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and rich ambiguity. Here the commentary is essential. When the potency, cannot adequately express a multifaceted phrase, I unfold the range translation meaningin the commentary. When the translation is as cryptic as the of Aramaic, the commentary rescues the stranded reader. original style of translation is literal yet poetic. I am convinced that a literal My the Zohar is not only the most accurate but also the most colorful renderingof zestfulÐthe best way to transmit the lyrical energy of the Aramaic. Still, at and the multivalent language invites a certain freedom of expression. Let me times, two related examples. In Zohar 1:83a, Rabbi Shim'on describes the nighttime cite journey of the soul, soaringskyward from her sleepingbody: ``Flying, she does this bizarre term mean? The Sperling-Simon translation renders What as ``certain bright but unclean essences.'' 20 The English translation of Tishby's it Wisdom of the Zohar reads: ``the deceivinglights of uncleanness,'' 21 negohot)Ðroughly: ``vaulted splendors''Ðthough in his note he acknowledges (qimmurei that the meaning is ``doubtful.'' 22 I render the sentence as follows: she encounters those hooded, hunchbacked, dazzling demons of de- ``Flying, The accompanyingcommentary explains that these are malevolent ®lement.'' who block the ascent of an unworthy soul. Qumrin derives via rabbinic forces from the Greek qamara, ''arched cover,'' while tehirin is a cognate of the usage tihara, meaning``brightness, noon.'' One class of demons is named Aramaic ``noonday demons.'' tiharei, teriqin). The Sperling-Simon translation renders this phrase as ``malignant (ḥavilei bands.'' 23 The English translation of Tishby's Wisdom of the Zohar reads: destructive powers.'' 24 I render it as ``ravaging bands of truculent `ìll-intentioned stingers.'' The commentary explains that ḥavilei derives from either ḥevel, group,'' or the verb ḥvl, ``to injure, destroy.'' Teriqin derives from the ``band, trq, ``to sting, bite.'' root Hebrew anthology by Fischel Lachower and Isaiah Tishby, Mishnat ha-Zohar, and its the version, The Wisdom of the Zohar, trans. David Goldstein; and the recent English English edited by Michael Berg, The Zohar by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, which, however, translation based not on the original Aramaic but on Ashlag's Hebrew translation. For details on all is these, see the Bibliography. of The Zohar, trans. Harry Sperlingand Maurice Simon, 1:277. 20. Tishby, Wisdom of the Zohar, trans. Goldstein, 2:818. 21. Idem, Mishnat ha-Zohar, 2:134. He concludes by sayingthat the phrase may mean: 22. lights.'' ``delusive The Zohar, trans. Sperlingand Simon, 2:19. 23. Translator's Introduction encounters those (qumrin tehirin) ofde®lement.'' QKZPG KZKFJ Q Y while \GFGDR KZGPKY Tishby's original Hebrew translation reads a bit differently: xiv KNKC QKYKZJ I virtuous soul who evades these demons reaches heaven and receives a The message. According to another Zoharic passage (1:130a), while descend- divine ingback to her sleepingearthbound body, the soul is assailed by 24. Tishby, Wisdom of the Zohar, trans. Goldstein, 2:813.
disappear, die, remove, postpone, reserve, emit (fragrance).'' In normal depart, and Hebrew, the speci®c verbal conjugation determines which mean- Aramaic the root applies, but the Zohar ignores or ¯outs rules of grammarÐ ingof the conjugations, playing with multiple meanings, often leaving the confusing stumped and wondering. reader strives to penetrate a realm beyond distinctions, but this mystical Mysticism demands constant decision making, challenging the reader or masterpiece to navigate between con¯icting meanings and determine the appro- translator oneÐor sometimes to discover how differingmeanings pertain simultaneouslypriate The frequent dilemmas of interpretation suggest that in exploring the linguistic search and spiritual search go hand in hand. Zohar, puzzling, though charming, are the neologisms strewn through- Especially out the Zohar, intended to bewilder and astound the reader. 25 rare Talmudic terms, which the author refashions by intentionally misspellingor from by invertingletters; some derive from Greek, Latin, or Castilian; ZJ B [qitra]) and ``waterskin.'' 26 Y it can mean ``scale, hollow of the hand, ®st, potter's wheel, and water contexts This last sense refers to a device described in ancient and medieval clock.'' literature, which in the Zohar functions as an alarm clock, calibrated scienti®c wake kabbalists precisely at midnight for the ritual study of Torah. 27 A to device was employed in Christian monasteries to rouse monks for their similar How appropriate to invent a word for an invention! vigils. by ponderingthe context, comparingZoharic and rabbinic parallels, Often, scouringsundry dictionaries and lexicons, one can decipher or at least and the meaningof these weird terms, but some remain as perplexingas conjecture intended. 28 originally See Tishby, Wisdom of the Zohar, 1:66±67. 25. See Yehuda Liebes, Peraqim be-Millon Sefer ha-Zohar, 349±54. 26. See Zohar 1:92b and my commentary. 27. After wrestlingwith Zoharic neologisms for years, I no longer share Tishby's view 28. of the Zohar, 1:66) that `ònly rarely is it possible to determine their meaningfrom (Wisdom context, while for the most part it is dif®cult even to guess what the author had in the Translator's Introduction Although the Zohar's basic vocabulary is limited, its roots generate a rich of meanings. For example, the root \ Y Q variety (tqn) spans the followingrange: `èstablish, institute, mend, restore, correct, perfect, prepare, arrange, array, adorn.'' The root (slq) can mean: ``rise, raise, culminate, attain, surpass, N Y S Some derive xv \KVSG B (quspita), Y ZKVJ Y (qatpira), Y JZK B (qirta), Y ZKS B (qesira), Y BZJSG B appear to be pure inventions. These nonce words often contain the some J (tet), S (samekh), V (pe), Y (qof), and Z (resh) in various combina- letters tions: (qustera), (tufsera). Qustera derives from the Latin word castrum (plural, ZSVG B J castra), ``fortress, castle.'' Qatpira and its variations mean several things, including``knot'' (based on Aramaic One newly-coined noun, (tiqla), is particularly versatile. In various NYK B J
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is this exile that the kabbalists a
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