The Enlightened Will Shine: Symbolization and Theurgy in the Later Strata of the Zohar (review)

Book Reviews 111 sixteenth century marked the beginning of a new phase in jewish history, and therefore the end of the medieval experience. Kenneth Stow has written a valuable study not only for students of medieval jewish history, but for medievalists in general. The projected audience of the book, which is apparently advanced students and up, generates a stylistic criticism. The bibliography, which is extensive and to which students would naturally turn for references, was rather sloppily done. On the whole, however, this book was enjoyable to read, provocative in its ideas, and extremely useful for educational purposes. Frederic Krome University of Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky University The Enlightened Will Shine: Symbolization and Theurgy in the Later Strata of the Zohar, by P. Giller. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993. 180 pp. $12.95 (p). Among the myriad jewish mystical writings, the Zobar is undoubtedly the most highly valued. Its legendary origins as a classical rabbinic text sequestered for a thousand years and revealed in the thirteenth century, combined with sheer midrashic genius and theosophical luminosity, have resulted in its canonical status. Although the Zobar is commonly thought of as a multi-volumed commentary on the Torah and several other books of the Hebrew Scriptures, it is neither a homogeneous work nor the product of a single individual. The Zobar is actually a compilation of approximately two dozen discrete texts. Whereas its components are identifiable, the same cannot be said for its authors; nevertheless, Yehuda IJebes has succeeded in shattering the Scholemic myth of R. Moses de Leon as the sole author of the Zobar in his penetrating essay, "How the Zohar Was Written" (see his Studies in tbe Zobar). To date, most scholarship has concentrated on the main body of the Zobar. Among those texts that have not benefited from sustained investigation are the interconnected compositions: Tiqqunei ba-Zobar (hereafter r.z.) and Ra'aya Mebeimna. These two difficult and unwieldy classics are the focus of Pinchas Giller's fine study. They were composed by an anonymous, early fourteenth-century mystic, and Giller offers the first full-fledged exploration of this last stage ofZoharic writings. Although Giller asserts at the conclusion to chapter one, "It is the aim of this study to show that the Tiqqunim played an important part in the acceptance of 112 SHOFAR Winter 1995 Vol. 13, No.2 the Zohar as canonical literature" (p. 6), his discussion of this issue is not evident. Rather than attempt a comprehensive overview of these expansive, homiletical collections, Giller judiciously chose to explore important themes. His distillation is lucid and well written. There are chapters on kabbalistic hermeneutics, the role of the mystic, and the myth of chaos. The final three chapters focus on the relationship betweenJewish religious law, ritual, and theosophy, especially as it pertains to the Sabbath. Giller's discussion of theurgy is an important contribution to this fledgling topic. Despite the overall strength of Giller's presentation, one can take issue with some specifics. His translation of T.z. as "Infrastructures of the Zohar" (p. 4) is puzzling, as is his etymology of tiqqun (p. 130, n. 6), which claims an Arabic derivation for the word, without indicating any of the Hebrew usages of the word. Also disconcerting is his continuous rendering of the pivotal term kinnui as "euphemism" (p. 13 and throughout). Euphemism entails the substitution of one term for another, prompted by concerns for propriety. The homilies in T.z. are based on intricate associations of Divine epithets, symbols, and metaphors. Any of these terms would have been preferable to "euphemism." Giller is correct in directing our attention to R. Joseph Gikatilla's discussion of kinnuyim, and he concludes that "the author of the Tiqqunim was influenced by Gikatilla ..." (p. 15). A stronger case could have been made. Like a worthy disciple, 1:Z. is totally suffused with the spirit and methodology of Gikatilla's Sha'arei 'Orah. Viewing Gikatilla and T.z. in a master-student relationship may also explain why both evince strong connections to the 'Idrot sections of the Zohar-it is precisely this material that is not found in R. Moses de Leon's writings. Giller regularly offers an...