The Well of Confusion: On the Titles of the Maharal’s Books

Abstract

R. Judah Leva ben Betzalel (the Maharal, c. 1525–1609), authored more than ten works, publishing most of them during his lifetime. Although the Maharal’s works were, since the mid-20th century, the subject of academic research, the title of the Maharal’s work ספר באר הגולה (Prague 1598) is still erroneously read as Beʾer ha-golah and understood as The Well of Exile. This article places the existing debate about this title into the context of the Maharal’s other books, resumes arguments formulated in existing scholarship and suggests yet another solution to the problem based on a detailed analysis of the Maharal’s own introduction, and on the typography of the editio princeps. We propose reading the title as Beʾer ha-goleh; while its meaning is probably intentionally ambivalent, this points both to the idea of a ‘well, which is being uncovered’ and hints at its author’s deep feeling on the condition of Exile.