ZOHAR

The Zohar (Hebrew for "Radiance") is widely considered the most important work of Jewish mysticism. It is a mystical commentary on the Torah (five books of Moses), written in medieval Aramaic and medieval Hebrew. It contains a Kabbalistic discussion of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, sin, redemption, good and evil, and related topics.

Origin

The Zohar is not one book, but a group of books. These books include scriptural interpretations as well as material on theosophic theology, mythical cosmogony, mystical psychology, and what some would call anthropology. According to Gershon Scholem, most of the Zohar was written in an exalted style of Aramaic that was spoken in Palestine during the second century of the modern era. The Zohar first appeared in Spain in the thirteenth century, and was published by a Jewish writer named Moses ben Shem-Tov de Leon. He ascribed this work to a rabbi of the second century, Simeon ben Yohai. Jewish historiography holds that during a time of Roman persecution, Rabbi hid in a cave for 13 years, studying the Torah (five books of Moses) with his son Eliezar. During this time he is said to have been inspired by God to write the Zohar.

The fact that the Zohar was found by one lone individual, Moses de Leon, taken together with the circumstance that it refers to historical events of the post-Talmudical period, caused the authenticity of the work to be questioned from the outset. There is a story told about how after the death of Moses de Leon, a rich man of Avila, named Joseph, offered the widow, who had been left without means, a large sum of money for the original from which her husband had made the copy; and she then confessed that her husband himself was the author of the work. She had asked him several times, she said, why he had chosen to credit his own teachings to another, and he had always answered that doctrines put into the mouth of the miracle-working Simeon ben Yohai would be a rich source of profit. Incredible as this story seems, it at least proves that shortly after its appearance the work was believed by some to have been written entirely by Moses de Leon.

Acceptance of authenticity

Over time, however, the general view in the Jewish community came to be one of acceptance of Moses ben Shem-Tov's claims; the Zohar was held to be an authentic book of mysticism passed down from the second century.

The Zohar was quoted by Todros Abulafia, by Menahem Recanati, and even by Isaac of Acco, in whose name the story of the confession of Moses de Leon's widow is related. Isaac evidently ignored the woman's alleged confession in favor of the testimony of Joseph ben Todros and of Jacob, a pupil of Moses de Leon, both of whom assured him on oath that the work was not written by Moses. The only objection worthy of consideration by the believers in the authenticity of the Zohar was the lack of references to the work in Jewish literature; and to this they answered that Simeon ben Yohai did not commit his teachings to writing, but transmitted them orally to his disciples, who in turn confided them to their disciples, and these to their successors, until finally the doctrines were embodied in the Zohar. As to the references in the book to historical events of the post-Talmudic period, it was not deemed surprising that Simeon ben Yohai should have foretold future happenings.

Rejection of authenticity

The first attack upon the accepted authorship of the Zohar was made by Elijah Delmedigo. Without expressing any opinion as to the real author of the work, he endeavored to show, in his "Be[]inat ha-Dat," that it could not be attributed to Simeon ben Yohai. The objections were that (1) if the Zohar was the work of Simeon ben Yohai, it would have been mentioned by the Talmud, as has been the case with other works of the Talmudic period; (2) the Zohar contains names of rabbis who lived at a later period than that of Simeon; (3) were Simeon ben Yohai the father of the Kabbalah, knowing by divine revelation the hidden meaning of the precepts, his decisions on Jewish law would have been adopted by the Talmud; but this has not been done; (4) were the Kabbalah a revealed doctrine, there would have been no divergence of opinion among the Kabbalists concerning the mystic interpretation of the precepts ("Be[]inat ha-Dat," ed. Vienna, 1833, p. 43).

These arguments and others of the same kind were used by Leon of Modena in his "Ari Nohem". A work devoted to the criticism of the Zohar was written, "Miṭpaḥat Sefarim," by Jacob Emden, who, waging war against the remaining adherents of the Sabbatai Zevi movement, endeavored to show that the book on which Zevi based his doctrines was a forgery. Emden demonstrates that the Zohar misquotes passages of Scripture; misunderstands the Talmud; contains some ritual observances which were ordained by later rabbinical authorities; mentions the crusades against the Muslims (who did not exist in the second century); uses the expression "esnoga", which is a Portuguese corruption of "synagogue,"; and gives a mystical explanation of the Hebrew vowel-points, which were not introduced until long after the Talmudic period.

In the mid 20th century the Jewish historian Gershom Scholem offered persuasive evidence that de Leon himself was the most likely author of the Zohar. Among other things, Scholem noticed the Zohar's frequent errors in Aramaic grammar and its suspicious traces of Spanish words and sentence patterns. This finding is still disputed by many Orthodox Jews.

Although de Leon apparently wrote the text, the entire contents of the book may not fraudulent. Parts of it may be based on older works, and it was a common practice to ascribe the authorship of a document to an ancient rabbi in order to give the document more weight. It is possible that Moshe de Leon considered himself inspired to write this text.

Mysticism in the Zohar

"Woe unto the man," says Simeon ben Yohai, "who asserts that this Torah intends to relate only commonplace things and secular narratives; for if this were so, then in the present times likewise a Torah might be written with more attractive narratives. In truth, however, the matter is thus: The upper world and the lower are established upon one and the same principle; in the lower world is Israel, in the upper world are the angels. When the angels wish to descend to the lower world, they have to don earthly garments. If this be true of the angels, how much more so of the Torah, for whose sake, indeed, the world and the angels were alike created and exist. The world could simply not have endured to look upon it. Now the narratives of the Torah are its garments. He who thinks that these garments are the Torah itself deserves to perish and have no share in the world to come. Wo unto the fools who look no further when they see an elegant robe! More valuable than the garment is the body which carries it, and more valuable even than that is the soul which animates the body. Fools see only the garment of the Torah, the more intelligent see the body, the wise see the soul, its proper being; and in the Messianic time the 'upper soul' of the Torah will stand revealed"

Pardes and Biblical exegesis

The Zohar assumes four kinds of Biblical exegesis: "Peshat" (literal meaning), "Remez" (allusion), "Derash" (anagogical), and "Sod" (mystic). The initial letters of the words "Peshat," "Remez," "Derash," and "Sod" form together the word "PaRDeS" (Paradise), which became the designation for the fourfold meaning of which the mystical sense is the highest part.

The mystic allegorism is based by the Zohar on the principle that all visible things, the phenomena of nature included, have besides their exoteric reality an esoteric reality also, destined to instruct man in that which is invisible. This principle is the necessary corollary of the fundamental doctrine of the Zohar. The universe being, according to that doctrine, a gradation of emanations, it follows that the human mind may recognize in each effect the supreme mark, and thus ascend to the cause of all causes. This ascension, however, can only be made gradually, after the mind has attained four various stages of knowledge; namely: (1) the knowledge of the exterior aspect of things, or, as the Zohar calls it (ii. 36b), "the vision through the mirror that projects an indirect light"; (2) the knowledge of the essence of things, or "the vision through the mirror that projects a direct light"; (3) the knowledge through intuitive representation; and (4) the knowledge through love, since the Law reveals its secrets to those only who love it (ii. 99b).

After the knowledge through love comes the ecstatic state which is applied to the most holy visions. To enter the state of ecstasy one had to remain motionless, with the hand between the knees, absorbed in contemplation and murmuring prayers and hymns. There were seven ecstatic stages, each of which was marked by a vision of a different color. At each new stage the contemplative entered a heavenly hall ("hekal") of a different hue, until he reached the seventh, which was colorless, and the appearance of which marked both the end of his contemplation and his lapse into unconsciousness. The Zohar gives the following illustration of an ecstatic state:

"Once," says R. Simeon ben Yohai, "I was plunged in a contemplative ecstasy, and I beheld a sublime ray of a brilliant light which illumined 325 circles, and amid which something dark was bathing. Then the dark point, becoming bright, began to float toward the deep and sublime sea, where all the splendors were gathering. I then asked the meaning of this vision, and I was answered that it represented the forgiveness of sins."

Spread of the Zohar

The Zohar spread among the Jews with remarkable celerity. Scarcely fifty years had passed since its appearance in Spain before it was quoted by many cabalists, among whom was the Italian mystical writer Menahem Recanati. Its authority was so well established in Spain in the fifteenth century that Joseph ibn Shem-Tov drew from it arguments in his attacks against Maimonides. It exercised so great a charm upon the cabalists that they could not believe for an instant that such a book could have been written by any mortal unless he had been inspired from above; and this being the case, it was to be placed on the same level with the Bible.

Even representatives of non-mysticism oriented Judaism began to regard it as a sacred book and to invoke its authority in the decision of some ritual questions. They were attracted by its glorification of man, its doctrine of immortality, and its ethical principles, which are more in keeping with the spirit of Talmudical Judaism than are those taught by the philosophers. While Maimonides and his followers regarded man as a fragment of the universe whose immortality is dependent upon the degree of development of his active intellect, the Zohar declared him to be the lord of the Creation, whose immortality is solely dependent upon his morality. According to the Zohar, the moral perfection of man influences the ideal world of the Sefirot; for although the Sefirot expect everything from the En Sof, the En Sof itself is dependent upon man: he alone can bring about the divine effusion. The dew that vivifies the universe flows from the just. By the practice of virtue and by moral perfection man may increase the outpouring of heavenly grace. Even physical life is subservient to virtue. This, says the Zohar, is indicated in the words "for the Lord God had not caused it to rain" (Gen. ii. 5), which mean that there had not yet been beneficent action in heaven because man had not yet given the impulsion.

Ethical System

Its mystic mode of explaining some commandments was applied by its commentators to all religious observances, and produced a strong tendency to substitute a mystic Judaism for the rabbinical cult. Thus the Sabbath, with all its ceremonies, began to be looked upon as the embodiment of the Divinity in temporal life, and every ceremony performed on that day was considered to have an influence upon the superior world. Zoharic elements even crept into the liturgy of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the religious poets not only used in their compositions the allegorism and symbolism of the Zohar, but even adopted its style, the characteristic features of which were the representation of the highest thoughts by human emblems and human passions, and the use of erotic terminology to illustrate the relations between man and God, religion being identical with love. Thus, in the language of many Jewish poets the beloved one's curls indicate the mysteries of the Deity; sensuous pleasures, and especially intoxication, typify the highest degree of divine love as ecstatic contemplation; while the wine-room represents merely the state through which the human qualities merge or are exalted into those of the Deity.

Influence on Christian Mysticism

The enthusiasm felt for the Zohar was shared by many Christian scholars, such as Pico de Mirandola, Reuchlin, Ægidius of Viterbo, etc., all of whom believed that the book contained proofs of the truth of Christianity. They were led to this belief by the analogies existing between some of the teachings of the Zohar and certain Christian dogmas, such as the fall and redemption of man, and the dogma of the Trinity, which seems to be expressed in the Zohar in the following terms: "The Ancient of Days has three heads. He reveals himself in three archetypes, all three forming but one. He is thus symbolized by the number Three. They are revealed in one another. [These are:] first, secret, hidden 'Wisdom'; above that the Holy Ancient One; and above Him the Unknowable One. None knows what He contains; He is above all conception. He is therefore called for man 'Non-Existing' ["'Ayin"]" (Zohar, iii. 288b).

This and also the other doctrines of Christian tendency that are found in the Zohar are now known to be much older than Christianity; but the Christian scholars who were led by the similarity of these teachings to certain Christian dogmas deemed it their duty to propagate the Zohar. Shortly after the publication of the work (Mantua and Cremona, 1558) Joseph de Voisin translated extracts from it which deal with the soul. He was followed by many others.

The disastrous effects of the Sabbatai Zevi messianic movement damped the enthusiasm that had been felt for the book in the Jewish community. However, the Zohar is still held in great reverence by many Orthodox Jews, especially the Hasidim (Hasidic Jews).

Appendixes and additions

The Zohar is not considered complete without the addition of certain appendixes, which are often attributed either to the same author, or to some of his immediate disciples. These supplementary portions are almost always printed as part of the text with separate titles, or in separate columns. They are as follows:

"Sifra di-Ẓeni'uta," consisting of five chapters, in which are chiefly discussed the questions involved in the Creation, such as the transition from the infinite to the finite, that from absolute unity to multifariousness, that from pure intelligence to matter, etc.
"Idra Rabbah," in which the teachings of the preceding portion are enlarged upon and developed; and "Idra Zuta," giving a résumé of the two preceding sections.

To the larger appendixes are added the following fragments:

"Raze de Razin," dealing with the connection of the soul with the body.
"Sefer Hekalot," describing the seven heavenly halls, paradise, and hell.
"Raya Mehemna," giving a conversation between Moses, the prophet Elijah, and Simeon ben Yohai on the allegorical import of the Mosaic commandments and prohibitions, as well as of the rabbinical injunctions.
"Sitre Torah," on various topics.
"Midrash ha-Ne'elam," explaining passages of Scripture mystically by way of hints and gematria (mystical numerology).
"Saba," containing a conversation between the prophet Elijah and Simeon ben Yohai about the doctrine of metempsychosis.
"Yanuḳa," on the importance of washing the hands before meals and on similar subjects, written in the name of a child of Hamnuna Saba, whence the title "Yanuḳa" (child).
"Tosefta" and "Matnitin," in which are sketched the doctrines of the Sefirot, the emanation of the primordial light, etc.

Modern Usage: ZOHAR

Commercial Usage: ZOHAR

Frequency of Internet Keywords: ZOHAR

Bible Trace: ZOHAR

Language	Date	Source	Genesis Chapter 46, Verse 10
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	Uioi de sumewn iemouhl kai iamin kai awd kai iacin kai saar kai saoul uioV thV cananitidoV
Latin	405	Vulgate	Filii Symeon Iemuhel et Iamin et Ahod et Iachin et Saher et Saul filius Chananitidis
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	The sones of Symyon, Jemuhel, and Jamyn, and Yahoth, and Jachyn, and Sab, and Saber, and Saul, the sone of Chanynytidis.
Renaissance English	1526	Tyndale	The childern of Simeon: Iemuel Iamin Ohad Iachin Zohar and Saul the sonne of a Cananitish woman
Jacobean English	1611	King James	And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
Victorian English	1833	Webster	And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
Basic English	1964	Ogden	And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul, the son of a woman of Canaan;
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Matched Bible Translations: ZOHAR

Language	Genesis Chapter 46, Verse 10
Cebuano	Ug ang mga anak nga lalake ni Simeon: si Jemuel, ug si Jamin, ug si Ohad, ug si Jakin, ug si Zoar, ug si Saul nga anak nga lalake sa babaye nga Canaanhon.
Croatian	Sinovi � imunovi: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Sohar i � aul, sin Kanaanke.
Danish	Simeons Sønner Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar og Kana'anæerkvindens Søn Sjaul;
Dutch	En de zonen van Simeon: Jemuel, en Jamin, en Ohad, en Jachin, en Zohar, en Saul, de zoon ener Kanaanietische vrouw.
Finnish	Simeonin pojat olivat Jemuel, Jaamin, Oohad, Jaakin, Soohar ja Saul, kanaanilaisen vaimon poika.
French	Fils de Siméon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin et Tsochar; et Saul, fils de la Cananéenne.
German	Die Kinder Simeons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar und Saul, der Sohn von dem kanaanitischen Weibe.
Haitian Creole	Men non pitit Simeyon yo: Jemouyèl, Jamen, Orad, Jaken, Zoka ak Sayil. Li te fè dènye sa a ak yon fanm peyi Kanaran.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Simeon; anak-anaknya: Yemuel, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin, Zohar dan Saul, anak dari istrinya seorang wanita Kanaan.
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	Maka anak-anak laki-laki Simeon, yaitu Yemuil dan Yamin dan Ohad dan Yakhin dan Zohar, dan Saul, yaitu anak laki-laki dari pada seorang perempuan Kanani.
Italian	I figli di Simeone: Iemuel, Iamin, Oad, Iachin, Socar e Saul, figlio della Cananea.
Maori	Ko nga tama a Himiona; ko Iemuere, ko Iamini, ko Ohara, ko Iakini, ko Tohara, ratou ko Hauru, ko te tama a tetahi wahine Kanaani.
Norwegian	og Simeons sønner: Jemuel og Jamin og Ohad og Jakin og Sohar og Saul, som han hadde fått med en kana'anitterkvinne,
Portuguese	E os filhos de Simeão: Jemuel, Jamim, Oade, Jaquim, Zoar, e Saul, filho de uma mulher cananéia.
Rumanian	-Fiii lui Simeon: Iemuel, Iamin, Ohad, Iachin wi Yohar; wi Saul, fiu dintr`o femeie Cananitq.
Swedish	Simeons söner voro Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Sohar och Saul, den kananeiska kvinnans son.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Anagrams: ZOHAR

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-h-o-r-z"
	-1 letter: hoar, hora.
	-2 letters: azo, hao, oar, ora, rah, rho, zoa.
	-3 letters: ah, ar, ha, ho, oh, or.
	Words containing the letters "a-h-o-r-z"
	+1 letter: mahzor.
	+2 letters: machzor, mahzors, rhizoma.
	+3 letters: aphorize, machzors, mahzorim, rhizobia.
	+4 letters: aphorized, aphorizes, authorize, biohazard, harmonize, hazardous, horizonal, hydrozoan, machzorim, rhizobial, rhizoidal, rhizomata, zigamorph.
	+5 letters: aphorizing, authorized, authorizer, authorizes, biohazards, coleorhiza, harmonized, harmonizer, harmonizes, horizontal, hydrozoans, mycorrhiza, rhapsodize, rhizoplane, scherzando, schizocarp, zigamorphs.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Alternative Orthography: ZOHAR

Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

5A 4F 48 41 52

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

⁼

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

--.. --- .... .- .-.

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01011010 01001111 01001000 01000001 01010010

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#90 &#79 &#72 &#65 &#82

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

005A 004F 0048 0041 0052

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

Domain	Definition
Bible	Zohar brightness. (1.) The father of Ephron the Hittite (Gen. 23:8). (2.) One of the sons of Simeon (Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Literature	Zohar The name of a Jewish book containing cabalistic expositions of the "books of Moses." Traditionally ascribed to Rabbi Simon ben Yochi, first century; but probably belonging to the thirteenth century. "The renowned Zohar is written in Aramaic, and is a commentary on the Pentateuch, according to its divisions into fifty-two hebdomadal lessons."- Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. xii. p. 813. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Usage
Movie/TV Titles	Zohar (1993)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	El Zohar - El Libro del Esplendor (reference) Mystic Tales from the Zohar (reference) Zohar (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expression	Frequency per Day
zohar	110
bar yael zohar	18
bar michael zohar	7
argov zohar	6
soncino zohar	4
danah zohar	4
kabbalah zohar	3
online zohar	3
jewish mysticism zohar	2
rivka zohar	2
download zohar	2
uri zohar	2
cabala zohar	2
english unabridged zohar	2
ha sefer zohar	2
english in zohar	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

ZOHAR

Definition: ZOHAR

ZOHAR

Noun

Specialty Definition: ZOHAR

Specialty Definition: Zohar

Modern Usage: ZOHAR

Movie/TV Titles

Commercial Usage: ZOHAR

Books

Frequency of Internet Keywords: ZOHAR

Bible Trace: ZOHAR

Matched Bible Translations: ZOHAR

Anagrams: ZOHAR

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Alternative Orthography: ZOHAR

5A 4F 48 41 52

--.. --- .... .- .-.

01011010 01001111 01001000 01000001 01010010

&#90 &#79 &#72 &#65 &#82

005A 004F 0048 0041 0052

6049423552

INDEX