Sefer ha-Ot · ספר האות

A small book, written by an author who names himself Zechariah at the Lord's command — "write for yourself this book, which disputes the thoughts of the sages of Israel who boast" — to reveal in it the great secret of the Name, and sent to Sefarad. Its name is given in the vision that closes it, when an old man seated on a throne of judgment commands, "write what you have seen in a book and call its name Sefer ha-Ot"; the sign is sealed in blood and ink on the forehead of a man from the west. The book opens with twenty-two sentences in the order of the alphabet in which the author swears by the Name, writes out the great and terrible Name explicitly, tells of Zechariah the herald sent to his people, bears witness to the war in the heart between the blood and the ink, and closes with the vision of three warriors who are three kings. The author also calls himself Berakhyahu son of Shalviel, and the old man, whose name is Yehoel, names him Roiel the seer; the book was sent, it says, "in the year 48".