This week’s Stanford Report profiles
the Zohar project: a collaboration
between Stanford University Press and the Pritzker Foundation to bring the fundamental body of Kabbalah
literature to the English-speaking world.
Daniel Matt
has completed four of a projected dozen volumes of the Zohar’s unique
combination of biblical commentary, mysticism, and myth. As
the Report describes, the origins of this text are a puzzle: Matt
believes that “75 to 80 percent comes from [Castilian Jew] Moses [ben Shem Tov
de León], who died in 1305,” although Moses claimed that he was merely
translating a second-century manuscript. “‘It matches no Aramaic dialect in the world… it’s amazing.’ Matt
said. And the most amazing thing, he
adds, is its crazy, invented language that revels in the sounds of strange
words.”
The Zohar also reaches
some controversial conclusions about the nature of God. In Matt’s words, the Zohar concludes that “humans
actualize God by living ethically and spiritually. Human holy actions fulfill God.”
The Report’s article links to some excerpts from Volume IV of the Zohar; additional commentary and excerpts from Volume I can be found on the SUP Zohar page, along with the original Aramaic text Matt’s translation is based upon. You can also sign up to be kept appraised of new developments related to the Zohar.
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