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A RIVER FLOWS FROM EDEN

STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Contents

Acknowledgments...............................................................................................................xiiiIntroduction..................................................................................................................1The Structure of This Book....................................................................................................2Methodological and Personal Reflections.......................................................................................5The Basic Structures of the Composition and Its Performative Aspects..........................................................10The Internal Coherence of the Zohar's Language................................................................................17Definitions of Mysticism......................................................................................................19Overview of Zohar Research....................................................................................................23PART I THE ZOHAR'S HEROES: RABBI SHIM'ON BAR YOHAI AND THE COMPANIONS.........................................................291. The Figure of Rabbi Shim'on bar Yohai......................................................................................31Rabbi Shim'on, Moses, and Rabbi Akiva.........................................................................................37Rabbi Shim'on in His Own Eyes.................................................................................................42In the Master's Presence......................................................................................................51The Death of the Master.......................................................................................................532. The Companions of Rabbi Shim'on in Their Own Eyes..........................................................................62"Those who entered and emerged"...............................................................................................63"The wise of heart"...........................................................................................................67"Initiates of Matronita's palace": The Bridesmaids............................................................................69"The enlightened ones"........................................................................................................75Awakeners and Arousers........................................................................................................80"Those who turn darkness into light ..."......................................................................................813. "Happy is this generation": The Three Generations with Which the Zoharic Circle Identifies.................................85The Wilderness Generation.....................................................................................................86The Generation of King Solomon................................................................................................93The Generation of Rabbi Shim'on bar Yohai.....................................................................................99PART II "WHILE YOU WALK ON THE WAY, WHEN YOU LIE DOWN, AND WHEN YOU RISE": ON THE COMPANIONS' WAY OF LIFE.....................1054. Mysticism of the Group.....................................................................................................1075. "While you walk on the way": The Locus of Mystical Experience..............................................................1116. "In the wee hours of the night": The Nocturnal Delight.....................................................................121Introduction to the Nocturnal Delight.........................................................................................121Arenas of the Nocturnal Delight...............................................................................................125Participants in the Delight...................................................................................................128Rituals of Preparation........................................................................................................129The Order of the Night in the Upper and Lower Worlds..........................................................................131The Experience of Delight.....................................................................................................1367. Wondrous Characters and Journeys in the Upper Worlds.......................................................................146The Appearance of Wondrous Characters.........................................................................................146Collective Journeys in the Upper Worlds.......................................................................................150PART III THE ZOHARIC QUEST: METHODS OF GENERATING MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE.........................................................1558. Concealed and Revealed: The Dimension of Mystery...........................................................................157Who Needs Mysteries Anyway?...................................................................................................165The Never-ending Story........................................................................................................171"But now (Aval hashta)": The Portal into Mystery..............................................................................173The Ideal State of Disclosure: Between the Concealed and the Revealed.........................................................176Total Concealment of Mystery..................................................................................................181Disclosure without Concealment: A World without Mystery.......................................................................1839. Zoharic Midrash............................................................................................................189Hermeneutical Dynamics........................................................................................................190A Jazz Interlude..............................................................................................................20210. "If you wake and rouse love": Language of Awakening and Arousal...........................................................204Human Beings, Torah, and the Study of Torah...................................................................................206Voices of Awakening and Arousal...............................................................................................209Awakening and Erotic Arousal..................................................................................................217"Arousal below and arousal above".............................................................................................222Pekihu de-'Eina: Eyes Wide Open...............................................................................................22511. "A river flows from Eden": Verses of Awakening and Arousal................................................................229"A river flows from Eden to water the garden": A Code Verse...................................................................229"A river flows from Eden" in Prior Exegesis...................................................................................231Components of the Code: Nouns and...