The Zohar: Reception and Impact

1. The Zohar: Reception and Impact

2. Zohar Printed Editions

3. Zohar Manusripts

4. The Zohar on the Torah, by the saintly sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, with Sitrei Torah, and Midrash ha-Neelam, and Tosephta etc.

6. Kabbalistic Theosophy: The Divine as System of Ten Sefirot

7. Kabbalistic Theurgy:Human Influence on Divine Harmony

8. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai Galilee, 2nd Century

9. Rabbi Moshe de Leon c. 1240-1304, Guadalajara, Spain

10. Zohar Mantua Edition 1558-1560

11. Authority of Zohar (Doctrines) • Blessed and privileged are we to be awarded the Zohar, which our ancestors, whose little finger was thicker than our loins, were not awarded . . . and if one says that its wisdom contains matters alien to reason, it is as the holy, godlike R. Shimon ben Yohai said: ‘Not every brain is fit for it, only the holy and wise ones [can], etc.’ … and we must truly and wholeheartedly accept their words, and set them as a crown upon our heads and say: ‘Even if my heart turns right or left, I will follow the beliefs of the godlike holy light, the pride of the tana’im and the crown of the sages, superior to a prophet, Shimon ben Yohai and his companions.

12. Authority of the Zohar (Halacha) Since this question has not been explicitly mentioned in the Talmud we should not forsake the Zohar’s ruling because of what the posekim say (Karo, Beit Yoseph, Orah Hayyim 141)

13. BrichShmei (Blessed is his name) recited when opening the Torah Ark(based on Zoarvol 2, 206a)

14. TikunLeilShavout(based on Zohar vol 1, 8a & vol 3, 97a)

15. Ushpizin (guests): Inviting the souls of the seven sheperds (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Ahron and David) to the Sukkah (based on Zohar vol.3, 103b-104a)

16. Zohar Commentaries

17. The Redemptive Power of the Zohar • And through the merit of those who learn and study it (the Zohar), the Messaiah will come, for the land shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord through it, and this will be the cause for his coming, as it was written “through its merit each of you shall return to his holding” (Yehuda Hayat, Commentary to Marechet ha-Elohut, Mantua 1558), 2b).

18. Ritualistic Reading of the Zohar • Thereafter one should read from the Zohar… and not from any other text. And even if he does not know or understand what he says, nonetheless the recitation of the language of the Zohar is greatly beneficial to the Shekhina and to his soul, more so than any other manner of Torah study (Nathan Shapira, Tuv Ha-Aretz, Venice 1655, 76a)

19. Bar Yochai Song – Rabbi Shimon Lavi (16th century) • Bar Yohai, fortunate are you, • for you were anointed with joyous oil over and above your companions. • Bar Yohai, You were anointed with the holy oil of a sacred grade • you wore a holy crown its glory was set upon you. • Bar Yohai, fortunate are you, • for you were anointed with joyous oil over and above your companions. • Bar Yohai, you found a perfect sanctuary in the day you had to flee • In a cave of rocks you gained your splendor.

20. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s Celebration (Hilula) Meron, Upper Galilee

21. The Expulsion of Jews from Spain (1492)

22. The Sabbatean and Franckists(The Zoharites) Shabtai Zvi 1626-1676 Jacob Franck 1729-1790

23. Therefore, by the power of the oaths that are written above, we decree that it is … absolutely prohibited for anyone to study the books of the Ari until he reaches the age of 40. As for the Zohar, the book of Shomer emunim,and Pardes rimonim … applies to all of them---only those 30 years old and above are allowed to study them, provided that they are printed and not handwritten (Brody Kloiz ban, 1752).

25. One finds an additional grievous evil in them, an old leprosy that clings to their souls and undermines the attempts of the wise to heal their mind and improve their behaviour. … This book was written by one of the swindlers, who wrote books of vanity and wickedness to establish his reputation in Israel or to make a huge profit, since he was aware that, if people knew he wrote it, his own writing would not gain him recognition … (Y. L. Mises, Qin’at ha-Emet, Vienna 1828,134).

26. Gershom Scholem (1897-1982) Pseudepigraphy is far removed from forgery . . . The Quest for Truth knows of adventures that are all its own, and in a vast number of cases has arrayed itself in pseudepigraphic garb. The further a man progresses along his own road in this Quest for Truth, the more he might be convinced that his own road must have already been trodden by others, ages before him. To the streak of adventurousness which was in Moses de León, no less than to his genius, we owe one of the most remarkable works of Jewish literature and of the literature of mysticism in general (Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 204)

29. As you begin your spiritual work with the Zohar, simply scanning the pages allows you to pass over the words and letters---opens a direct connection to the divine spark hidden within each of us. The more you bring the Zohar into your life, the stronger your connection to the Light becomes. The kabbalists tell us that just being in the presence of the volumes creates an impenetrable shield of spiritual protection against the forces of chaos and negativity in the world. Scanning the letters is a hugely beneficial next step, and one that anyone can take at any time. The power is always there, for all humanity. And it is here for you right now (The Kabbalah Centre, Zohar Scanning Chart 2015-2016)

30. The Prophetic Fools: KolGalgal(Zohar Vol. 1, 233b) קול גלגל המתגלגל ממטה למעלה,מרכבות סתומות הולכות ומתגלגלות.קול נעימות עולה ויורד,הולך ומשוטט בעולם.קול שופר נמשך בעומקי המדרגות,ומסובב הגלגל סביב.זהו קול, זהו קול גלגל עולה ויורד. The sound of the rolling wheel rolls from below upwards Hidden chariots go and roll The sound of melodies rises and falls Wanders in the world The sound of the Shofar stretches through the depth of the [divine] degrees and orbits the wheel around This is the sound of the wheel going up and down