An Ilan is a Kabbalistic diagram of the Tree of Life sephirot, often adorned with other information and writings. The sephirot themselves are represented by an olive branch at the center. Each of the “olives” are verses from the Sefer Yetzirah, a foundational Kabbalistic text that gave rise to the sephirotic diagram as we understand it. Sefer Yetzirah describes the Hebrew Aleph-Bet itself as the basis of the creation of the universe. That’s why the letters are at the arch above the opening where the ilan sits. The top part of the arch says “And let them make a place for me to dwell…” and Psalm 91 – a protective psalm – makes up the spaces that form the bricks of the archway. The column capitals and bases have “Yud-Hey-Vov-Hey” spelled out in Hebrew, which is a way to represent The Name without putting it onto the page. On the right side column is Deut. 6:4, which goes into a mezzuzah – here, literally inscribed in the doorpost. On the left is Psalm 121, another protective text. Around the edge of the text are translations of it all.

The work is meant to be more of an amulet, decorative item, or meditative aid than a literal diagram of a Kabbalistic system, but there’s plenty of actual information here.

I experimented with some new Hebrew script styles in this work. The olives use a style inspired by Sefardic and North African Jewish handwriting, and the bricks and columns make use of an adaptation of the Solitreo style, something I just found out about. It’s not a one-to-one, but I used the shapes and flow from that style here. There are a lot of methods of Hebrew writing that I learn about all the time, influenced by the world around the Jewish communities who used them.

The Ilanot Project is the most comprehensive source of information to date regarding this type of Jewish esoteric art. To explore ilanot in detail, go here.

—
Museum-quality posters made on thick matte paper. Add a wonderful accent to your room and office with these posters that are sure to brighten any environment.

• Measures 12″ x 18″
• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil
• Paper weight: 189 g/m²
• Opacity: 94%
• ISO brightness: 104%
• Paper is sourced from Japan

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

—

Age restrictions: For adults
EU Warranty: 2 years
Meets the small parts and magnetic flux index level requirements.
EU GPSR Compliant.