"Woe to [those] who look upon the Torah as simply tales pertaining to things of the world, seeing thus only the outer garment. But [those] whose gaze penetrates to the very Torah, happy are they.Just as wine must be in a jar to keep, so the Torah must be contained in an outer garment. That garment is made up of the tales and stories; but we, we are bound to penetrate beyond." -- from "The Hidden Meaning of Torah" One of the great masterpieces of Western religious thought, the Zohar represents an attempt to uncover hidden meanings behind the world of appearances. It is the central work in the literature of the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. This volume of selected passages from the Zohar, culled by the greatest authority on Jewish mysticism, offers a sampling of its unique vision of the esoteric wonders of creation; the life and destiny of the soul; and the confluence of physical and divine love; suffering and death; exile and redemption. Gershom Scholem was professor of Jewish mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem until his death in 1982. Among his many pathbreaking books are Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, and On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead.