Tell me more ×
Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 7 down vote favorite
1

The Chida has a very unique signature.

  1. What is the significance of this signature (if any)?
  2. Is it in any way related to the seven kabbalistic seals?
  3. Are there other similarly unusual signatures by other prominent talmidei chachamim?
share|improve this question
3  
If complex signatures are kabbalisicly inspired, it shouldn't surprise anyone to find out that the Rambam's signiture looked like this. – Double AA♦ Feb 29 '12 at 21:57
@DoubleAA, And according to the claim at the end of this answer, perhaps his signature became much more complex toward the end of his life. – jake Feb 29 '12 at 22:53
Artists tend to have fancy signatures. – avi Mar 1 '12 at 22:15
@avi presidents too – none Mar 1 '12 at 22:21
@DoubleAA may I inform you that HaRav Yitzchak Yosef Shelit"a (son of Rav Ovadia Shelit"a) writes that Rambam was a Kabalist... – Hacham Gabriel Mar 4 '12 at 1:07
show 2 more comments

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote

A friend on Facebook shared this answer which I have not sourced yet.

his signature is because his father's possessions were all lost in a ship wreck. He was thankful to Hashem for giving him kaparah taking his money and not his life. He had special dishes prepared with a sign of a boat and made a seudas hodah. He adopted a similar signature for his name. It's written up in the Chida's own sefer Maagal Tov

As a point of interest for #s 2 and 3 in fact there a similarly ornate signature which does contain some of the kabbalistic seals. It belongs to Shlomo Molcho

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.