Mystic Tales from the Zohar

by Aryeh Wineman, Aryeh Wineman (Translator)

Overview

Zohar, or "brilliant light," is the central text of Kabbalah. In Jewish mystical tradition, it is the meeting of midrash (storytelling that expands on events in the Bible) and myth. This selection offers original translations of eight of the most well developed narratives in the Zohar along with notes and detailed commentary. The tales deal with the themes of sin and repentance, death, exile, redemption, and resurrection. Most importantly, they are stories, they are literature, and here they are finally analyzed as such. Using comparative information, Aryeh Wineman places the tales in their historical and etymological contexts. He cites a variety of theorists of myth, including Otto Rank, C. G. Jung, Mircea Eliade, and Joseph Campbell, all of whom sought to connect the motifs of the Zohar to universal motifs. He ties the stories to the tenets of Kabbalah, to one another, and to the world's universal symbols and meanings."Rather than merely identifying literary motifs in the stories, Wineman explains how these motifs convey metaphysical beliefs.... The volume is lovingly composed, meticulously edited and lucidly illustrated.... One could hardly ask for a fuller analysis.... A more reader-friendly book would be difficult to imagine." --Robert Segal, University of Lancaster"There has been a recent upsurge of interest in Jewish mysticism, and the material in this book, while scholarly, can be readily understood by interested lay readers."--Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780827605152
Publisher:	The Jewish Publication Society
Publication date:	01/01/1997
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

Aryeh Wineman is a Rabbi at Temple Beth-El in Troy, New York.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: On the Zoharic Story 3

Grief, Triumph, Expulsion 19

The Book of Adam: Two Accounts 35

The House of the World 57

Death Postponed 73

The Bridegroom's Silence 89

A Retelling of Jonah 107

A Tale of Sin and Repentance 127

A Child's Tears and His Father's Resurrection 143

About the Papercut Art: The Ten Sefirot 159

Glossary 167

Bibliography 173

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Rather than merely identifying literary motifs in the stories, Wineman explains how these motifs convey metaphysical beliefs.... The volume is lovingly composed, meticulously edited and lucidly illustrated.... One could hardly ask for a fuller analysis.... A more reader-friendly book would be difficult to imagine."—Robert Segal, University of Lancaster

Robert Segal

Rather than merely identifying literary motifs in the stories, Wineman explains how these motifs convey metaphysical beliefs.... The volume is lovingly composed, meticulously edited and lucidly illustrated.... One could hardly ask for a fuller analysis.... A more reader-friendly book would be difficult to imagine.
— Robert Segal, University of Lancaster

Editorial Reviews

The 13th-century Zohar, consisting of theosophical theories concerning the Godhead and the Torah, is the central text of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. Woven through it are several narrative passages or stories. Rabbi Wineman, a specialist in Jewish mystical studies, presents eight of these stories in his own translation, with notes and commentary. The tales deal with the themes of sin and repentance, death, exile, redemption, and resurrection. Wineman's commentary expertly elucidates these esoteric stories. He includes excellent essays on the Zohar and Kabbalistic theory, especially an explanation of the ten Sefirot, or aspects of the deity. There has been a recent upsurge of interest in Jewish mysticism, and the material in this book, while scholarly, can be readily understood by interested lay readers.-Robert A. Silver, formerly with Shaker Heights P.L., Ohio

Library Journal

A translation of eight Zohar narratives, works central to the Kabbalah and displaying the core of the Jewish mystical tradition. Written in the 13th century, the tales convey the poetic mythmaking contained in mysticism, and Wineman's notes and detailed commentary enhance the appreciation of the homilies, such as the story of the book of Adam wherein Adam pleads to God for the return of a book lost during the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Includes papercut art illustrations. Lacks an index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"Rather than merely identifying literary motifs in the stories, Wineman explains how these motifs convey metaphysical beliefs.... The volume is lovingly composed, meticulously edited and lucidly illustrated.... One could hardly ask for a fuller analysis.... A more reader-friendly book would be difficult to imagine."—Robert Segal, University of Lancaster

From the Publisher