Authors: Aryeh Wineman (Translator), Aryeh Wineman
ISBN-13: 9780691058337, ISBN-10: 0691058334
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Date Published: March 1998
Edition: New Edition
"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
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
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 |