Christian Knorr von Rosenroth
Christian Knorr von Rosenroth (July 15/16, 1636 – May 4, 1689) was a German Hebraist born at Alt-Raudten, today Stara Rudna in Silesia. After having completed his studies in the universities of Wittenberg and Leipzig, he traveled through Holland, France, and England.
On his return he settled at Sulzbach and devoted himself to the study of Oriental languages, especially Hebrew, the rudiments of which he had acquired while abroad. Later he became a diligent student of the Kabbalah, in which he believed to find proofs of the doctrines of Christianity.
Rosenroth composed a number of hymns, including Jesus, Son of Righteousness and Dayspring of Eternity.[1]
A longer biography is available in Scholem (1974).
[edit] Kabbalah
In his opinion the Adam Kadmon of the cabalists is Jesus, and the three highest sefirot represent the Trinity. Rosenroth intended to make a Latin translation of the Zohar and the Tiḳḳunim, and he published as preliminary studies the first two volumes of his Kabbala Denudata, sive Doctrina Hebræorum Transcendentalis et Metaphysica Atque Theologia (Sulzbach, 1677–78). They contain a cabalistic nomenclature, the Idra Rabbah and Idra Zuṭa and the Sifra di-Ẓeni'uta, cabalistic essays of Naphtali Herz ben Jacob Elhanan,[2] etc. Rosenroth published two other volumes under the title Kabbala Denudata (Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1684), containing the Sha'ar ha-Shamayim of Abraham Cohen de Herrera and several of the writings of Isaac Luria. He was created Baron von Rosenroth by the Emperor Leopold I.[1]
An English translation of the Kabbala Denudata was made by S. L. MacGregor Mathers in 1887, and is still in print by several publishers under the title The Kabbalah Unveiled.
[edit] References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906.
- ^ a b "Knorr von Rosenroth, Christian, Freiherr, 1636-1689". Hymnary.org. http://www.hymnary.org/person/Rosenroth_CKv. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ^ History of Messianic Speculation in Israel Abba Hillel Silver 2003 "Naphtali Herz ben Jacob Elhanan (end of 16 a), German Kabbalist and disciple of Luria, author of 'Emek ha-Melek, a treatise on the elements of Kabbala"
[edit] External links
- Kabbalah Denudata Text of the Kabbalah Denudata, translated to English by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers
- The Study of Christian Cabala in English: Addenda Addendum C: The Contents of Kabbala denudata with Sources in English, pages 90–99
