Secreto de la Serpiente, El. El Libro del Hashmal

These two short works by the renowned kabbalist Joseph Gikatilla (1248-1325) focus on two of the most fundamental kabbalistic secrets: the serpent of Genesis and the Hashmal of the book of Ezekiel. Gikatilla was a student of the mythical Abraham Abulafia, and was in close relationship with Moses of Leon, the presumed author/collector of the Sefer haZohar, as well as with other great kabbalists of his time. As the scholar Charles Mopsik writes, "The abundance of his writings, which touch on all important topics, attests that in his time Kabbalah was already capable of offering a total interpretation of Judaism and of posing as a credible alternative, not only to philosophy, but also to the literal exegesis and legalistic formalism of classical rabbinic teaching." This is the first time that the Sod ha Nachash and the Sod haHasmal have been translated into a Western language.