Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues , 2010
“. . . like a chaste woman who does not go
out of the door of her house.”
(Zohar 1:84b)
“When sh... more “. . . like a chaste woman who does not go out of the door of her house.” (Zohar 1:84b)
“When she has been restored and rendered beautiful in her image, as at the beginning, they and all the remaining hosts stand, ready to listen to what she says, and she stands like a king among his troops.” (Zohar 3:191a)
This intertextual study examines the relationship between Zelda’s poetry and the Zohar, the chief canonical work of Jewish mysticism. The Zohar, with its poetic nature, is a fertile source for Zelda. I shall point out com- monalities in a few of Zelda’s poems with some core zoharic symbolism, engaging close readings of the modern poems alongside the kabbalistic texts. This intertextuality draws on the similar essence of mystical and literary texts, which alike aspire to express the inexpressible. My analy- sis adopts the notion of diversity of interpretations, attuned with zoharic hermeneutics. I read Zelda’s poetry as a manifestation of the female’s vantage point upon herself. For Zelda, the diverse character of the divine female, the Shekhinah, is a fruitful source both for identification and for a deep investigation of love relationships from a feminine perspective.
Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Jurnal , 2011
The kabbalistic literature contains erotic descriptions of the unification between the masculine ... more The kabbalistic literature contains erotic descriptions of the unification between the masculine and the feminine aspects of God. This article introduces another significant unification -- same-sex relationship between the feminine aspects of God, sefirat Shekhinah and sefirat Binah. It focuses on the relationships between mother and daughter, sisters, and lovers in the Zohar and in Hebrew poems by Chaim Nachman Bialik (1873-1934) and Zelda (Shneurson Mishkowsky, 1914-1984). According to the Zohar, the Shekhinah, as the divine archetype of eternal womanhood, is actually embodied in the particular personalities of the mortal woman. This intriguing notion from a feminist perspective reveals a more complex model for the relationship between a female mystic/poet and the Shekhinah.
There is no one in the world who can abide with Her unless he arouse this 'good' toward Her [... ] And if you cannot arouse this 'good' to meet Her, keep far away from Her and do not go near Her; do not go into the raging fiery furnace. And if you do go near Her, do so in fear, like someone who is fearful of death, for the fire is raging and is burning the world with its flames. Zohar 3:1IOb
...And the light of the rose / seems so near, / and its fragrance / so near, / and the silence of the leaves / so near,/ that island / so near - / take a boat/ and cross the sea of fire. Zelda, " Each Rose"
Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues , 2010
“. . . like a chaste woman who does not go
out of the door of her house.”
(Zohar 1:84b)
“When sh... more “. . . like a chaste woman who does not go out of the door of her house.” (Zohar 1:84b)
“When she has been restored and rendered beautiful in her image, as at the beginning, they and all the remaining hosts stand, ready to listen to what she says, and she stands like a king among his troops.” (Zohar 3:191a)
This intertextual study examines the relationship between Zelda’s poetry and the Zohar, the chief canonical work of Jewish mysticism. The Zohar, with its poetic nature, is a fertile source for Zelda. I shall point out com- monalities in a few of Zelda’s poems with some core zoharic symbolism, engaging close readings of the modern poems alongside the kabbalistic texts. This intertextuality draws on the similar essence of mystical and literary texts, which alike aspire to express the inexpressible. My analy- sis adopts the notion of diversity of interpretations, attuned with zoharic hermeneutics. I read Zelda’s poetry as a manifestation of the female’s vantage point upon herself. For Zelda, the diverse character of the divine female, the Shekhinah, is a fruitful source both for identification and for a deep investigation of love relationships from a feminine perspective.
Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Jurnal , 2011
The kabbalistic literature contains erotic descriptions of the unification between the masculine ... more The kabbalistic literature contains erotic descriptions of the unification between the masculine and the feminine aspects of God. This article introduces another significant unification -- same-sex relationship between the feminine aspects of God, sefirat Shekhinah and sefirat Binah. It focuses on the relationships between mother and daughter, sisters, and lovers in the Zohar and in Hebrew poems by Chaim Nachman Bialik (1873-1934) and Zelda (Shneurson Mishkowsky, 1914-1984). According to the Zohar, the Shekhinah, as the divine archetype of eternal womanhood, is actually embodied in the particular personalities of the mortal woman. This intriguing notion from a feminist perspective reveals a more complex model for the relationship between a female mystic/poet and the Shekhinah.
There is no one in the world who can abide with Her unless he arouse this 'good' toward Her [... ] And if you cannot arouse this 'good' to meet Her, keep far away from Her and do not go near Her; do not go into the raging fiery furnace. And if you do go near Her, do so in fear, like someone who is fearful of death, for the fire is raging and is burning the world with its flames. Zohar 3:1IOb
...And the light of the rose / seems so near, / and its fragrance / so near, / and the silence of the leaves / so near,/ that island / so near - / take a boat/ and cross the sea of fire. Zelda, " Each Rose"
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out of the door of her house.”
(Zohar 1:84b)
“When she has been restored and rendered beautiful in her image, as at the beginning, they and all the remaining hosts stand, ready to listen to what she says, and she stands like a king among his troops.”
(Zohar 3:191a)
This intertextual study examines the relationship between Zelda’s poetry and the Zohar, the chief canonical work of Jewish mysticism. The Zohar, with its poetic nature, is a fertile source for Zelda. I shall point out com- monalities in a few of Zelda’s poems with some core zoharic symbolism, engaging close readings of the modern poems alongside the kabbalistic texts. This intertextuality draws on the similar essence of mystical and literary texts, which alike aspire to express the inexpressible. My analy- sis adopts the notion of diversity of interpretations, attuned with zoharic hermeneutics. I read Zelda’s poetry as a manifestation of the female’s vantage point upon herself. For Zelda, the diverse character of the divine female, the Shekhinah, is a fruitful source both for identification and for a deep investigation of love relationships from a feminine perspective.
There is no one in the world who can abide with Her unless he arouse this 'good' toward Her [... ] And if you cannot arouse this 'good' to meet Her, keep far away from Her and do not go near Her; do not go into the raging fiery furnace. And if you do go near Her, do so in fear, like someone who is fearful of death, for the fire is raging and is burning the world with its flames.
Zohar 3:1IOb
...And the light of the rose / seems so near, / and its fragrance / so near, / and the silence of the leaves / so near,/ that island / so near - / take a boat/ and cross the sea of fire.
Zelda, " Each Rose"
out of the door of her house.”
(Zohar 1:84b)
“When she has been restored and rendered beautiful in her image, as at the beginning, they and all the remaining hosts stand, ready to listen to what she says, and she stands like a king among his troops.”
(Zohar 3:191a)
This intertextual study examines the relationship between Zelda’s poetry and the Zohar, the chief canonical work of Jewish mysticism. The Zohar, with its poetic nature, is a fertile source for Zelda. I shall point out com- monalities in a few of Zelda’s poems with some core zoharic symbolism, engaging close readings of the modern poems alongside the kabbalistic texts. This intertextuality draws on the similar essence of mystical and literary texts, which alike aspire to express the inexpressible. My analy- sis adopts the notion of diversity of interpretations, attuned with zoharic hermeneutics. I read Zelda’s poetry as a manifestation of the female’s vantage point upon herself. For Zelda, the diverse character of the divine female, the Shekhinah, is a fruitful source both for identification and for a deep investigation of love relationships from a feminine perspective.
There is no one in the world who can abide with Her unless he arouse this 'good' toward Her [... ] And if you cannot arouse this 'good' to meet Her, keep far away from Her and do not go near Her; do not go into the raging fiery furnace. And if you do go near Her, do so in fear, like someone who is fearful of death, for the fire is raging and is burning the world with its flames.
Zohar 3:1IOb
...And the light of the rose / seems so near, / and its fragrance / so near, / and the silence of the leaves / so near,/ that island / so near - / take a boat/ and cross the sea of fire.
Zelda, " Each Rose"