Admiration and Disgust: The Ambivalent Re-Canonization of the ...

Boaz Huss
consciousness, including that of the mystic, are clearly shown in
the development of Kabbalism. If one turns to the writings of
the great Kabbalists one seldom fails to be torn between alternate
admiration and disgust. 78
Gershom Scholem, and in his wake his students, engaged in philological
and historical study of the Zohar attaining most impressive achievements
in this area. It ought nevertheless to be emphasized that the school of
research established by Scholem sought to examine and to preserve
the Kabbalistic writings, including the Zohar, as historical monuments
(thus, as mentioned earlier, was the Zohar described by Adolf Franck)
without acting towards their inclusion as active elements in the
contemporary cultural field. Nevertheless, there has been a unique
attempt in the circle of Scholem's students to disseminate the Zohar to
a broader public: namely, the impressive project of Isaiah Tishby and
Fishel Lachower, Mishnat ha-Zohar (the first volume of this work was
published by Mossad Bialik in 1949; the second in 1961; while an
abbreviated version, issued by Sifriyat Dorot, was published in 1969).
The purpose of this book, as articulated by Tishby in his introduction
to the first edition, was 'to open up these hidden riches for the Hebrew
reader. It comprises an extensive anthology drawn from all sections of
the Zohar'. 79 It is interesting to note that, even though Tishby was a
student of Scholem, and Mishnat ha-Zohar to a large extent reflects
Scholem's positions with regard to the Zohar, the initiative for this
project came from Lachower and Horodezky. 80 It should also be
emphasized that Mishnat ha-Zohar is an anthology whose purpose is
'to reflect the teachings of the Zohar and its literary character in an
orderly and concentrated way' 81 and not to present the Israeli reader
with a complete, comprehensive translation of the Zohar. In a certain
sense, Mishnat ha-Zohar is a kind of realization of the anthologizing
project proposed by Bialik, who had planned to publish a translation
78 Scholem, Major Trends, p. 36.
79 The Wisdom of the Zohar, p. XXV.
80 Ibid., p. XXV. According to Zeev Greis, it was Gershom Scholem who pressured
Mossad Bialik to cancel its agreement with Horodezky, and convinced Tishby to
team up with Lachower to finish the project of Mishnat ha-Zohar. See Gries, 'On
Tishby's Contribution' (above, n. 53). In wake of this, Horodezky took Mossad
Bialik to court; consequently they published his introductions, separately from
Mishnat ha-Zohar.
81 Ibid., p. XXV.
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