The belief in the magical power of language is not unusual, both in mystical
and academic literature. The Kabbalists -- Jewish mystics of Spain and
Palestine -- believed that super-normal insight and power could be derived from
properly combining the letters of the Divine Name. For example, Abu Aharon, an
early Kabbalist who emigrated from Baghdad to Italy, was said to perform
miracles through the power of the Sacred Names."
"What kind of power are we talking about here?"
"Most Kabbalists were theorists who were interested only in pure meditation.
But there were so-called 'practical Kabbalists' who tried to apply the power of
the Kabbalah in everyday life."
"In other words, sorcerers."
"Yes. These practical Kabbalists used a so-called 'archangelic alphabet,'
derived from first-century Greek and Aramaic theurgic alphabets, which resembled
cuneiform. The Kabbalists referred to this alphabet as 'eye writing,' because
the letters were composed of lines and small circles, which resembled eyes."
"Ones and zeroes."
"Some Kabbalists divided up the letters of the alphabet according to where they
were produced inside the mouth."
"Okay. So as we would think of it, they were drawing a connection between the
printed letter on the page and the neural connections that had to be invoked in
order to pronounce it."
"Yes. By analyzing the spelling of various words, they were able to draw what
they thought were profound conclusions about their true, inner meaning and
significance.
and academic literature. The Kabbalists -- Jewish mystics of Spain and
Palestine -- believed that super-normal insight and power could be derived from
properly combining the letters of the Divine Name. For example, Abu Aharon, an
early Kabbalist who emigrated from Baghdad to Italy, was said to perform
miracles through the power of the Sacred Names."
"What kind of power are we talking about here?"
"Most Kabbalists were theorists who were interested only in pure meditation.
But there were so-called 'practical Kabbalists' who tried to apply the power of
the Kabbalah in everyday life."
"In other words, sorcerers."
"Yes. These practical Kabbalists used a so-called 'archangelic alphabet,'
derived from first-century Greek and Aramaic theurgic alphabets, which resembled
cuneiform. The Kabbalists referred to this alphabet as 'eye writing,' because
the letters were composed of lines and small circles, which resembled eyes."
"Ones and zeroes."
"Some Kabbalists divided up the letters of the alphabet according to where they
were produced inside the mouth."
"Okay. So as we would think of it, they were drawing a connection between the
printed letter on the page and the neural connections that had to be invoked in
order to pronounce it."
"Yes. By analyzing the spelling of various words, they were able to draw what
they thought were profound conclusions about their true, inner meaning and
significance.
( Neal Stephenson )
[ Snow Crash ]
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