Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T05:02:16.783Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core

5 - On the History of Zohar Interpretation

Boaz Huss
Affiliation:
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Get access

Summary

Not all who desire to assume the Name may do so.

Berakhot 8b

AS I HAVE SHOWN in the previous chapter, in the first half of the sixteenth century the Zohar's authority became evident in the growing frequency with which it was cited in support of theological views or to settle questions of custom and law. Following the formation and printing of the zoharic canon in the second half of the century, this authority was further manifested in the publication of the first comprehensive Zohar commentaries, and these interpretative works soon developed into a principal genre of kabbalistic literature.

Although partial commentaries had been written before the printing of the Zohar, it was not until the mid-sixteenth century that complete commentaries were published and their production became a major kabbalistic practice. This development took place only during the final stages of, and probably in response to, the canonization process. As I have argued in Chapter 3, before the formulation and printing of the zoharic canon the possession, collection, and redaction of zoharic texts, as well as the ability to quote from that holy book, were sources of cultural power controlled by elite circles of the Iberian exiles. However, once the Zohar was canonized, printed, and widely distributed, the ownership of texts lost its cultural significance. New methods were needed to derive authority from the Zohar's symbolic value, and it was at this moment that the emphasis shifted from the possession of texts to the ability to control their meaning.

Zohar interpretation began more or less simultaneously with the appearance of the first manuscripts, and some of the sections that were ultimately canonized included commentaries on earlier segments. For example, commentaries on parts of Midrash hane’elam can be found in the body of the Zohar; Idra raba and Idra zuta include explications of Sifra ditseniuta; and commentaries on earlier zoharic sections form part of Tikunei hazohar and Ra’aya meheimna, which also contain an explicit hermeneutical reference to ḥibura kadma’ah (the early work).

Menahem Recanati was the first kabbalist to quote frequently from the Zohar, often following these quotations with interpretation. In his book Ta’amei hamitsvot, furthermore, Recanati mentioned a commentary he had written on the Zohar.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×