Christian Knorr von Rosenroth’s Translation of a Lurianic Dissertation: Liber Druschim, or the Dissertation on Two Inquiries of the Kabbalists

Abstract

The present text analyzes two Hebrew copies of a Lurianic dissertation used by Christian Knorr von Rosenroth for the Latin translation printed in 1677 in Kabbala denudata as Tractatus I. Liber Druschim. This article first identifies the Hebrew source for Knorr von Rosenroth’s translation and offers new insights into his style and method of translation, contributing to a better understanding of Rosenroth’s approach to kabbalistic tradition. Secondly, this article contributes to the history of the transmission of Lurianic manuscripts and posits Sulzbach as an important center for the circulation and translation of kabbalistic knowledge.