Zohar

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Pronunciations

Zohar (ZOH-hahr) listen
The Zohar (the ZOH-hahr) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The central, mystical text of Kabbalah.

Example Sentences

  • "In its literary form the Zohar is a collection of several books or sections which include short midrashic statements, longer homilies, and discussions on many topics." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH זֹהַר‎, lit. 'splendor, radiance' > Y זוהר zoyer

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
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      Alternative Spellings

      The Zohar, Zoyer, The Zoyer

Notes

  • The Zohar is "one of only three canonized Jewish sacred texts (the other two are the Torah and the Talmud). The Zohar, written in Aramaic, includes interpretations and commentaries that explore the secrets and symbols in the Torah. The Zohar proposes a distinct theory of Creation in which emanations from Ein Sof created a secret spark of awareness, from which emerged and radiated all light. Levels of creation, sefirot, and the worlds above and below are discussed throughout the Zohar. The Zohar holds that The Song of Songs, with its allusions of love and eroticism, contains more secrets of the universe than any other Jewish text. The Zohar was introduced into Spain around 1290 by the mystic Moses de Leon, who claimed it was the mystical 2nd-century writings of Talmudic sage Shimon bar Yochai. Most scholars believe that de Leon authored the text himself." (JPS)

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