Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment (Classics of Western Spirituality)
by Daniel Chanan Matt
List Price:
Our Price: $11.95
You Save: $11.00 (48%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.38 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Daniel Chanan MattEdition: Paperback
Published: 1983-12
ISBN: 0809123878
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Paulist Press
Book Reviews of Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment (Classics of Western Spirituality)
Book Review: Excellent translation
Summary: 5 Stars
Daniel Matt prepared this very elegant translation of the Zohar. It is only about 2% of the complete Zohar, but it provides an excellent selection of various themes in the Zohar. He prepared a commentary on each selection to assist the novice reader in decoding the language and the allusions in the text. Jews of the 13th Century were more versed in Jewish literature than the average Jew today, so the commentary is very helpful to the modern reader.
The Introduction is also very worthwhile reading. I particularly like Matt's take on how to read the Zohar - read it and let it blow your mind. That is, take what you can from it. The text operates on so many levels that it is profitable reading for almost any audience.
The Zohar itself is structured as midrash on the Torah. Consequently, it is helpful if the reader has some experience with the midrashic process. Midrash can seem really weird to modern people, not schooled in the medieval mindset.
Each selection in this book operates on at least three levels. There is the peshat of the midrash (read it for the basic story). You can decode it according to the doctrine of sfirot (aspects of the Divinity). Finally, there is the ethical/theosophical/ontological content. Some of the selections appear to also relate to peak mystical experiences - either what they are like, or how to produce them.
One way to understand Zohar (which is Gershom Scholem's) is that the Zohar is essentially anti-Maimonidianism. That is, Moses de Leon, the author (there is some dispute about whether some portions were written by committee) did not like Maimonidian rationalism (Aristotle) and was producing a counter-text based on the philosophy of Plato (actually Neoplatonic paraphrases and abridgments produced in Spain).
Summary of Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment (Classics of Western Spirituality)
Zohar-"the book of Splendor, Radiance, Enlightenment"--has fascinated readers from its first appearance in thirteenth-century Spain until today. It is the major text of Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. To assure the acceptance of his work within the Jewish community, a Spanish scholar named Moses de Leon claimed that Zohar was an ancient work of the school of the famous Rabbi Shim'on son of Yohai. It was not until our own century that critical scholarship demonstrated that the book's author was Moses de Leon himself. His mosaic of Scripture, Midrash, medieval homily, fiction, and fantasy presents what Professor Daniel Matt describes as "a challenge to the normal workings of consciousness [that] dares one to examine one's assumptions about tradition, God, and self."General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Jewish Scriptures
THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS - VOL. V: From The Creation to the Exodusby Louis Ginzberg
Cosimo Classics; Published: 2006-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.95
The Legends of the Jews, Volume IV: From Joshua to Estherby Louis Ginzberg
Dragon Key Press; Published: 2005-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.20
Price in other shops:
The Legends Of The Jews - Vol. 3: Bible Times And Characters From The Exodus To The Death Of Moses (The Legends of the Jews)by Louis Ginzberg
Providence University; Published: 2007-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.84
Price in other shops:
The Legends Of The Jews - Vol. 2: Bible Times And Characters From Joseph To The Exodus (The Legends of the Jews)by Louis Ginzberg
Providence University; Published: 2007-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.92
Price in other shops:
The Legends Of The Jews - Vol. 1: Bible Times And Characters From The Creation To Jacob (The Legends of the Jews)by Louis Ginzberg
Providence University; Published: 2007-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.92
Price in other shops:
The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Editionby of Alexandria Philo
Hendrickson Publishers; Published: 1993-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.36
Price in other shops:
The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Editionby Flavius Josephus
Hendrickson Publishers; Published: 1980-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.42
Price in other shops:
The book of knowledgeby Moses Maimonides
Feldheim Publishers; Published: 1974; Unknown Binding; Book
The Guide of the Perplexedby Moses Maimonides
Hackett Publishing Company; Published: 1995-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.48
Price in other shops:
Everyman's Talmud: The Major Teachings of the Rabbinic Sagesby Abraham Cohen
Schocken; Published: 1995-02-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.15
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Pseudo Dionysius: The Complete Works (Classics of Western Spirituality)by Karlfried Froehlich
Paulist Press; Published: 1987-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.65
Price in other shops:
Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of CreationWeiser Books; Published: 1997-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.94
Price in other shops:
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticismby Gershom Scholem
Schocken; Published: 1995-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.27
Price in other shops:
Zohar: Annotated & Explained (Skylight Illuminations)Skylight Paths Publishing; Published: 2002-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.21
Price in other shops:
Exclusiveness and Tolerance: Studies in Jewish-Gentile Relations in Medieval and Modern Times (Scripta Judaica, 3)by Jacob Katz
Behrman House; Published: 1961-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.05
Price in other shops:
Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Bookby Norman A. Stillman
Jewish Publications Society; Published: 1979-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.88
Price in other shops:
The Early Kabbalah (Classics of Western Spirituality)Paulist Press; Published: 1986-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops:
The Essential Kabbalah: Heart of Jewish Mysticism, Theby Daniel C. Matt
HarperOne; Published: 1996-06-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
A Guide to the Zohar (Zohar: The Pritzker Editions)by Arthur Green
Stanford University Press; Published: 2003-12-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
A Maimonides Reader (Library of Jewish Studies)Behrman House, Inc.; Published: 1972; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.25
Price in other shops: