The Zohar: Pritzker Edition
“The Zohar: Pritzker Edition” by Daniel Matt is a monumental translation of the Zohar, the foundational work of Jewish mysticism. This 12-volume series is the first to be translated from a critical Aramaic text, based on original manuscripts. Matt’s extensive commentary clarifies Kabbalistic symbolism and terminology, citing sources from biblical, rabbinic, and kabbalistic texts. Acclaimed for its poetic language and insightful exegesis, the translation makes the complex Zohar accessible to a wider audience, both scholarly and general. Esteemed figures like Harold Bloom, Rabbi Harold Kushner, and Elie Wiesel have praised Matt’s work for opening up the Zohar’s spiritual depth, noting its significant impact on religious studies and spirituality. This translation is seen as a crucial development in Western understanding of the Zohar, offering an authentic interpretation free from long-standing errors and misrepresentations.
About Daniel Matt
Professor Daniel Matt is a scholar of Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah, and the translator of “The Zohar: Pritzker Edition,” a multivolume, annotated translation of the classic work of Jewish mysticism known as the Zohar.
Matt holds a PhD from Brandeis University and has taught at several institutions, including the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, where he served as a professor of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. He has written several books and articles on Jewish mysticism, including “The Essential Kabbalah,” “God and the Big Bang,” and “Zohar: Annotated and Explained.”
Matt’s translation of the Zohar is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive and accurate translations of the text to date. In addition to the text itself, the Pritzker Edition includes extensive commentary, notes, and essays that help to contextualize the work and make it more accessible to contemporary readers.
Matt has been recognized for his contributions to the study of Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah, and has received several awards and honors for his work. He continues to be a prominent figure in the world of Jewish scholarship and mysticism.
