The *alef* at the head of the *Yeri'ah* · Lines 1–4
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
Then you will know something of the wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge, and you will rejoice in the portion [?] of the Israelite people.1
1
אז תדע מפלאות תמים דעים ותהיה שמח בחלק[?] המין הישרﭏי ·
What the author wrote—his verse [?]: “At the beginning of the book, the alef [?], by notarikon, is Keter;”
2
מה שכתב המחבר ' פסוקו[?] בראש הסיפר האלף[?] בנוטריקון כתר ·
“And at the beginning [?] of the book is the secret [?], which is
3
ובתחילת[?] סיפר[?] סוף[?] שהוא
The Binding of Isaac and Noah’s ark · Lines 5–16
Oxford Great Parchment:
ועקידת יצחק תיבת נח וחם הוא עשו
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
“The Binding of Isaac; Noah’s ark.” The author’s intention is to equate these two
5
ועקידת יצחק תיבת נח · כוונת המחבר שמשווה אילו שני
matters, because the Binding points to something that has a receptacle,
6
עניינים · בעבור שהעקידה רומזת לדבר שיש לה בית קיבול
like the ark. The reason he wrote this narrative above Binah is that
7
כמו התיבה והטעם שכתב זה הסיפור למעלה מהבינה בעבור
the Binding signifies the upper world: the seven that are included in three. These are Abraham
8
שהעקדה מורה לעולם העליון שהם השבע הנכללים בג' והם אברהם
and Isaac, who correspond to the arms, and the ram, corresponding to the mediating line. He thereby came to teach [?]
9
ויצחק שהם כנגד הזרועות והאיל כנגד המכריע · ובא ללמד[?]
us a complete cycle in which there is no [?] desire in the seventh; and desire is disclosed from Isaac.
10
לנו הקף שלם שאין בו צ'[?] תאווה בשביעי · ומיצחק מתגלה התאווה
The waters annul it, for when the radiance and influx spread from Abraham, desire is annulled.
11
והמים מבטלין אותה כי בהתפשט הזוהר והשפע מאברם יתבטל
The reason he was not [finally] bound is that the world would revert to what it had been, until the Jubilee [?].
12
התאווה · והטעם שלא נעקד כי יחזור העולם כמו שהיה עד היובל[?]
Noah’s ark likewise signifies the upper world, and the waters covered it; but [?] not into [?]
13
וכן תיבת נח מורה לעולם העליון והמים כסו אותה אבל[?] לא ﭏ[?]
a complete cycle—which is the seventh—together with the other animals, to indicate that it destroyed [?]
14
הקף שלם שהוא שביעי[?] עם שאר בעלי חיים לרמוז שהשמיד[?]
its kind by absolute privation, for things will return to what they had been. What is alluded to in Noah [?]
15
מינו העדר מוחלט כי יחזרו הדברים כאשר היו · ומה שרמוז בנח[?]
is alluded to in this as well; and this is what the author intended by “And Ham is Esau,” for both were wicked:3
16
רמוז בזה ועל זה כיון המחבר וחם היא עשו כי שניהם היו רשעים
Ham and Esau across recurring cycles · Lines 17–21
Oxford Great Parchment:
ונח מצא חן בעיני ייי' ויזרע יצחק בארץ ההיא ויברכהו ייי' בריכה העליונה וגדל המים הולך וגדל ואלה שמות הבאים אחד מעיר ושנים ממשפחה.
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
the one in the ark and the other at the Binding, even though [Esau] was there only in potential. Concerning Noah it is written, “But Noah found
17
זה בתיבה וזה בעקדה אפילו שהיה בכח · וגבי נח כת' ונח מצא
favor in the eyes of the Lord,” which is the upper pool; and of Isaac it is written, “Isaac sowed in that land,
18
חן בעיני ה' שהיא הבריכה העליונה · וביצחק כתי' ויזרע יצחק בארץ
and He blessed him”—an upper blessing. Concerning Noah it is written, “And the waters grew” [?]; concerning Isaac it is written,
19
ההיא ויברכהו ברכה עליונה · גבי נח כתי' ויגדל[?] המים · גבי יצחק כת'
“He went on growing until he became very great.” And as in his saying, “These are the names of those who come, one from a city and two from a family.”
20
הלוך וגדל מאד · וכאומרו ואלה שמות הבאים אחד מעיר ושנים ממשפחה ·
That is: in each and every cycle, until the end of all, there are people who signify those who existed in the preceding cycle.4
21
ר"ל כי בכל הקף והקף עד סוף הכל · יש אנשים הרומזים לאותם שהיו בהקף
The forty days of the Flood and of Sinai · Lines 22–27
Oxford Great Parchment:
ויהי המבול מ' יום ומשה עמד בהר סיני מ' יום
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
This [?] is what the author said [?]: “The Flood lasted forty days, and Moses stood on Mount Sinai
22
שלפניו · וזה[?] שאמ'[?] המחבר ויהי המבול מ' יום ומשה עמד על הר סיני
forty days.” That is: forty days alludes to the four legs of the Chariot, and the indication of their elevations [?]
23
מ' יום · פי' מ' יום רמז לארבע רגלי המרכבה והוראת עילויים[?]
signifies the annulment of human existence—human capacity [?]. Likewise, the forty days of Moses were that
24
מורה על ביטול המציאות האנושי יכלת[?] אנושי · וכן מ' יום ממשה אותו
same elevation: his bodily powers were annulled, and the human intellect alone remained,
25
העילוי גם שנתבטלו ממנו הכוחות הגופניות ונשאר השכל האנושי /
even when those things he required were made manifest [?]. Noah likewise is the human intellect, and he remained in that
26
גם כשנתחזו[?] הצריכים[?] אליו · וכן נח הוא השכל האנושי ונשאר הוא באותו
elevation with the powers close to him—his sons, his wife, and some kinds [?] of living creatures—5
27
העילוי עם כחותיו הקרובים אליו והם בניו ואשתו וקצת מיש'[?] בעלי חיים
The waters and the fullness of knowledge · Lines 28–30
Oxford Great Parchment:
וירבו המים כי מלאה הארץ רעה ואחר כך בינה
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
while the inferior powers [?], the people of his generation—the generation of the Flood—were removed. “And the waters multiplied,
28
ונעדרו[?] הכחות הפחותות[?] שהם אנשי דורו והוא דור המבול · וירבו המים
for the earth was full of knowledge.” That is: “the waters multiplied,” which is the sea [?], because “the earth was full of knowledge,”
29
כי מלאה הארץ דיעה · פי' וירבו המים שהוא ים[?] כי מלאה הארץ דיעה
30
כמו וידע אדם[?] וזה שני מלכים[?] משתמשים בכתר אחד · וזאת בינה
The seventh millennium and new souls · Lines 31–32
Oxford Great Parchment:
כי בשנת ת"ר שנה לחיי נח והמבול היה מים ושתא אלפי הוי עלמא
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
For every seventh millennium, which is the sea [?], receives new souls from Binah [?]. For [?]: “In the
31
כי כל אלף שביעי שהוא ים[?] מקבל נשמות חדשות מן הבינה[?] · כי[?] בשנת
six-hundredth year of Noah’s life; and the Flood was water: ‘the world exists six thousand [years].’7
32
שש מאות שנה לחיי נח והמבול היה מים ששת אלפים הוי עלמא
The six extremities and the seventh · Lines 33–34
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
[?] That is: the six extremities signify a complete cycle, once the six [?] extremities have performed their function;
33
מבים[?] · פי' כי השש קצוות רמז להקף שלם שעשו פעולתם השש[?] קצוות
then the seventh performs its function, and they release [?] and rest [?]. The Flood was then water from
34
ואז השביעי עושה פעולתו והם שומטים ונחו[?] והמבול היה אז מים מן
The cycle before the coming of the Messiah · Lines 35–37
Oxford Great Parchment:
כי בתחלה בא משיח
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
the upper pool. “For at first the Messiah came.” That is: before this cycle there was another cycle,
35
הבריכה העליונה · כי בתחילה בא משיח · פי' קודם זה ההקף היה הקף
the generation of Adam; for from Adam to Noah were ten generations, corresponding to
36
אחר שהוא דורו שלאדם כי מאדם ועד נח עשרה דורות והם כנגד
the ten [sefirot]. At the end of the ten, the waters prevailed from the pool, which is the fifty [?], and the fiftieth [?] is sacred. “And there is no8
37
העשר ובסוף העשר המ'ים[?] גברו מן הבריכה שהיא הנ'[?] והנ'[?] קודש · ואין
This world, the Messiah, and the daughters of humanity · Lines 38–42
Oxford Great Parchment:
ואין בין העולם הזה לימיו ובנות יולדו להם. ויראו בני האלהים את בנות האדם מדת בת קול ולא בן ואדם הוליד שידין ולילין כל מ' שנה שהיה נזוף. ודור עשירי ישובו לנח ומפלגא לאברהם ובאו למדת צדק שהיא מלכות
TranslationLineHebrew transcription
[difference] between this world and his days.” That is: there is no [difference] between this world, which is the generation of Noah, and the days of the Messiah,
38
בין העולם הזה לימיו · פי' אין בין העולם הזה שהוא דורו שלנח לימיו שלמשיח
which are the generation of Adam, except subjection to kingdoms alone. “And daughters [?] were born [?]
39
שהוא דורו שלאדם · אלא שעבוד מלכיות בלבד · ובנות[?] יולדו[?]
to them.” “The sons of God saw the daughters of humanity”—like [?] a daughter of a voice, and not a son [?]. And Adam
40
להם · ויראו בני האלהים את בנות האדם כד' קול ולת' כן[?] ואדם
begot demons and lilin throughout 130 [?] years during which he was under ban. That is: the cycle [?] of the tenth generation
41
הוליד שדין ולילין כל ק"ל[?] שנה שהיה בנזוף[?] · פי' הקף[?] דור העשירי
42
היו רודפין אחר · הכחות האפשר[?] המושכנים[?] לתוך[?] הדין ונמשלות
Cycles, figures, and witness variants
| Passage | Function in the commentary | Witness evidence or identification |
|---|---|---|
| Binding and ark (5–21) | Two receptacles image the upper world; Abraham, Isaac, and the ram compress the seven lower sefirot into the two arms and the mediating line. | Oxford confirms the principal lemmata and clarifies “one from a city and two from a family”; JTS alone is translated in the line grid. |
| Forty days (22–27) | Flood and Sinai each suspend ordinary embodied existence, leaving Noah or Moses as the human intellect. | Oxford reads ומשה עמד securely; the corresponding JTS words remain marked uncertain. |
| Waters and knowledge (28–30) | JTS links Flood waters, knowledge as union, the shared crown, and Binah. | JTS דיעה (“knowledge”) contrasts with Oxford רעה (“evil”), producing a consequential interpretive difference. |
| Six and seven (31–37) | The six extremities act through a complete cycle; the seventh performs release and receives renewed souls from Binah. | Oxford preserves ושתא אלפי הוי עלמא, whereas JTS is corrupt or heavily abbreviated. |
| This world and primordial generations (38–42) | Noah’s generation, the days of the Messiah, Adam’s demons, and the tenth generation are coordinated across cycles. | Oxford preserves a fuller, substantially different sequence; it is comparative evidence, not a silent correction of JTS. |
Notes
- The opening completes the sentence begun at 79b:45. “The wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge” echoes Job 37:16. The manuscript’s בחלק[?] המין הישראלי is retained provisionally as “the portion of the Israelite people.” Biblical and textual note. ↩
- Lines 2–4 appear to quote the Yeri'ah. The alef at the head of the book is interpreted by notarikon as Keter, above Binah. The wording of line 3 is insecure: the final word may be סוד, “secret,” rather than the transcribed סוף, “end.” Textual and sefirotic note. ↩
- The comparison treats the Binding and the ark as receptacles and as images of the upper world. The seven included in three are the seven lower sefirot compressed into Abraham and Isaac, the two arms (Chesed and Pachad or Gevurah), and the ram as the mediating line (Tiferet). The waters issuing from Abraham annul the desire disclosed through Isaac. The readings at lines 10 and 13–15 remain too uncertain to normalize. “And Ham is Esau” preserves the manuscript’s feminine copula (היא for הוא) and pairs two wicked figures, one in the ark and one present potentially at the Binding. Sefirotic, interpretive, and textual note. ↩
- “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” is Genesis 6:8; the divine name is interpreted as the upper pool. Isaac’s sowing, blessing, and increasing greatness draw on Genesis 26:12–13. The Noah phrase may reflect Genesis 7:17–18 (“the waters increased/prevailed”), but the manuscript appears to read ויגדל and remains uncertain. The final quoted clause in line 20 joins “these are the names of those who come” (Exodus 1:1) to Jeremiah 3:14, “one from a city and two from a family”; the image recheck (27 September 2026) confirms this reading, which Oxford shares. The commentary uses these correspondences to argue that human types recur from cycle to cycle. Biblical, cyclical, and textual note. ↩
- The first half of the lemma adapts Genesis 7:17; the second compares it with Moses’ forty days on Sinai in Exodus 24:18 and 34:28. Forty is read as the four legs of the Chariot multiplied by ten. The Flood annuls ordinary human existence, while Moses’ ascent annuls his bodily powers and leaves the human intellect. Noah is likewise the surviving intellect, accompanied in the ark by the powers nearest to it. The subject before “stood on Mount Sinai” and several phrases in lines 23–27 remain uncertain. Biblical, philosophical, and textual note. ↩
- The lemma combines the Flood with Isaiah 11:9: “for the earth shall be full of knowledge ... as the waters cover the sea.” “Adam knew” evokes Genesis 4:1 or 4:25 and gives דעה the sense of union. “Two kings cannot use one crown” is the lunar tradition in b. Hullin 60b; the present passage then identifies the relevant grade as Binah. Whether ים, “sea,” names Binah, Malkhut, or another symbolic locus here is unresolved. Biblical, rabbinic, and sefirotic note. ↩
- Genesis 7:11 begins, “In the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life.” The commentary coordinates the six hundred years, the six thousand years of a cosmic cycle, and the six extremities; every seventh millennium then receives new souls from Binah. Oxford’s ושתא אלפי הוי עלמא clarifies the allusion to the maxim that the world endures six thousand years (b. Rosh Hashanah 31a; b. Sanhedrin 97a), and a recheck of the image on 27 September 2026 confirmed that JTS line 32 reads the same (לחיי נח והמבול היה מים ששת אלפים הוי עלמא). The first word of line 33 remains uncertain. Biblical, rabbinic, cosmological, and textual note. ↩
- The six extremities are the six lower sefirot from Chesed through Yesod; their completed action is followed by the seventh, Malkhut, figured as sabbatical release. “Ten generations from Adam to Noah” is m. Avot 5:2. The upper pool is Binah; the uncertain fifties probably evoke Binah’s fifty gates and the Jubilee declaration “it shall be holy to you” in Leviticus 25:12. Lines 37–38 read ואין בין העולם הזה לימיו (“there is no [difference] between this world and his days”), as in Oxford and as the exposition repeats; an earlier draft misread it as “thus, the world was chaos” (corrected against the image on 27 September 2026). The lemma “For at first the Messiah came” is secure in Oxford, but the relation between the primordial Adamic cycle and the future messianic cycle remains the commentary’s own difficult cyclical claim. Mishnaic, biblical, and sefirotic note. ↩
- The explanation in lines 38–39 quotes the rabbinic dictum that the only difference between this world and the days of the Messiah is subjection to kingdoms (b. Berakhot 34b; b. Sanhedrin 99a). “Daughters were born to them” and “the sons of God saw the daughters of humanity” are Genesis 6:1–2. Adam’s begetting of demons and lilin during 130 years under ban is b. Eruvin 18b; JTS appears to read 130, while Oxford reads forty. Oxford’s continuation identifies the tenth generation with Noah and later reaches Abraham and Malkhut, but JTS line 42 instead breaks off mid-sentence and continues on folio 80b. The obscure wording in lines 40–42 is therefore left visibly uncertain. Biblical, rabbinic, inter-folio, and comparative-witness note. ↩