Ilan HaKadosh. A beautifully composed and very lengthy Kabbalistic “Tree,” or diagram of the arrangement of the spiritual cosmos

(KABBALAH)

ca. 1700

Manuscript on lengthy vellum scroll on four membranes. Composed in an Aschkenazi script in black ink by Gindler bat Abraham of Colmar, Alsace

Opening panel worn with loss to a few letters, taped on verso. Edges excised. 72 x 14 inches

Over the ages attempts were made by various kabbalists to render into diagram-form the teachings of the Kabbalah concerning the structure of Creation and the spiritual universe as a whole. Known as the Ilan Hagadol (“great tree”) or Ilan Hakadosh (“holy tree”) or simply as the Ilan (“tree”), this arrangement would give the student of the esoteric lore a clearer picture of the exact layout of this highly complex megacosm. The present manuscript is most unusual as it was prepared by a woman, Gindler bat Abraham of Colmar. Gindler, who was described by Jacob Sapir as a fine scribe, also completed much of the work of copying a ten-volume manuscript copy of the Talmud. She failed to complete the work as she gave birth to her first child and thereafter devoted herself exclusively to maternal responsibilities. See HaLevanon (1866), p. 80