E-Book Overview
Sefer ha-Zohar, "The Book of Radiance," has amazed and overwhelmed readers ever since it emerged mysteriously in medieval Spain toward the end of the thirteenth century. Written in a unique Aramaic, this masterpiece of Kabbalah exceeds the dimensions of a normal book; it is virtually a body of literature, comprising over twenty discrete sections. The bulk of the Zohar consists of a running commentary on the Torah, from Genesis through Deuteronomy. This translation begins and focuses here in what are projected to be ten volumes. Two subsequent volumes will cover other, shorter sections.
The Zohar's commentary is composed in the form of a mystical novel. The hero is Rabbi Shim'on son of Yohai, a saintly disciple of Rabbi Akiva who lived in the second century in the land of Israel. In the Zohar, Rabbi Shim'on and his companions wander through the hills of Galilee, discovering and sharing secrets of Torah.
On one level, biblical figures such as Abraham and Sarah are the main characters, and the mystical companions interpret their words, actions, and personalities. On a deeper level, the text of the Bible is simply the starting point, a springboard for the imagination. For example, when God commands Abraham, Lekh lekha, Go forth... to the land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1), Rabbi El'azar ignores idiomatic usage and insists on reading the words more literally than they were intended, hyperliterally: Lekh lekha, Go to yourself! Search deep within to discover your true self.
At times, the companions themselves become the main characters, and we read about their dramatic mystical sessions with Rabbi Shim'on or their adventures on the road, for example, an encounter with a cantankerous old donkey driver who turns out to be a master of wisdom in disguise.
Ultimately, the plot of the Zohar focuses on the ten sefirot, the various stages of God's inner life, aspects of divine personality, both feminine and masculine. By penetrating the literal surface of the Torah, the mystical commentators transform the biblical narrative into a biography of God. The entire Torah is read as one continuous divine name, expressing divine being. Even a seemingly insignificant verse can reveal the inner dynamics of the sefirot―how God feels, responds and acts, how She and He (the divine feminine and masculine) relate intimately with each other and with the world.
E-Book Content
ספר הזהר
The translation and publication of the Zohar is made possible through the thoughtful and generous support of the Pritzker Family Philanthropic Fund. The administrative support to this project in its initial period by the Graduate Theological Union is gratefully acknowledged. Stanford University Press Stanford, California © 2004 by Zohar Education Project, Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including the Aramaic text of the Zohar, please visit www.sup.org/zohar Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zohar. English. The Zohar/translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt.– Pritzker ed. v. cm. Text includes some words in Hebrew and Aramaic. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8047-4868-1 (cloth)-ISBN 978-0-8047-8213-5 (electronic) (vol. 2) 1. Bible. O.T. Pentateuch-Commentaries-Early works to 1800. 2. Cabala-Early works to 1800. 3. Zohar. I. Matt, Daniel Chanan. II. Title. BM525.A52 M37 2003 296.1’62–dc22 2003014884
Academic Committee for the Translation of the Zohar Daniel Abrams Bar-Ilan University Joseph Dan Hebrew University Rachel Elior Hebrew University Asi Farber-Ginat University of Haifa Michael Fishbane University of Chicago Pinchas Giller University of Judaism Amos Goldreich Tel Aviv University Moshe Hallamish Bar-Ilan University Melila Hellner-Eshed Hebrew University Boaz Huss Ben-Gurion University Moshe Idel Hebrew Un