By April 13, 2008 Read More →

Eleazar of Worms, MS British Museum 737, fol. 169a

Jewish Mysticism
When Israel mentioned the name as it is written [i.e., the Tetragrammaton] in the Temple then glory and majesty were before Him, and this is [the meaning of the verse] “Glory and majesty are before Him; strength and splendor are in His temple” (Ps. 96-6). This is “the glory of His name” (ibid., 8), and this is “a glorious name” (Isa. 63-14). Then the glory is clothed in beauty, splendor, and majesty, and the throne is complete, and “joy is in His place” (1 Chron. 16-27). This is “for Your name is called upon Your city” (Dan. 9-19), “they rejoice in Your name all day long” (Ps. 89-17). The numerical value of “Your name is like finest oil” [shemen turaq shemekha = 1456] (Cant. 1-3) equals that of [the expression] “the four letters of Your name” [’arba‘ah ’otiyyot shemekha = 1456].

Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.

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