{"collection":"Texts of Judaism","full_text_available":false,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/sacred_texts_v1_jud_zdm_index_htm/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/sacred_texts_v1_jud_zdm_index_htm","id":"sacred_texts_v1_jud_zdm_index_htm","license":"unknown_pending_legal_review","rights_basis":"sacred_texts_v1_preview_gate_primary_text_only; acquisition-method/ToS and compilation-copyright questions still open, not resolved by this gate","source":"sacred_texts_v1","source_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/jud/zdm/index.htm","summary":"This is an English translation (circa 1900\u20131914) of selections from the Zohar, the foundational text of Jewish Kabbalah, covering the biblical portions from Bereshith (Genesis) through Lekh Lekha (the call of Abraham). The Zohar functions as a mystical commentary on the Hebrew Bible, using techniques like gematria and numerology to extract hidden spiritual significance from individual letters, words, and seemingly minor narrative details \u2014 for instance, devoting extensive analysis to the opening letters of Genesis. The work is organized as rabbinic discourse, featuring figures like Rabbi Simeon and his students exploring topics ranging from cosmology and the structure of heavenly realms to the soul, predestination, sacred language, and the esoteric significance of events like Noah's flood and Abraham's initiations. A notable caveat: this translation was produced by a pseudonymous Theosophist (likely British) rather than a trained Judaica scholar, and it imports anachronistic Theosophical vocabulary \u2014 \"Karma,\" \"Planes,\" \"Devachanic Spheres\" \u2014 that colors the rendering with late 19th-century occultist assumptions. It is the only extensive public-domain English translation of this Zohar material, making it accessible despite its interpretive distortions. Readers interested in Jewish mysticism will find it a vivid if impure entry point into Kabbalistic thought.","tags":[],"text":null,"title":"Zohar Index","tradition":"Texts of Judaism","translated_text":null,"word_count":920}