"Is There an Obligation to Believe that the Zohar Was Written by R' Shimon Bar Yochai?" (Part 1)

Machshavah Lab

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!

In last night's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 4/21/21) we took up a the controversial but important topic identified by the title. Since I have neither the qualifications nor the desire to tackle such a weighty issue on my own, I decided to read and discuss Rabbi Marc Shapiro's essay יש חיוב להאמין שהזוהר נכתב על ידי רבי שמעון בר יוחאי with my talmidim in yeshiva and to discuss its implications for our learning. We made it through the first 8 out of 20 pages in Part 1, and בג"ה we will continue tonight.
Disclaimer: Although I think I did a decent job of reading and translating the substance of the essay, I was unfamiliar with many of the chachamim he referenced, and I'm sure I butchered the pronunciation of their names. I was also stumped by some of the roshei teivos. C'est la vie. Je m'excuse.
Please feel free to leave your questions, insights, and feedback in the comments!
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מקורות:
Gershon Scholem - "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism" Lecture #5 Section 2
מלך שפירא - יש חיוב להאמין שהזוהר נכתב על ידי רבי שמעון בר יוחאי
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