The Secrets of Creation

The Book of Zohar, literally the »Book of Splendor«, is one of the most mysterious books of Jewish faith and thought. Its origin in 13th-century Spain is not clearly established; over the centuries there have been speculations, legends, disputes about the author or authors, but no definite evidence. The form of the Zohar, written in Aramaic, is not uniform: there is a continuous commentary structured according to weekly sections as well as individual parts, the Book of Concealment, Faithful Shepherd, Secrets of Torah.

The Zohar is the main work of the Kabbalah, which paved the way for a new mystical understanding of Judaism. Gershom Scholem, who founded the study of the Kabbalah and thus presented a new understanding of the tradition and the present of Judaism, has translated a chapter from the Book of Zohar into German. At the same time, Scholem gives an introduction to the historical significance of the Zohar, which also influenced the German Romantics, and explains the structure of the book.

Gershom Scholem’s book is an introduction to the world of Kabbalah, in which a new understanding of Judaism found expression.