Colleagues, The following is a question I received that I am not sure I am qualified to answer. Can someone help us?
Yossi [image: The Ohio State University] Joseph (Yossi) Galron-Goldschlaeger Head, Hebraica & Jewish Studies Library 355A Thompson Memorial Library The Ohio State University Libraries 1858 Neil Ave. Mall Columbus, Ohio 43210 USA Tel.: (614) 292-3362, Fax: (614)292-1918 Mobile: (614) 285-4290 E-Mail: galro...@osu.edu or jgal...@gmail.com URL: http://library.osu.edu/about/departments/jewish-studies/ Lexicon of Modern Hebrew Literature: http://go.osu.edu/hebrewlit ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Thomas, Stefanie <thomas.2...@buckeyemail.osu.edu> Date: Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 10:24 PM Subject: Research question regarding Japanese translations of Kabbalah texts To: "galro...@osu.edu" <galro...@osu.edu> Dear Mr. Galron, I received your contact information from ... after inquiring of him whether he knew a person who might be able to aid me in answering a question related to the research I am currently conducting for my master's thesis. My name is Stefanie Thomas; I am a second-year MA student specializing in modern Japanese literature. The property I am analyzing for my master's thesis features allusions to both Gnosticism and kabbalistic literature (primarily the Zohar and Lurianic tracts). In the text "An Entrance to the Zohar" by Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (Dr. Philip S. Berg comp. and ed.), four colors are mentioned in reference to the Sefirot Hokhmah, Binah, Tiferet, and Malkhut: white, red, green, and black. In the property I am analyzing, four characters who could be tied to these spheres of emanation by virtue of similar Gnostic concepts are clothed in white, red, blue, and black. My question is as follows: In Japanese, the color green, particularly when mentioned in a context related to nature, can be translated as "aoi," i. e. "blue." If that is the case here, kabbalistic references to this color quaternity would apply to my analysis. However, I find myself unable to determine whether this is the case, as Japanese copies of these texts unfortunately seem unavailable even via the ILL system. Would you happen to know how I could investigate this matter further/know an individuum who might be familiar with Japanese translations of Kabbalah texts? Thank you very much in advance. Sincerely, Stefanie Thomas
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