Zohar and Kabbalah - Daniel Matt
Rutgers University・54 minutes read
The Zohar challenges understanding of God as Infinity, exploring the dynamic qualities of God and the importance of uniting feminine and masculine aspects through holy living. It emphasizes creativity in Torah interpretation, celebrates ethics, and introduces the concept of the divine feminine as "sh," challenging traditional views of God.
Insights
- The Zohar presents God as Infinity, transcending gender and personality, challenging traditional views and emphasizing personal transformation.
- Moses Deon's potential financial motivations led to falsely attributing the Zohar to ancient sources, enhancing its acceptance within Judaism.
- The Zohar introduces the concept of the divine feminine, challenging traditional views of God and reflecting a resurgence of the goddess concept within Judaism.
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Recent questions
What is the Zohar and its significance in Judaism?
The Zohar is a mystical commentary on the Torah, considered the third holiest book in Judaism. It challenges traditional views of God, emphasizing personal transformation and the unity of masculine and feminine aspects of God. The Zohar encourages creativity in Torah interpretation and celebrates innovation in exploring biblical verses. It presents a mystical novel structure, with Rabbi Shimon and his colleagues as heroes on a journey through Galilee, delving into the mystery of the Eternal feminine. The Zohar's teachings on divine qualities, love, power, and balance, are embodied by biblical heroes like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Overall, the Zohar is a revered text in Judaism, revealing mystical meanings and promoting ethical living.
How did the Zohar come to be attributed to ancient sources?
The Zohar, a vast commentary on the Torah and a masterpiece of cabala, emerged in 13th century Spain. It was attributed to ancient sources but likely composed by Moses Deon, who circulated booklets of biblical commentary in lyrical Aramaic. Moses Deon claimed to copy from an ancient manuscript, attributing the work to Rabbi Shimon barai from the 2nd century. Financial considerations may have influenced Moses Deon's decision to falsely attribute the Zohar to ancient sources, enhancing its acceptance and respect within Judaism. Despite its origins, the Zohar remains a significant text in Jewish mysticism, challenging traditional views of God and promoting personal transformation.
What is the Divine feminine in the Zohar?
The Zohar introduces the concept of the Divine feminine, challenging traditional views of God as solely masculine in Western religions. The feminine presence of God, represented by "sh," symbolizes God's omnipresence, imminence in the world, and intimate connection with the Jewish people. The Zohar emphasizes the righteous individuals' role in bringing God's presence to Earth through living a holy life. The concept of "sh" is discussed, with some scholars suggesting it represents God's intimacy with the Jewish people, while others argue it has feminine qualities. The Zohar's portrayal of the Divine feminine reflects a resurgence of the goddess concept within Judaism, empowering the feminine in theology and symbolizing a recovery of the exiled feminine in history.
How does the Zohar interpret biblical heroes like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
The Zohar interprets biblical heroes like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as embodying divine qualities of love, power, and balance. Abraham symbolizes divine love through his welcoming nature, while Isaac's near-sacrifice experience represents divine power and judgment. Jacob is seen as blending the qualities of love and power, attaining a middle ground of balance. The goal of the Zohar's system is to unite the masculine and feminine aspects of God, with the middle sphere representing masculinity and the last sphere representing femininity. The Zohar's interpretation of biblical heroes highlights the importance of divine qualities in human actions and spiritual tasks.
How does the Zohar critique traditional interpretations of the Torah?
The Zohar critiques traditional interpretations of the Torah by encouraging creativity and innovation in Torah interpretation. It challenges fixed views of God by presenting God as Infinity, transcending gender and personality. The Zohar celebrates questioning and deeper exploration of biblical verses, urging individuals to delve into mystical meanings. It emphasizes the importance of living a holy life to make God real in the world, promoting ethical actions and personal transformation. The Zohar's bold interpretations often lead to questioning the text, reflecting its mystical and poetic nature that continues to evolve in Jewish mysticism.
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Summary
00:00
Unveiling the Mysteries of the Zohar
- The Zohar challenges understanding of God and encourages personal transformation by presenting God as Infinity, transcending gender and personality.
- In the realm of the ciot, the 10 qualities of God are explored, where God is seen as both female and male, and Israel's spiritual task is to unite these aspects through holy living.
- Every human action influences the Divine couple, either promoting or hindering their union, emphasizing God as dynamic rather than static.
- Cabala, a mystical stream within Judaism, crystallized in Provance and Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries, with roots tracing back to older mystical traditions.
- The Zohar, a vast commentary on the Torah and a masterpiece of cabala, emerged in 13th century Spain, attributed to ancient sources but likely composed by Moses Deon.
- Moses Deon circulated booklets of biblical commentary in lyrical Aramaic, claiming to copy from an ancient manuscript, attributing the work to Rabbi Shimon barai from the 2nd century.
- Financial considerations may have influenced Moses Deon's decision to falsely attribute the Zohar to ancient sources, enhancing its acceptance and respect within Judaism.
- The Zohar is considered the third holiest book in Judaism, often referred to as the holy Zohar hakadosh, and is a commentary on the Torah, revealing mystical meanings.
- The Zohar celebrates creativity and innovation in Torah interpretation, encouraging questioning and deeper exploration of biblical verses.
- The Zohar is structured as a mystical novel, with Rabbi Shimon and his colleagues as heroes, embarking on a journey through Galilee, encountering strange characters, and delving into the mystery of the Eternal feminine.
17:36
Chart of God's Love, Power, Balance
- The Zohar presents a chart depicting aspects of God's personality, with the Ultimate Reality of God being the white space.
- The chart illustrates how God's love and power are balanced to prevent either extreme of leniency or harsh judgment.
- Biblical Heroes like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are seen as embodying these divine qualities of love, power, and balance.
- Abraham symbolizes divine love through his welcoming nature, while Isaac's experience of near-sacrifice represents divine power and judgment.
- Jacob is seen as blending the qualities of love and power, attaining a middle ground of balance.
- The goal of the system is to unite the masculine and feminine aspects of God, with the middle sphere representing masculinity and the last sphere representing femininity.
- The Zohar interprets the opening words of Genesis, emphasizing the emergence of divine wisdom from the primordial pool of nothingness.
- The Zohar describes the emergence of divine wisdom as a ray of light expanding into a circle, symbolizing the masculine and feminine aspects of God.
- The Zohar's teaching on the feminine presence of God, represented by "sh," challenges traditional views of God as solely masculine in Western religions.
- "Sh" symbolizes God's omnipresence, imminence in the world, and intimate connection with the Jewish people, emphasizing the righteous individuals' role in bringing God's presence to Earth.
36:09
Unveiling the Divine Feminine in Judaism
- Living a holy life can make God real in the world, emphasizing the importance of acting ethically.
- The concept of "sh" is discussed, with some scholars suggesting it represents God's intimacy with the Jewish people, while others argue it has feminine qualities.
- Rabbi Yosf's reverence for his mother's presence is highlighted, suggesting a feminine aspect to the divine.
- The Zohar is described as a commentary on the Torah, moving through the five books of Moses.
- The Zohar delves into the Hebrew word "et," which is considered a particle marking a direct object with the definite article.
- The Zohar interprets the expulsion of Adam from the Garden of Eden, suggesting Adam may have divorced the divine feminine aspect represented by "sh."
- The Zohar introduces the idea of God being half male and half female, a concept not traditionally found in Jewish texts.
- The Zohar's portrayal of the divine feminine as "sh" is seen as a new but ancient idea, reflecting a resurgence of the goddess concept within Judaism.
- The Zohar's discussion of combining the worship of the goddess with the god of Israel reflects ancient practices found in inscriptions.
- A parable from the Zohar illustrates the importance of studying Torah by comparing it to a man discovering different forms of wheat-based food in a city after living in isolation.
52:35
Essence of Bread: Mystical Journey and Critiques
- The story revolves around a man who only grasps the essence of things, akin to a blind man touching an elephant and reducing everything to what he knows.
- He symbolizes a fundamentalist fixated on the literal sense, unable to appreciate expanded meanings, like the layers of bread representing different levels of understanding.
- The man's journey through bread, cakes, and Baklava mirrors philosophical, analytical, and mystical depths, with the ultimate Delight being Kabbalah.
- Despite having the essence, he fails to apply it in life, highlighting the importance of living out principles, not just possessing them.
- The Zohar critiques not just the man but also the failure of his teachers to guide him beyond the essence, emphasizing the need for a broader perspective.
- Mysticism's focus on Divine nothingness is critiqued, urging a balance between essence and practical application in the world.
- The emergence of the Divine feminine in the Zohar reflects influences from Christian worship of Mary in 13th-century Spain, stimulating a shift in Jewish mystical thought.
- Political factors, like King Alfonso the 10th's interest in collecting world wisdom and supporting Kabbalah, also influenced the Zohar's emergence.
- The Divine feminine's empowerment in theology precedes societal empowerment of women, symbolizing a recovery of the exiled feminine in history.
- The feminine nature of the Hebrew word for Shekhinah hints at a longstanding but subtle feminine presence in Jewish mysticism, despite limited overt descriptions.
01:10:16
Early mystical text Zohar influences Kabbalah.
- The Zohar is an early pre-cabalistic text, likely written around the 2nd Century during the time of RAB Shimon, a thousand years before the emergence of Kabbalah. It is known as the Book of Formation or the Book of Creation, influencing interpretations of the Torah. The Zohar's bold interpretations often lead to questioning the text, with no single authentic Kabbalah as it continues to evolve. Isaac Luria, a 16th-century figure, creatively worked with the Zohar, but the focus remains on the Zohar's own poetic and imagery-rich content, distinct from later interpretations like Luria's.
