Meshal ha-Kadmoni [“Proverb of the Ancient”]

“The illustrated Hebrew book par excellence.” (A.J. Karp) Rare Venetian edition of a collection of allegories, fables and puns with moral inferences all written in rhymed prose. The author uses animal fables as a means of moral allegory. The method of using such fables as a means of instruction was common in Arabic literature. The intention of the rhymed prose was to teach Jewish readers that the Hebrew language could also be a suitable vehicle of entertainment. Ibn Sahula explains in his introduction that he is not a mere imitator of Islamic writers, for the Bible itself contains numerous fables and parables that served as models. Examples are the fable of the trees choosing their king (Judges xi. 8-15), told by Jotham to persuade the Israelites not to elect Abimelech as their king, and the answer of Jehoash of Israel to Amaziah of Judah’s request for an alliance (II Kings xiv. 9). The Meshal ha-Kadmoni takes the form of a dialogue between the author and an opponent. The opponent attempts to prove that the cultivation of virtue is worthless, while the author defends the necessity of each virtue. Both sides employ animal fables as a means of expressing their ideas. Not only do the animals talk, but actually conduct lengthy discourses upon matters scientific and philosophic and serve as the mouthpiece of the author’s views on all branches of knowledge. Thus, for example, in one portal, a deer delivers a discourse on the classification of the sciences, and in another, a dog delivers a lecture on the principles of psychology. These animals are well versed and make dexterous references to Biblical verses and Talmudic passages in the subjects under discussion. The style of the work imparts a charm and naïveté which affords amusement as well as instruction. The author illustrated his original 13th-century manuscript copy of the work (now lost) in order to attract the interest of youth and almost all the extant medieval manuscripts of the work contain illustrations apparently following the original. For this reason, the printed editions of Meshal ha-Kadmoni include more than eighty remarkably high quality illustrations seemingly following the author’s original 13th-century copy. The illustrations are of specifically Jewish origin. The author, besides his scientific bent, harbored a definite sympathy for the Kabbalah. Meshal ha-Kadmoni contains the very earliest quotation from the Zohar. In addition, Sahula penned a kabbalistic commentary to the Song of Songs. This is hardly surprising as Sahula (b. 1244) was a disciple of the kabbalist R. Moses of Burgos, and most certainly acquainted with his fellow Guadalajaran, R. Moses de Leon, the "revealer" of the Zohar. See P.F. Fumagalli, “Meshal ha-Qadmoni: novellae, arte e saggezza nel codice ambrosiano X112 sup." in: Rassegna Mensile di Israel 69, 1 (2003), 31-48; EJ, Vol. XIV, cols. 656-7; G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1967), pp. 187-8, 393; idem, Kabbalah (1974), p. 235; idem, “Ha-Tsitat ha-Rishon min ha-Midrash ha-Ne’elam" in Tarbiz III (1932): 181-183