5 - On the History of Zohar Interpretation

Summary

Not all who desire to assume the Name may do so.

Berakhot 8b

AS I HAVE SHOWN in the previous chapter, in the first half of the sixteenth century the Zohar's authority became evident in the growing frequency with which it was cited in support of theological views or to settle questions of custom and law. Following the formation and printing of the zoharic canon in the second half of the century, this authority was further manifested in the publication of the first comprehensive Zohar commentaries, and these interpretative works soon developed into a principal genre of kabbalistic literature.

Although partial commentaries had been written before the printing of the Zohar, it was not until the mid-sixteenth century that complete commentaries were published and their production became a major kabbalistic practice. This development took place only during the final stages of, and probably in response to, the canonization process. As I have argued in Chapter 3, before the formulation and printing of the zoharic canon the possession, collection, and redaction of zoharic texts, as well as the ability to quote from that holy book, were sources of cultural power controlled by elite circles of the Iberian exiles. However, once the Zohar was canonized, printed, and widely distributed, the ownership of texts lost its cultural significance. New methods were needed to derive authority from the Zohar's symbolic value, and it was at this moment that the emphasis shifted from the possession of texts to the ability to control their meaning.

Zohar interpretation began more or less simultaneously with the appearance of the first manuscripts, and some of the sections that were ultimately canonized included commentaries on earlier segments. For example, commentaries on parts of Midrash hane’elam can be found in the body of the Zohar; Idra raba and Idra zuta include explications of Sifra ditseniuta; and commentaries on earlier zoharic sections form part of Tikunei hazohar and Ra’aya meheimna, which also contain an explicit hermeneutical reference to ḥibura kadma’ah (the early work).

Menahem Recanati was the first kabbalist to quote frequently from the Zohar, often following these quotations with interpretation. In his book Ta’amei hamitsvot, furthermore, Recanati mentioned a commentary he had written on the Zohar.