E. Sefer HaZohar (Book of Splendor)
The Sefer HaZohar (Book of Splendor, often referred
to simply as "the Zohar") is a five-volume mystical
exegesis written in Rashi Aramaic on the five books of the Torah.
Like the Sefer Yetzirah, the date and original author of the
Zohar are subjects for academic debate. Many qabalistic scholars,
such as Gershom Scholem, believe the Zohar to be a new work
produced by Moses De Leon, circa 1250 CE in Spain.Scholem, Gershom. Kabbalah, Keter Publishing, Jerusalem,
1974. Others believe that it
was dictated by its pivotal figure Rabbi Shimeon Ben Yochai to his son Rabbi
Abba in the first century CE, while they and their group of rabbis hid in
caves for thirteen years in Piquin, Israel to avoid Roman persecution. Hence,
there are also those who would take the intermediary position that De Leon
redacted and published a work that had a much earlier time of origin.
The text of the Zohar is presented as a series of dialogues
among a group of rabbis. These rabbis were the embodiments of the various
Sefiroth (spheres) on the Tree of Life (see
Diagram). Hence, the "flavor" of the respective Sefirah
(sphere) colors each rabbi's remarks and questions. Like the Sefer
Yetzirah, the Zohar has its own distinct set of names
for the Sefiroth, most of which come from the Sefer HaShmoth,
and are later echoed in the Torah and Ketuvim
(Writings). Those names may be described as various qualities of
the Divine, such as Wisdom, Beauty, Glory, and Mercy. The Zoharic names
for the Sefiroth are the most commonly known and used among all types of
Qabalists.
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The body of the five volumes of the Zohar emanates from a
core of three extraordinary texts. The innermost layer and heart of the
Zohar is a small text called the Sifra Detzniyutha
(Book of THAT Which is Concealed). This book contains the single
greatest exposition on the negatively existent Mysterious Unknown (called
Ayn, and also "The NOT") among all written works of the
Mystical Qabalah. The next layer of the core of the Zohar
is a text called Idra Rabba Qadusha (Greater Holy Assembly),
or simply Idra Rabba; and the third layer of the core is called
Idra Zuta Qadusha (Lesser Holy Assembly), or simply
Idra Zuta. The Idra Rabba and Idra Zuta
expand greatly upon the anthropomorphic allusions introduced in the Sifra
Detzniyutha. The "Greater Holy Assembly" is the entire
Tree of ten Sefiroth.
The "Lesser Holy Assembly" is the upper seven Sefiroth only.
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