Ge’ ḥizayon (Valley of Vision)

Abraham Yagel

1578

In a dream, in a night vision, while [I was] asleep upon [my] bed during my imprisonment, a voice called in my ears. The voice was the voice of Jacob, like the voice of my father, may his memory be blessed. He appeared to me and said, “What are you doing here and who are you to be here? Are you really my son Abraham?”

I was stunned by the sound of…

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Creator Bio

Abraham Yagel

1553–1623

A northern Italian physician and intellectual highly regarded by contemporaries for his knowledge of medicine, natural philosophy, astronomy, astrology, and kabbalah, Abraham Yagel also had a career in banking. In his writings, Yagel incorporated some of the intellectual currents and genres of non-Jewish late-Renaissance literature alongside traditional Jewish sources. Ge’ ḥizayon (Valley of Vision), an early work, explores a variety of themes, including the unity of Jewish and scientific truths within the framing narrative of a nighttime visit from Yagel’s deceased father. Yagel also wrote Moshia‘ ḥosim (Savior of Those Who Take Refuge) in 1587, addressing an outbreak of plague, as well as a few encyclopedic scientific volumes.

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