Zeh ha-sefer toledot Adam (This Is the Book of the Generations of Adam)
The art of chiromancy (palmistry), which divines a person’s nature and often his or her future by examining the palm and fingers (and sometimes forehead), dates back to the ancient Near East and entered Arabic, Byzantine, and Latin cultures. It first appeared in Jewish tradition during the talmudic and geonic periods, and various texts indicate that medieval kabbalists employed the art. References to examining the lines of a person’s hand and forehead can be found in the Zohar, for example. In the sixteenth century, several Hebrew chiromantic texts were printed. They were based mainly on Arabic, Latin, and German works. One of these, which was particularly influential, was written by the kabbalist, teacher, and translator Moses ben Elijah Gallena, who lived in Crete. His work, which concerns both palmistry and examining the lines of the forehead, was abridged and printed together with a Yiddish translation in the eighteenth century. It was reprinted several times over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Gallena also translated Arabic works on astronomy, astrology, and geomancy into Hebrew.
Credits
Courtesy GFC Trust / William L. Gross.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
You may also like
Sefer Raziel (The Book of Raziel)
Sefer Raziel (also known as The Book of Raziel the Angel) is a book of practical kabbalah that may have been composed in the thirteenth century, though scholars believe parts of it date from earlier…
Amulet for Woman in Childbirth (Germany)
This early printed amulet from Germany, meant as protection for a woman in childbirth, is adorned with woodcuts illustrating the Hebrew months of the year. The main panel, framed by images of the…
Dream Question
A dream question: clean yourself from all impurity and abstain from eating meat, drinking wine, and lying with a woman. And lie in a clean bed after ritually immersing—a stringent immersion, because…
Toledot Adam (The Generations of Adam)
This two-page spread from Elijah ben Moses Loanz’s Toledot Adam (The Generations of Adam) includes examples of some of the kabbalistic amulets and formulae for which he was famous.
Seder tefilot yesharot u-varot (The Order of Upright and Pure Prayers)
Kabbalists prayed using the basic Jewish prayers, but added certain elements according to their own tradition. The prayers are often presented with kavanot (special devotional forms, meanings, and…
Compendium of Practical Kabbalah
This remarkable manuscript of practical kabbalah was written in Eastern Europe in the mid-eighteenth century; at the end of that century it was owned by the Radvil Hasidic dynasty. In contrast to…
Engage with this Source
Related Guide
Early Modern Rabbis and Intellectuals on the Move
1500–1750
Carrying books and knowledge, itinerant rabbis and scholars traveled between communities, facilitating cultural exchange.
Related Guide
Early Modern Religious Practices
1500–1750
Early modern Jews both preserved tradition and innovated. Documents and legal texts reveal rich details about synagogue life, marriage, family relations, and death rituals.
You may also like
Sefer Raziel (The Book of Raziel)
Sefer Raziel (also known as The Book of Raziel the Angel) is a book of practical kabbalah that may have been composed in the thirteenth century, though scholars believe parts of it date from earlier…
Amulet for Woman in Childbirth (Germany)
This early printed amulet from Germany, meant as protection for a woman in childbirth, is adorned with woodcuts illustrating the Hebrew months of the year. The main panel, framed by images of the…
Dream Question
A dream question: clean yourself from all impurity and abstain from eating meat, drinking wine, and lying with a woman. And lie in a clean bed after ritually immersing—a stringent immersion, because…
Toledot Adam (The Generations of Adam)
This two-page spread from Elijah ben Moses Loanz’s Toledot Adam (The Generations of Adam) includes examples of some of the kabbalistic amulets and formulae for which he was famous.
Seder tefilot yesharot u-varot (The Order of Upright and Pure Prayers)
Kabbalists prayed using the basic Jewish prayers, but added certain elements according to their own tradition. The prayers are often presented with kavanot (special devotional forms, meanings, and…
Compendium of Practical Kabbalah
This remarkable manuscript of practical kabbalah was written in Eastern Europe in the mid-eighteenth century; at the end of that century it was owned by the Radvil Hasidic dynasty. In contrast to…