The Zohar is a Jewish grimoire, a spell book. Its pages contain strings of letter combinations imbued with powers. Depending on how you parse and activate the combinations, the letters will evoke images, tell stories, teach theology, unlock the divine energies in biblical verses, reveal the inner workings of your soul or become mind-altering physical vibrations in your body as you chant them. But like any grimoire, the powers are only unlocked if you know how to use it.

In this course, we will learn how to access the Zohar. We will create an anchor of understanding for ourselves in the text by engaging in a close reading of the very beginning of the Zohar. There, we will carefully explore the Zohar's raw materials: biblical verses and kabbalistic symbols. We will taste them with our minds and mouths, until we can get inside the process the Zohar uses to fashion the verses and symbols into vehicles for connection with the divine.

The course is open to students of all levels. We will study all texts in the original and in English translation. An important goal of the course is to enable you to explore the Zohar on your own using the English translation and commentary of the Pritzker Edition of the Zohar by Daniel Matt.

All materials, including the Zohar translations, will be provided to you during the course. For those interested in making a significant investment in your Zohar practice, Shaiya recommends picking up a copy of the Pritzker Zohar Volume 1 in a digital or printed format. We know the Pritzker Zohar is prohibitively expensive, so we do not require or expect anyone to get their own copy. If you'd like to get your own copy anyway but the price looks steep, reach out to Shaiya; he may be able to help you get a cheaper option.