Judy Barrett, whose selfless dedication to the Zohar and its language is behind everything on this site, died during Sukkot of 2022.
Scholars and lovers of the Zohar far and wide miss her, with sadness and gratitude.
This website will continue to share her work with the world, and plans are in progress for the publication of her Dictionary.
Her memory is a blessing.
The Zohar is truly spreading through the world, and there are more and more resources available on line. Judy Barrett has compiled a “Best of the Web” list with hundreds of links to texts and videos for the study of Zohar and Kabbalah. We’ve added it to the resources section of this site, “To Learn More.”
The key to the Zohar is its language, the reason this site exists. Judy Barrett has compiled a concise summary of the grammar of the Zohar’s Aramaic, and we’ve added it to this site here and here.
As always, we welcome messages from everyone who visits this site. You can email webmaster Justin Jaron Lewis at JustinJaron.Lewis “at” umanitoba.ca. Most of the content of this site comes from the scholarship and hard work of Judy Barrett, whose contact information is here.
With thanks to everyone who has been using this site, we have just added new material. I am most excited about Judy Barrett’s English to Aramaic glossary of the Zohar (draft, posted on the Dictionary page). This is a thesaurus, organizing the Zohar’s Aramaic vocabulary by concepts. In addition, if you wish to write something in Zoharic Aramaic, this is an essential resource. Perhaps some of your original Aramaic writings will find their way into future editions of the Zohar 🙂
Please let us know how you found this site, how you are finding it useful, and suggestions for improvement. See the About page for more on what is available here and how it is organized.
Blessings on your learning,
Justin Jaron Lewis (webmaster)
Isru Chag Shavuot 5777 / June 2, 2017
Eugene Fleischman Sotirescu has created a wonderful resource for reviewing vocabulary items from this website: flash cards and quizzes. We have also posted a revised and enlarged version of the Dictionary of the Haqdamah. As always we welcome your comments and suggestions. (See the About page if you are new to this website.)
(See the About page if you are new to this site.) The site continues to grow for your learning pleasure. The Grammar page now includes extensive information on verbs, and other new and updated material. On the Dictionary page, you will find a dictionary of the first part of the Zohar (the Haqdamah) and new vocabulary lists.
Your comments and feedback are requested. We know that more and more people are looking at this site; we want to know how you are using it and how we can make it a better resource for you. Please also let other people know about The Aramaic Language of the Zohar, on and off line.
As “webmaster” I (Justin) want to add that everything you see here is thanks to the selfless and ongoing efforts of independent scholar Judy Barrett. Please see the Tutoring/Donations page on ways to support her.
This website is part of a larger project to help people with little or no background in Aramaic or Hebrew learn to read the Zohar in the original.
Aramaic is an ancient Near Eastern language, closely related to Hebrew and Arabic. It is used in parts of the Bible and was the spoken language of Jesus of Nazareth. Some well-known Jewish prayers such as the Kaddish are in Aramaic. And, it is the major language of Kabbalah, especially of the Zohar, the fascinating book at the heart of this mystical tradition.
The site is a work in progress and we welcome all questions and suggestions.
Judy Barrett
Justin Jaron Lewis
The Aramaic Language of the Zohar 