(TRADITONALLY ATTRIBUTED TO). Sepher Hazohar [“The Book of Splendor”]

SHIMON B”R YOCHAI.

Meir b. Ephraim of Padua and Jacob Hakohen of Gazolo

Mantua

1558-60

FIRST EDITION. Five parts in three volumes. Complete with four titles each within architectural arch. ff.(8), 251, 269, 300

Vinograd, Mantua 51,61 and 69; Wiener 3384; not in Adams

This, the most classic of Jewish mystical texts was printed amidst fierce controversy. Many among Rabbinic and Kabbalistic circles feared the printing of such an esoteric work; its meaning might be distorted by Christians in support of their faith, and the majority of Jews themselves would be confused by the implications of the Zohar’s mystical teachings. A textually inferior reprint by Vincenzo Conti of Cremona immediately followed this Mantua edition. See G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941) pp.156-243; D. Amram, The Makers of Hebrew Books in Italy (1963) pp.325-27; Carmilly-Weinberger, pp.53-55 Volume 3 contains very important apparently unpublished marginal annotations in the hand of R. Yaakov Zemach, the author of Nagid Umetzaveh and other works. His notes are usually preceded by the name - Zemach. Although a member of a converso family in Portugal, he studied in Salonica,Safed and Damascus attaining the stature as one of the leading disseminators of Kabbaah of his time . He studied under R. Shmuel Vital and was one of the first to recognize the falsity of Shabbetai Tzvi and excommunicated him in1665. See G. Scholem’s biography and literary appreciation in Kiryat Sefer 26,1950, pp.185-94, I. Sonne’s comments in KS, 27,195, pp. 97-106 and Scholem’s rejoinder pp.107-110..A sample of one of his manuscript works was published by N. Ben Menachem, Areshet, 2, 1960, pp. 379-83. This Zohar belonged to the sefardic Kabbalist R. Yeshuah Adani, one of the leading scholars of Aden and contains many extensive notes by him as well. For more details on the Adani family see Nachlat Yosef By R. Shmuel b. Yosef Yeshuah Adani, Jerusalem, 1907. Volume 1 contains various interesting marginal notes in an Ashkenazic hand.