Sefer ha-Zohar al ha-Torah, Mantua: Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Jacob ben Naftali ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo, 1558-60

Five parts in three volumes (7 7/8 x 5 3/4 in.; 202 x 146 mm); foliation: (8) 251, 269, 300 leaves. Complete with four titles each within architectural frame. Variously lightly soiled; some dampstaining; most leaves guarded or strengthened at gutter; owners' notes on title pages of all three vols.; numerous emendations, edits and marginal comments in a minuscule hand, most prolific in vol. I. vol I: loss to upper corner of title leaf repaired; ; hole on f.9 affecting two letters; stamp on verso of final leaf; vol II: title strengthened, marginal tear repaired. vol III: title strengthened, stained, minor wormtrack not affecting text. Censor's (Domenico Irosolomitano, 1600) on verso of final leaf in vols. II, III. Modern red morocco panelled and tooled in black; spine in six compartments, tooled in black, lettered in gilt.

Vinograd, Mantua 51, 61, 69; Scholem, Bibliographia Kabbalistica, pp. 166-7, no. 1.

first printed edition of the quintessential work of jewish mysticism

Sefer ha-Zohar al ha-Torah, usually referred to simply as the Zohar, is the classic and most iconic kabbalistic work of Jewish mysticism. Its authorship has historically been attributed to the second century sage Simeon bar Yohai, although virtually all modern scholars agree that it is in fact a much later, pseudepigraphic work, the true author being the Spanish kabbalist, Moses ben Shem Tov de Leon (c. 1240-1305). Written in Aramaic and Hebrew, the Zohar is presented as an esoteric commentary on the Pentateuch, with homilies, midrashic passages, parables, and numerous expansive discourses. It is based on the notion that the Holy Scripture possesses a concealed stratum, to be deciphered by Kabbalistic means, in order to express the inner meaning of the Torah, with its “splendor, beauty, and greatness.” Finally, the Zohar constitutes a comprehensive system of kabbalistic theosophy, addressing in depth such concepts as cosmology, the soul, and good and evil.

In the mid sixteenth century there was considerable controversy amongst Jewish rabbinic authorities as to the advisability of printing the Zohar, with the opponents including important kabbalists, who felt that its esoteric contents should not be made available to the masses. Others however, including Rabbi Isaac Joshua Lattes of Pesaro, whose permission to print is included in the first volume, saw in its printing an opportunity to save the generation from the religious and ethical corruption threatening those not engaged in the study of Kabbalah. That there was a commercial market for such a work is evidenced by the fact that before this edition was completed another publisher, Vincenzo Conti, published a rival edition in Cremona (1559-60) but the textual superiority of the Mantua version won the day and the Cremonan publisher’s attempt to outdo his Mantuan rivals was unsuccessful.

The Zohar was initially judged by Christian ecclesiastical authorities to be free of matter offensive to the Church, with initial consent to print the work emanating from no less an authority than Ercole Gonzaga, the Cardinal Archbishop of Mantua. Such approval would be short lived, however, for the Zohar would soon be included in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum and subject to censorship, as can be seen by the censor’s signatures found in two out of the three volumes in the present lot.