Picturing the Tetragrammaton: Moses Cordovero’s Pardes Rimonim from Manuscript to Digital Form

Abstract

This article explores the transformation of the divine word/image—the graphic representation of the Tetragrammaton—that originated in the work of Joseph Hamadan, a thirteenth-century kabbalist, and was incorporated into the work of Moses Cordovero, a sixteenth-century kabbalist. The issue of the divine word/image is an intersection of various theological positions found in kabbalistic thought concerning the corporeality of the divine through the medium of the word. However, alongside the theological positions are technological capabilities. This article demonstrates how various actors—kabbalists, copyists, printers, and even modern-day digital pirates—changed this word/image, intentionally and unintentionally, through their application of their technical skills and technological abilities. This article also raises a methodological point concerning the study of image-laden Jewish texts in our digital age.