The theory of ‘emanation’ in Gikatilla’s ‘ Gates of Justice ’

Abstract

In the present article, I analyse the word field of ‘emanation’ in the treatise Gates of Justice , written by the kabbalist Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (1248– c. 1325). Gikatilla conceives of ‘emanation’ as the diffusion of the divine essence in the universe. This process is usually described with ‘water metaphors’ as the act of ‘pouring down’ the divine essence: ‘emanation’ is not compared to a process of ‘irradiation’, but rather to a process of ‘irrigating’ the lower world.

Giqatilla’s Philosophical Poems on the Hebrew Vowels: Poetry, Philosophy, and Theology in Giqatilla’s Ginnat Egoz and Sefer ha-Niqqud

“…For a discussion of Giqatilla's notion of emanation, see (Dal Bo 2011). In particular, the term hamshakhah refers to taking drawn water and pouring it into the mikveh so that it flows over the ground before entering the pool (Soloveitchik 1978).…”