Formatting Lurianic Metaphysics

Visualizations of the Godhead in Kabbalistic Prayerbooks

2019–2022

RFD16

The project 'Formatting Lurianic Metaphysics: Visualizations of the Godhead in Kabbalistic Prayer Books' examines how in the eighteenth century, metaphysical concepts attributed to the prominent Jewish mystic Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (1534-1572) were fused with the daily liturgy of prayers and blessings. By comparing these multi-layered and multi-graphic written artefacts to earlier compilations of mystical prayer intentions (kawwanot)—both in manuscript and in print—the project aims to present a nuanced understanding of the different formatting strategies employed to make kabbalistic-theurgical knowledge more accessible. It explores the extent to which the influence of such organizing principles may have affected the audience’s reading experience and religious practice; the ideological preferences that can be deduced from the Lurianic reorientation of prayer; the different functions that graphic and diagrammatic elements may have served and the contexts in which these were applied; as well as the question, how the mise-en-page of a text reflects a particular hierarchy of knowledge. More broadly, it should be asked whether the case of Lurianic prayer books represents a type of formatting that should be considered specific to early modern Jewish materials, or whether we witness similar approaches in other cultural and socio-historical contexts.

People

Project lead: Patrick Benjamin Koch