Sha’arei Orah [exposition of Kabbalistic symbolism]
AUCTION 46 |
Thursday, September 10th,
2009 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Hebrew Printed Books, Manuscripts, & Graphic Art
Lot 123
GIKATILLA, JOSEPH
Sha’arei Orah [exposition of Kabbalistic symbolism]
Mantua: Jacob ben Naphtali Cohen of Gazolo 1561
Est: $500 - $700
PRICE REALIZED $750
Sha'arei Orah, a work roughly contemporaneous with the publication of the Zohar, was written by the Spanish kabbalist Joseph Gikatilla toward the end of the 13th-century. It has served countless generations of aspiring students as a systematic primer of Kabbalah, working its way through the Sefiroth in ascending order, with Malchuth (Kingdom) as the primary, and Kether (Crown) as the final Sefirah.
Two of the former owners of the book are known to us by way of their prominent sons: Nathaniel ben Aaron Jacob Segre (d. 1691) authored a collection of responsa Ezer Ya'akov, still in manuscript. See EJ, Vol. XIV, col. 1112. Nathaniel ben Jechiel Foa was an Amsterdam printer of Hebrew books between the years 1702-15. See EJ, Vol. VI, col. 1371.