Tiqqunei haZohar | David Solomon

David Solomon examines the question: Which books of Kabbalah should a person have when building a Jewish library?

He also speaks for the first time publicly about completing the first-ever full English translation of the cornerstone kabbalistic text, Tiqqunei HaZohar.

David begins his presentation with a broad overview of the foundational texts required for a Jewish library, before narrowing his focus to which books of Jewish Mysticism should also be included. In doing so, he explores the background of each of the kabbalistic texts discussed, including their:

historical emergence
themes, and
importance within the corpus of Kabbalah.

In the final part of the talk, David discusses the background and details of his translation of Tiqqunei HaZohar.

He also provides several images which illustrate the historical development of Tiqqunei HaZohar, including sample pages from the forthcoming publication of his translation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:59 — 70.2MB)

Continue reading “#117 Kabbalah on the Jewish Bookshelf”

“The Zohar is not a book but a phenomenon.”

David Solomon’s second lecture in his series, A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time, explores the extraordinary ideas and contributions of the:

Zohar,
Tikkunei HaZohar,
and Sefer ha-Temunah.

In his discussion of the Zohar, David examines its dynamic interpretation of the Torah and how it applies this interpretation to the structure of the sefirot. He also looks at the way the Zohar explores the cosmic links between G-d, Israel, creation, and history.

The Tikkunei HaZohar, David explains, is concerned with the Divine presence in the various domains of the universe as well as in exile. Among other things, he considers the Tikkunei HaZohar’s discussion of the feminine Divine presence – the Shekhinah – and Her quest to find unity and completion with Her male counterpart, the blessed Holy One.

The final text David examines is Sefer HaTemunah, which is predominantly concerned with the Divine in time. All things emanate from G-d and return to Him, David explains, and time is divided into cosmic cycles.

In discussing these three important texts, David provides the historical and cultural background to their emergence in Jewish history and their impact on mystical thinking. He also shows his audience the size and presentation of the books and discusses their availability for interested readers – in English, Hebrew, and Aramaic.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:38 — 42.1MB)

Continue reading “#103 A Kabbalistic Journey Through Time (2)”