Welcome to the “Proof of Concept” Preview of “Maps of God” - The Ilanot Portal
On this site, we welcome you to explore the “Maps of God” Ilanot Portal in its dynamic development. This site is updated nightly to reflect any new content and features that have been implemented by our collaborating teams at the University of Haifa and the University of Göttingen.
Please note that this site was created for internal use and is open to the general public as a courtesy. The development and implementation of the feature-rich end-user site is currently underway and is expected to be completed by 2024.
“Maps of God” (MoG) is the flagship digital humanities initiative of the Ilanot Project, dedicated to the research of Jewish kabbalistic diagrams known as ilanot (“trees,” being intricately inscribed parchment scrolls dedicated to mapping the divine realm). The MoG platform presents scientific editions of the great ilanot using an innovative linked-data approach to enable scholars and laypeople to explore these fascinating artifacts for the first time.
The development of this “proof of concept” platform has been funded by the Volkswagen Foundation-funded Niedersächsisches Vorab: Research Cooperation Lower Saxony – Israel scheme. Basic research on the materials edited on this site was funded by Israel Science Foundation Personal Grant 1568/18.
Below you will find manuscripts that are in various stages of preparation at this time.
Here is provided a how-to guide for the search functions available on the portal.
For the new history of the genre, The Kabbalistic Tree by J. H. Chajes, and a special discount code click here.
Ms. Heb. 4°9790 אילן קופיו -- ירושלים, הספריה הלאומית, כ״י
This rotulus is a (non-autograph) copy of Coppio's ilan and opens with the phrase “Said the compiler […] of blessed memory.” Like its source, it is a variation of Great Tree type VPaZW, featuring distinctive changes and additions. The rotulus is divided into two columns. ...
אילן גדול -- ירושלים, הספריה הלאומית, כ״י Heb. 4°9787
This ilan, whose author is unknown, is labelled “The Ilan of Holiness” in the title above the Keter of Adam Kadmon, and it is the smallest among the three extant ilanot of this type. The other two ilanot are Cincinnati, HUC, Klau Scrolls 65.2, and a rotulus in the Katsh family collection. ...
אילן קופיו - - ירושלים, הספריה הלאומית, כ״יHeb. 4°9800
The graphical distinctiveness of this elegant paper ilan is in the precise, distinctive micrography that establish the facial features of Adam Kadmon and Arikh Anpin. The opening of this ilan resembles the openings of many ilan amulets, which may indicate a common origin.
מנטובה, הקהילה היהודית של מנטובה, כ״י ebr. 108
מנטובה, הקהילה היהודית של מנטובה, כ״י ebr. 51
אוסף מאיר בניהו, ירושלים, אילן