The Kabbalistic Treatise Keter Shem Tov: Synoptic Edition, Commentary, Translation and the History of its Reception. A Digital Multi-Layer Synopsis and the Mystical Traditions of the Hebrew Alphabet according to the Kabbalistic Treatise Keter Shem Ṭov

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Paul Molitor; Professor Dr. Gerold Necker
• Subject Area: Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 414786977

The development of the textual traditions concerning the treatise Keter Shem Tov (“The Crown of the Good Name”), attributed to Abraham ben Axelrod of Cologne (middle of the thirteenth century), occurred alongside with the rise of kabbalah in Southern France and Catalonia. Textual units, which set up the different trends in this treatise, such as speculations about the Hebrew alphabet or sefirotic symbolism, can be found in two separate and distinct works, in particular the so-called Divrei Menaḥem (“Words of Menaḥem”) and the introduction to Ezra of Gerona’s commentary on Song of Songs. In order to display the redactional processes of kabbalistic manuscripts in a clear and understandable way, it is necessary to create an innovative and more complex form of edition: a digital multi-layer synopsis. In addition, this project will examine the ongoing tradition of the esoteric interpretation of the Hebrew letters as discussed in Keter Shem Tov. In doing so, a newly to be developed search-tool for kabbalistic paraphrases will be applied to such works which show an affinity to ideas from the school of Abraham Abulafia (1240–ca.1292).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Jörg Ritter