Customer Reviews

The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, Vol. 3

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Those who have purchased the previous two volumes may find this to be no less an endeavor of exegesis and scholarship. What this edition has done is quite simply (for all the effort) bring forth the gem within the text that for many has been hidden for so long a time.
With the addition of a .pdf file library, through the Stanford University Press website (www.sup.org), this edition for the first time puts in reach not only the Aramaic text but a VERY readable translation, with commentary and extensive notes. In particular the highlighting by example of words for explaination (in Hebrew font)is a most welcome addition.
Incorporating an extensive bibliography and reference notation, the only possible lack would be the glossary: that could have been extended just a bit to include colloquialisms of the dialect (but then, that might take up a entire volume itself!... so...)
The chance to peer into the culture of the Jews of the period through the reconstructed text, is another aspect of great value in these volumes. The terminologies the nuances of form, these subtleties are very valuable to any student wishing to get a better grip on the meaning of the intimations of the dialogue, and this opportunity is well afforded us in these volumes.
In closing, if you want to study the Zohar and you are looking for a ready source of analytical work.., that provides text and translation, this is the series to get into your library.
As I have stated before I am not a Hebrew scholar, however I research a great deal of Hebrew (Torah study) literature, and a vast portion of that literature is still out of reach due to out-of-print tomes or manuscripts not being published for ready distribution to a general audience either with a reliable translation or a proper Hebrew text accompanying that translation. Daniel Matt and colleagues have brought to light one very important part of that body of literature. AND THAT (!) in and of itself should be commended and appreciated by any who have a desire to study the depths of the Torah, Kabbalah and Jewish mystical literature.
I would like to thank the editor and those that have pursued the long arduous task of putting this edition into the hands of those of us who wish to 'dig deeper'.
Manuel Colunga-Hernandez

Really, who could review Daniel Matt's Zohar, volumes 1, 2, or 3? Very few of us have such understanding, although Professor Joel Hecker [and undoubtedly a few other academics] has given it a try.

I can say that with a group that has been learning Zohar together weekly for more than three years, with everyone else but me able to learn in the original Aramaic, I've been able to keep up with this wonderful, well-published translation and extensive commentary for all the three volumes. And, even, sometimes, be helpful to the others with Daniel Matt's spiritual and literary skills. If you might be in the same situation, you can't do better than this translation/interpretation. Many thanks to Margot Pritzker for sponsoring.

Daniel Matt has given us a lovely commentary on many of our favorite stories in Genesis. If you are a student of Kabbalah or simply enjoy a literate presentation of beautiful, ancient scripture, you will thoroughly enjoy this volume. Buy it with confidence. Enjoy!

I am currently reading the third volume of the Zohar (by Daniel Matt). It is the most marvelous treasure of knowledge, and if knowledge is power, then I would have to say that the awareness of the mysteries of life explained in such an easy to understand way, is very powerful. I have been pursuing the study of the Kabbalah for about two years now, and although not a formal student studying with a learned rabbi of the ancient sacred texts of mystical judiasm, I do believe that the divine power will present the knowledge to the person seeking it at the appropriate time and in a manner that will allow the seeker to advance the status of his soul. Not only am I catholic, but a woman. That alone doesn't qualify me to learn this information in a formal way. However, my life has unfolded in such a way recently that I became aware of this knowledge and have actively been pursuing it with all my heart. This version of the Zohar (Vol. 3) was the most profound piece of literature I have ever read. I am currently reading the passage about Jacobs death and his bestowal of blessings on Joseph and his children. At the same time, my father died recently and coincidentally I found this part particularly comforting. Coincidence? I think not. I recommend the Zohar to anyone who sincerely wants to understand how the Universe of spirituality works and why we are here. It is a stunning piece of work!

Beautifully poetic series. I hope that Daniel Matt is able to translate the entire set.

This volume of the Zohar is just as awesome as the last one! Great job, Daniel Matt!!!

I do not know Jewish mystical literature well. I am certainly not a student of 'Zohar' or 'Kabbalah'. I am a general reader who has looked at and read in this volume, and is giving a very general impression. The impression is also based on what I have heard major Jewish scholars and thinkers say in evaluating the volume. They say it is a true treasure of Jewish scholarship, an invaluable contribution to the world of Jewish learning. I reading the notes found them to truly add to my knowledge of the Parsha in question.
Daniel Matt in an interview with 'Nextbook' gave two reasons for the current popularity of the 'Kabbalah'( Of which the most prominent text is the 'Zohar'He says.

"Kabbalah is fairly unique: It's a spirituality that doesn't flee from the material world. It doesn't demand that you go off to a cave and meditate for 20 years. On the contrary, it demands that you engage the world, that you try to discover the divine spark in the material world, and thereby transform it. So it may appeal to people like Madonna, who have made it to the heights of materialism. She even defined herself in those terms. Somebody who does that will very naturally feel that there must be something else--and yet they're not willing to give up everything they've received. It's spirituality that doesn't demand you jettison all of the material, and yet it does demand that you look more deeply and search for some spiritual core.

The other factor is that kabbalah is simultaneously strange and familiar. It's supernatural and exotic in some ways, but based on the most familiar text there is in the entire Western library: the Bible. The Zohar will say, well, Abraham stands for this quality of God, and Sarah stands for this. It enables you to engage in a spiritual search but still be anchored in something familiar. In some ways it's almost not what the Zohar says but how it says it that's especially relevant for a contemporary reader. It's a celebration of the imagination."

I believe that any English-language reader who wishes to have an authentic sense of what the 'Zohar' and thus 'The Kabbalah' truly is should center on the Matt translation which is an authentic work of scholarship.