...Marla Segol Abstract This essay brings a fresh approach to the early kabbalistic work, the Sefer Bahir (the Book of Clarity , tenth to twelfth century, Hebrew). It does a close reading of its imagery, focusing on water, to illuminate its contested provenance and to challenge prevailing conceptions...

... of the germinal texts in Jewish mysticism, the Sefer Bahir , Marla Segol reveals how attending to the various plumbing techniques available at different times during the Sefer Bahir ’s composition can help us pinpoint where it was composed and reveal how intertwined mystical texts were with the material culture...