Hekhalot Literature in Translation

«The texts are rambling and often incoherent. Each paragraph is normally attributed (pseudepigraphically)toaTannaiticrabbi,almostalwaysR.Akiva,R.Ishmael, or R. Nehuniah ben HaQanah.» — Davila describe el estado de los textos y señala que la adscripción de cada párrafo a un rabino tanaíta es pseudoepigráfica; la capa de texto imprime la frase sin espacios, tal como sale del justificado

«Unlike the Second-Temple-era and later apocalypses (see below), the focus of the Hekhalot literature is on this instructional material rather than on stories involving the adventures of its protagonists.» — Davila separa la literatura hekhalot de los apocalipsis por el peso del material instructivo frente al narrativo

«This is the Story of the Four Who Entered Pardes (the “garden” or “paradise”). It is found in the Hekhalot Zutarti (§§338–339, 344–346, 348; G7) and Merkavah Rabba (§§671–673) and is alluded to in 3Enoch (chapter 16 = §20) and an independent fragment at §597.» — Davila localiza la Historia de los Cuatro que Entraron al Pardes en los macroformas concretos donde aparece, con sus párrafos

«The original meaning of the Story of the Four is debated, with some scholars arguing that it was originally a parable involving proper exegesis of scripture, with the context of heavenly ascents being a later reinterpretation, and others taking the position that it involved heavenly ascents from the beginning.» — y consigna el desacuerdo sin arbitrarlo: unos leen la historia como parábola exegética reinterpretada después como ascensión, y otros la leen como ascensión desde el principio

«These texts are filled with descriptions of the seven-tiered heaven that contains seven hekhalot (“palaces,” hence, “Hekhalot literature”)» — Davila describe la arquitectura celeste de estos textos: siete cielos con siete hekhalot, y de ahí el nombre del corpus; el tramo se corta ante la llamada de nota que el troceo intercala a media frase

«concentrically arranged, with the centermost, and evidently the largest, containing the celestial throne room, with God seated on his throne-chariot surrounded by attending angels who sing the celestial liturgy.» — continuación del mismo pasaje: los palacios concéntricos, con la sala del trono en el centro y los ángeles que cantan la liturgia celeste

«The instructions consist of detailed accounts of the ritual practices to be performed, along with the texts of numerous songs and adjurations to be sung and recited. These songs and adjurations are often beautiful and carefully crafted poetic pieces, but these are interspersed and interlarded with long lists of divine names, nonsense words (nomina barbara), and names of angels, all of which are, again, intended for recitation in the rituals.» — y el contenido de las instrucciones: prácticas rituales pormenorizadas, cantos y adjuraciones entreverados de listas de nombres divinos, palabras sin sentido y nombres de ángeles, todo para recitarse

«According to the story, the four sages, Akiva and three others, usually named as Ben Azzay, Ben Zoma, and A ˙her (“the Other”—Elisha ben Avuyah), entered pardes. In the Hekhalot version, this is identified with the celestial Paradise.» — Davila resume la Historia de los Cuatro: Akiva y otros tres, con A ˙her identificado como Elisha ben Avuyah, entran al pardes, que la versión hekhalot identifica con el Paraíso celeste; la transliteración de la ḥet es la que imprime el volumen

«When each arrived at the entrance to the sixth palace, they perceived the alabaster stones there as though they were myriads of waves of water about to swamp them. Ben Azzay asked what the nature of these waters was and was promptly killed by the angels in that palace. Ben Zoma refrained from asking this, but the effort cost him his sanity. A ˙her “cut the plants,” an obscure term, interpreted in different ways, but amounting to saying that his experience in the sixth palace led him to become the arch-heretic of Jewish tradition.» — continuación: las piedras de alabastro tomadas por olas de agua, la muerte de Ben Azzay, la cordura perdida de Ben Zoma y el corte de las plantas de A ˙her, término que Davila declara oscuro

«The so-called “water test” also appears on its own in both the Hekhalot Zutarti (§§408–410) and the Hekhalot Rabbati (§259) as one of the tests facing any descender» — Davila señala que la prueba del agua corre también por su cuenta en el Hekhalot Zutarti y en el Hekhalot Rabbati; el tramo se corta al final de la plana

«The question of the central themes of the Hekhalot literature has generated muchdiscussionanddebateinthelastgeneration,withtwothemesemerging as especially important. The first is the heavenly ascent (or “descent to the chariot”), instructions for which appear in the Hekhalot Rabbati (§§198– 237) and the Hekhalot Zutarti (§§407–426)26 The second is the control of angels for various purposes, especially adjurations and ritual instructions to compel the Prince of Torah to descend and reveal expertise in Torah lore to the practitioner.» — Davila enuncia los dos temas que la discusión de la última generación señala como centrales: la ascensión celeste con sus instrucciones, y el dominio de los ángeles para obligar al Príncipe de la Torá a bajar y revelar

«A considerably larger proportion of the Hekhalot literature is devoted to adjurations and rituals involving the coercion of the Prince of Torah and other angels than to the heavenly ascent.» — el argumento de proporción que Davila recoge: hay más texto hekhalot dedicado a adjuraciones y rituales de coerción angélica que a la ascensión

«Apart from naïve theories of evolutionary religious thought, there is no inherent reason to suppose that mystical thinking involving an ascent to heaven to experience the beatific vision is more original or fundamental than magical thinking of the type involving adjurations and rituals for the coercion of angels to do the will of the practitioner.» — y el argumento de principio: Davila niega que haya razón para suponer más original el pensamiento místico de la ascensión que el mágico de la adjuración

«The ascent in the Hekhalot Rabbati culminates in the seating of the practitioner in the celestial throne room, where the choir of angels regales him with their music, and in a later ascent passage (Hekhalot Rabbati §§251–257) a practitioner who reaches the throne of God recites the hymns sung by the throne itself. In the Hekhalot Zutarti the practitioner is seated on the lap of God and granted whatever wish he desires.» — Davila describe en qué termina la ascensión según cada macroforma: sentar al practicante en la sala del trono, recitar los himnos que canta el trono mismo, y en el Hekhalot Zutarti sentarlo en el regazo de Dios con el deseo concedido

«The vision of God, although apparently an important part of the process of ascent, is not its aim and purpose.» — y la tesis que de ahí saca, con su matiz: la visión de Dios es parte del proceso pero no su fin

«It is clear that the heavenly ascent and the Sar Torah traditions must be distinguished; that each must be understood on its own terms; and that ritual and adjuration are central to the Hekhalot literature and cannot be regarded as secondary or less valid than the ascent.» — Davila enuncia su conclusión sobre las dos vertientes: se distinguen, cada una se entiende por sí misma, y el rito y la adjuración son centrales, no secundarios

«Debate continues on whether some central overarching theme can subsume and make sense of both these core themes.» — y deja la cuestión abierta: sigue en discusión si algún tema mayor abarca los dos

«TheHekhalotliteratureassumesacomplex web of scriptural connections that include not only Ezekiel’s vision, the Sinai event, and Psalm 68, but also the Sinai vision of God on the sapphire pavement in Exod 24:9–11; Isaiah’s vision of God in chapter 6; the divine silenceof1Kgs19:12;thecampsofGodinGen32:1–2;thevisionoftheAncient of Days in Dan 7:9–10; the divine chariot and fiery angels of Ps 104:1–4; and the earthly temple and temple cult of 1Chronicles 28–29 as a template for the celestial throne room and the angelic liturgy. These connections were already in place in the Second Temple period.» — Davila enumera la red de pasajes bíblicos que estos textos dan por supuesta —Ezequiel, el Sinaí, el Salmo 68, Éxodo 24, Isaías 6, 1 Reyes 19, Génesis 32, Daniel 7, Salmo 104 y 1 Crónicas 28-29— y sostiene que ya estaban enlazados en el Segundo Templo

«Scriptural exegesis is fundamental to any overarching explanation of the origins and meaning of the Hekhalot literature.» — y la consecuencia que saca: la exégesis de la Escritura es fundamental para cualquier explicación del origen y del sentido de esta literatura

«That said, although literary skill and exegesis are fundamental, they are not sufficient, and their importance should by no means lead us to dismiss or downplay the experiential elements in the Hekhalot texts.» — y de inmediato su contrapeso: la exégesis no basta, y no debe llevar a desechar los elementos experienciales

«Visionaries speak in the idiom of their own culture and visions emerge from a particular cultural matrix. Any visions or otherworldly journeys experienced by ancient Jews would necessarily be formulated according to Jewish tradition, including the vast background of exegetical speculations about the heavenly realm.» — Davila enuncia su principio sobre las visiones: se hablan en el idioma de la propia cultura, y las de judíos antiguos se formularían necesariamente según la tradición judía

«Halperin’s reconstruction of the exegetical undergirding of the Hekhalot traditions, while speculative in many respects, has many persuasive elements andtheremaybemuchtruthtoit.» — Davila fija su posición sobre esa reconstrucción, con el límite dentro: especulativa en mucho y persuasiva en mucho; la última frase sale del troceo sin espacios, tal como la imprime la capa de texto

«Along similar and complimentary lines, I have drawn on anthropological studies of shamans and related intermediaries and has argued that the paradigm of the “shaman/healer,” a shamanic intermediary characteristic of agricultural societies, provides a pattern that organizes the seemingly fragmented elements of the practices and practitioners of the Hekhalot literature into an organic whole.» — Davila expone su propia propuesta: el paradigma antropológico del chamán-sanador de las sociedades agrícolas como patrón que organiza los elementos dispersos de las prácticas hekhalot; el impreso dice *complimentary* donde se esperaría *complementary*

«The ascetic techniques used by the Hekhalot practitioners are similar to those used by shamans to achieve ecstasy or a trance state. And the accounts of otherworldly journeys found in the Hekhalot literature correspond in many ways to shamanic accounts of otherworldly journeys induced by these trance states.» — y las dos semejanzas concretas en que lo apoya: las técnicas ascéticas semejantes a las que usan los chamanes para el trance, y los relatos de viajes al otro mundo

«Hekhalot practitioners and shamans experience an initiatory disintegration and reintegration in which they are killed and brought back to life as beings filled with spiritual power. Both concern themselves with control over spirits, and this aspect of their practices is the linchpin that holds their offices together. Both also use their powers to serve a human community.» — Davila cierra la lista de semejanzas con el chamán: la desintegración y reintegración iniciáticas, el dominio de los espíritus como eje del oficio y el servicio a una comunidad humana; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The first point is undisputed and the second difficult to respond to directly, given that we have no access to the subjective internal states of the long-dead composers of the texts.» — y su respuesta, con lo que concede dentro: el primer punto no está en disputa y al segundo es difícil responder, porque no hay acceso a los estados internos de quienes compusieron los textos

«The evidence that the Hekhalot texts concerned themselves with ritual practices that were intended to be used by actual practitioners is overwhelming, so the question becomes whether some of those rituals were undertaken in order to generate visionary experiences.» — Davila reformula la cuestión: la prueba de que estos textos se ocupan de prácticas rituales destinadas a practicantes reales la da por abrumadora, y lo que queda por decidir es si algunos de esos ritos buscaban generar experiencias visionarias

«In sum, our evidence indicates that although the Hekhalot traditions survive as literary compositions based on profound meditation on the scriptures, they also preserve evidence in some cases for the rituals and, arguably, even the experiences of real practitioners who actually used the rituals prescribed in the texts.» — el balance que Davila declara: composiciones literarias nacidas de la meditación de las Escrituras que a la vez conservan, en algunos casos, huella de los ritos y aun de las experiencias de practicantes reales

«It is clear also that one purpose of some of these rites was to cause the practitioner to have certain experiences that we would characterize as visionary or mystical. As I have suggested elsewhere,45 the possible range of such experiences is very wide and should be viewed as a continuum: at the weaker pole they might involve the exercise of the active imagination to visualize themes and images that have been absorbed through meditation on the scriptures, but the stronger pole could include trance states and deeply altered states of consciousness.» — y el continuo que propone para esas experiencias: del polo débil de la imaginación activa que visualiza lo meditado al polo fuerte del trance y los estados de consciencia profundamente alterados

«A key question is whether the Palestinian rabbinic traditions of the Tannaitic era knew any early forms of the Hekhalot traditions. We have seen that Scholem took it that the Tannaitic references to ma#aseh merkavah referred to just such traditions, but Halperin challenged this position, arguing that the Hekhalot traditions evolved in response to third-century exegetical homiletics developed in Palestinian Shavuot sermons.» — Davila plantea la cuestión del origen y resume las dos posiciones sin arbitrar: Scholem leía las referencias tanaíticas al ma#aseh merkavah como referidas a estas tradiciones, Halperin las hacía evolucionar desde la homilética exegética del siglo III

«I have offered support to his position by showing that one of the Hodayot hymns from Qumran (1QHa xvi 4–26a), “the hymn of the garden,” also uses the image of the Garden of Eden as the celestial temple inhabited by dangerous angels and also describes a sage who survives an assault by the waters of chaos in the Garden, as well as another figure who damages the plants in the Garden.» — Davila aporta su propio apoyo: el himno del jardín de los Hodayot de Qumrán usa también el Edén como templo celeste con ángeles peligrosos, con un sabio que sobrevive al asalto de las aguas del caos y otra figura que daña las plantas

«In other words, the mystical cosmology found in some versions of the Story of the Four already existed in the Second Temple era, which increases the probability that the original Story of the Four had a mystical orientation and that this mystical cosmology may be behind some of the Tannaitic objections to study of the Merkavah.» — y lo que de ahí infiere, dicho como probabilidad: si esa cosmología mística ya existía en el Segundo Templo, aumenta la probabilidad de que la Historia de los Cuatro tuviera desde el principio orientación mística

«The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, the Berakhot, and the Songs of the Sage among the Dead Sea Scrolls have many parallels in terminology, scriptural exegesis, and general interests to the Hekhalot literature. The Scrolls also show some interest in heavenly ascents.» — Davila señala los paralelos de los Rollos del Mar Muerto —los Cantos del Sacrificio Sabático, las Berakhot y los Cantos del Sabio— en terminología, exégesis e intereses

«His relative dating of 2Enoch in relation to 3Enoch is more convincing than his early absolute dating of 2Enoch.» — y el juicio que Davila le pone: la datación relativa le parece más convincente que la absoluta temprana

«On the other hand, I have shown that the early Jewish apocalypses (the collection in 1Enoch and the books of Daniel, 2Baruch, and 4Ezra) overall contain significant structural parallels to the global pattern of shamanic features associated with the Hekhalot practitioners as argued in Descenders to the Chariot. These include the use of ritual and ascetic techniques, traces of an initiatory disintegration and reintegration, the undertaking of otherworldly journeys, the control of angels, and the providing of services to their community.» — y el paralelo estructural que él mismo sostiene entre los apocalipsis judíos tempranos —1Enoc, Daniel, 2Baruc, 4Esdras— y el patrón chamánico de los practicantes hekhalot, con sus cinco rasgos

«On the one hand, Himmelfarb has demonstrated that the two groups of texts are generically quite different: the apocalypses give fictional narrative accounts of “raptures,” heavenly ascents to which» — Davila recoge de Himmelfarb la diferencia de género entre los dos grupos de textos; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«human visionaries are subjected without their taking any initiative, whereas the Hekhalot texts give instructions to practitioners who seek to generate visions (of heavenly ascents or descending angels) by means of adjura» — continuación en la plana siguiente: los raptos les ocurren a los visionarios sin iniciativa suya, mientras los textos hekhalot instruyen a practicantes que buscan generar las visiones por adjuración; el corte del renglón parte la palabra

«a subterranean genetic connection, innate human neurophysiological and psychological parameters associated with altered states of consciousness, or some other explanation remains to be explored.» — Davila deja abiertas las explicaciones posibles de esos paralelos —conexión genética subterránea, parámetros neurofisiológicos y psicológicos innatos, u otra— y declara que están por explorar; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«In sum, there is a case for the ideas and practices found in the Hekhalot literature being the result of a very long process of development, at least some of which goes back to the Second Temple period, although such early origins are by no means universally accepted by specialists.» — Davila cierra la cuestión con su límite dentro: hay caso para un proceso muy largo que llega hasta el Segundo Templo, y ese origen temprano no lo aceptan todos los especialistas

«The question of who wrote the Hekhalot literature, why, and under what circumstances, also continues to be debated. Although it is widely accepted that some of the traditions go back to the late Tannaitic period, there is also agreement that an important stage of development took place in Babylonia in the Amoraic period.» — Davila plantea la cuestión de autoría y contexto, y señala los dos puntos de acuerdo: parte de las tradiciones sube al periodo tanaítico tardío y una etapa importante ocurrió en Babilonia en el periodo amoraico

«Supplements to The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy Edited by Elliot R. Wolfson (New York University) Christian Wiese (University of Frankfurt) Hartwig Wiedebach (University of Zurich) VOLUME 20» — el frontispicio de la serie en que sale el volumen, con sus tres editores; voz del aparato editorial de Brill

«Hekhalot literature in translation : major texts of Merkavah mysticism / by James R. Davila. p. cm. – pages cm. – (Supplements to the Journal of Jewish thought and philosophy, ISSN 1873-9008 ; volume 20) Includes index. ISBN 978-90-04-25215-8 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-90-04-25216-5 (e-book) 1. Hekhalot literature–History and criticism. 2. Merkava. 3. Mysticism–Judaism. 4. Heikhalot rabbati. 5. Heikhalot zutrati. 6. Ma'aseh merkavah. 7. Kitve-yad ha-Genizah. 8. Cairo Genizah. I. Title. BM525.A2D38 2013 296.1–dc23 2013009766» — la ficha catalográfica de la Library of Congress, con las materias bajo las que asienta el volumen y su número de control; voz del aparato editorial

«Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.» — el pie de derechos, que fecha el volumen en 2013 y nombra los sellos de Koninklijke Brill NV

«This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities.» — la nota tipográfica del editor sobre la fuente Brill, que es la que explica por qué el volumen transcribe hebreo y arameo en caracteres latinos con diacríticos y no en alfabeto hebreo

«2. Hekhalot Rabbati: The Greater (Book of the Heavenly) Palaces . . . . . . 37 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 3. Sar Torah: The Prince of Torah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159» — el índice del volumen, con el patrón que se repite en cada capítulo: introducción primero y texto después; los folios impresos que da aquí son los que permiten medir la equivalencia con la plana del PDF

«The production of this translation has been a long-term project, extending, with stops and starts, over more than twenty years.» — Davila abre los agradecimientos fechando el proyecto en más de veinte años de trabajo intermitente

«Central College in Pella, Iowa, provided a research and development grant in 1992 which allowed for the purchase of books that made this one possible.» — y nombra el apoyo material del que parte: una beca de 1992 para comprar libros

«The Biblioteca Mediceo Laurenziana and the Rijks Universiteit Leiden kindly granted permission, respectively, for me to publish material from manuscripts Florence Laurentziana Plut. 44/13 and Leiden Or. 4730.» — los dos permisos de publicación que declara, por los manuscritos de Florencia y de Leiden

«The University of St. Andrews provided me with a semester of research leave in 2008, followed by a year of research leave in 2011–2012 during which I was able to finish the project.» — y los dos permisos de investigación de St Andrews con que lo cerró

«This book is dedicated to my son, Ted Davila, and to the memory of my mother, Lois A. Davila. St. Andrews 28 March 2013» — la dedicatoria y la firma con lugar y fecha, que es de donde sale la fecha de cierre del libro

«A “geniza” is a repository for worn manuscripts on which the name of God is written. The manuscripts are retained in a geniza until they can be disposed of in an acceptable manner according to Jewish tradition. Over a period lasting a millennium the Cairo Geniza was used to discard a vast number of old manuscripts, not all of which contained the name of God.» — la nota al pie en que Davila define qué es una geniza y advierte que la de El Cairo acabó recogiendo manuscritos que no llevaban el nombre de Dios

«Schäfer’s synoptic edition of seven important Hekhalot manuscripts has made the textual fluidity of the macroforms abundantly clear, and this edition, along with his edition of the Hekhalot Geniza fragments, now provides the textual foundation for the study of the Hekhalot literature.» — y declara cuál es el fundamento textual del que parte: la edición sinóptica de siete manuscritos y la de los fragmentos de la Geniza, las dos de Schäfer

«Broadly speaking, there are two sources for the texts of the Hekhalot literature. First, there are some forty-seven manuscripts dating from the High Middle Ages onward which contain mostly complete copies of the larger compositions.» — Davila enuncia la primera fuente manuscrita del corpus: unos cuarenta y siete manuscritos de la Baja Edad Media en adelante

«Second, the Cairo Geniza (an important cache of manuscripts recovered in the late nineteenth century from the geniza6 of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo) has preserved numerous early medieval fragments of Hekhalot texts, some of documents known from the later manuscripts and some otherwise unknown.» — y la segunda: los fragmentos altomedievales de la Geniza de El Cairo, algunos de documentos ya conocidos y otros no

«The boundaries and contents of the individual larger compositions are frequently difficult to define, inasmuch as the basic unit of these documents, as is noted above, consists of single paragraphs (“microforms” in Schäfer’s terminology) which frequently stand on their own. The larger compositions or “macroforms” consist of collections of these microforms and a given macroform often appears in the manuscripts in multiple recensions that contain more or fewer microforms in somewhat different orderings.» — Davila expone la distinción de Schäfer entre microforma —el párrafo suelto— y macroforma, y por qué los límites de cada composición son difíciles de fijar

«Thus, although it is convenient to group the Hekhalot literature by its macroforms and these groups tell us something about the transmission history and interpretation of the traditions, the fullest understanding of the material comes only through careful attention to the individual microforms.» — y sostiene que la comprensión plena del material pasa por las microformas individuales, no por los grupos

«Hekhalot Rabbati (§§81–121, 152–173, 189–277), the “Greater (Book of the Heavenly) Palaces,” is the longest and most textually stable macroform. Along with numerous Merkavah hymns about the glories of both the celestial realm and of the descenders to the chariot, it includes a version of the Story of the Ten Martyrs, which is known elsewhere in Jewish tradition in various forms; an instructional account of a descent to the chariot by R. Nehuniah in the company of his disciples; and a description of the water test.» — Davila inventaría el Hekhalot Rabbati: el macroforma más largo y más estable, con himnos de la Merkavah, la Historia de los Diez Mártires, el descenso de R. Nehuniah con sus discípulos y la prueba del agua

«Sar Torah9 (§§281–306), the “Prince of Torah,” gives instructions on how to summon and control the Prince of Torah so as to compel him to reveal knowledge of Torah to the practitioner. This macroform almost always is appended to the Hekhalot Rabbati and there are significant manuscript variations in the last third of it.» — el Sar Torah: instrucciones para convocar y controlar al Príncipe de la Torá, casi siempre apéndice del Hekhalot Rabbati y con variantes fuertes en su último tercio

«I italicize the phrase Sar Torah when it refers to this particular macroform and write it in Roman type as Sar Torah when it refers either to the angel with that name or to other ritual practices involving this angel.» — la nota en que Davila declara su convención tipográfica: cursiva para el macroforma, redonda para el ángel o para las prácticas rituales que lo invocan

«Hekhalot Zutarti (approximately §§335–375, 407–426), the “Lesser (Book of the Heavenly) Palaces,” survives in somewhat varied manuscripts and contains adjurational material; the above-mentioned Story of the Four Who Entered Paradise; and a set of instructions for the descent to the chariot.» — el Hekhalot Zutarti: material de adjuración, la Historia de los Cuatro y un juego de instrucciones para el descenso al carro, con un rango de párrafos que Davila da como aproximado

«Ma#aseh Merkavah (§§544–596), the “Working of the Chariot,” is a collection of adjurations and rituals for controlling angels and ascending to heaven; descriptions of the heavenly realm; and Merkavah hymns. The manuscripts survive in three recensions.» — el Ma#aseh Merkavah: adjuraciones y rituales para dominar ángeles y ascender, descripciones del reino celeste e himnos, en tres recensiones

«Merkavah Rabba (§§655–708), the “Greater (Book of the) Chariot,” is a compendium of instructions for Torah-memory practices and Shi#ur Qomah traditions. It survives in a long and a short recension.» — el Merkavah Rabba: compendio de prácticas de memoria de la Torá y tradiciones del Shi#ur Qomah, en recensión larga y corta

«Sefer Hekhalot (§§1–79), “The Book of the Palaces,” is also known as 3Enoch (after [Ethiopic] 1Enoch and [Slavonic] 2Enoch). This text comes in the form of an apocalypse, a revelatory discourse granted to R. Ishmael, who ascends to heaven and there meets the angel Metatron (the patriarch Enoch transformed into an archangel). Metatron relates the history of his own exaltation and enthronement, as well as of his dethronement when Elisha ben Avuyah ascended and mistook him for a second god (see on the Story of the Four Who Entered Paradise above). Metatron then takes R. Ishmael on a long tour of the universe.» — el Sefer Hekhalot o 3Enoc: apocalipsis revelado a R. Ishmael, con Metatrón —Enoc transformado en arcángel— relatando su entronización y su destronamiento cuando Elisha ben Avuyah lo tomó por un segundo dios

«This work survives in a long and a short recension, with variations even among these. It contains no magical or ritual material, although the fragment from the Cairo Geniza (see below) does include some such material.» — y su rasgo distintivo dentro del corpus: no trae material mágico ni ritual, salvo en el fragmento de la Geniza

«Shi#ur Qomah, the “Measure of the Stature,” consists of diverse material that focuses on the measurements and names of the various gigantic body parts of God. Schäfer’s Synopse contains some material from this corpus, but the major complete manuscripts and recensions have been edited by Martin Samuel Cohen.» — el Shi#ur Qomah: las medidas y los nombres de las partes gigantescas del cuerpo de Dios, editado en lo principal por Martin Samuel Cohen y no por la Synopse

«Massekhet Hekhalot, the “Treatise of the Palaces,” is a borderline case that arguably should not be included among the Hekhalot literature. It contains detailed descriptions of the celestial realm, but these are not connected to a heavenly ascent and there are no ritual instructions, song and adjurations, or Sar Torah materials. It has been edited by Klaus Herrmann.» — y el caso límite que Davila declara como tal: el Massekhet Hekhalot describe el reino celeste sin ascensión ni instrucción ritual, y por eso discute si pertenece al corpus

«In Geniza-Fragmente, Schäfer also published twenty-three fragmentary manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza, the most important of which are the following. • The “Ozhayah Fragment” (G8), an instructional account of the descent to the chariot involving the angel Ozhayah as guide, followed by a Sar Torah instruction.» — y de los veintitrés fragmentos de la Geniza publicados por Schäfer destaca primero el Fragmento Ozhayah (G8), relato instructivo del descenso con un ángel por guía

«The “Unicum (i.e., “unique”) Fragment” (G22) is a collection of Hekhalot adjurations and Merkavah hymns. It is preceded in the manuscript by Shi#ur Qomah material.» — el Fragmento Unicum (G22), colección de adjuraciones e himnos precedida de material del Shi#ur Qomah

«Sometimes these fragments provide a better text than the much later complete medieval manuscripts.» — y el juicio textual que Davila adjunta: a veces estos fragmentos dan mejor texto que los manuscritos medievales completos, muy posteriores

«Other texts published in Geniza Fragmente fall on the borderline of the Hekhalot literature. One may well include the fragment involving Metatron and Moses (G19), but we should exclude the work known as ShevaZutarti (the“LesserAdjuration”)orShevaEliyahu(the“Adjuration of Elijah”), copies of which are found in G13–G17 and elsewhere. G11 also contains an otherwise unknown passage about Metatron. G20 is a collection of magical recipes for various practical purposes. G21 opens with an adjuration but then segues into a long account of the ascent of Moses to heaven. G23 is from Pereq Shirah, a text outside the Hekhalot corpus, known from elsewhere.» — Davila declara qué deja fuera del corpus y por qué, fragmento por fragmento; el Sheva Zutarti y el Pereq Shirah quedan excluidos y el fragmento de Metatrón y Moisés (G19) admitido

«This volume translates most of the major macroforms in chapters two throughsix:HekhalotRabbati,SarTorah,HekhalotZutarti,Ma#asehMerkavah, and Merkavah Rabba. The shorter texts mentioned above are also translated in chapter seven: The Chapter of R. Nehuniah ben HaQanah, The Great Seal-Fearsome Crown, Sar Panim, The Ascent of Elisha ben Avuyah, and The Youth. In chapter eight the Geniza fragments of Hekhalot Rabbati, Hekhalot Zutarti, 3Enoch, Sar Panim, and some related material (G1–7, G12, G16, and G75) are translated, as are G8, G19, and G22.» — Davila declara el plan del volumen: cinco macroformas mayores en los capítulos dos a seis, los textos breves en el siete y los fragmentos de la Geniza en el ocho

«Massekhet Hekhalot has been translated into German by Herrmann. Although an English translation is a desideratum, for reasons noted above it is doubtful that this text should be included in the Hekhalot corpus and I do not translate it here.» — el segundo excluido, el Massekhet Hekhalot, por la duda que él mismo declara sobre su pertenencia al corpus

«The Shi#ur Qomah corpus is a loose collection of traditions rather than a single text and its relationship to the other Hekhalot texts is somewhat tangential. Cohen has produced a translation of the various recensions. His work, however, needs to be revised to take fully into account the much earlier Geniza material published by Schäfer. This would be a worthy project in itself, but it is one outside the scope of this volume.» — y el tercero, el Shi#ur Qomah, con la tarea que deja pendiente: revisar la traducción de Cohen a la luz del material de la Geniza

«ben HaQanah (§§307–314); the incantation prayers16 in The Great Seal-FearsomeCrown(§§318–321//§§651–654);abriefaccountofTheAscent of Elisha ben Avuyah (§597); the Sar Panim (§§623–639), a collections of rites and adjurations to control the angelic Prince of the Presence; andapassageaboutTheYouth(ha-na#ar),anangelichigh-priestlyfigure who leads the celestial liturgy.» — Davila inventaría los textos breves de los manuscritos completos: el Capítulo de R. Nehuniah ben HaQanah, las oraciones de encantamiento del Gran Sello-Corona Temible, el Ascenso de Elisha ben Avuyah, el Sar Panim y el pasaje sobre el Joven (ha-na#ar); la capa de texto imprime varias frases sin espacios

«Still other texts from the Geniza and elsewhere have thematic overlaps and connections with the Hekhalot literature, but should not be classed as part of that literature.» — Davila traza el borde exterior del corpus: hay textos con solapamientos temáticos que, sostiene, no deben clasificarse dentro de la literatura hekhalot

«Re"uot Ye˙hezqel, the “Visions of Ezekiel” is a midrashic work that describes the visionary ascent of Ezekiel through the seven heavens, using some of the same terminology and ideas as those found in the Hekhalot literature.» — y nombra el primero de ellos: las Visiones de Ezequiel, obra midrásica sobre la ascensión visionaria del profeta por los siete cielos, con parte del vocabulario hekhalot

«Seder Rabba de Bereshit, the “Great Order of Creation,” is a cosmological tractate that describes the seven heavens and the sevenhells.» — el segundo, el Seder Rabba de Bereshit, tratado cosmológico de los siete cielos y los siete infiernos; la capa de texto imprime *sevenhells* sin espacio

«VariousmagicaltractatessuchasSeferHaRazim,the“Bookofthe Mysteries” include adjurations and cosmological speculations with parallels to the Hekhalot texts, as do some of the fragments of magical handbooks and treatises recovered from the Geniza.» — y el tercero: los tratados mágicos como el Sefer HaRazim, con adjuraciones y especulación cosmológica paralelas a las hekhalot

«I have chosen not to translate three of the longer macroforms. An excellent English translation of an eclectic critical text of 3Enoch by Philip Alexander was published as part of the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha corpus edited» — Davila declara lo que NO traduce, empezando por 3Enoc, del que ya existe la traducción inglesa de Philip Alexander en el corpus de los pseudoepígrafos del Antiguo Testamento

«by James H. Charlesworth in 1983 and a German translation of the Vatican manuscript, with variants from other major manuscripts, was published by PeterSchäferandKlausHerrmannin1995.25Isawnoneedtoproduceanother» — continuación: la traducción alemana del manuscrito del Vaticano por Schäfer y Herrmann en 1995, y la razón que Davila da para no hacer otra; la capa de texto imprime la frase entera sin espacios