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Zohar: The Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah, by Gershom Scholem
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One of the great masterpieces of Western religious thought, the Zohar represents an attempt to uncover hidden meanings behind the world of appearances. It is the central work in the literature of the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition.
This volume of selected passages from the Zohar, culled by the greatest authority on Jewish mysticism, offers a sampling of its unique vision of the esoteric wonders of creation; the life and destiny of the soul; the confluence of physical and divine love; suffering and death; exile and redemption.
- Sales Rank: #321634 in Books
- Brand: Scholem, Gershom (EDT)
- Published on: 1995-02-07
- Released on: 1995-02-07
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.97" h x .35" w x 5.15" l, .31 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 128 pages
Most helpful customer reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
A Work of Secret Wisdom, Inaccessible and Silent
By Didaskalex
"The old God whom Kabbalistic gnosis opposed to the God of the philosophers proves, when experienced in all his living richness, to be an even older and archaic one." Mythical Dimension of Judaism
"Woe to those who look upon the Torah as simply tales pertaining to things of the world, seeing thus only the outer garment. But those whose gaze penetrates to the very Torah, happy are they." Hidden Meaning of the Torah
Jewish Mystical Definitions:
Zohar: The Zohar consists of mystical commentaries and homilies on the Pentateuch. It was written by Moses de León, in the 13th century, who attributed it to Simon ben Yohai, a great scholar of the second century, A.D. The two principal sources for the kabbalists are the Zohar (The Book of Enlightenment, The Book of Splendor), and the Sefer Yezirah (Book of Creation), developed in a series of monologues allegedly delivered by Abraham. The doctrine of the Sefirot, the powers emanating from God, through which the world was created and its order is being sustained, was probably written in the third century. The primordial numbers of the later Pythagoreans were used in a system of numerical interpretation. Kabbalistic interpretation of Scripture was transformed, based on the belief that every number, word, or even letter, embraced mysteries unveiled only by those who conceived the secret. The names for the Lord of hosts were believed to contain miraculous power that even each letter of the divine name was regarded as potent; that kabbalistic signs and writings were used as amulets and in magical practices.
Kabbalah: kãb''l' (Heb., reception), esoteric system of interpretation of the Scriptures based upon a tradition claimed to have been handed down orally from Abraham. The system appears to have started by Philo Judeas, in Alexandria, Egypt, using allegories to interpret scripture exposing its mystical meaning. It has been further developed in the eleventh century in France, and from there spread to Spain. Yet, kabbalistic elements are earlier discernible in the literature of second century Merkavah mysticism inspired by the vision of the chariot-throne (merkavah) in the Book of Ezekiel. Beyond the specific Jewish notions, philosophy scholars debate that Kabbalah reveals a dominant Neoplatonic influence, especially in its doctrines of emanation and the transmigration of souls. Following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, in 1492, kabbalah became more messianic in its emphasis, as developed by the school of mystics at Safed, Palestine. In this form, Kabbalah had a major influence in the development of Hasidic thoughts and teachings, and still has adherents, especially among Hasidic Jews.
Jewish Mysticism & Philosophy:
One of the most significant contributions that Gershom Scholem's prolific research has added to the field of Judaica, is the parametric broadening of the Jewish intellectual history since late antiquity to our times. Such expansion of intellectual horizons is most apparent in his study of the richest period of mystical creativity in Jewish history of medieval Jewish culture. He studied the forms of philosophical expression, in particular the Aristotelian and Neoplatonic legacies transmitted through Arabic translations of Greek and Syriac works. Scholem introduced a roaster of texts approaching most of the parallel problems in cosmology, epistemology, and metaphysics as works of traditional philosophy.
In his attempt to legitimate the mystical vitality of Judaism, Scholem ironically reiterates the overly simplistic distinction between rationalistic philosophy and pietistic mysticism in the Jewish Middle Ages. The dissection of mysticism and philosophy led Scholem to such distinctions as typology versus allegory that break down under the weight of textual detail, following Philo Judeas of AD Alexandria. Despite the fact that Scholem was avidly aware of the philological, textual, and historical dominance of philosophical systems on Jewish mystics in the Middle Ages, he dichotomized the intellectual currents of mysticism and philosophy in such a simplistic fashion. Scholem argued repeatedly that the mystical sources, and not the philosophical, tapped the deepest recesses of religious consciousness by reviving what he considered to be the long-suppressed mythical dimension of Judaism.
An Introduction to Zohar:
To approach 'A Work of Secret Wisdom, Inaccessible and Silent,' needs a meticulously prepared mystical guide, whom I sought in Gershom Scholem, the foremost Jewish scholar of the twentieth century. I am aware that some Jewish assumptions could shock 'Sola scriptura' Christians. So, in the Introduction, he wrote, "Zohar..., as a source of doctrine and revelation equal in authority to the Bible and Talmud, and of the same canonical rank-..." pp. vii
In his elaborate introduction the eminent scholar expounded the main issues to clarify the mystical subject, the historical sitting, the literary character, Origin and authorship, and his presented selection. He has chosen passages that throw light on the mystical ideas on God, the soul, and its destiny. He left a room for the readers imagination, not only the interpretation of symbolical and technical terms.
He concludes in his mission statement, "This small volume will have fulfilled its task if it succeeds in conveying to the reader some notion of the power of contemplative fantasy and creative imagery hidden within the seemingly abstruse thinking of the Kabbalists."
Three Standards of Spirit:
"Rabbi Judah said: Nefesh and Roah are conjoined, while neshamah has its abode in the character of a man, which place remains unknown and undiscovered. ... if he does not strive to be righteous and pure of life, there does not animate him holy neshamah, but only the two grades, nefesh and roah. ..." pp. 89
In ancient Egypt, where the Habiru were send by the Lord to have social and physical education, that extended to 400 years, they only believed in two, the soul Ba, and the spirit Ka. Rabbi Judah did know some philology, but what he did not know is what is a biblical scholarly fact that, the Creation story of Genesis is a copy of the Heliopolitan cosmology, creation out of Chaos.
Holy Communion:
Jesus the Christ spoke to the Samaritan woman saying, " Salvation is from the Jews." But Rabbi Abba thinks that, "God chose Israel, and none other from among the peoples and established them in the world as a single unique nation. ... To crown them, he bestowed upon them a multitude of precepts, and with these the phylacteries of the head and the arm, which makes a man one and complete." The problem for the non Jewish reader is the The Book of Enlightenment, boast on material glorifications, which along the history has proven to be void. It is hard to import Semitic concepts (Hebrew, Aramaic, or Arabic) and try to portray them to, even a Western Jew as, Book of Splendor or the like!
Gershom Scholem:
The new insights, according to Professor Maccoby, which Gershom Scholem revived, "has produced a far-reaching revolution in our understanding of Judaism that his work cannot yet be assessed in its entirety." As the foremost Jewish scholar of the twentieth century, is the author of numerous books ( Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah, The Messianic Idea in Judaism, and On Jews and Judaism in Crisis). He radically revised, and aspired fresh life to, the entire field of Jewish studies. Scholem brought to his reading of Jewish experience and ideology a home run of all thoughtful Jews to their own tradition and to the core of their religious heritage. A true "master thinker," Scholem represented a force in the intellectual life of our century, and not only in Jewish intellectual life, whose influence will be felt for a long time to come.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Gives the Flavor of a Branch of Mystical Judaism
By William Bagley
The book is part commentary on many passages on the Old Testament, part historical bits from the lives of various mystical Rabbis and scholars, and part an exposition of certain distinctive teachings concerning the Zohar. I have gathered from a few other reviews (excellent ones by the way) that the Zohar is a five volume set of writings that is very extensive in scope. This small book probably cannot really encompass this larger book and be anything more than an introduction and perhaps a barely adequate summary of certain highlights of that set. But it does have a number of good stories and passages that definitely give you a feeling for what spirituality itself is for and what kinds of inner experiences you are meant to reach in your contemplative prayer journey. You can get some feeling of the faith and inner life of the various Rabbis that were involved with the Zohar and drew some strength from it and how they esteemed the Torah as central to their lives. As such, this book is a good place to start if you want to learn more about the Zohar, either spiritually or historically. From a Buddhist perspective, the devoted study of the scriptures has a feeling similar to studying various sutras (like the Heart Sutra). This book does not seem to give a meditation methodology or meditation method to go within. It seems that the book does not consider its aim to go there or perhaps you just intuitively feel your way within as you contemplate these passages. I would consider a tradition like this more complete if there were methods of meditation to support these contemplations. It seems that there is a kind of visualization and chanting meditation based on the spheres of the Qabalah in the Tree of Life that may serve this purpose, but this does not seem part of this book.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
A Very Readable Intro
By Edward J. Barton
The book is very short - only about 125 pages. Yet, it is written in very easy to understand English by a well known scholar on the subject - Gershom Scholem, and provides the reader with a nice introduction to some of the more prominent and interesting components of the Zohar. The introduction to the book sets the stage for the reader by providing sufficient background and explanation so that the reader, once immersed in the Zohar translation itself, has a framework to understand and evaluate the context. The excerpts from the Zohar will make the reader think, and provide a glimpse into some of the more esoteric Jewish rabbinical thought. A good intro on the subject.
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