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The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, Volume Five

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Volume 5 of the Pritzger Edition of the Zohar continues Professor Daniel Matt's monumental translation of the Zohar. It is based on a critical edition of Zohar manuscripts and early printed editions so it is far more accurate than anything else available. It's not just a fine translation; it's a learned commentary. While I personally would have preferred to see the original text and the translation on facing pages, the text compilation that Matt produced can be accessed at no charge on the Stamford University website. Professor Matt is a leading authority on Jewish mysticism, and it is rare to see such a sensitive yet scholarly translation of such a difficult text.

Anyone seriously interested in Jewish mysticism will want to purchase the entire set.

Perhaps the Stanford University Press will decide to change the color of each Zohar volume as each volume has a distinctive identity. Volume 5 contains "Sava de-Mispatim", an independent composition, says Daniel Matt in the introduction. It deals with "gilgul", (the re-incarnation and transmigration of the soul)with the biblical law of levirate marriage (Yibum). If a man dies and leaves a widow childless, the brother of the deceased should marry the woman and any children born are considered the off-springs of the deceased man. Volume 5 portable sanctuary built by Moses in the desert, called the Dwelling (Mishkan) that attracts the feminine presence of God, called "Shekhinah", considered the bride of Moses (Kallat Moshe), a controversial statement. The text of prayers is analyzed for words or letter that have spiritual potency, that can be activated only by human heartfelt utterances.

But most dazzling content of the volume 5 is the text "Sifra De-Tsini'uta", the Book of Concealment, which further remind us that the Zohar is not really one book, but a compilation of texts. Professor Matt says in the introduction that the Zohar only became a book when it was printed in Italy in sixteenth century. Ronit Meroz from the University of Tel Aviv has provided unique research on the authenticity of the manuscripts composing the Zohar, that is reflected in Volume 5.

As for the Book of Concealment, this perhaps one of the most complex texts to understand. It conveys in only 6 pages of Aramaic, the basic principles of Kabbalah. The text is so dense, that it is annotated almost every single word. Professor Matt did a superb work to clear the haze for the ordinary reader. Here is the original text:

"The Book of Concealment, a book balanced on scales. For until there was balance, they did not gaze face-to-face, and the primordial kings died.."

It takes two pages of footnotes to explain the few words above. "A book balanced on scales" is describing the balance between divine qualities and between male and female. The cosmic scales determine the nature of the existence. Only the existence that harmonizes the Compassion with Justice can endure. Each soul goes through this test, and the pair of female and males who pass it, ought to be married .

"The primordial kings died", means earlier emanations (kings) were dominated by Harsh Judgment and they existed only momentarily and therefore perished. This based on Bereshit Rabbah in the name of Rabbi Abahu states the "Blessed Holy One kept creating words and destroying them until He created these (Heaven and Earth). He declared: "These please me, these please me not."

The footnote quotes the Church father Origen in De Principiis 3:53: "we believe that might be other worlds that existed before this one cam into being"

I illustrated the unique read that Zohar volume 5 offers specifically. Daniel Matt opened for us the most difficult texts ever written, so mainstream educated readers can enjoy and get inspired.

A core work associated with the mystic Kabbalah traditions within Judaism, the 'Sefer ha-Zhor' came out of medieval Spain around the end of the thirteenth century and was originally written in Aramaic. Essentially a body of commentary on the Torah, "The Zohar: Pritzker Edition" is the fifth volume of an outstanding series which is ably translated into English by academician and Kabbalah expert Daniel C. Matt for the benefit of contemporary scholarship. This fifth volume begins with the story of two rabbis and an old donkey-driver they encounter -- who is far more than he seems. From their conversation emerges insights and secrets of the Kabbalah and an informed and informative commentary on the tabernacle the children of Israel constructed and utilized during their sojourn in the desert. Of special note is the chapter focused on a poetic description of God's body and the role of 'divine breath' in animating all of existence. This fifth volume of "The Zohar: Pritzker Edition", enhanced with the inclusion of a list of abbreviations, transliterations of Hebrew and Aramaic, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index of sources, is a 633-page work of painstaking scholarship and an essential addition to academic library Judaic Studies reference collections in general, and Kabbalah Studies supplemental reading lists in particular. Also very highly recommended are the first four volumes in this series, as well as Professor Daniel C. Matt's earlier works: "The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism"; "Zohar: Annotated and Explained"; and "God & the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony Between Science & Spirituality".