de pronto se le presentaron tres Tetragrámatos, cada uno con su vocalización y su lugar; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«in the middle line, on which depends the entire mystery of [the four worlds] ~ilut, Beri'ah, Y~irah, CAsiyah, via the simple and felt intellect, alluded to in the secret of their vocalizations. And my soul rejoiced in them as one who had found a rare treasure, and they were these:» — y su continuación: la línea media de la que depende el misterio de los cuatro mundos, y el gozo del alma como quien halló un tesoro raro.

«Just thus did I see it in its vocalization.» — y la fórmula con que ese testimonio cierra; las líneas en caracteres hebreos del facsímil no tienen capa de texto fiable y no se citan.

«Texts of the type mentioned above may have influenced the later practice of answering questions by visualizing the letters of the Ineffable Name, known from the letters of R. Elijah ha-Kohen of Ismir.» — el influjo posterior que Idel apunta con su grado: la práctica de responder preguntas visualizando las letras del Nombre inefable, conocida por las cartas de R. Elijah ha-Kohen de Esmirna.

«The link connecting between the appearance of the letters of the Divine Name and that of "the man" is the Urim and Tummim.» — el eslabón que Idel propone entre la aparición de las letras y la del hombre: los Urim y Tummim.

«Opinion is divided as to the nature of these vessels: Rashi states that they were "the writing of the Ineffable Name.» — el desacuerdo que consigna sobre su naturaleza, empezando por Rashi: la escritura del Nombre inefable.

«We learn the meaning of this name from several sources: R. Jacob ben Asher, the Bacal ha-'furim, wrote in his commentary on Ex. 28:30 that "[the phrase] the Urim and Tummim equals in gematria equals the Name of seventy-two letters,» — la segunda lectura: R. Jacob ben Asher los iguala por gematria al Nombre de setenta y dos letras.

«which evidently reflects a parallel opinion given in Zohar II, 234b, "and it is customary in the seventy-two letters inscribed, which are the secret of the Holy Name, and all of them are called Urim and Tummim.» — y la opinión paralela del Zohar que Idel pone al lado.

«In the Kabbalah of R. Me!iullam ha-~rfati, which we received from the book called Raziel, [it states] that when you write these three verses in groups of three letters at a time, one arrives at the name of seventy-two letters, and they help to say great matters, of which there is no greater thing. This is the Ineffable Name of the Urim and Tummim, which was [worn] upon the heart of the High Priest.» — la tercera tradición que trae, tomada del libro Raziel: escritos esos tres versículos en grupos de tres letras se llega al Nombre de setenta y dos, que es el Nombre inefable de los Urim y Tummim.

«On the other hand R. Abraham ibn Ezra thought that the Urim and Tummim alluded to the seven servants, that is, the seven planets.» — y la cuarta, de ibn Ezra: los Urim y Tummim aludirían a los siete servidores, es decir los siete planetas.

«Abulafia attempted to draw a connection between the interpretation of the Urim and Tummim as an internal matter with that which» — lo que Idel dice que intentó Abulafia: enlazar la lectura interna de los Urim y Tummim con otra; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«saw it as an external matter. In Somer Mi!Wflh. l48 he wrote:» — y el otro término al otro lado del corte: la que los tenía por cosa externa.

«But the mystery of va-yomar (he said) is Urim-that is, the Urim and Tummim. And why are they called Urim? Because they enlighten (me'irim) their words,» — el pasaje del Shomer Mizvah que Idel traduce, con la etimología que da al nombre.

«And the lightl50 which was created on the first day was one by which man may see from one end of the world to the other; for God, may He be blessed, saw that the wicked were not deserving of using it, so he hid it away for the righteous for the future.» — y la luz del primer día que ese texto invoca: con ella el hombre veía de un extremo al otro del mundo, y Dios la escondió para los justos por venir.

«And this is the light of the Torah, as one to whom God has granted a little bit of knowledge and enlightened the eyes of his heart may see the entire world with its light.» — y su identificación: la luz de la Torá, con la que ve el mundo entero quien recibió un poco de conocimiento.

«And the meaning of that which they said,IS2 "May God shine his face upon you," is that there is light before Him, by which every person can see what he sees, and this is the beginning of the light which the sun receives from it, just as the moon received light from the light of the sun; and all this is a metaphor from light to light, for the bright inner light which shines is a thing without a body, and it comes from this, for it is hidden away for the righteous. And as the righteous see it with many aspects, that light is itself called "face," and its immediate cause is the abundance from the Divine influx, and it is called by the name, "the Prince of the Face.» — y la cadena de luces que ese texto describe: la luz ante Él de la que el sol recibe como la luna del sol, luz interior sin cuerpo escondida para los justos, cuya causa inmediata es el influjo divino llamado el Príncipe del Rostro.

«The Urim referred to here allude to the inner light and the light which comes from the Active Intellect-the Prince of the Face-for which reason the intellective soul is portrayed as the moon, receiving its light from the sun.» — la lectura que Idel da: los Urim aluden a la luz interior y a la que viene del Intelecto Agente, y por eso el alma intelectiva se retrata como la luna que recibe del sol.

«This influx is only received by the righteous, that is, the enlightened ones who possess knowledge.» — y quiénes reciben ese influjo según él: los justos, es decir los ilustrados que poseen conocimiento.

«In this passage, Abulafia accepts Ibn Ezra's opinion that the Urim refer to the luminaries--the sun and the moon.» — la adhesión que Idel le adjudica en ese pasaje: acepta la opinión de ibn Ezra de que los Urim son las lumbreras.

«In another passage, Abulafia introduces the second view, namely, that "the Urim and Tummim are letters» — y la segunda lectura que introduce en otro pasaje: que los Urim y Tummim son letras.

«The strongest of these holy combinations, from which you will know the secret of the Ineffable Names. . . . And these are the letters which are called Urim and Tummim, which illuminate the eyes of the hearts, and complete the thoughts,l55 and purify the supernal thoughts, and enlighten the path of understanding, and make known the planetary positions, and teach the existence of separate beings, and tell the future.» — el pasaje que traduce: esas letras iluminan los ojos de los corazones, completan y purifican los pensamientos, iluminan el camino del entendimiento, dan a conocer las posiciones planetarias y dicen el futuro.

«With the assistance of letter-combinations, these names teach» — el comienzo del comentario de Idel a ese pasaje; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«man wisdom and indicate to him the future.» — y su cierre al otro lado del corte: las dos funciones que les reconoce, enseñar sabiduría e indicar el futuro.

«These two functions seem to me to allude to intellect and imagination, as the foretelling of the future was strongly linked to the perfections of imaginative power.» — y a qué las hace aludir con su grado: al intelecto y a la imaginación, por el vínculo entre predecir el futuro y la perfección de la potencia imaginativa.

«And of this [perfect] man it is said, "And upon the image of the throne there sat an image, like the image of a man above it,"l58 and it was an image looking like it, and the vision was the image of the glory of God, and he saw himself as in a clear crystal, to the eyes and the heart.» — el pasaje del Imre Sefer que traduce: la imagen sobre el trono con figura de hombre, visión que era la imagen de la gloria de Dios, y el vidente que se vio a sí mismo como en un cristal claro.

«And perhaps the Urim and Tummim [referred to] are the inner ones, for the external ones are also thus called, but they are as in an unclear crystal; know this and understand it well.» — y el grado con que ese texto lo acota: quizá los Urim y Tummim de que se habla son los internos, porque a los externos se los llama igual pero son como cristal no claro.

«And the difference between these and these cannot be known except to one who has apprehended both of them, and he is one who has apprehended knowledge of the three-fold unique Name.» — y quién puede conocer la diferencia según ese texto: solo el que ha aprehendido ambos y el Nombre único triple.

«Comprehension of the Name by the Name: and it is a speculative examination into His Name, by means of the twenty-two letters of the Torah, after knowledge of the matter of the ten Sefirot from aleph to yod, which include all those which come after them, for they are fulfilled by them.» — el otro pasaje de la misma obra sobre el cristal claro: examen especulativo del Nombre por las veintidós letras de la Torá, tras conocer las diez sefirot.

«And they, with their forms, are called the Clear Crystal, for all the forms having brightness and strong radiance are included in them.» — y por qué se llaman así: porque en ellas se incluyen todas las formas de brillo y radiancia fuerte.

«And one who gazes at them in their forms will discover their secrets and speak of them, and they will speak of them, and they will speak of him. And they are like an image in which a man sees all his forms standing opposite him, and then he will be able to see all the general and specific things.» — y lo que ocurre al que las mira: descubre sus secretos y habla de ellas y ellas hablan de él, como en una imagen donde el hombre ve todas sus formas enfrente.

«The Divine Names are spoken of in two passages: in the first passage in the phrase "these and these," which is an allusion to the Name of seventy-two letters, (eleh = 36 =36= 72), and follOwing that by the "three-fold unique name," which is also an allusion to the seventy-two letter Name.» — la lectura numérica que Idel da a las dos fórmulas de esos pasajes: ambas aluden al Nombre de setenta y dos letras.

«In the second passage, the matter is explained as follows: study of the Name is like gazing into a mirror, in which a person sees his own image.» — y la imagen con que resume el segundo pasaje: estudiar el Nombre es como mirarse en un espejo, donde uno ve su propia imagen.

«This vision of the self is accompanied by speech, "and he spoke of them, and they spoke of him.» — y lo que la acompaña: el habla recíproca entre el que mira y lo mirado.

«If we remember that Abulafia explicitly mentions the "human image," we again have the typical prophetic-mystical situation of Abulafia.» — lo que Idel concluye: se vuelve a la situación profético-mística típica de Abulafia.

«The Urim and Tummim are the inner form of man, that is, the Intellect and Imagination. It seems reasonable to assume that, in» — y la identificación que les da: la forma interior del hombre, intelecto e imaginación; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«the phrase Aspaqlaryah se-einah meira (translated above as "the unclear crystar"), Abulafia intends to refer to the heavenly luminaries-the sun and the moon-which are corporeal things outside of man.» — el grado con que propone la otra mitad del par: con el cristal no claro Abulafia se referiría a las lumbreras celestes, cosas corpóreas fuera del hombre.

«If he is able to decide and to further continue [in letter-combination], he shall emerge from within to without, and it will be imagined for him by the power of his purified imagination in the form of a pure mirror, and this is "the shining rotating sword" (Gen. 3:24), whose back side turns about and becomes the front, and he recognizes the nature of its innerness from outside, like the image of the Urim and Tummim, which in the beginning cast light from within.» — el pasaje del Sacare Zedeq que Idel traduce: quien persevera en la combinación sale de dentro afuera, y por su imaginación purificada se le figura un espejo puro, la espada flamígera que gira, cuyo revés se vuelve anverso.

«"And you shall tell" is not straight, but only combines because of its form being incomplete, separate from its essence,until it is separated and enc10thed in the form of his imagination, and therein it joins the letters by a perfect joining, ordered and ready.» — y lo que ese texto añade: la forma incompleta se separa de su esencia y se reviste en la forma de su imaginación, donde junta las letras con junta perfecta.

«And this seems to me to be that form which is referred to by the Kabbalists as "garment": but we have already commented on the matter of the names and their activities.» — y el nombre que ese autor le da con su grado: la vestidura de que hablan los cabalistas.

«The author associated Abulafia's remarks concerning letter-combination and the Urim and Tummim with the Talmudic idea that the Urim and Tummim worked by illuminating certain letters, which combined to provide the answer to the question posed.» — lo que Idel dice que hizo ese autor: enlazar la combinación de letras y los Urim y Tummim con la idea talmúdica de que éstos obraban iluminando ciertas letras que combinadas daban la respuesta.

«Like the Urim and Tummim, the human form is separated from within his body or his matter; after being separated, the human form, that is, the intellect, is clothed in an imaginary garment, just as the letters, which are isolated in their sense, combine into a word, a combination which is all no more than an imaginary garment for an answelr containing meaning to the one inquiring.» — la analogía que extrae: como los Urim y Tummim, la forma humana se separa del cuerpo y luego el intelecto se viste de un ropaje imaginario, igual que las letras aisladas se combinan en una palabra.

«The stage of dressing is designated by the name Tummim, connected with the power of the» — y el nombre que le da a la etapa del revestimiento; el tramo se corta por el límite de chunk del troceo, y del otro lado la frase la liga a la potencia de la imaginación.

«Know that these letters which are the holy letters may be called signs and traditions, which are depicted by their exterior forml64 with prophetiC agreement by the Holy Spirit, and that is the form which appears to the prophets, when the inside, concave form is reversed to an external, convex for, like the Tummim, as mentioned above.» — el otro pasaje del Sacare Zedeq: las letras santas pueden llamarse signos y tradiciones, y esa es la forma que aparece a los profetas cuando la forma interior cóncava se invierte en externa convexa.

«The concave inner form is the intellect, while the external convex for is the imaginative form. Thus, we again return to the view that the powers of the soul are revealed to the mystic.» — y la lectura con que Idel cierra el apartado: la forma cóncava interior es el intelecto y la convexa externa la imaginativa, de modo que lo revelado al místico son las potencias del alma.

«We have seen thus far that Abulafia's visions contain revelations of the contents of the human soul. We shall now examine a vision incorporating both a revelation of the soul, on the one hand, and a revelation of the world, on the other.» — el giro que Idel marca al abrir la sección del círculo: pasa a una visión que revela a la vez el alma y el mundo.

«This is the meaning of "as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on a rainy day."l66 Just as the colored brilliance is seen in the rainbow on a rainy day, and is there with the brilliance of the sun, so do the humours which are the rain and the showers and the vapor. And the smokes and the steams, which are treated by that and by the food which is in the principle organs, and which ascend and descend are the clouds themselves.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Melitz que traduce: como el arco iris con el resplandor del sol, así los humores que son la lluvia y los vapores, y los humos que suben y bajan son las nubes.

«And the brilliance of the soul, which is combined from the sphere and from the stars and luminaries, together with the brilliance of the abundance which flows from the sphere of the rainbow to the organs of the body, in general and in particular, which is "the appearance of the brightness round about, which was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God.» — y el resplandor del alma según ese texto: compuesto de la esfera, las estrellas y las lumbreras, con la abundancia que fluye de la esfera del arco a los órganos del cuerpo.

«Therefore, Raziel says that when he arrived at this knowledge and acquired it in his intellect, he knew the question which he was asked by the form, which he saw inscribed before him, as engraved by his Rock» — lo que ese texto atribuye a Raziel: al alcanzar ese conocimiento supo la pregunta que le hacía la forma inscrita ante él.

«And Then he returned to the matter of opening his eyes to see before him the tree of knowledge, whose name is life: that is, that which is to others a potion of death, and is the tree of knowledge, was to Raziel the potion of life, and he did not stumble in it as did others.» — y el árbol del conocimiento que se le abre: poción de muerte para otros y poción de vida para Raziel.

«And now seek to draw for us that which is its image, and he said that it is like a round ladder, and he counted its steps, and said that there are 360 rungs, and he saw that the width of each rung was like the span of a man's step, from foot to foot,» — la figura que ese texto pide dibujar: una escalera redonda de trescientos sesenta peldaños, cada uno del ancho de un paso de hombre.

«and he saw that between each step there was as the length of a rung, and its appearance was like that of bright blue, which was full around it from the east, and descends to the west strongly, and in its middle there passed through a very thick bar, and its length was like a third of the circle, so that it came out that its head was to the south and its end to the north,» — y su forma: color azul brillante, llena alrededor desde el este y descendiendo al oeste, con una barra muy gruesa en medio de la longitud de un tercio del círculo, la cabeza al sur y el fin al norte.

«and it had four heads at its head [i.e., beginning], and likewise its end to the four winds. And on each head there was a body, equal, having eight points, and six sections spotted like a carbuncle, and there were twelve lines to each one of them, and a fifth head, from this side and from that, until all of them amounted to five against five.» — los cuerpos que ese texto pone en cada cabeza: iguales, de ocho puntas y seis secciones moteadas como carbunclo, con doce líneas cada uno, cinco contra cinco.

«And he said that these go to the right, and these to the left, and they accordingly threw the lots among known names. And he said that the Pur turns about from y"w to y"w, that is, from higher to higher,» — y el sorteo entre nombres conocidos que ese texto describe.

«and from pair to pair, and he said that upon them is a great and awesome king who arranges and estimates all in wisdom. And he completed those visions with wisdom, which is the secret that turns about in wisdom night and day.» — y el rey grande y temible que según ese texto ordena y estima todo en sabiduría.

«An behold, I have written for you the plain meaning of the things in detail, but now I must explain to you their meaning, and this is impossible without a drawing of a ladder, and even though it cannot be drawn in truth but in a spherical [form], you will gain a certain benefit from the drawing of this circular [form]:» — la advertencia metodológica de ese texto: no puede dibujarse en verdad sino en forma esférica, aunque el dibujo circular aproveche.

«Know that this ladder must be drawn as a circle, if it stands before the person's eyes like a full sphere, rolling back and forth before him, as if the man's face is towards the east and his back towards west, and the person is in the middle.» — la instrucción que da: dibujar la escalera como círculo, como esfera plena que rueda ante los ojos, con el hombre en medio y el rostro al este.

«And this is the spherical ladder which has two spherical lines and wide rungs, slightly between the two lines, and they are 360 rungs, and between each rung is the width of a rung, so that the length will be equal to the width, and its appearance like that of bright blue, like the image of the sky which turns about for one known special purpose.» — y la descripción de esa escalera esférica: dos líneas esféricas y trescientos sesenta peldaños anchos, de aspecto azul brillante como la imagen del cielo que gira con un fin especial conocido.

«And man turns about with [the help of] twenty Sefirot-five toes of his feet on his right side, and five on his left, and likewise five . '~lgers of his hand to the south and five to the north, and they turn to the right or the left, and there are four heads to his head, and four to his end, and four winds from here to the south side and four winds to the north, and each head of them has upon it a body equal, like the image of a cube, and they are four cubes, and their names are "females" from here, and four from there, and their names are "males" and they turned about and changed.» — y las veinte sefirot con que el hombre gira: los diez dedos de los pies y los diez de las manos, con cuatro cabezas y cuatro vientos a cada lado y cubos llamados hembras y machos.

«And each of these cubes has six corners, speckled, a pair above, separated below it, and a pair below it, separated upon it. And all of the dots on them [add up to] 120 for these and 120 for these, with the fifth to here and the fifth to here; and that is the one which preponderates between them. And the number is 24, 24, and the dots are not fixed in them, but are like tablets ready to receive the dots, and because of the [circular] movement they are renewed.» — y los puntos de esos cubos: ciento veinte de un lado y ciento veinte del otro, no fijos sino como tablillas dispuestas a recibirlos, renovados por el movimiento.

«And were the ladder to stand [even] a small moment without turning, then all the corners of the cubes would be empty of all dots. But with the turns they are renewed, by justice and uprightness, according to the Divine rule by which hf: judges every living rational thing according to his deeds, by lot (pur).» — y lo que ocurriría si la escalera se detuviera un instante: los ángulos de los cubos quedarían vacíos de puntos, mientras que al girar se renuevan según la regla divina que juzga a cada viviente racional por sus obras.

«And this secret is as it were witness and judge of the retribution and punishment. And this ladder is called the» — el papel que ese texto le da al secreto: testigo y juez de la retribución y el castigo; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«ladder of the world, and scales for the human being. And this is» — y los dos nombres que le da a la escalera al otro lado del corte: escalera del mundo y balanza del ser humano.

«the subject of which Raziel infonned me, and he further explained it in saying that the pur fell between the names and always turns about by justice, to judge in it he who is judged, and that when you shall contemplate your essence, you will find that ladder is inscribed between the eyes of your heart, in general and in particular, and contemplate it very much, and know it.» — y la instrucción con que cierra: contemplando tu esencia hallarás esa escalera inscrita entre los ojos de tu corazón, en general y en particular.

«I do not intend to analyze every detail of this vision; some are not sufficiently clear to me, while others are not relevant to our discussion.» — la abstención con que Idel aborda la visión: no analiza cada detalle, unos no le quedan claros y otros no vienen al caso.

«The opening statement of the vision is based upon an idea articulated by Maimonides in Guide of the Perplexed ill:7 (Pines, p.429): "And the appearance of the rainbow that is in the clouds in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord." The matter, the true reality, and the essence of the rainbow that is described are known. This is the most extraordinary comparison possible, as far as parables and similitudes are concerned; and it is indubitably due to a prophetic force. Understand this.» — la fuente que le señala al arranque: el pasaje de la Guía de los perplejos sobre la apariencia del arco iris como la más extraordinaria comparación posible, debida sin duda a una fuerza profética.

«The analogy between man and the rainbow, appearing in Maimonides, was expanded by Abulafia: the rain, the showers, and the vapors of the rainbow correspond to the humours within man, while the clouds correspond to the smoke and steams within him.» — la ampliación que Idel le adjudica a Abulafia: lluvia, aguaceros y vapores del arco corresponden a los humores del hombre y las nubes a sus humos.

«The circle, symbolizing a sphere, corresponds to the sphere of the cosmic axis (teli), while the bar is the cosmic axis itself.» — y la lectura cosmológica que da: el círculo corresponde a la esfera del eje cósmico y la barra al eje mismo.

«This is clear from the description of the bar: it passes from south to the north just as the axis passes over the world. This bar is already described in this manner in Chapter 1 of Baraita de-Shemu'el: "NaftaS Baria/r is the cosmic axiS.» — el apoyo textual que aduce: la barra pasa de sur a norte como el eje pasa sobre el mundo, ya descrito así en la Baraita de-Shemuel.

«It follows that Abulafia's comparison of the sphere of man to "the sphere of the suspensory" is pertinent to this vision.» — y lo que de ahí concluye sobre la comparación de la esfera del hombre con la esfera del colgante.

«By contemplation into himself, man may learn about the ladder: "And when you shall contemplate your essence, you will find that ladder, inscribed between the eyes of your heart, in general and in particular.» — el punto que Idel subraya del final de la visión: contemplándose a sí mismo el hombre aprende de la escalera inscrita entre los ojos de su corazón.

«The principle which operates both in the ladder and in man is the point of comparison; in the ladder, he refers to the 'lot and die," "justice and uprightness," "witness and judge," "retribution and punishment."» — los pares de palabras que Idel señala como principio común a la escalera y al hombre.

«These word-pairs allude to the attributes of mercy and justice operating in the world.» — y a qué aluden según él: a los atributos de misericordia y juicio que obran en el mundo.

«Likewise, in Sitri Torah, Abulafia refers to "the secret of the one who is innocent» — la fórmula paralela del Sitre Torah que aduce; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«and guilty, in their coming before the judge, who is both witness and judge.» — y su cierre al otro lado del corte: el inocente y el culpable ante el juez que es a la vez testigo y juez.

«This refers to God, who manifests both the attributes of mercy and judgment-a fact confirmed by the gematria: ced (witness) =74=dayan (judge), while zakkai we-bayav (innocent and guilty) likewise adds up to 74.» — y la gematria con que Idel lo confirma: testigo y juez suman lo mismo que inocente y culpable.

«Elsewhere in Si(r2 Torah, it is clear that "innocent and guilty" allude to ''blood and ink": i.e., the intellect and the imagination.» — y a qué remite ese par en otro lugar del Sitre Torah: a la sangre y la tinta, es decir al intelecto y a la imaginación.

«Behold, man has two urges, good and evil, and they are angels of God without any doubt, and are like the image of the two sides of the scales, which are always weighed and purified in their place as they are, so that the power of one of them will overwhelm its fellow, will let judge the language and tend towards it, like the balance which inclines thereto.» — el pasaje del Ozar Eden Ganuz que traduce: los dos impulsos del hombre son ángeles de Dios y son como los dos platillos de una balanza, siempre pesados hasta que uno vence al otro.

«The two urges, likened to the two sides of the scales, clearly correspond to the imagination and intellect, alluded to in the expression in the vision, "scales for the human being."» — la correspondencia que Idel establece: los dos impulsos son la imaginación y el intelecto, aludidos en la balanza del ser humano de la visión.

«These two passages suggest that the visions are accompanied by an inner event, a kind of synthesis between the two forces of the soul-the intellect and the imagination-which are alluded to by blood and ink.» — lo que Idel propone con su grado sobre los dos pasajes del árbol y de la señal en la frente: las visiones van acompañadas de un suceso interior, una síntesis entre intelecto e imaginación.

«The brain is a place which receives all kind of images. But witnesses come from it and tell us his powers; and they are two trees, and each tree is an image,177 and all the flux of the likenessl18 constitute two trees, which are twol79 ... but one tree adds wisdom, and the other adds desire; the tree of life adds science,l80 and the tree of knowledge adds science,181 and the tree of life is a 10tl82 and the tree of knowledge 10ts.» — el pasaje del Sitre Torah que traduce: el cerebro recibe toda clase de imágenes, y los dos árboles son dos imágenes, uno que añade sabiduría y otro que añade deseo.

«One lot184 to God, and one lot to Azazel": the first for good, the middle for the possible, and the last one for evil .... For they have sent forth their hand to know the power of their foundation, and they exchanged their glory for an image of flesh and blood, and they did not eat from the tree of knowledge, and their wicked soul cannot be saved, even though the tree of life they did not see, and they did enter by their corrupt ways for they were created in vain, and to joke of themselves they were found, and happy are those who understand the sciences, and in their victory in the wars they shall gain two worlds.» — y el reparto de suertes con que ese texto sigue, con los que cambiaron su gloria por una imagen de carne y sangre y los que entienden las ciencias y ganan dos mundos.

«This passage epitomizes Abulafia's awareness of the need to connect between the intellect and the imagination-that is, to bring the intellect to rule over the imagination, as a consequence of which the soul is saved.» — lo que Idel lee ahí: la conciencia de Abulafia de que hay que enlazar intelecto e imaginación, poniendo el intelecto a gobernar la imaginación.

«Know that when the sphere of the intellect is turned about by the Active Intellect, and man begins to enter it and ascends in the sphere which revolves upon itself, as the image of the ladder, and at the time of ascent, his thoughts will be indeed transformed and all the images will change before him, and nothing of all that he previously had will be left in his hands; therefore, apart from the change in his nature and his formation, as one who is translated from the power of sensation to the power of the intellect, and as one who is translated from the telurian process to the process of burning fire.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Zeruf que Idel traduce: cuando el Intelecto Agente hace girar la esfera del intelecto y el hombre asciende por ella como por una escalera, sus pensamientos se transforman y cambia su naturaleza, trasladada del poder de la sensación al del intelecto.

«Finally, all the visions shall change, and the thoughts will be» — el comienzo del cierre de ese pasaje; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«confounded and the imaginative apprehensions will be confused, since in truth this sphere purifies and tests.» — y su continuación: las aprehensiones imaginativas se confunden, porque esa esfera purifica y prueba.

«While this passage does not refer to the vision of the sphere, but to an experience of it, the proximity between the sphere and the ladder and the spiritual contents connected with them remind us to a great extent of Abulafia's approach.» — la acotación que Idel le pone: no habla de la visión de la esfera sino de una experiencia de ella, aunque recuerde mucho el planteamiento de Abulafia.

«I swear to you by the vision of the image of God, by the Creator! God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, by the Ineffable Name, yhwh, that you inform me of the secret of prophecy at any time that I request it by my mouth, and that you teach me the [secret of the] World to Comel87 and the law of the king, and inform me of the one ladder by which I may ascend to the house of the Lord God, to know His awesome ways, and to know the ways of the ancient ones, and make constant in me the foundation of the power of the true spiritual sphere ... from now on and forever more, Amen, Selah.» — el conjuro del Sefer ha-Zeruf que traduce: pedir por el Nombre inefable que se le informe el secreto de la profecía y se le enseñe la escalera única por la que subir a la casa del Señor.

«It seems reasonable to assume that the things cited in Sefer ha-Z,eruf influenced R. Elnathan b. Moses Kalkish, who wrote in his book, Even ha-Sappir:» — el influjo que Idel declara razonable suponer: de ese texto sobre R. Elnathan b. Moses Kalkish.

«God, may He be praised, gave us the Holy Torah, and taught us the way of combination [of letters] and the steps of the ladder, in describing the letters, in seeing that it is not within the ability of our apprehension to attain knowledge of Him, may He be blessed, without this great and correct proposal ... for ... from the light and seraphic sphere of the intellect,l89 there shall be born as the image of the prophetic image, which is the intention of combination [of letters]. And according to its refinement and the power of its innerness, they are worthy to be called premises to all those upon its face, for they are the levels by which to ascend on high, because it is the balance of the scales, depending on the light of the intellect, but not in sensible light.» — el pasaje del Even ha-Sappir que traduce: Dios enseñó el camino de la combinación de letras y los peldaños de la escalera, y de la esfera luminosa del intelecto nace la imagen profética.

«The comparison between the sphere, the circle and the scales, alongside the doctrine of combination of letters and the achievement of prophecy, constitutes a clear indication that techniques originating in ecstatic Kabbalah were drawn upon during the two generations following the death of Abraham Abulafia within the region of Byzantine culture.» — lo que Idel concluye de esa serie: las técnicas de la cábala extática se recogieron en las dos generaciones posteriores a la muerte de Abulafia en el ámbito de la cultura bizantina.

«I awoke from my sleep and suddenly I saw the secret of the saying of the rabbis concerning Moses our teacher's writing of the Torah, that he saw it written against the air of the sky, in black fire upon white fire.» — el testimonio del Ozar Hayyim de R. Isaac de Acre que Idel traduce: despertó y vio el secreto del dicho rabínico sobre Moisés, que vio la Torá escrita contra el aire del cielo, fuego negro sobre fuego blanco.

«This is that, when a man ascends a very high mountain, standing within a broad flat valley without any hills or mountains within it, but only a great plain, and he lifts up his eyes and they look about and he gazes at the firmament of the heavens close to the earth, around around, to the place of the sky close to the earth, as it appears to his eyes, this is half the circle, and is known in the language of the sages of the constellations [astrology] as the circle of the horizon.» — y el símil con que lo explica: el que sube a un monte muy alto en un llano ve la mitad del círculo, lo que los astrólogos llaman el círculo del horizonte.

«This was seen by the soul and intellect of Moses our teacher, surrounding him from above the entire Torah, from the letter bet of Berelit "In the beginning"), which is the first letter, to the lAmed of Yisra'el (Israel), written in one complete circle, each letter next to its neighbor, surrounded by parchment.» — y lo que vio el alma de Moisés según ese texto: la Torá entera rodeándolo desde arriba, de la primera letra a la última, escrita en un círculo completo.

«That is to say, it is as if there were a hair's breadth between one letter and the next, for all the air which is around the letters of the Torah is entirely within the circle, and between each letter and outside of the letters there was white fire, dimming the circle of the sun, and the letters alone were of black fire, a strong blackness, the very quintessence of blackness.» — y los dos fuegos: blanco entre las letras, oscureciendo el círculo del sol, y las letras de fuego negro, quintaesencia de la negrura.

«She [Moses' soul] gazed at them here and there to find the head of the circle or its end or its middle, but did not find anything .... For there is no known place by which to go into the Torah, for it is wholly perfect, and while he yet gazes at this circle, she combines on and on into strong combinations, not intelligible.» — y lo que ese texto declara imposible: hallar cabeza, fin o medio del círculo, porque no hay lugar conocido por donde entrar en la Torá.

«The appearance of the Torah as a circle revealed to the eyes of the one who is contemplating it reappears in Baddi ha-' Aron by R. Shem Tov ibn Gaon:» — el paralelo que Idel señala en el Badde ha-Aron de R. Shem Tov ibn Gaon: la Torá que se aparece como círculo a los ojos del que contempla.

«When he has no friend with whom to practice concentration as he would wish, let him sit by himself .... And he shall begin to write what he sees in his mind, like one who copies from a book that is written before him, in black fire on white fire, in a true spherical form, like the sun, for the light has come upon him at that hour.» — el pasaje que traduce: sin compañero con quien concentrarse, que se siente solo y escriba lo que ve en su mente como quien copia de un libro escrito en fuego negro sobre fuego blanco, en forma esférica verdadera.

«It seems to me that the resemblance between these two statements is not coincidental.» — el grado con que Idel valora ese parecido.

«Badd~ ha-'Aron describes one who writes things down from his own mind as one who copies from a book; there is no doubt that this book is to be identified with the Torah, written in black fire upon white fire.» — y en qué lo funda: el libro del que se copia ha de identificarse con la Torá escrita en fuego negro sobre fuego blanco.

«The description of the act of writing is likewise suitable to Moses, who is mentioned by R. Isaac of Acre.» — y el segundo apoyo: la descripción del acto de escribir conviene también al Moisés de R. Isaac de Acre.

«The description of the one meditating given by R. Shem» — el tercer apoyo que Idel aduce; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«Tov is similar to that of Moses in the introduction to Natunanides' Commentary to the Torah, which states that Moses was "like a scribe copying from an ancient book and writing.» — y su enunciado al otro lado del corte: la descripción del que medita se parece a la de Moisés en la introducción de Nahmánides, como escriba que copia de un libro antiguo.

«The expression, "spherical like the sun", which appears in the passage from R. Shem Tov ibn Gaon, is parallel to "the circle of the sun" in that from R Isaac of Acre.» — y el cuarto: el paralelo de las dos expresiones sobre la esfera y el círculo del sol.

«It would [therefore] appear that the appearance of the circle in the visions of both authors is not coincidental, but that an historical connection exists between their words;» — lo que Idel concluye con su grado: el círculo en las visiones de ambos autores no sería casual sino que habría entre sus palabras una conexión histórica.

«it seems likely that R Shem Tov was influenced, in one way or another, by the opinions of R Isaac of Acre, even though in matters of theosophical Kabbalah the direction of influence was the opposite.» — y el sentido que le da, sin ocultar el contrario: probablemente R. Shem Tov recibió el influjo de R. Isaac de Acre, aunque en materia de cábala teosófica el influjo fuera al revés.

«Another motif in R. Isaac of Acre is the vision of the ladder. In a passage published by Gottlieb, R. Isaac says: "so long as I was looking at this ladder, which is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, I see my soul cleaving to the Eyn Sofwith the master of union.» — el otro motivo que registra: mirando la escalera, que es el nombre de Dios, R. Isaac de Acre ve su alma adherirse al Ein Sof.

«The understanding of the Divine name as a ladder first appears in Abulafia, who says: "in the Name my intellect found a ladder to ascend to the level of vision,» — a quién adjudica Idel la primera formulación de esa idea: a Abulafia, que dice haber hallado en el Nombre una escalera para subir al nivel de la visión.

«The ladder seen by Jacob our Father was Sinai,197 and this great secret was revealed by means of gematria . . . and it was known to us that the secret of Sinai is double (kelel) and it is easy (qal) and there come out of it the two holy names, Adonay Adonay, and there emerge from the names the five unique ones, the secret of each one of whose secret is heavy (leaved).» — y el otro pasaje suyo: la escalera que vio Jacob era el Sinaí, secreto revelado por gematria.

«Sullam (ladder) = 130 = Sinai = Adonay Adonay=65= 65 + 5x26=130.» — la cuenta con que Idel explicita esa gematria.

«On the other hand, elsewhere in R. Isaac of Acre we learn that the Divine Names are written in circles.l98 "I heard them say to me that I oughtn't to remove the name of the Mighty One from the thought of my mind in all the ways of my prayers, and my blessings will never be removed from my eyes, in the proper circles.» — y el dato contrario que consigna del mismo autor: los nombres divinos se escriben en círculos, según lo que dice haber oído sobre no apartar el nombre del Poderoso de su pensamiento.

«We find evidence for the understanding of the Torah as a circle in the fourteenth century,l99 and it may be that these are in turn indicative of an older idea which saw the Torah as a circle.» — el balance con que cierra el apartado, con su grado: hay testimonio de la Torá entendida como círculo en el siglo XIV, y quizá sea indicio de una idea más antigua.

«After you utter the twenty-four names, whose sign is dodi (my beloved), and "the Voice of my beloved knocketh,"202 then you shall see the image of a youth or the image of a sheik, for k! in the language of the Ishmaelites means "elder," and also in gematria it equals [the phrase] "a youth and he is old" (naCar we-hu zaqen); and the secret of his name as seen to you is Metatron. And he is a youth, and hearken to his voice ... and when he speaks, answer him:203 "Speak 0 master, for your servant speaks.» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce: dichos los veinticuatro nombres se verá la imagen de un joven o la de un anciano, y el secreto de su nombre es Metatrón.

«This brief description of the appearance of Metatron is of a didactic character; it is intended to portray the anticipated meeting between the mystic devotee of Abulafia's path with the angel Metatron, i.e., the Active Intellect.» — el carácter que Idel le adjudica a esa descripción: didáctica, para retratar el encuentro esperado entre el devoto y el ángel Metatrón, es decir el Intelecto Agente.

«Still on this very day we saw a direct reason why Mo§"e (i.e., Me!afron, Prince of the Face) is called "a youth" (naCar), "For Israel is a young lad, and I have loved him,"205 and he himself says"I was a lad and now I am old,"206 And the Sages say,207 "the Prince of the World said this verse." And I heard from my master, saying, that nacar is a designation referring to the oldest of all the created things,208 but he is deserving to be called an elder, and not a lad.» — el pasaje del Ozar Hayyim que Idel traduce sobre por qué se llama muchacho al Príncipe del Rostro, con lo que ese autor dice haber oído de su maestro.

«And I say that this is a designation, for in Arabic one calls an elder a sheik (k!), and a young man (nacar) is numerically equal to [sodo] §e!. One of the disciples said: but in Arabic one does not read [the word] ~ek without the letter yod, but only with it, as follows: "~ei!." And what will one do with these ten extra [numbers]? And he did not answer him at all, and the thing remained in doubt,» — y la discusión con un discípulo que ese texto refiere sobre la grafía árabe de la palabra anciano, que quedó en duda.

«and today I saw it said that, so long as Me!atron the Prince of the Face is satisfied with his own influx, he is a k! without the letter yod, with the accented kilt, and it means "doubt" [in Hebrew sfq may also be vocalized as "supply"], since the influx of Almighty God is dependent upon the created being, and it is in the hands of the children of Israel; and whether if the generation is guilty the influx stands by itself and does not flow, and each one makes do with the flow of himself, but if the generation merits it the abundance of Almighty God awakens and flows, so that there is neither Satan nor evil influence, and all is peace, life and blessing. Therefore, when there is no influx forthcoming, Metatron Prince of the Face is called k! without yod, being called Metatron without yod, but when the influx comes within him he is called ~ei! with yod, as he is called Metatron with yod.» — y la solución que ese autor propone: mientras el Príncipe del Rostro se contenta con su propio influjo se lo llama sin la letra yod, y cuando el influjo entra en él se lo llama con ella.

«R. Isaac of Acre's words indicate that the teacher quoted here» — lo que Idel infiere de ahí; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«was either Abulafia or one of his disciples who knew l;layye ha-cOlam ha-Ba, as may be seen from the striking resemblance between the two quoted passages.» — y su enunciado al otro lado del corte: el maestro citado era Abulafia o un discípulo suyo que conocía el Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba, por el parecido llamativo entre los dos pasajes.

«In both cases, the same mistake is made, deriving from lack of knowledge of Arabic: Ie! is calculated as having a numerical value of 320, apparently based upon its sound, while the correct spelling is with yod.» — y el error común que señala: los dos calculan el valor numérico por el sonido, ignorando la grafía árabe correcta.

«We may now ask whether this is a strictly theoretical discussion or whether the two passages in fact reflect personal experience. Both authors in fact give evidence of "meetings" with MeJ:aJron or its pseudonyms mentioned in the above section.» — la pregunta que Idel se plantea y su respuesta: los dos autores dan testimonio de encuentros con Metatrón o sus seudónimos.

«And he showed me an old man, with white hair, seated upon the throne of judgment210 ... and he ascended to the mountain of judgment, and I came close to the elder and he bowed and prostrated himself.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot que traduce: un anciano de cabello blanco sentado en el trono del juicio, al que Abulafia se acercó.

«The old man interprets Abulafia's vision and then says, "And my name [is] Yehoel, that I have agreed (ho'it) to speak with you now several years.» — y el nombre que ese anciano se da, en el que Idel ve una alusión clara a Metatrón.

«R. Eleazar of Worms said that he [i.e., MetatronJ has seventy names, as I have been shown by our holy rabbis concerning this in Pirqe de-Rtlbbi Eli'ezer and by others in the works of R. Akiba and R. Ishmael which are well known. . . and in order to arouse your mind to it, I will write a few of those things which arouse man's intellect towards the ecstatic Kabbalah, and I will inform you of what he212 said of him at first. Know that the first of the seventy names of Metatron is Yehoel, and its secret is "son",213 and its essence is Ana, which is Elijah ... and he is the Redeemer.» — el pasaje del Sitre Torah sobre los setenta nombres de Metatrón, el primero de los cuales es Yehoel.

«In my opinion, this passage establishes that the old man in Sefer ha-6t is none other than an imaginary embodiment of Metatron, that is, the Active Intellect.» — lo que Idel sostiene marcándolo como opinión propia: el anciano del Sefer ha-Ot es una encarnación imaginaria de Metatrón, el Intelecto Agente.

«The meeting between the elder and Abulafia bears a personal character: it is not described in terms of a connection between two intellects but as one between two people.» — y el carácter que le reconoce a ese encuentro: personal, no descrito como conexión entre dos intelectos sino entre dos personas.

«And I fell on my face towards the earth before his legs, and he placed his two hands upon me and he stood me upon my legs before him and said to me: 'My son, blessed is your coming, peace peace unto you.» — el pasaje que lo muestra: cayó de bruces ante sus pies, el anciano le puso las manos encima y lo puso en pie llamándolo hijo.

«While I was yet sleeping, I, Isaac of Acre, saw Metatron, the Prince of the Face, and I sat before him, and he taught me and promised» — y el testimonio paralelo de R. Isaac de Acre: durmiendo vio a Metatrón y se sentó ante él; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«me many good things that would come to me ... and to my joy he came, and at his command I took his hand and kissed him many times, [with] successive kisses of love, and these kisses of mine were not upon the back of his hand, but upon the palm of his hand, and his hand was very wide.» — y su continuación: le prometió muchos bienes y, gozoso, le tomó la mano y le besó la palma muchas veces.

«Here, as well, the meeting portrayed in the vision is seen as a personal contact, in which there is a relationship going beyond the revelation of secrets characteristic of the revelations of Metatron in the Merkavah literature.» — lo que Idel destaca: también aquí el encuentro es contacto personal, con una relación que va más allá de la revelación de secretos propia de la literatura de la Merkavá.

«However, one must remember that in these passages as well, Metatron appears as a teacher, and the mystic as a disciple, the vision thus being one of the revelation if the divine teacher.» — y la reserva con que lo acota: en esos pasajes Metatrón aparece como maestro y el místico como discípulo, de modo que la visión es la del maestro divino.

«There seems no doubt that Abulafia was aware of the character of his visions, for which reason it is difficult to understand, on the face of it, why they were accompanied by descriptions of states of fear and panic.» — la dificultad que Idel plantea: si Abulafia era consciente del carácter de sus visiones, cuesta entender que fueran acompañadas de miedo y pánico.

«If the prophetic experience is, in principle, a revelation of spiritual processes or of the means of guiding the world, why must Abulafia fear that very experience which he seeks with his entire being?» — y la pregunta con que la formula.

«And when I saw his face in the vision, I was astonished and my heart was frightened within me, and it moved from its place. And I wished to speak, to call to the name of God to help me, but the thing moved away from my spirit. And when I saw that man, my dread was tremendous and my fear was very intense.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Ot que Idel traduce: al ver su rostro se asombró, el corazón se le espantó y se movió de su lugar, y quiso llamar al nombre de Dios pero aquello se apartó de su espíritu.

«And you become perfect in the knowledge of the well-known attributes of God, by which the world is always conducted. And let you mind pursue after your intellect, to resemble him in them, according to your ability always. And know in your intellect that you have already annihilated those faculties called superfluous to you, and let all your intentions be for sake of heaven.» — el pasaje del Sitre Torah con la exigencia previa: ser perfecto en el conocimiento de los atributos conocidos de Dios y haber aniquilado las facultades superfluas.

«And be God-fearing in the essence of true fear, as you would fear the Angel of Death when you see it, entirely full of eyes.219 In its left hand is burning fire, and in its right hand a two-edged sword, performing the vengeance of the covenant, and in its mouth is a consuming fire, and he comes to you and asks you to give him his share of your self; and he is half of your existence, for example, and he seeks to cut off you limbs, one by one, and you see it all with your eyes.» — y el temor que prescribe: como se temería al ángel de la muerte, lleno de ojos, con fuego ardiente en una mano y espada de dos filos en la otra, que viene a pedir su parte de uno mismo.

«It is worth emphasizing here that Abulafia refers to the fear of God, which is "as though you would be afraid of the angel of death.» — lo que Idel subraya de ese pasaje: se trata del temor de Dios, formulado como si se temiera al ángel de la muerte.

«The motif of fear reappears in lfayye ha-(Olam ha-Ba: When you prepare yourself to speak with your Creator ... wrap yourself in tallit and tefillin on your head and your hands, so that you may fear and be afraid of the Shekhinah, which is with you at that time.» — el mismo motivo en el Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba: envolverse en talit y tefilín para temer a la Shekiná, que está con uno en ese momento.

«This motif is connected with the description of the appearance of "the king" at time of the vision found in the same book: "Portray this Name, may He be blessed, and his supernal angels, and draw them in your heart, as if they were human beings standing or sitting around you, and you are among them, like a messenger, whom the king and his messengers wish to send.» — y el enlace que Idel establece con la aparición del rey: representarse el Nombre y los ángeles supernos como seres humanos alrededor, y estar entre ellos como un mensajero.

«This motif is again found in SeIer ha-lfe§eq, where the mystic is portrayed as one "who the king sends after him and wishes to speak with in all events, as the king strongly wishes to speak with him more than he wishes to speak with the king.» — y la variante del Sefer ha-Heshek: el místico como aquel tras el que el rey envía y con quien desea hablar más de lo que él desea hablar con el rey.

«The intellect, which is the source of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, and which is in the image of the king of kings, whom all greatly fear. And behold, the fear of this who comprehends is double-fold, for it is [both] fear (or "awe") of [His] Grandeur, and fear [which is coupled with] love.» — la naturaleza del rey que ha de temerse, según el Or ha-Sekel: el intelecto, fuente de sabiduría, entendimiento y conocimiento, a imagen del rey de reyes, con temor doble, de grandeza y de amor.

«What is the reason for the fear, according to Abulafia? In all of the cases mentioned above, fear is connected with participation of the power of imagination; in the mystical experience, this potential achieves increased activity, and, as we have seen at the beginning of the chapter, one of the consequences of which is fear.» — la razón que Idel adjudica al miedo: en todos esos casos va ligado a la participación de la potencia imaginativa, cuya actividad aumenta en la experiencia mística.

«Prophecy may be described as a necessary cooperation between the intellect225 and the imagination: the intellect requires the spiritual posture of love, while» — y el reparto que propone: la profecía como cooperación necesaria entre intelecto e imaginación, con el intelecto pidiendo la postura espiritual del amor; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«the imagination brings about fear since, according to Abulafia, there is a direct relationship between imagination, blood, and fear.» — y el otro término al otro lado del corte: la imaginación produce miedo, porque para Abulafia hay relación directa entre imaginación, sangre y miedo.

«So long as the imagination was subject to the rule of the intellect,» — la condición que Idel pone para que las imágenes de la profecía reflejen verdades intelectuales; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«the images envisaged at the time of prophecy reflected intellectual truths.» — y su enunciado al otro lado del corte: mientras la imaginación esté sujeta al intelecto, las imágenes de la profecía reflejan verdades intelectuales.

«However, once the power of the imagination grew, there existed the danger that there would appear before the eyes of the mystic visions which have no connection whatsoever with the intellect.» — y el peligro que sigue si esa potencia crece: visiones sin conexión alguna con el intelecto.

«These images, which constitute the primary source of danger in mysticism, are understood as "messengers of Satan," who attempts to mislead man's heart away from the pure intellectual service of God.» — el nombre que reciben esas imágenes, fuente primera del peligro en la mística: mensajeros de Satán, que aparta el corazón del servicio intelectual puro de Dios.

«Do not remove your thoughts from God for any thing in the world; and even if a dog or a rat or another thing jumped across you, which was not in your house, [know that] these are the acts of Satan, who scouts about in your mind and creates things which have no reality at all, and he is appointed over this.» — la advertencia del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que Idel traduce: aunque un perro o una rata salten sobre uno, son actos de Satán, que explora la mente y crea cosas sin realidad alguna.

«However, this danger is not emphaSized much in Abulafia's works. The complicated technique which he advocates, in which one is required to carry out several different activities simultaneously, thereby demanding the greatest possible concentration, is evidently in itself a guarantee against the mind wandering.» — el peso que Idel le da a ese peligro en Abulafia: poco subrayado, porque la técnica compleja de actividades simultáneas garantiza por sí sola la concentración.

«This differs from both Sufism and Hesychasm, in which the formulae to be recited in an automatic manner without any need for concentration. For this reason, there exists there the danger against which they constantly warn: namely, that in the course of reciting the Divine Name, the mystic is likely to think about other subjects. This is almost impossible in Abulafia, for which reason he does not devote much to warning against this.» — y el contraste que traza con el sufismo y el hesicasmo, cuyas fórmulas se recitan de manera automática y dejan lugar a la distracción.

«One of the widespread images used to suggest the danger inherent in letter-combination is burning fire.» — la imagen difundida del peligro de la combinación de letras: el fuego ardiente.

«when you see the abundance of His goodness and the taste of His radiance in your heart, remove your face and afterwards again seek it bit by bit, and with this He will lift you up, for the great fire guaru. the gate.» — el pasaje del Sitre Torah que la trae: apartar el rostro al ver la abundancia de su bondad y buscarla luego poco a poco, porque el gran fuego guarda la puerta.

«Take care . . . as you take care against being burned by fire, and be not hasty to kill yourself" and "Combine and combine, and do not be burned.» — las dos advertencias del Sitre Torah que Idel traduce sobre el uso mágico de los nombres divinos: guardarse como del fuego y combinar sin quemarse.

«Know that the river Dinur232 comes out from before Him, and the one combining must take care and be careful of its fear and for the Honor of His name, lest his blood flee233 and he kills himself.» — y la del río Dinur: el que combina ha de cuidarse por temor y por la honra de su nombre, no sea que su sangre huya y se mate.

«Take care against the great fire which surrounds the demons (§edim) created from the white seed, whose name is Satan, born from "the tail of the uncircumcised" (zanav carel), who u~covered nakedness (gillah Cerwah) and is deserving for this the retribution of evil (gemul ha-raC), which is the evil body; and it is a life of the reason and imagination, causing the cause to compel the nature, by remembrance and knowledge.» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba sobre el gran fuego que rodea a los demonios nacidos de la simiente blanca, cuyo nombre es Satán.

«It seems clear from this that the great fire is vitally connected with human matter, for which reason it endangers the man who attempts to overcome it.» — lo que Idel lee ahí: el gran fuego está ligado a la materia humana y por eso pone en peligro a quien intenta vencerlo.

«Now, son of man, if you seek the Lord your God in truth and in wholeness, do not think to yourself use the Name, but of the knowledge of the Name and the comprehension of its actions, and not for the benefit of the needs of the body, and even though it is able to do so, and its activities and nature are such; but because you are compounded of the Evil Urge, you are a body of "flesh and blood", both of which are "angels of death", and one must think of their secret: the details of the matter include all the specific organs, and is called the matter of decomposition, and its name is the River Dinur, and its secret is "the individual living matter" [~omer ~y perafi], etc.» — el pasaje que traduce: no pensar en usar el Nombre sino en conocerlo y comprender sus acciones, no para provecho del cuerpo, porque uno está compuesto del Impulso malo y es cuerpo de carne y sangre, ambos ángeles de muerte.

«Comparison of this passage with others pertaining to this subject indicates that, apart from the subject of the matter of man, there is an additional motif relating to fire, namely, the involvement in the Divine Names.» — el segundo motivo del fuego que Idel distingue, además de la materia del hombre: el trato con los nombres divinos.

«While combining letters, the mystic is likely to be inadvertently turned into a magician, by means of the incorrect use of the Names: such an act is a serious distortion of the goal of the Names, and brings about the sinking of the sinner into the material over which he wishes to rule.» — el riesgo que describe: el místico puede volverse mago sin quererlo por el uso incorrecto de los Nombres, y hundirse en la materia sobre la que quería mandar.

«Unlike the image of the fire, which symbolizes the immersion» — la imagen contraria que Idel halla entre los discípulos; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«into corporeality, we find among the students of Abulafia the image of sinking, which is intended to express the immersion of the mystic in the spiritual world, an immersion likely to bring about his death.» — y su enunciado al otro lado del corte: el hundimiento, que expresa la inmersión del místico en el mundo espiritual y puede traerle la muerte.

«I said to him: "In heaven's name, can you perhaps impart to me some power to enable me to bear this force emerging from my heart and to receive influx from it?" For I wanted to draw this force towards me and receive influx from it, for it much resembles a spring filling a great basin with water. If a man [not being properly prepared for it] should open the dam, he would be drowned in its waters and his soul would desert him.» — el pasaje del Sacare Zedeq que traduce: el discípulo pide a su maestro poder para soportar la fuerza que sale de su corazón, como manantial que llena una gran cisterna y ahoga a quien abre el dique sin estar preparado.

«Now you, my son, make an effort to contemplate the supernal light, since I have certainly introduced you into "the sea of the Ocean" which surrounds the [whole] world. Be careful and guard your soul from gazing and your heart from pondering [upon the light], lest you sink; and the effort shall be to contemplate but [at the same time] to escape from sinking, and you shall see your World [to Come] in your lifetime [i.e., attain a celestial vision while yet alive], and all these words of ours are in order to sustain your soul in her palace.» — y el pasaje del Ozar Hayyim de R. Isaac de Acre: introducido en el mar del Océano que rodea el mundo, ha de guardarse de hundirse mientras contempla, y verá su mundo venidero en vida.

«cleave to the Divine Intellect, and it will cleave to her, for more than the calf wishes to suck, the cow wishes to give suck. And she and the intellect become one entity, as if someone pours out a jug of water into a running well, that all becomes one.» — y el otro pasaje del mismo libro: más que el ternero quiere mamar, la vaca quiere amamantar, y el alma y el intelecto se hacen una entidad como agua vertida en un pozo corriente.

«While the motif of drowning is not in accord with Abulafia's spirit,241 there does reappear the warning that the moment of ecstasy is also likely to be the moment of death; we shall enlarge upon this subject in Section 1 of the chapter, "Erotic Imagery for the Ecstatic Experience.» — la acotación con que Idel cierra el apartado: el motivo del ahogamiento no concuerda con el espíritu de Abulafia, aunque vuelve la advertencia de que el momento del éxtasis puede ser el de la muerte.

«Abulafia was the first medieval Jewish mystic in whom we find more extensive evidence of mystical unity, sometimes expressed in radical ways.» — lo que Idel sostiene frente a eso: Abulafia es el primer místico judío medieval en quien se halla evidencia más extensa de unidad mística, a veces en formulaciones radicales.

«I should like to begin by defining the meaning of the terms to be used below. The term "union" (Hebrew: i~ud) is parallel to the Latin unio, being used to refer to that state in which the human soul or its intellect cleaves to an external object, making the two of them into one.» — la definición que Idel da del término unión: el estado en que el alma o el intelecto humano se adhiere a un objeto externo y los dos se hacen uno.

«This broad definition, found among scholars of mysticism,246 stresses the transformation of man's inner nature as an essential precondition for the mystical experience.» — y lo que esa definición subraya: la transformación de la naturaleza interior del hombre como condición previa de la experiencia mística.

«The adjective "mystical" defines and delimits the object of this union; it is union with these objects alone that makes the experience "mystical"» — y qué hace mística la experiencia según él: el objeto con el que se une.

«A common denominator of all these objects is the fact that they are general or that they encompass more than the human soul or intellect; they include such spiritual entities as the supernal or general soul, the Active Intellect, the separate intellects, and God or, to use religious terminology, high levels in the various religious hierarchies: the angels or the Godhead.» — el denominador común que les señala a esos objetos: son generales o abarcan más que el alma o el intelecto humano, como el alma superna, el Intelecto Agente, los intelectos separados y Dios.

«The unity between the soul and these entities transforms the spiritual element within man from particular to general, a transformation accompanied by an experience difficult to describe in words.» — y el efecto que le adjudica: transforma el elemento espiritual del hombre de particular en general, con una experiencia difícil de decir en palabras.

«Unity entails the overwhelming of man's limited consciousness by spiritual or more comprehensive intellectual contents, an overwhelming which brings about the obliteration of the individual consciousness.» — y en qué consiste: el desbordamiento de la conciencia limitada del hombre por contenidos más comprensivos, que trae la obliteración de la conciencia individual.

«Once the knot is loosened, there shall be revealed the matter of the testimony of the knot, and the one who cleaves to these knots cleaves to falsehoods,248 for as they are to be loosened in the future, so shall the knots of his devequt be loosened, and nothing shall be left with him. Therefore, before he loosens these, he must tie and» — el pasaje del Ozar Eden Ganuz que traduce sobre los nudos: quien se adhiere a esos nudos se adhiere a falsedades, porque al desatarse ellos se desatarán los nudos de su devequt; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«cleave through knots of,love249 to Him who does not undo the ties of His love and the cleaving of his desire-that is, God, may He be blessed, and no other by any means. And concerning this it says in the Torah,250 "And you who cleave to the Lord your God are still living this day"; and this is the matter of which they said, "And cleave to him,"251 "And to him you shall c1eave"252, for that cleaving brings about the essential intention, which is eternal life for man, like the life of God, to whom he cleaves.» — y su continuación: adherirse por nudos de amor a Aquel que no deshace los lazos de su amor, porque esa adhesión trae la vida eterna del hombre, como la vida de Dios.

«And for this [reason) those who perform devequt are of three types: devequt to the supernal entities, like fire, which is above and constantly ascends; and devequt to the intermediate ones, like the wind, which is in the middle, depending whether it ascends or descends; and devequt to the lower ones, like the image of water, which is below, and constantly descends. And in accordance with the devequt, so shall be the survival [of the soull-whether above, below, or in the middle.» — los tres tipos de devequt que ese texto distingue: a las entidades supernas como el fuego que sube, a las intermedias como el viento y a las inferiores como el agua que baja, y según la adhesión será la supervivencia.

«These three kinds of devequt symbolize the possibility of man's transformation into a supernal, intermediate, or lowly being, depending upon the object of his cleaving.» — lo que Idel lee ahí: la posibilidad de que el hombre se transforme en ser superno, intermedio o bajo según el objeto de su adhesión.

«Whoever is drawn toward the vanities of temporality, his soul shall survive in the vanities of temporality; and whoever is drawn after the Name which we have cited, which is above temporality, his soul shall survive in the eternal [realm], beyond time, in God, may He be blessed.» — el mismo principio en el Ner Elohim: el que va tras las vanidades del tiempo sobrevive en ellas, y el que va tras el Nombre sobrevive en lo eterno.

«In both passages, the same principle appears; namely, that the object of cleaving (devequt) determines the essence of those cleaving after the cessation of the devequt itself.» — el principio que Idel extrae de ambos: el objeto de la adhesión determina la esencia de los que se adhieren una vez cesada la adhesión.

«Those who cleave to "the Name" are thereby transformed from mortals into immortals; however, this survival does not in itself have a mystical character.» — y la reserva que le pone de inmediato: quienes se adhieren al Nombre pasan de mortales a inmortales, pero esa supervivencia no tiene por sí carácter místico.

«While in both passages he does speak of a change in the soul from being perishable to eternal, there is no indication or allusion to any change in its nature which would change the soul into God or to one of the "supernal beings".» — y en qué funda esa reserva: no hay indicio de un cambio de naturaleza que convierta al alma en Dios o en uno de los seres supernos.

«In several places he states, in accordance with the view of Ibn Rushd,254 and in contradiction to that of AI-Farabi and Maimonides, that cleaving to the Active Intellect is possible in this world.» — la posición que Idel le atribuye a Abulafia frente a los filósofos: con Averroes y contra Al-Farabi y Maimónides, la adhesión al Intelecto Agente es posible en este mundo.

«The significance of this devequt is the transformation of man's intellect into the Active Intellect, i.e., union.» — y qué significa esa adhesión según él: la transformación del intelecto del hombre en el Intelecto Agente, es decir unión.

«In order to express this union, Abulafia utilizes the well-known» — el recurso con que Idel dice que Abulafia expresa esa unión; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«formula originating in Islamic mysticism,255 "he is he", which is repeated with minor changes in a number of passages in Hebrew literature.» — y la fórmula misma al otro lado del corte: de origen en la mística islámica, repetida con variantes en la literatura hebrea.

«We read in Sitre Torah about "that man who has actualized his intellectual power and prophesies according to that which he has actualized to the final, complete actualization, and returned, he and he are one inseparable entity during the time of that act.» — el pasaje del Sitre Torah que traduce: el hombre que actualizó su potencia intelectual y profetiza es, durante el acto, una entidad inseparable con aquello a lo que se une.

«The human intellect is actualized by the Active Intellect, and at the time of mystical ecstasy the intellect united with it.» — la lectura que Idel da: el intelecto humano es actualizado por el Intelecto Agente y en el éxtasis se une a él.

«This process implies the transformation of the individual cons( ;')Usness into a universal one, as stated by Abulafia in the same work: "Until the prophet turns his personal, partial [aspect), in the form of permanent, eternal, universal cause like it, he and he are one entity.» — y la transformación que implica: de conciencia individual a universal, según la fórmula de la misma obra.

«If, however, he has felt the divine touch and perceived its nature, it seems right and proper to me and to every perfected man that he should be called 'master,' because his name is like the Name of his Master,260 be it only in one, or in many, or in all of His names. For now he is no longer separated from his Master, and behold he is his master and his Master is he; for he is so intimately adhering to Him [here the term devequt is used] that he cannot by any means be separated from Him, for he is He.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Yashar que traduce: quien sintió el toque divino merece ser llamado señor, porque su nombre es como el Nombre de su Señor y ya no está separado de Él.

«And just as his Master, who is detached from all matter, is called ... the knowledge, the knower and the known, all at the same time, since all three are one in Him: so shall he, the exalted man, the master of the exalted Name, be called intellect, while he is actually knowing; then he is also the known, like his Master; and then there is no difference between them, except that his Master has His supreme rank by His own right and not derived from other creatures, while he is elevated to his rank by the intermediary of creatures.» — y la consecuencia que ese texto saca: como el Señor es a la vez conocimiento, conocedor y conocido, así el hombre exaltado, sin más diferencia que el rango propio frente al recibido por intermedio de las criaturas.

«It is clear that the transformation is not only a matter of the eternal survival of the soul, but of the transformation of the essence of the soul into an intellective element, obliterating the differences between the cause of the transformation, i.e., the Active Intellect and that affected by it, namely, the human intellect.» — lo que Idel concluye: no se trata solo de supervivencia eterna sino de transformar la esencia del alma en elemento intelectivo, borrando la diferencia entre el Intelecto Agente y el humano.

«These passages refer to the identity of the human intellect with the Active Intellect in an objective sense, for which reason one might argue that Abulafia makes use of no more than figure of speech.» — y la objeción que él mismo se plantea: en sentido objetivo cabría alegar que Abulafia no usa más que una figura del habla.

«However, in Seter ha-cEdut,261 which belongs to that group of prophetic books which claim to express Abulafia's prophetic-mystical experiences, the unity with the Active Intellect is spoken of in a more personal manner.» — y dónde dice que la unión se formula de manera más personal: en el Sefer ha-Edut, de los libros proféticos.

«And the meaning of his saying: "Rise and lift up the head of my anointed one" refers to the life of the souls. And on the New Year and in the Temple it is the power of the souls. And he says: "Anoint him as a king" --anoint him like a king with the power of all the names. "For I have anointed him as king over Israel"262-0ver the communities of Israel, that is, the mi!wot. And his saying, "and his name I have called ~ay like My Name" -whose secret is ~dday like My Name; and understand all the intention. Likewise, his saying: "He is I and I am He," and it cannot be revealed more explicitly than this. but the secret of the corporeal name is the Messiah of God; also "Moses will rejoice," which he has made known to us, and which is the five urges, and is called the corporeal name as well.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Edut que traduce, con la voz oída en Roma y la fórmula él es yo y yo soy él, que ese texto declara no poder revelarse con más claridad.

«We must begin by deciphering the gematriat used here: the head of my anointed one (ro~ mdiQi)=869=the life of the soul (Qayy') ha-nefa§ot) = and on New Year's (uve-Ro§ ha-Sanah) = and in the Temple (uve-Bet ha-Miqda§) = the power of the souls (koalr ha-nefa§ot) = anoint him as king (timJel)ehu le-melekJ=[God] may He be praised will anoint him as king (timJel)ehu ka-melekJ = by the power of all the names (mi-koal) kol ha-lemot). Israel (Yisra" ell = S41 = congregations (qehillot) = the commandments (ha-m~t).» — la primera serie de gematrias con que Idel descifra el pasaje.

«The corporeal Name (ha-Sem haga§mi) = 703 = the anointed of the Name (Mdialr ha-Sem) = Moses rejoiced (yismalr Mok) = five urges (pami§ah y~rim).» — y la segunda, que iguala el nombre corpóreo al ungido del Nombre; el facsímil imprime la transliteración *ha-Sem ha-gasmi* con el guion partido por el salto de renglón, y span() la une sin el guion.

«The first gematria alludes to the connection between the appearance of Messiah and spiritual development; the second to the Active Intellect, which was the cause of this spiritual development263; while the third alludes to the Messiah himself, who is identified with the Active Intellect.» — lo que Idel lee en las tres: la primera enlaza al Mesías con el desarrollo espiritual, la segunda remite al Intelecto Agente y la tercera al Mesías identificado con él.

«It seems to me that, by comparison of this passage to that which appears in lfayye ha-cOlam ha-Ba,265 we may learn about the identity of the Messiah: "Begin to attach the three spiritual Divine Names and afterwards attach the three material names of the patriarchs.» — el paralelo que Idel propone con su grado para identificar al Mesías, tomado del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba.

«Abulafia intends to refer here to the parallel between the corporeal names-Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-and the spiritual ones-Elohim, Adonay and YHWH.» — y la correspondencia que le adjudica: los nombres corpóreos Abraham, Isaac y Jacob frente a los espirituales.

«We shall now have no difficulty in discovering the name which Abulafia had attempted to conceal: his own name, "Abraham."» — y el nombre que Idel dice que Abulafia intentaba ocultar: el suyo propio.

«And he shall appear to him as if his entire body, from his head to his feet, had been anointed with anointing oil, and he will be the Anointed of God and his messenger and be called the angel of God. The intention is that his name shall be like the name of his master, Sadday, which I have called Metatron, Prince of the Presence.» — el otro pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba sobre la identidad del místico con el Intelecto Agente: ungido de la cabeza a los pies será el Ungido de Dios y su mensajero, y su nombre será como el nombre de su señor.

«Abulafia's words left an impression upon other Kabbalists. R. Isaac of Acre stated in 6~ar l:layyim268 that, when the soul: ... cleaves to the Divine Intellect, and It will cleave to her, for more than the calf wishes to suck, the cow wishes to give suck, and she and the intellect become one entity, as if somebody pours out a jug of water into a running well,269 that all becomes one. And this is the secret meaning of the saying of our sages:270 "Enoch is Metatron.» — el eco que Idel registra en R. Isaac de Acre: el alma se adhiere al Intelecto divino y se hacen una entidad, como agua vertida en un pozo corriente, y ése es el sentido secreto del dicho de que Enoc es Metatrón.

«The idea conveyed here is the transformation of the human soul into the Active Intellect, just as the person Enoch was transformed into the angel Metatron. Absolute unity is alluded to here by means of the well-known mystical metaphor of the pouring of water into a spring.» — lo que Idel lee ahí: la transformación del alma humana en el Intelecto Agente, con la unidad absoluta aludida por la metáfora del agua vertida en un manantial.

«While R. Isaac of Acre's remarks seem to have originated in personal experience, the idea of unity also appears in R. Reuben Zarfati, who drew his formulation from the works of Abulafia, apparently without any relation to authentic experience.» — y la diferencia que traza entre los dos: en R. Isaac de Acre parece haber experiencia personal, y en R. Reuben Zarfati una formulación tomada de Abulafia sin relación con experiencia auténtica.

«he writes: "The human intellect, after it separates from the body, will turn into a spiritual [entity] and be embodied in the Active Intellect, and she and it will become one thing, and this is the eternal survival of the soul.» — la formulación de Zarfati que Idel cita: separado del cuerpo, el intelecto humano se hará espiritual y se encarnará en el Intelecto Agente, y los dos serán una sola cosa.

«In several places in Abulafia's books, other nuances appear: in the passage from Oyzr (Eden Ganuz cited at the beginning of this section, he speaks of the cleaving of the soul to god, a possibility repeated in l;Iayyl ha-cOlam ha-Ba:» — y los matices que Idel dice hallar más allá de eso: la adhesión del alma a Dios.

«The benefit of the knowledge of the name of [God] is in its being the cause of man's attainment of the actual intellection of the Active» — el pasaje del Hayye ha-Olam ha-Ba que traduce: el conocimiento del nombre es causa de que el hombre alcance la intelección actual del Intelecto Agente; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«Intellect and the benefit of the intellection of the Active Intellect is in the ultimate aim of the life of the intellectual soul, and its ultimate aim is the reason of the life of the World to Come. This aim is the union of the soul, by this intellection, with God, may He be blessed, for ever and ever and eternally, and that thing called the "image of God" (~elem Elohim) and His likeness, "will live in man everlasting life without any limit, like the life of the Creator, which is their cause." And of this it is said,274 "for it is your life and length of days" -your life in this world and length of days in the next world. And it is said,275 "And you who cleave unto the Lord as your God are living still this day," implying that one who does not cleave to God does not live forever.» — y su continuación: el fin último es la unión del alma con Dios para siempre, y quien no se adhiere a Dios no vive eternamente.

«One may admittedly argue that what is alluded to in this passage is a Biblical idiom, which refers to the eternal survival of the soul without any substantive change taking place in the soul that would cause it to cleave to god.» — la objeción que Idel se plantea: podría alegarse que se trata de un giro bíblico sobre la supervivencia del alma sin cambio sustantivo.

«However, in at least two passages, Abulafia's words clarify this subject.» — y lo que responde: al menos dos pasajes aclaran el asunto.

«Since between two lovers there are two parts of love which turn to be one entity, when it [the love] is actualized, the [Divine] Name is composed of two parts, which [point to J the connection of Divine intellectual love with human intellectual love, and it [the love] is one, just as His Name comprises efJad e~ad, because of the attachment of human existence with Divine existence277 at the time of comprehension, equal with the intellect, until they both become one entity.» — el primero, del Or ha-Sekel: como entre dos amantes las dos partes del amor se hacen una entidad, así el Nombre se compone de dos partes que enlazan el amor intelectual divino con el humano.

«May the phrase "Divine existence" in this passage be interpreted as referring to God Himself? This seems to me to be the case, as in the same work there appears the view that the human intellect is liable to literally cleave to God.» — la pregunta que Idel se hace sobre ese pasaje y su respuesta: le parece que sí, porque en la misma obra se sostiene que el intelecto humano puede adherirse literalmente a Dios.

«"Se!el" is the name given to that thing which guides all, which is the first cause of all, and it is the name of a thing which is separate from all matter, which is the [intellectual] influx (§efa') which emanates from the first cause . . . and it is that which emanates from the separate [things], which is called the se!e1 which cleaves to the hylic [element].» — el segundo pasaje, con los tres sentidos del término intelecto: lo que guía todo, la causa primera, y el influjo que emana de ella y se adhiere a lo hílico.

«With the identification of God with seJs.el, the question of unity or identity becomes a matter of the connection between two entities, which are liable to be equivalent in terms of their essence.» — lo que Idel concluye: identificado Dios con el intelecto, la unidad pasa a ser cuestión de la conexión entre dos entidades que pueden equivaler en esencia.

«And they are therefore three levels, and the three of them are one essence, and they are: God, may He be blessed; and his separate [i.e., non-material] influx; and the influx of his influx (§efa' §ifo), which cleaves itself to the soul. And the soul which cleaves to it with» — el tercer pasaje del Or ha-Sekel: tres niveles que son una esencia, Dios, su influjo separado y el influjo de su influjo, que se adhiere al alma; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«a strong cleaving, until the two of them are likewise one essence .... And the first cause includes everything, and it is one to all, and the intellects are many, the separate [ones] and the ones receiving the flow, and the many souls, and only the Active Intellect is one essence .... And behold the comprehension of the human intellect, which flows from the separate Active Intellect, causes the cleaving of the soul to her God.» — y su continuación: el alma y ese influjo son también una esencia, y la comprensión del intelecto humano causa la adhesión del alma a su Dios.

«Described here is the identity between the human soul and God during the process of enlightenment, a process which transforms the intellectual soul into the object of her intellection, which is God, whereby the perfect unity is attained.» — y lo que Idel lee ahí: la identidad entre el alma humana y Dios durante la iluminación, que transforma el alma intelectiva en el objeto de su intelección.

«It is worth citing here certain ideas which appear in some manuscript collections on Kabbalistic subjects, several of which are very close to Abulafia's remarks in 6r ha-Se!el; these collections include, in my opinion, original material of Abulafia's.» — las colecciones manuscritas que Idel añade con su grado: a su juicio incluyen material original de Abulafia.

«In this metaphor of the candle and the flame, there is a brief remark [which helps] to explain and to portray what is the se!e1, and what is the angel, and what is its cause-that is to say, God, may He be blessed, who is called the form of the intellect» — el pasaje de esas colecciones que traduce: la metáfora de la vela y la llama para explicar qué es el intelecto, qué el ángel y qué su causa, que es Dios llamado forma del intelecto.

«And fjguratively, and as an example, it is said that the candle is He, may He be blessed, and He is the object of intellection and He is the beginning, and the end of the flame of the candle is the human intellect, which flows from the end of the separate beings. And the middle of the flame is an allusion to the other intellects, near and far. But that which is close to the candle receives more from the light.» — y el reparto de la figura: la vela es Dios, el extremo de la llama es el intelecto humano y el medio de la llama los demás intelectos, de los que recibe más luz el que está más cerca.

«And from this issue we may understand that the intermediate one is between man and the Creator, being the intellect which exists in actuality.» — y el intermediario que de ahí se sigue entre el hombre y el Creador: el intelecto que existe en acto.

«And when the soul will cleave to the intellect and the intellect speaks to the angel and the angel to the Seraph and the Seraph to the Cherub, part after part are united, from end to beginning, you shall then arrive at the intelligible, and you will find all these one-that is, the intellect and the object of intellection and the intelligible are all one.» — y la cadena de la unión: el alma al intelecto, el intelecto al ángel, el ángel al serafín y el serafín al querubín, hasta que intelecto, intelección e inteligible son uno.

«And you have known that the Creator and the angel and the human intellect, because of its [Divine] image and likeness, which is the inner spirit, [all these] constitute one essence at the time of intellection.» — el cierre de ese pasaje: Creador, ángel e intelecto humano constituyen una esencia en el momento de la intelección; el tramo cruza la plana.

«These passages clearly raise the possibility of the unity of the human intellect with God during the moment of intellection, in which God is the object of intellection of the human intellect.» — lo que Idel extrae: la posibilidad de la unidad del intelecto humano con Dios en el momento de la intelección.

«Abulafia's words can be understood as a use of Aristotelian ideas for the expression of personal experience, even if we have no clear proof that he thought that he had united with God.» — y la reserva con que lo acota: cabe leerlas como uso de ideas aristotélicas para expresar experiencia personal, sin prueba clara de que se creyera unido con Dios.

«The Aristotelian ideas used by Abulafia are the unity of the Intellect, the Intelligible and the Act of Intellection, as well as the view that the human intellect is capable of transformation into Divinity or to the most divine thing which exists among us.» — y cuáles son esas ideas aristotélicas: la unidad del intelecto, lo inteligible y el acto de intelección, y la transformación posible del intelecto humano en divinidad.

«The true intention of the Nazirite is that he take his oath and separate himself from that which is permitted to him in order to know his Creator through that separation. If he were to abandon corporeality entirely, he would not use it except on infrequent occasions, and he would remove his soul from [her connection to] the material world and purify his intellect for the knowledge of his God, and he will then find himself in His presence, without obstacle or separation, and his soul will be united to Him in absolute devequt, without any more separation for ever, aU the days.» — el pasaje de R. Isaac ben Yedaiah que Idel trae al lado: el nazareo que se separa de lo corpóreo halla a su Creador sin obstáculo y su alma se une a Él en devequt absoluto.

«This indicates to us that a literary expression of mystical unity does appear in Jewish philosophy, a fact indicating the importance of philosophic thought for the understanding of medieval Jewish mysticism.» — lo que Idel concluye de ese testimonio: hay expresión literaria de unidad mística en la filosofía judía, y de ahí la importancia del pensamiento filosófico para entender la mística judía medieval.

«The passages quoted above from 6, hD-Se!eI, in which God, the Active Intellect and the human intellect are portrayed as having "one essence", suggest the conclusion that the intellectual element in man is none other than a» — la conclusión que Idel saca de esos pasajes: el elemento intelectual del hombre no sería otra cosa que algo distinto de sí; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«Divine "spark" which has descended to the world of matter, and that the process of intellection is simply the restoration of that spark to its divine source.» — y su cierre al otro lado del corte: una chispa divina descendida al mundo de la materia, cuya intelección es la restitución de esa chispa a su fuente divina.

«the ultimate compound, which is man, who comprises all the Sefirot, and whose intellect is the Active Intellect; and when you will untie its knots you will be united with it [i.e., the Active Intellect] in a unique union.» — el pasaje de la epístola We-Zot li-Yihudah que lo apoya: el hombre es el compuesto último, su intelecto es el Intelecto Agente, y desatados sus nudos se une a él en unión única.

«It is known that all the inner forces and the hidden souls in man are differentiated in the bodies. It is, however, in the nature of all of them that, when their knots are untied, they return to their origin, which is one without any duality, and which comprises multiplicity, until the En Sot; and when it is loosened it reaches 'till above, so that when he mentions the name of God he ascends and sits on the head of the Supreme Crown (Keter 'Elyon), and the thought draws from there a three-fold blessing.» — y el que sigue: desatados los nudos, todas las fuerzas interiores vuelven a su origen, uno sin dualidad, hasta el En Sof, y el que menciona el nombre de Dios asciende y se sienta a la cabeza de la Corona Suprema.

«In the first passage, we learn that man's intellect is literally thE! Active Intellect, which indicates that the Active Intellect and thE! human intellect are essentially two aspects of the same essence.» — lo que Idel lee en el primero: el intelecto del hombre es literalmente el Intelecto Agente, dos aspectos de una misma esencia.

«In the second passage, we read of the dispersion of "the inner forces" within the bodies of human beings,286 who are able to overcome multiplicity in order to cleave to God, "until above where he mentions the name of God he ascends and sits at the head of the Supreme Crown.» — y en el segundo: la dispersión de las fuerzas interiores en los cuerpos y la capacidad de vencer la multiplicidad para adherirse a Dios.

«The unity achieved through devequt with God is therefore none other than the return movement from multiplicity to unity, a movement known to us from neo-Platonic philosophy.» — y cómo la caracteriza: como el movimiento de retorno de la multiplicidad a la unidad, conocido de la filosofía neoplatónica.

«Think that at that same time your soul shall be separated from your body, and you shall die from this world and live in the World to Come, which is the source of [existent] life dispersed among all the living: and that is the intellect, which is the source of all wisdom, understanding and knowledge .... And when your mind (da'at!n) comes to cleave to His mind, which gives you knowledge, your mind must remove from itself the yoke of all the alien ideas, apart from His idea which connects between you and Him, by his honored and awesome Name.» — el pasaje del Or ha-Sekel que aduce: pensar que el alma se separa del cuerpo y vive en el mundo venidero, fuente de la vida dispersa entre todos los vivientes, y que la mente ha de quitarse el yugo de toda idea ajena.

«But when you purify the intellect, when it is in matter, when it is still in that same dwelling in truth, this is a great high level, to cleave to the Causa causarum, after you soul is separated from that matter in which it is, and the lower chariot remains, and the spirit289 will return to God who gave it. ... And when the spirit will be separated from the body, you will have already achieved the purpose of purposes and cleaved to that light beyond which there is no [other] light, and you have joined with the life which is the bundle of all life and the source of all life, and you are like one who kisses something which he loves with the quintessence of love.» — el pasaje del Sefer ha-Zeruf que Idel traduce: purificado el intelecto y separada el alma de la materia, se adhiere a la luz más allá de la cual no hay luz, como quien besa lo que ama con la quintaesencia del amor.

«I heard from the sage R. Nathan . . . an explanation of this name [i.e., the Intellect]. You must know that when the Divine Intellect descends, it reaches the Active Intellect, and is called Active Intellect; and when the Active Intellect descends to the Acquired Intellect, it is called Acquired Intellect; and when the Acquired Intellect descends to the Passive Intellect, it is called Passive Intellect; and when Passive intellect descends to the soul which is in man, it is called the soul. We therefore find that the Divine Intellect which is in the human soul is called the soul, and this is from above to below.» — el pasaje de R. Nathan que Idel cita del Meirat Enayim: la escala descendente del Intelecto divino al Agente, de éste al Adquirido, de éste al Pasivo y de éste al alma del hombre.

«And when you examine this matter from below to above, you shall see that, when man separates himself from the vanities of this world and cleaves by his thought and soul to the supernal [realms] with great constancy, his soul will be called according to the level among the higher degrees which he has acquired and attached himself to.» — y la escala inversa: el alma que se separa de las vanidades y se adhiere con constancia recibe el nombre del grado al que se adhirió.

«How so7 If the soul of the isolated person deserves to apprehend and to cleave to the Passive Intellect, it is called Passive Intellect, as if it is Passive Intellect; and likewise when it ascends further and cleaves to the Acquired Intellect, it becomes the Acquired Intellect; and if it merited to cleave to the Active Intellect, then it itself [becomes) Active Intellect; and if you shall deserve and cleave to the Divine Intenect, happy are you, because you have returned to your source and root, which is called, literally, the Divine Intellect. And that person is called the Man of God, that is to say, a Divine man, creating worlds.» — y el desarrollo de esa escala: adherida al Intelecto Pasivo se llama Pasivo, al Adquirido Adquirido, al Agente Agente, y adherida al Intelecto divino se vuelve hombre de Dios, hombre divino que crea mundos.

«These remarks reflect the opinion, already expressed by Abulafia, according to which the human intellect is nothing other than an overflow of the Divine influx.» — lo que Idel lee en ese pasaje: la opinión ya expresada por Abulafia de que el intelecto humano no es sino un desbordamiento del influjo divino.

«6r ha-Se!el, which concerns itself with philosophical subjects and with subjects pertaining to mystical prophecy, and from which we have cited those passages which are close to the view of R. Nathan, was written for two of the students of Abulafia, "R. Abraham the Enlightened and R. Nathan the Wise (ha-Navon)," with the express intention "that they receive from this book of mine a path by which they may attempt to cleave to the First Cause.» — el destinatario que Idel identifica para el Or ha-Sekel: dos discípulos de Abulafia, con la intención expresa de darles una vía para adherirse a la Causa Primera.

«Nathan was a close disciple of Abulafia, as evinced by the fact that his name appears in two additional places in the latter's works, written seven years apart from one another.» — y el apoyo documental que aduce para la cercanía de R. Nathan: su nombre en dos lugares más de la obra de Abulafia, escritos con siete años de diferencia.

«he enumerates "R. Nathan ben Sa'adyahu" among his seven disciples, next to R. Abraham ben Shalom.» — el primero de esos lugares, donde Abulafia lo cuenta entre sus siete discípulos.

«In the Introduction to SeIer ha-Maftefwt,296 he again mentions R. Nathan ben Sa'adyahu Hadad, again in proximity to R. Abraham b. Shalom.» — y el segundo.

«From the evidence contained in the two books mentioned, it follows that this R. Nathan lived in Messina.» — y lo que de ahí infiere: ese R. Nathan vivía en Mesina.

«It is very probable that R. Isaac of Acre met R. Nathan, and was influenced by him.» — y el grado con que formula el enlace: es muy probable que R. Isaac de Acre conociera a R. Nathan y recibiera su influjo.

«The historical significance is clear: Abulafia succeeded in training, not only disciples, but also a second generation of disciples of those disciples who adhered to this teaching even when they lived and functioned in the environment of Abulafia's great opponent, R. Solomon ibn Adret.» — la importancia histórica que Idel le da: Abulafia formó discípulos y una segunda generación de discípulos de sus discípulos, adherida a su enseñanza incluso en el entorno de su gran adversario.

«d~ar l;1ayyim, written after Me~irat 'Enayim, clearly indicates that Abulafia's path continued to exist even after he himself was placed under the ban.» — y lo que ese testimonio muestra: la vía de Abulafia siguió existiendo después de que se lo pusiera bajo excomunión.

«From an Intellectual viewpoint, Abulafia's influence upon R. Nathan, and the latter's possible influence upon R. Isaac of Acre, indicates that even "extreme" ideas concerning the Godhead and man's relation to it are very likely to pass from one author to another and to give birth to new mystical life.» — y la importancia ideacional que le atribuye: incluso ideas extremas sobre la divinidad pasan de un autor a otro y engendran vida mística nueva.

«Devequt is considered to be the cleaving or unity of the human intellect with the Active Intellect or with God.» — la definición con que Idel abre la sección del desatar de los nudos.

«This is made possible by the removal of human consciousness from "natural" objects and its attachment to a spiritual subject, a process described in Abulafia's writings by means of the image of the loosening or untying of knots.» — y lo que la hace posible: retirar la conciencia humana de los objetos naturales y ligarla a un sujeto espiritual, proceso descrito con la imagen de desatar nudos.

«This image is composed of two main sources: from a linguistic point of view, the source of the Abulafian expressions cited below seems to be in the idioms appearing in Daniel 5:12, 16-me§are qitrin and qitrin Ie misra (loose knots).» — la primera de las dos fuentes que le señala a esa imagen: los giros arameos del libro de Daniel.

«expression is magical, referring to Daniel's ability to undo the magical knots by which man is enslaved.» — la connotación original que Idel le da a esa expresión, al otro lado del cambio de plana: mágica, la capacidad de Daniel de deshacer los nudos con que el hombre queda esclavizado.

«The motif of the magical tying is combined with the understanding of nature as a prison of the souJ299 or as a magician tying the soul to itself.» — y con qué se combina: la naturaleza entendida como prisión del alma o como mago que la ata a sí.

«man's function is to break the knots which imprison the human soul and to attach them to the Active Intellect:» — la función que Idel le adjudica al hombre según Abulafia: romper los nudos que aprisionan el alma y unirla al Intelecto Agente.

«Man is [tied] in knots of world, year and soul [i.e., space, time and persona] in which he is tied in nature, and if he unties the knots from himself, he may cleave to He who is above them, with the guarding of his soul via the way of the remnants302 which God calls, who are those who fear God and take account of His Name, who are called Perusim (sepamfistsJ, few ones, [and] those who concentrate, to know God, blessed be He and blessed be His Name. And they must conquer themselves [not] to be drawn after the lusts of this world, and take care lest they be drawn to them, like a dog toward his mate. Therefore, when he becomes accustomed to the [way of] separateness, he will strengthen [his] seclusion and relation [hitya/ulsut] and know how to unify the Name» — el pasaje que traduce: el hombre está atado en nudos de mundo, año y alma, y desatándolos puede adherirse a quien está por encima de ellos, con el aislamiento y la relación que le enseñan a unificar el Nombre.

«This passage resembles an approach found in the quotation brought in the name of Avicenna by R. Shem Tov ibn Falaquera, in his book, Moreh ha-Moreh: And we are immersed in evil appetites, we do not feel that same [spiritual] pleasure, and therefore we do not seek it and do not turn towards it, except when we loosen the knot of lust and anger from our necks.» — el paralelo que Idel señala en la cita de Avicena que trae Shem Tov ibn Falaquera: inmersos en apetitos malos no sentimos ese placer espiritual hasta que aflojamos el nudo de la lujuria y la ira.

«According to Abulafia's opinion, the entire world prevents the soul from uniting with God:» — y la tesis que le adjudica: el mundo entero impide al alma unirse con Dios.

«For all things which exist are intermediaries between God, may He be blessed, and man. And if you say: how can this be, for if so it would require that man be at the greatest [imaginable] distance from God. I say to you that you certainly speak the truth, for thus it is, for he and the reality and the Torah are witnesses to this, and therefore these are all tricks of reality and tricks of the Torah, and the abundance of mi~wot which exist in order to bring near he that was distant, [even if] in the utmost distance from God, to bring him near in the epitomy of closeness to Him. And all this to remove all the intermediaries which are tied in the knots of falseness, and to free him from beneath them, by the secret of the Exodus from Egypt and the crossing of the sea on dry land and the place an intermediary only between the Name, which is the intellect of the mighty man.» — el pasaje que la sostiene: todo lo que existe es intermediario entre Dios y el hombre, y las artes de la realidad y de la Torá sirven para acercar al que estaba lejos quitando los intermediarios atados en nudos de falsedad.

«The loosening of the knot connecting man to nature also requires the tying of a new knot, between man and the new level which he has reached:» — la contrapartida que Idel señala: desatar el nudo con la naturaleza exige atar uno nuevo con el nivel alcanzado.

«And the cosmic axis (teU) is none other than the knot of the spheres, and there is no doubt that this is the subject of their existence, like the likeness of the connections of the limbs within man, and the connections of the limbs in man which are suspended in the bones at the beginning are also called the axis in man as well. And its secret is that a magician bring this knot of desire and renew it in order to preserve the existence of this compound for a certain amount of time. And when the knot is undone, the matter of the testimony of the knot will be revealed, and one who cleaves to these knots [qe§arim] cleaves to falsehoods [§eqarim], for as they are going in the future to be undone, the knots of his cleaving will also be undone, and nothing will remain with him any more, and therefore, before he loosens these, he must tie and cleave to the ropes of love those who have not loosened the knots of his love and the cleaving of his desire; and that is God, may He be exalted, and no other in any sense.» — el pasaje que lo desarrolla: el eje cósmico es el nudo de las esferas, como las junturas de los miembros en el hombre, y hay que atarse con cuerdas de amor a quien no desata los nudos de su amor.

«and he shall not wish to leave substances which are intellective in potential, tied to nature, but he should do tricks and teach Torah and command mi?wot to those who are immersed [mutbacim] in natural things, to loosen their connections with them, and to tie and to bind the natural forces with them, until every existing thing will attain its part and portion307 appropriate to it.» — el otro pasaje que aduce: no dejar atadas a la naturaleza las sustancias intelectivas en potencia, sino enseñar Torá y mandar mandamientos para aflojar sus ataduras.

«The process of loosening and tying is identified with the process of enlightenment:308 However, so long as he does not understand the intelligible and does not know that which can be known, which is appropriate in his knowledge, for which he was created, there is nothing that can save him from Nature to which he is tied by nature309 since he has been [i.e., alive].» — y con qué identifica ese proceso: con la ilustración, porque quien no entiende lo inteligible no tiene qué lo salve de la naturaleza a la que está atado.

«He must link and change a name with a name, and renew a matter, to tie the loosened and to loosen the tied, using known names, in» — y el medio que le adjudica: los nombres divinos, para atar lo suelto y soltar lo atado; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«their revolutions with the twelve signs and the seven stars, and with the three elements, until the one tying and loosening will strip off from the stringencies of the prohibited and permitted, and dress a new form for the prohibited and permitted.» — y su continuación: revueltos con los doce signos, las siete estrellas y los tres elementos, hasta vestir una forma nueva a lo prohibido y lo permitido.

«Finally, we should note that the second meaning of the expression, "loosening of the knots," namely, "the removal of doubts," is suitable to Abulafia's general tendency. The separation of the soul or the intellect from the body is in any event ipso facto a separation from the imagination, which breeds doubt:312 for in these knowledges the knots are untied, as are the doubts in most of the imagined matters, and man is left with his intellect in wholeness and with his Torah in truth.» — el segundo sentido que Idel le reconoce a la expresión: quitar las dudas, porque separar el alma del cuerpo es separarla de la imaginación, que engendra duda.

«In conclusion, attention should be devoted to certain characteristic features of the prophetic or ecstatic-mystical experience in Abulafia. A brief survey of these features will assist us in understanding Abulafia the mystic, by clarifying his position with regard to a number of major components of the mystical experience.» — el propósito con que Idel abre la última sección del capítulo: repasar rasgos característicos de la experiencia extática en Abulafia.

«A central element of Abulafia's understanding of prophecy is his perception of the mystical experience as the supreme realization of the capacities of human consciousness; this fact is made clear in a passage concerning devequt, which Abulafia defines in the words,313 "prophecy, is a matter of the intellect.» — el elemento central que le adjudica: la experiencia mística como realización suprema de las capacidades de la conciencia humana, con la profecía definida como asunto del intelecto.

«More significant for our purposes is the fact that Abulafia's private experience is subjected to a rationalistic interpretation, as we have seen above in the interpretation of a number of his visions and, no less important, the fact that Abulafia saw in his own personal experience a confirmation of a certain theoretical position.» — y lo que declara más significativo: la experiencia privada de Abulafia sometida a interpretación racionalista, y vista por él como confirmación de una posición teórica.

«His visions confirm his metaphysical approach, since in them the intellect, the imagination and the Active Intellect are transformed from theoretical concepts, borrowed from medieval thinkers, used to explain objective reality, or from the prophecy of the ancient biblical figures, into a component of the spiritual life of the mystic himself.» — cómo lo describe: en sus visiones el intelecto, la imaginación y el Intelecto Agente pasan de conceptos teóricos a componentes de la vida espiritual del místico.

«We no longer speak of the concept of imagination as the result of the need to explain certain» — y el giro que registra: la imaginación deja de ser recurso para explicar fenómenos psicológicos; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«psychological phenomena; Abulafia is now able to see it as a principlE~ guiding his entire world-view.» — y su cierre al otro lado del corte: pasa a ser principio rector de toda su visión del mundo.

«For this reason, Abulafia's 'prophetic' experience seems to be the experiential culmination of the mystical possibilities inherent in the cognitive forms found in Maimonides, Avecenna, and Averroes.» — y la fórmula con que lo resume: la culminación experiencial de las posibilidades místicas de las formas cognitivas de Maimónides, Avicena y Averroes; la grafía es la del facsímil.

«In the case of Abulafia, the sources of the theoretical framework and of the path towards its fulfillment are distinct from one another, but they both preceded Abulafia.» — lo que Idel aplica de eso al caso: las fuentes del marco teórico y de la vía son distintas entre sí, pero ambas precedieron a Abulafia.

«The "rationalistic" nature of his experience is likewise seen in the conception of God: the object to which the mystic cleaves is not the Neoplatonic God who is incapablE~ of being known, but the Aristotelian IntellectlIntelligiblel Act oi Intellection.» — y dónde más se ve ese carácter racionalista: en la concepción de Dios, que no es el neoplatónico incognoscible sino el aristotélico Intelecto-Inteligible-Acto de intelección.

«As is well known, the concept of mission is a central component in the Biblical understanding of prophecy: God chooses a particular person who is made a prophet against his will, delegating him to perform a certain mission which the prophet may at times not wish to carry out, or even find repugnant.» — el segundo rasgo que aborda: la misión, componente central de la profecía bíblica, con el profeta hecho tal contra su voluntad.

«While classical prophecy emerged from such revelations of a compulsory character, an interesting change takes place in the later books of the Bible, in which God is understood as a remote entity, causing the prophet to seek to bridge the gap in order to receive a revelation.» — y el cambio que registra en los libros tardíos de la Biblia: Dios entendido como entidad remota y el profeta buscando salvar la distancia.

«This new figure is designated by the term apocalyptic visionary, one who combines personal experience with "Wisdom," where the intention of the» — y el nombre de esa figura nueva: el vidente apocalíptico, que combina experiencia personal con sabiduría; el tramo se corta por el cambio de plana.

«visionary is not so much to bring a message to society as to achieve salvation for himself.» — y su cierre al otro lado del corte: su intención no es tanto llevar un mensaje a la sociedad como alcanzar salvación para sí.

«Abulafia's understanding of the concept prophecy combines these two types: the prophet-messenger is understood by him as a higher type than the prophet from whom the influx of wisdom pours forth, namely a "merely" mysticalcontemplative person.» — y cómo combina Abulafia los dos tipos, según Idel: el profeta-mensajero por encima de aquel del que solo mana el influjo de la sabiduría; el impreso escribe *mystical-contemplative* con guion léxico partido por el salto de renglón, y span() lo une sin el guion.

«The fourth of the five levels of prophecy is described as followS:317 "and the fourth is to strengthen the heart until it will be proven and will speak and will write"; elsewhere, he writes,318 "and the level of the prophets who speak and who compose» — el grado que aduce: el cuarto de los cinco niveles, fortalecer el corazón hasta que hable y escriba; el tramo se corta por el límite de chunk del troceo.

«[books] is greater than that of the prophets who attempt to attain prophecy, while those who are sent are higher yet than them.» — y la jerarquía al otro lado del corte: los profetas que hablan y componen por encima de los que buscan alcanzar profecía, y los enviados por encima de todos.

«and in accordance with the quantity of the influx, the intellect shall force the [prophetic] speaker-author to speak and to write according to the time and according to the place and according to the generation.» — y la fórmula que enlaza el influjo con el mandato de hablar y escribir según el tiempo, el lugar y la generación.

«This definition of prophetic 'mission as an expression of the power of the Oivine influx originates in Maimonides and in Arabic philosophy.» — de dónde dice Idel que procede esa definición de la misión profética.

«Know that every one of the early prophets was forced to speak what they spoke and to write what they wrote, so that one finds many of them who say that their intention is not to speak at all before the multitude of the people of the earth, who are lost in the darkness of temporality, but that the divine influx which flowed upon them forces them to speak, and that they are even subjected to shame, as in the saying of the prophet,322"1 gave my back to the smiters and my cheek to those that plucked; I hid not my face from shame and spitting," while another prophet said,323 "the lord God will help me, who shall condemn me?" And many other similar [sayings] in the way of every chastiser.» — el pasaje que traduce: los profetas antiguos fueron forzados a hablar y escribir, sin intención de dirigirse a la multitud, y aun sometidos a vergüenza.

«It is not a miracle that there should happen to my work what happened to the works of Moses our teacher, and to our prophets and our wise men and to Rabbi Moses [Le., Maimonid~], for I shall also suffer what they, of blessed memory, suffered, from this matter. And so is the way of every author who composes a book for the sake of heaven, in every time and every place, that is, it is incumbent that he suffer what happens to him on account of his work.» — y el pasaje en que Abulafia compara su suerte con la de Moisés, los profetas, los sabios y Maimónides: todo autor que compone un libro por amor del cielo ha de sufrir lo que le venga por su obra.

«A spirit came and made me stand on my legs, and called me twice by my name, "Abraham Abraham," and I answered "here I am" [an allusion to Gen. 22:1, 11]. And a voice came with a great tumult and taught me by the way of justice, and it taught me knowledge and related to me the way of understanding, and it informed me and wakened me as a man who is awakened from his sleep to compose a new thing, nothing of which was composed in its day, for the reason which I have mentioned in the matter Isaiah the prophet, who called to the members of his generation on account of their being remote from the truth. And it was not enough that they did not know and hear his words and that they did not accept them from him, but that they also hit him.» — el relato del Sefer ha-Geulah que Idel traduce: un espíritu lo puso en pie y lo llamó dos veces por su nombre, y una voz con gran tumulto lo despertó como de un sueño para componer una cosa nueva.

«An additional expression of Abulafia's resemblance to the prophets is found in the composition of Sefer ha-Haffarah, in the introduction of which states:327 "And behold Raziel [i.e., Abulafia] commanded in this book to adjure God by His Name to sanctify and to read in this book once every Sabbath, following the reading of the Torah, among the Prophetic readings.» — y la segunda señal de esa semejanza: la orden del Sefer ha-Haftarah de leerlo cada sábado tras la lectura de la Torá, entre las lecturas proféticas.

«As we have seen above, Abulafia includes Moses among the prophets whose lot was similar to his own; one should add that there are other statements in which he expresses his feeling that his own prophecy was superior even to that of Moses.» — y el paso siguiente que Idel registra: enunciados en los que Abulafia da su propia profecía por superior incluso a la de Moisés.