A Boat of Light: Zoharic Images in Zelda's Poetry

This intertextual study examines the relationship between Zelda's poetry and the Zohar, the chief canonical work of Jewish mysticism. The Zohar, with its poetic nature, is a fertile source for Zelda. I shall point out commonalities in a few of Zelda's poems with some core zoharic symbolism, engaging close readings of the modern poems alongside the kabbalistic texts. This intertextuality draws on the similar essence of mystical and literary texts, which alike aspire to express the inexpressible. My analysis adopts the notion of diversity of interpretations, attuned with zoharic hermeneutics. I read Zelda's poetry as a manifestation of the female's vantage point upon herself. For Zelda, the diverse character of the divine female, the Shekhinah, is a fruitful source both for identification and for a deep investigation of love relationships from a feminine perspective.