Illuminated Hebrew Bibles & Jewish Contemplative Practice in Medieval Catalonia

• In Event: Rituals and Practices: New Approaches to their Meanings:

Abstract

The full page illuminations of Mishkan implements that appear at the beginning of more than twenty illuminated Hebrew Bible codices produced in the contiguous regions of Rousillon, Aragon and Catalonia between the mid-thirteenth and mid-fourteenth centuries have attracted much attention from historians of Jewish art. This cluster of lavish texts poses a distinct riddle, for they were the first cultic implements depicted in artifacts produced by Jews since the Dura-Europas illustrations of the third century. While art scholars have unpacked various ways in which these images gave expression to messianic yearnings, no thought has yet been given to ways in which these illuminations were put to use.

The step-by-step Hebrew instructions for using these images in guided visualization -- found in a text from early fifteenth century Catalonia-- suggest that, at least, some Jews used the illuminations for a praxis of contemplation. In discussing this evidence, the presentation will consider its relationship to overlapping teachings found in Hebrew writings by Spanish Jews dating back 250 years. The regional specificity of these artifacts will be considered with reference to noted distinctions between Castilian and Catalan approaches to kabbalah, and within the broader context of Catholic religious practices in contemporaneous Catalonia.

Author

• Talya Fishman, University of Pennsylvania