Zohar

Zohar, also called Sefer ha-Zohar (The Book of Splendor), is a foundational work of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah. Tradition ascribes its authorship to Shimon bar Yochai, a 2nd-century sage, but most modern scholars regard the Zohar as a medieval composition, likely produced by Moses de León in 13th-century Spain, drawing on earlier sources and oral traditions. The text is written in a dialect of Aramaic with insertions of Hebrew and presents a mystical commentary on the Torah (Pentateuch).

Content and structure: The Zohar is organized as discourses attributed to biblical sages, arranged as commentaries on the Pentateuch and as a collection of homilies found in sections such as the main Zohar and additional works like Idra Rabba, Idra Zuta, and the Tikkunei Zohar. Central themes include the nature of God as the infinite, the ten emanations (Sefirot) through which the divine interacts with creation, the process of divine emanation and concealment (tzimtzum), the soul, and the hidden meanings of the Torah.

Influence and reception: The Zohar became the core text of medieval Kabbalah and profoundly influenced later Jewish mysticism, including Hasidic thought. It circulated widely in manuscripts and print, with the earliest widely circulated print edition appearing in the 16th century. Scholarly assessment continues to debate authorship, dating, and textual history; nonetheless, the Zohar remains central to Jewish mystical and esoteric thought.