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- - Zohar (https://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3875)

Stanford U. Press has five of the projected 12 volumes available. It is a very profound mystic work.

Translated by Daniel Matt, it has many notes based on traditional Kabbalists' views.

Search online for Zohar Pritzker (a major sponsor) edition and gain wisdom with study and meditation on it.

Can you give a brief summary ~ I don't like to click on stuff unless I know what it's about, and I've never heard of Zohar. Thx.

As you wish...

Quote:

Ever since it emerged mysteriously in Castile, Spain toward the end of the 13th century, the Zohar has enthralled, confounded, challenged, and enraptured readers. Composed mostly in lyrical Aramaic, the Zohar is a mosaic of Bible, medieval homily, spiritual fantasy, and imaginative commentary, or midrash, on the Torah written in the form of a mystical novel. In it a group of rabbis wander through the hills of Galilee, discovering and sharing secrets of Torah: at times they interpret the actions of biblical figures, and at other times, they take center stage themselves through their adventures on the road and their encounters with various astonishing characters. The scope of the Zohar is far greater than a single book; it is virtually an entire body of literature, whose central theme is the intimacy between human beings and God. In this lies one of the Zohar’s boldest propositions, the capacity of the human being to effect change in the divine realm. Awestruck by the profundity of its insights, symbolism, and dreamlike images, Jews in many lands over the centuries have come to accept the Zohar as revealed truth—no less sacred than the two other major texts of their religion, the Torah and the Talmud. And yet, until now, there has never been a fully reliable comprehensive, scholarly English translation of this revered work with line-by-line commentary.

Ehh, no I'm just lazy, if I'm interested in the subject matter, I'll click.
:D

LOL @ SG... & thanks Skull
BTW TG site is back up :smile:

also btw...the site downing is so very like spiritual progress...LOL...all post counts back to 0 :wink: it's like reaching a new plateau...

Here is a partial translation done in the 1920s:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/tku/index.htm

Reviews of 2 editions

The first two volumes of Matt's translation are commented on by David Blumenthal:

http://www.js.emory.edu/BLUMENTHAL/Matt.htm

Blumenthal also reviewed the earlier translation from the Hebrew of I. Tishby's Zohar partial translation, with its copious comments:

http://www.js.emory.edu/BLUMENTHAL/Tishby.html

Although I have never read through the Zohar, it might be best to read some more introductory texts first for anyone who isn't as familiar with the inner teachings of Torah.

For Kabbalistic works I would recommend anything by Aryeh Kaplan.

What Is The Zohar?

The Zohar is a collection of commentaries on the Torah, intended to guide people who have already achieved high spiritual degrees to the root (origin) of their souls.

The Zohar contains all the spiritual states that people experience as their souls evolve. At the end of the process, the souls achieve what Kabbalah refers to as “the end of correction,” the highest level of spiritual wholeness.

To those without spiritual attainment, The Zohar reads like a collection of allegories and legends that can be interpreted and perceived differently by each individual. But to those with spiritual attainment, i.e. Kabbalists, The Zohar is a practical guide to inner actions that one performs in order to discover deeper, higher states of perception and sensation.

Bnei Baruch is a non-profit organization for teaching and sharing the wisdom of Kabbalah, where you can study and download the books for free..

Find it for yourself.

shalom friends,

I have enjoyed a very casual read of zohar tales of wisdom. I am sure to enjoy more in the future.

Sufism and the Kabbalah have a close relationship. In Sufism we too have Mystical stories written by Hezran Molana (Rumi) of almost 25,000 couplets! All teaching stories with various layers of interpretation according the the state and station of the reader.

As a side note, the Greatest Shaykh Ibn Arabi (AS) and Sufi Saint lived in Islamic Spain. He died the year Moses de Leon/Moshe ben Shem Tov (may his memory be blessed) was born (1240). But Hezrat Moses de Leon (1240 to 1304) and Hezrat Molana (1207-1273) were contemporaries.

Nice reminder to take another tour through some of the teaching stories :)

Peace and Blessings.
Malihe