Treatise 6 Introduction148 Opening
Discourse on Jealousy
Discourse on the Pursuit of the Superfluous Discourse on the Trait of Domination Discourse on Grief and Sadness Vigilance149
Part One: On the Quality of Prophecy and the Secrets of the Torah Chapter 1: On the Division of Nouns
Chapter 2: On Hebrew Language Usage
Chapter 3: On the Quality of Prophecy and Its Levels
Chapter 4: On Soothsaying and the Difference between Prophets and Soothsayers
Chapter 5: To Explain What Is Known by way of Prophecy, What Is the Difference between the Apprehension of the Prophets and the Apprehension of the Wise Men of Science and Demonstration, and What Is the Difference between Tradition and Faith and between Philosophy Chapter 6: On the Vision of the Ladder150
Chapter 7: On the Giving of the Torah
Chapter 8: On the Explanation of the Virtue of our Torah, Its Great Renown, and the Necessity for Giving It Chapter 9: On the Tablets151
Chapter 10: On the Darkness, Cloud and Mist152 Chapter 11: On Opinions and Religions
148 Both the long and short versions of the introduction and the first part have survived and appear in Livyat Ḥen: The Quality of Prophecy and the Secrets of the Torah. The table of contents of the long version of the three parts of treatise 6 appears at the end of the introduction, 84-87, based on the Parma manuscript. The names of the chapters brought below are based primarily on this table of contents, though at times I introduced changes based on the formulation of the chapter headings as they appear at the beginning of each chapter.
149 Levi devotes this section to all the positive traits that one who pursues perfection should develop.
150 That is to say, the ladder beheld by Jacob in his prophetic dream.
151 Referring to the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
152 At Mount Sinai on the day that the Ten Commandments were given, in accordance with rabbinic tradition.
Levi Ben Avraham 157
Chapter 12: On the Faith of the Christians, and a Brief Negation of Some of their Proofs153
Chapter 13: To Explain that There Is Only One Torah, and the Discourse upon Reward and the Promises of Physical Recompense
Chapter 14: To Explain that All the Commandments Were Given for a Reason, and What Was the Reason in General for Giving Them, and Types of Their Subdivisions Chapter 15: On the Commandments that Come to Inculcate
Important Traits
Chapter 16: On Incest, and the Laws of Circumcision and Vows Chapter 17: On the Houses of a Walled City, the Heifer whose Neck
is Broken,154 the Cities of Refuge, and the Reason for the Leniency of Some of the Punishments155
Chapter 18: On the Commandments that Come to Abolish Idolatry and the Laws of Its Practitioners
Chapter 19: On the Commandments that Come to Revere the Temple Chapter 20: On the Commandments that Come to Instill Faith and to
Safeguard It
Chapter 21: On the Sabbath and Holidays
Chapter 22: On an Introduction to the Types of Commandments that Come as a Stimulus to Thought156
Chapter 23: On the Tabernacle and Its Utensils
Chapter 24: On the Characteristics of the Alter and Its Measurements
Chapter 25: On the Construction of the Temple Chapter 26: On the Vestments of the High Priest
Chapter 27: On Numbers that come as a Stimulus to Thought157 Chapter 28: On the Story of the Flood and the Generation of the
Schism,158 and to Interpret the Last Words of David
153 Only the short version of this chapter has survived; the long version was removed from the manuscript.
154 The ritual that is performed when a dead body is found in a field between two cities, and the killer is unknown; see Deuteronomy 21:1-9.
155 An alternate formulation of the chapter heading is: “On the Houses of a Walled City, the Heifer whose Neck is Broken, the Residing of an Inadvertent Murderer in the City of Refuge until the Death of the High Priest, and the Reason for the Leniency of the Sages in regard to some of the Punishments.”
156 Levi deals here mostly with commandments whose fulfillment requires knowledge of the sciences, such as the intercalation of the time of the new moon, which requires knowledge of astronomy.
157 For example, various prayers, rituals, and texts that revolve around the number three or the number ten.
158 That is to say, the generation of the Tower of Babel.
Chapter Five 158
Spoken at the End of the Book of Samuel, and to Speak of the Belief of the Nobles of Israel159
Chapter 29: On the Stories of Abraham
Chapter 30: On the Stories of Isaac, the Story of the Wells, and on the Love of Isaac for Esau
Chapter 31: To Speak about the Verse: And Esau was forty years (Genesis 26:34), and the Verse: And Devorah Rivka’s nurse died (Genesis 35:8)
Chapter 32: On the Stories of Jacob and His Sons Chapter 33: On the Stories of Moses
Chapter 34: On the Stories of Israel Part Two: On the Secrets of the Faith160
Chapter 1: On the of Repudiation of Corporeality and the Negation of Attributes from God, and on the Request of Moses161 Chapter 2: On the Explanation of the Thirteen Characteristics162 Chapter 3: On the Explanation of the Names of the Creator,
Blessed be He
Chapter 4: On the Secret of Prayer163 Chapter 5: Not to Insert an Intermediary164
Chapter 6: On the Activity of the Constellation and What is Admis-sible in regard to It165
Chapter 7: To Explain that the Human Being Possesses Will, Choice and Ability166
Chapter 8: On the Advantage of the Level of the Angels and Stars over Human Beings
Chapter 9: On the Creation of the World
159 See Exodus 24: 9-11.
160 This part survived only in the short version and appears in the volume Livyat Ḥen:
The Secrets of the Faith and the Gate of the Haggadah. The chapter listing here is based on the table of contents of the long version appearing in the Parma manuscript.
161 In Exodus 33:13, 18.
162 That is to say, the thirteen attributes of God appearing in Exodus 34: 6-7.
163 A translation of this chapter appears below, in the appendix to chapter 11.
164 That is to say, not to worship any intermediary, but to worship God alone. In the table of contents, the chapter heading continues: “and We will Explain in Brief the Existence of the Angels and the Intermediaries, and We will bring the Verse: and go astray after the gods of the strangers of the land (Deuteronomy 31:16), and also one of the Psalms of the Sons of Korah.”
165 An alternate reading: “the worship of it.”
166 In the table of contents the chapter heading continues: “and the Righteous indi-vidual who is by Nature Righteous is more Perfect and Esteemed than the One who Conquers his Evil Inclination, and We will speak of the Repentant and the Conditions of Repentance and Its Value.”
Levi Ben Avraham 159
Chapter 10: On the Psalm of Eitan ha-Ezraḥi167 and the Three Verses of Your Righteousness168
Chapter 11: On the Eternity of the World Chapter 12: On Miracles
Chapter 13: On the Sun Standing Still for Joshua
Chapter 14: On the Order of the World of Generation and the Existence of Good and Evil169
Chapter 15: On the Opinions regarding Providence and Its Types Chapter 16: On the Differences between People in the Continuance
of Providence and Its Attachment, and the Solution to Some of the Difficulties170
Chapter 17: That the Manner of God’s [Judgment] of Things Is Hidden from Us, and What Brought Some of the Philosophers to Dispute Individual Providence, and upon What Kinds of Things Providence Does Not Bring about Any Change
Chapter 18: On God’s Knowledge Chapter 19: On Trials171
Chapter 20: On the Nature of the World to Come
Chapter 21: To Explain Who Merits the Splendor of the World to Come and How and on What Level Will They Remain, and What was Solomon’s Opinion regarding this Tenet Chapter 22: To Explain What Was the Reason that Our Sages
Described the Reward of the World to Come in Corpo-real Terms, and What Did They Intend by These Dictums, and in How Many Ways Humans Differ from One Another and the Advantage of the Righteous over Others
Chapter 23: On the Nature of the Punishment of the Wicked in the World to Come, and We Will Introduce Here a Discus-sion on the Nature of the Human Soul
Chapter 24: On the Subject of the Righteous Gentiles Chapter 25: On the Resurrection of the Dead
Chapter 26: On the Promise of Redemption Part Three: On the Work of Creation172 Chapter 1: On the Rivers and the Garden
167 Psalms 89.
168 Psalms 36:7; 71:19; 119:142. These verses are recited in the Sabbath afternoon service.
169 This chapter is not found in the short version.
170 Chapters 15 and 16 appear as a single chapter in the short version.
171 Chapters 18 and 19 appear as a single chapter in the short version.
172 This part has survived in both the long and short versions and they appear in Livyat Ḥen: The Work of Creation.
Chapter Five 160
Chapter 2: On Adam, Eve and the Serpent
Chapter 3: On Image (Ẓelem) and Likeness (Demut) Chapter 4: On the Tree of Knowledge
Chapter 5: On the Guardians of the Garden and the Tree of Life Chapter 6: On the Descendants of Adam
Chapter 7: On the Descendants of Noah and the Matter of the Rods and Shepherds Mentioned by Zechariah173
Chapter 8: On Some of the Tales regarding the First Man
Chapter 9: On Explaining the Saying: Three things are beyond me;
four I cannot fathom (Proverbs 30:18) Chapter 10: On Creation
Chapter 11: On the Tales regarding Creation
Chapter 12: On the Firmament that Was Made on the Second Day Chapter 13: On the Size of Og and His Strength
Chapter 14: On the Longevity of the First Generations, on the Life of Elijah, and the Explanation of the Portion: And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth (Genesis 6:1)
Chapter 15: On the Explanation of: The Words of Agur ben Yaqeh (Proverbs 30:1), and the Explanation of His Saying: Two things have I asked of You (Proverbs 30:7)
Treatise Seven
Part One: On the Work of the Chariot174
Chapter 1: On an Introduction to the Work of the Chariot Chapter 2: On the Visions of Isaiah
Chapter 3: On the Quality of the Apprehension of Elijah and His Departure from the World
Chapter 4: On the Description of the Beasts Mentioned by Ezekiel Chapter 5: On the Ofanim and Some Matters in General that
Appear in the Second Vision Chapter 6: On Something about the Beasts Chapter 7: On the Visions of Zechariah Part Two: On the Gate of the Haggadah175
173 See Zechariah 11:4-14.
174 This part has survived only in the long version, which appears in Livyat Ḥen: The Work of the Chariot.
175 In some places this part is referred to as “The Gate of the Aggadah.” Levi uses these two terms interchangeably. This part is not divided into chapters. It has survived only in the long version, which appears in Livyat Ḥen: The Secrets of the Faith and the Gate of the Haggadah.
Introduction
“The Torah has seventy faces,” observed the Sages.1 Some commen-taries attempt to ascertain the literal meaning of Torah, while others seek to uncover its mystical layer. Some are devoted to legal exegesis and others to homiletic interpretations. All these “faces” are formed from the encounter of the divine word with human thought. Despite the great differences, at times even contradictions, between these commentaries, they all represent the Torah’s manifold “faces,” since all of them are committed to the truths contained in the Torah as discerned by the human mind. Yet this raises the question of whether any commentary should be rejected as completely false and not a “face” of the Torah at all. It is this question that lay at the heart of the contro-versy concerning the philosophic-scientific interpretation of Torah, which came to a climax at the very beginning of the fourteenth century in Provence. As we have seen in the previous chapter, the encyclopedia reflecting this rationalist approach to the Torah, Livyat Ḥen by Levi
1 See Numbers Rabbah 13.15.