Sefer HaKaneh: An Influencial Kabbalistic Commentary On The 613 Mitzvot (en Inglés)
Reseña del libro "Sefer HaKaneh: An Influencial Kabbalistic Commentary On The 613 Mitzvot (en Inglés)"
Sefer HaKaneh is one of the most remarkable works of medieval Jewish mysticism. Modern scholarship places its composition in the 14th or 15th century. It is an anonymous work, though it is claimed to be composed by a descendant of Rabbi Nechunyah ben HaKaneh, a great mystic and presumed author of Sefer HaBahir, one of our earliest extant mystical works.What does the title mean?The title of Sefer HaKaneh has been left untranslated as I, the student and editor of this work, have found some astounding connections to nearly all possible translations of the word קנה Kaneh. First, the Amidah's first blessing uses the word Koneh meaning "the Creator." This work carries a theme of dualities, Du Partzufim (דּוּ פַּרְצוּפִים), and it is therefore likely that the title is meant to reflect more than one meaning. There is one instance in the entire Torah where the word הקנה "hakoneh" is used. In Lev. 25:28, it means the "one who acquires." This is not very meaningful unless we look closer at this verse. There is a feminine phrase that stands out among the masculine words, לא מצאה "lo matzah," meaning in context "she could not find." This is not impressive until you get to the last chapter of this book where a halachically outlandish discussion is taking place. The teacher is arguing that women are not obligated in the mitzvah of eating matzah - "lo matzah" in this context means "no matzah (for women)." When we start searching Torah for the masculine and feminine forms of "he/she cannot find," they show up in very interesting locations such as the dove not finding rest for the sole of her foot being related to the Shechinah, Lavan searching but not finding the idols, and Yehudah's Adullamite friend not finding Tamar.This work is composed of 112 chapters. The gematria of 112 is shared amongst the combination of Hashem (26) and Elokim (86), the river Yabok (112), and Eival (112) the mountain paired with Gerizim - all representing dualities, Du Partzufim. The title HaKaneh has the gematria of 160: Etz (160), a tree hearkening to Eden and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life; Tzelem (160), the higher divine projection into Adam; Kesef and Kasaf (160), "silver" and "yearning" respectively. Returning to our word מצאה Matzah (136), add the kollel (+1) and you get 137 - the gematria of Kabbalah, "receiving.""And the man knew Chavah his wife and she conceived and bore קין Kayin (160) ותאמר and she said קניתי 'I have acquired'..."What is special about this work?The work takes the form of a dialogue between a master and his student, structured around the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. In every chapter, the author reveals the mystical dimensions hidden within the mitzvot: the ten sefirot, the divine names, the worlds of emanation, and the interplay between the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. The author repeatedly condemns corruption in courts, the mistreatment of the poor, and the hypocrisy of those who study Torah without embodying its ethical demands. The work integrates halachic discussion with Kabbalistic theology in a way that insists the two are inseparable.Who did this work inspire?The RAMAK, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, says in Pardes Rimmonim that Sefer HaKaneh "contains deep secrets of the Torah." His Tomer Devorah opens with the phrase: "Man is fitting to emulate his Creator (l'kono, לקונו)" - directly hearkening to the root of our title. Tomer Devorah is about emulating the aspects of Hashem as patterned in the Etz Chaim, the Kabbalistic tree of life - recall Etz = 160. The RAMAK then immediately tells us that Man was created in the Tzelem (160) of Hashem. Both works teach from Micah 7. And the phrase Tomer Devorah comes nearly right out of Sefer HaKaneh chapter 89, where temarim (date palms) and devorim (bees) appear as a side by side comparison as right and left pillars of the sefirot.I present to you, the English world
