Front Matter (PDF) - Stanford University Press
Front Matter (PDF) - Stanford University Press
Front Matter (PDF) - Stanford University Press
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disappear, die, remove, postpone, reserve, emit (fragrance).'' In normal<br />
depart,<br />
and Hebrew, the speci®c verbal conjugation determines which mean-<br />
Aramaic<br />
the root applies, but the Zohar ignores or ¯outs rules of grammarÐ<br />
ingof<br />
the conjugations, playing with multiple meanings, often leaving the<br />
confusing<br />
stumped and wondering.<br />
reader<br />
strives to penetrate a realm beyond distinctions, but this mystical<br />
Mysticism<br />
demands constant decision making, challenging the reader or<br />
masterpiece<br />
to navigate between con¯icting meanings and determine the appro-<br />
translator<br />
oneÐor sometimes to discover how differingmeanings pertain simultaneouslypriate<br />
The frequent dilemmas of interpretation suggest that in exploring the<br />
linguistic search and spiritual search go hand in hand.<br />
Zohar,<br />
puzzling, though charming, are the neologisms strewn through-<br />
Especially<br />
out the Zohar, intended to bewilder and astound the reader. 25<br />
rare Talmudic terms, which the author refashions by intentionally misspellingor<br />
from<br />
by invertingletters; some derive from Greek, Latin, or Castilian;<br />
ZJ B [qitra]) and ``waterskin.'' 26<br />
Y<br />
it can mean ``scale, hollow of the hand, ®st, potter's wheel, and water<br />
contexts<br />
This last sense refers to a device described in ancient and medieval<br />
clock.''<br />
literature, which in the Zohar functions as an alarm clock, calibrated<br />
scienti®c<br />
wake kabbalists precisely at midnight for the ritual study of Torah. 27 A<br />
to<br />
device was employed in Christian monasteries to rouse monks for their<br />
similar<br />
How appropriate to invent a word for an invention!<br />
vigils.<br />
by ponderingthe context, comparingZoharic and rabbinic parallels,<br />
Often,<br />
scouringsundry dictionaries and lexicons, one can decipher or at least<br />
and<br />
the meaningof these weird terms, but some remain as perplexingas<br />
conjecture<br />
intended. 28<br />
originally<br />
See Tishby, Wisdom of the Zohar, 1:66±67.<br />
25.<br />
See Yehuda Liebes, Peraqim be-Millon Sefer ha-Zohar, 349±54.<br />
26.<br />
See Zohar 1:92b and my commentary.<br />
27.<br />
After wrestlingwith Zoharic neologisms for years, I no longer share Tishby's view<br />
28.<br />
of the Zohar, 1:66) that ``only rarely is it possible to determine their meaningfrom<br />
(Wisdom<br />
context, while for the most part it is dif®cult even to guess what the author had in<br />
the<br />
Translator's Introduction<br />
Although the Zohar's basic vocabulary is limited, its roots generate a rich<br />
of meanings. For example, the root \ Y Q<br />
variety<br />
(tqn) spans the followingrange:<br />
``establish, institute, mend, restore, correct, perfect, prepare, arrange, array,<br />
adorn.'' The root<br />
(slq) can mean: ``rise, raise, culminate, attain, surpass,<br />
N Y S<br />
Some derive<br />
xv<br />
\KVSG B (quspita), Y ZKVJ<br />
Y<br />
(qatpira), Y JZK B (qirta), Y ZKS B (qesira), Y BZJSG<br />
B<br />
appear to be pure inventions. These nonce words often contain the<br />
some<br />
J (tet), S (samekh), V (pe), Y (qof), and Z (resh) in various combina-<br />
letters<br />
tions:<br />
(qustera),<br />
(tufsera). Qustera derives from the Latin word castrum (plural,<br />
ZSVG B J<br />
castra), ``fortress, castle.'' Qatpira and its variations mean several things, including``knot''<br />
(based on Aramaic<br />
One newly-coined noun,<br />
(tiqla), is particularly versatile. In various<br />
NYK B J