Reviews of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition

PRAISE for 
THE ZOHAR: PRITZKER EDITION

"Daniel C. Matt is giving us what I hardly thought possible: a superbly fashioned translation and a commentary that opens up the Zohar to the English-speaking world. The great tradition of Kabbalistic scholarship, particularly as embodied in Gershom Scholem and Moshe Idel, has nurtured the lucidity and overwhelming relevance of Matt's Zohar, which will provide both common and uncommon readers with access to a work capable of changing the consciousness of those who enter it."

—Harold Bloom

"A monumental achievement of serious scholarship. At a time when so many are searching for spiritual guidance and so much nonsense is purveyed in the name of Kabbalah, it is a blessing to have the authentic Zohar made accessible."

—Rabbi Harold Kushner

"The Zohar, the crown jewel of Jewish mysticism, is a book more read about than read due to its difficult language and symbolic complexity. The publication of the first edition of the Pritzker Edition of the Zohar will change this. For the first time we have a translation and commentary that will enable the general reader, Jewish and non-Jewish, to gain at least some sense of the meaning of this masterpiece of mystical literature. This volume, and those to come in the Pritzker Edition will be treasured by all who are seeking a deeper sense of the meaning of God in their lives."

—Bernard McGinn, Professor Emeritus,The Divinity School, University of Chicago

"Daniel Matt's translation of the Zohar is a masterful approach to one of the most enchanting and intriguing texts of religious literature. Moshe Idel is right: this new volume will be read and reread with delight and fervor by teachers and student alike."

—Elie Wiesel

"Everybody talks about Kabbalah, but few have penetrated the depths of its symbolism and teachings. Daniel C. Matt's brilliant, erudite and imaginative translation of the Zohar makes this great classic of Kabbalistic thought accessible beyond the scholarly community to a wide range of readers. Matt's genius lies in his ability to probe even the most esoteric passages and convey the essence of their wisdom and the beauty of their poetry. This work takes my breath away, and fills my soul with the joy of discovery."

—Francine Klagsbrun

"Daniel Matt's work is superior to any other available translation because of its superb poetic language, the exegetical contribution of its copious notes, and its superior underlying Aramaic text, which was specially prepared by Dr. Matt from numerous original Zohar manuscripts and serves as the basis for his translation. Both the general English reader and scholars in the field of religious studies will benefit tremendously from this new series of volumes."

—Moshe Idel,Max Cooper Professor of Jewish Thought,Hebrew University of Jerusalem

"Daniel Matt's presentation of the Zohar is elegant, erudite, beautiful; at last the gates to this great classic of the spirit have been unlocked. Seekers and scholars alike are profoundly in his debt."

—Rabbi David Wolpe

"Daniel Matt's first two volumes of his translation of the Zohar is an epochal event. When the task is finished in all the projected twelve volumes, Western readers will finally know what the Zohar represents. This work of learning will free us from the errors and misrepresentations that have long existed in almost all the popular accounts of the Zohar. We shall have this text in which the Zohar appears in all of its spiritual depth."

—Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg