The Zohar is a group of books that include commentary on different aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations on Jewish mysticism. After nearly two decades the complete Zohar translation from Aramaic into English has been finished. The final volume will be released this coming May. But why does the Zohar translation matter anyway?
Zohar Translation | What exactly is the Zohar though?
The Zohar, Sefer ha Zohar, or the Book of Splendor or Radiance, is the central and canonical text of Jewish mysticism. A collection of commentaries on the Torah, it is intended as a guide to those who aim to achieve a high level of spirituality.
The books include such discussions as what is the nature of God, the origin of the universe, the nature of souls, good versus evil, and sin.
The Zohar forms the basis of the “Kabbalah”, which is an ancient wisdom that reveals how the universe and life work. The word “Kabbalah” literally means “to receive” and is the study of how to receive fulfillment in one’s life. At the end of the process, souls achieve what “Kabbalah” refers to as “the end of correction”, or the highest level of spiritual wholeness.
The Zohar origins date back to the end of the 13th-century in Castille, Spain, when a Jewish writer named Moses de Leon claimed to have found a collection of ancient manuscripts ascribed to a second-century rabbi in Israel, Shimon Bar Yochai. But modern academics believe that Moses de Leon was actually the lead writer and editor.
Zohar Translation | Why was the Zohar Translated to English?
The Zohar is originally written in the ancient language of Aramaic, one of the oldest known languages in history. As such, the Zohar translation was undertaken in order to make it more accessible to the populace today.
Daniel C. Matt, a Kabbalah scholar and professor at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, started working full time translating nine of the twelve volumes of the Zohar in 1995.
In 2011, the sponsors of the project, Margot and Tom Pritzker, hired two other writers, Nathan Wolski and Joel Hecker, to split the translation of the last three volumes. This was done so that the final 12th volume could be published by May of 2017. In total, the twelve volumes compose approximately 7,000 pages including the full translation and commentary.
This Translation is Full of Firsts
Although this is actually the third translation of the Zohar text in English, it is the first one to be completed, and the first one based on scholarly examination of the original manuscript. It’s also the first to provide commentary to aid the reader.
Previous attempts at a Zohar translation were either incomplete, showed a significant lack of understanding of the text, or left certain sections untranslated. If the sections were translated, the translations were inaccurate.
That’s not all…
Facing such a sizable volume of text composed of a delicate nature for translation was quite challenging. There is no complete manuscript of the Zohar, and the printed text has a lot of inconsistencies when compared to earlier versions. Moreover, the Zohar has a lot of neologisms (made-up words), and some of them are taken from Latin, Greek, Persian or Arabic terms.
In order to overcome these challenges, the writers had to understand the idiosyncratic Aramaic and come up with creative and engaging renderings. This translation services technique is known as transcreation and is often used in translating literature or poetry.
But why does this matter?
The Zohar translation has been crucial because it is the most important text in the mystical Jewish tradition. It is valuable for both Jewish and non-Jewish spiritual seekers.
Until now, the Zohar has been restricted to academic or religious scholars, limiting its spiritual importance to an elite and exclusive few. The translation will allow for more people to read and learn about their faith.
How much do you know about the Aramaic Language?
As stated before, one of the reasons the Zohar translation was such a challenging endeavor was due to it’s source text being written in the Aramaic language. Aramaic belongs to the group of Semitic languages, a branch of the Afro-asiatic language family that originated in the Middle East.
Semitic languages are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of Western Asia and Africa, as well as in large expatriate communities in North America and Europe. The most widely spoken Semitic languages today are Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya, Hebrew, Maltese and Aramaic.
The Aramaic language can be divided into 3 time periods:
- Old or Imperial Aramaic (1100BC – 200AD): The Biblical Aramaic of the Hebrew Bible and the Aramaic of Jesus.
- Middle Aramaic (200 – 1200): The time of the creation of the Syriac dialect. Its modern form is used among Syriac Christians today and is an official minority language in Iraq
- Modern Aramaic (1200 – Present): In its various dialects, it is spoken in modern-day Iraq, Iran, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, and the2various Western cou2tries to which the native speakers have emigrated. These countries include Russia, Europe, Australia and the United States.
The Aramaic Alphabet
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
Language Connections Inc.
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 105,
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com