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Jewish
13th Century
Spain
(Europe)

 

Joseph Gikatilla

Timeline (1248 - 1325?)

 

Poems by Joseph Gikatilla
Books - Links

 

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Rabbi Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (also written Yosef Gikatilla or Yosef Giqatilla) was a greatly respected master of Spanish Kabbalah. He was one of the most prominent students of the Kabbalist Rabbi Abraham Abulafia. And, although this is not known for certain, there is reason to think he may have also associated with Moses de Leon, who brought forth the Zohar text.

Rabbi Gikatilla was born in Medinaceli, Spain in 1248.

While still in his twenties and strongly under the influence of Rabbi Abulafia's teachings, Rabbi Gikatilla composed his first Kabbalistic work, Ginnat Egoz or the Nut Garden.

Gikatilla wrote several other important works on philosophy and Kabbalah. Perhaps his best known work is the Sha'arei Ora or Gates of Light, which appears to have been influenced by Moses de Leon's Zohar.

Rabbi Gikatilla became known for his depth of knowledge of Kabbalah and the inner mysteries, to the point that he gained a reputation as miracle worker and was sometimes referred to as Joseph Ba'al ha-Nissim, or Joseph the Thaumaturge.

He lived much of his life in Segovia, and died sometime after 1305 in Peņafiel, Spain.

 

Poems by Joseph Gikatilla

  The Nut Garden

Recommended Books

The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492, Edited by Peter Cole

Amazon.com

Gates of Light: Sha'are Orah, by Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla

Amazon.com

Related Links:

  Joseph ben Abraha Gikatilla - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_ben_Abraham_Gikatilla
Short biography and introduction to his major works.
  Joseph Gikatilla (Spanish Kabbalist) - Britannica Online
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/233473/Joseph-Gikatilla
Very short biography.
  JewishEncyclopedia.com - Gikatilla, Joseph B. Abraham
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=226&letter=G
Brief biography with an exploration of his system of gematria.
  Nehora - Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla
http://www.nehora.com/index.cfm/category/198/rabbi-yosef-gikatilla.cfm
A good source for Rabbi Gikatilla's books in Hebrew.
 


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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.