Ilan ha-Kadosh [“Holy Tree”: Diagram of Kabbalistic Universe]

(KABBALAH)

(North Africa?)

(Late 19th Century?)

Black ink on lengthy, narrow vellum strip. Two membranes

Cf. Ohel Hayim: A Catalogue of Hebrew Manuscripts of Lehmann Family, Vol. I (Kabbalistic Manuscripts), pp. 181-3

Inscription reads: “This Holy Tree is perfect for holy purposes - for finding favor, for success, for protection against the evil eye, for a woman having a difficult birth, to ward off demons, as protection against the plague…It should be housed in a silver case and hung [on the neck].” From a purely visual stance, much of the graphic representation of the Ilan superficially resembles modern scientific charts describing the breakdown of substances into elements and the bonds holding together the various atoms, the so-called building blocks of reality