Colophon: Zohar (Mantua Edition)

I will greatly thank the Lord with my mouth, and I will bless God in full assembles [see Psalms 68:27], for He has not forsaken His mercy and His truth from me [see Genesis 24:27], but has led me on the path of truth, to bring me to my destination and the goal I sought. Although a whole host of aggravations and travails intensified and threatened to overwhelm me on two or three occasions before the conclusion of this vision and revelation of God, He who alone performs wonders [see Psalms 136:4] removed the stumbling blocks and all stone obstructions [see Isaiah 8:14] out of the way of our activity. He clothed me in the garments of salvation and the robe of victory [see Isaiah 61:10], to strengthen weak hands and make tottering knees firm [see Isaiah 35:3]. He constantly increased my courage, until He had brought me to this house of soulful delight: the printing of this wonderful book from beginning to end, and to the chamber of passion, etched upon the desired horizons of the perfect, God-fearing group (may it be praised), who maintained and supported this project—may the Lord lengthen their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures [see Job 36:11], may they go from strength to strength [see Psalms 84:8] and rejoice with gladness [see Psalms 68:4].

Now, my witness is in the heights; visible before Him is the prodigious labor and great toil—until the very depression of the soul—which was my constant experience from the burden of editing [hagaha] day and night, trying to take away [lehage] the dross from the silver [see Proverbs 25:4], to remove the mistakes and errors, and to merge the words together in a distilled, precise manner, through much analysis, and to refine and clarify everything minutely, by copying five or six times from the books of the Zohar, in accordance with the extent of my youthful understanding and with the assistance of a group of my colleagues who urged me to put pen to paper, and encouraged me in this editing work, especially from the Book of Leviticus onward.

Nor did I rush to innovate sections of my own, as I did not dare to do what had not been done by many of my predecessors, wise and insightful kabbalists, whose little fingers are thicker than my loins [see 1 Kings 12:10]. Nevertheless, in a certain chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, for which I did not find sayings from the Book of the Zohar, I printed sections from the Ra’aya mehemna [“the faithful shepherd”; part of the Zohar that explains the reasons for the commandments]. Regarding that which was found in one copy alone, a new chapter on Deuteronomy, which was entirely composed of the yanuka [“the child”; part of the Zohar in which a child reveals mysteries] stories, I printed those passages in the portion of Balak, as that is their proper, appropriate place, as is clear to anyone who has any sense. At the beginning of the portion of Vayikra I also printed a passage that is not found in the other versions, from those copies that were brought from Salonika by that man who had all the perfections of Torah beauty, and every field of wisdom and knowledge, our late teacher and master, R. Immanuel from Benevento. There was also another passage at the beginning of the portion of Tsav that is not found in most copies, as well as sections at the start and middle of the portion of Pineḥas that are not found in any copy other than in one Zohar, which was brought from the holy city of Safed, that faithful town [see Isaiah 1:21] for Torah and testimony and for all matters of sanctity, whose very air makes one wise.

Another decision I made was that whenever I found a passage that was repeated, I removed it from the second place in which it appeared. In its spot, I noted the folio and page number of its first appearance, so that whoever perused the work could find it easily, and so that nobody should think that the book is lacking and that this section had been omitted. Yet another thing that should be known and widely publicized is that Saba de-mishpatim [“the discourse of the old man in the portion of Mishpatim”] is entirely corrupt and fully of many errors in all copies, apart from a single perfect copy, refined seven times over [see Psalms 12:7], which came into our possession from that flawless individual, the mighty doctor, our teacher and master R. Eliya ḥalfan (may his memory be for the life of the world-to-come). He brought it from Egypt, from a great city in the wars of the Torah and the waters of wisdom.

Now, since the partition of the material world and the veil of the physical body, which are imprinted in the form of unavoidable needs from the day of one’s birth, darken the sphere of the intellect from perceiving each and every smooth path, it is impossible—irrespective of one’s dedicated analyses and persistent efforts—to avoid slipping into mistakes and errors of some kind, either by placing letters and words out of order or by skipping a line, word, or letter. This can be the result of the editor’s shortcomings and the profundity of the material, or due to the type of labor that the printers must perform. Thus, it is unavoidable that a few errors have been detected in this book—I will mention only the ones that I later noted when reviewing it in my hours of leisure:

In the portion of Kedoshim, page 84a, it states takhshime instead of takhshite [“the adornments of”].

From the portion of Emor, page 88a: the word sanfat appears three times instead of tsofnat [See Genesis 41:45].

In the portion of Bemidbar Sinai, page 119a, it states: and he who begets a wise child will have joy [yismaḥ] of him (Proverbs 23:24), whereas it should state he will beget a wise child and will have joy [ve-yismaḥ] of him, with the addition of the letter vav [“and”].

It is written in the portion of Balak, page 194b, that one verse says: and the king told her all of her heart. This is how I found it in all copies, but I searched in the books of Kings and Chronicles, and in both places it is written: And Solomon told her all her questions [1 Kings 10:3; 2 Chronicles 9:2].¹

Furthermore, in the portion of Balak, page 201b, line 18, the following passage should be added after the word le-orḥahu [on their way]: “as they have not been granted permission to return.” R. Simeon said: I know that the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to perform a miracle for us. Birds, birds, be on your way [le-orḥaḥu], and say to the one who is appointed etc.²

And now, I will submit my plea before all the wise of heart and faithful of spirit who peruse this holy book: if he finds in it any other mistakes, anything missing, or corrupted words, “like an error which proceeds [from a ruler”; see Ecclesiastes 10:5], he should correct those errors and fill in the gaps. Let him seek them out and receive his reward from God. But let him judge me favorably. For I did not put my neck out and undertake this precious, laborious task, this work of heaven, to publish these mysteries through enormous toil and at great expense, in my own honor or for the honor of my father’s household. Nor was my initial intention to do it for any other external purpose. Rather, my original thought, and the ultimate aim of my activity, was to provide merit to the many, and to spread the Torah of truth throughout Israel, so that the land would be filled with knowledge of the Lord [see Isaiah 11:9]. Happy is he who has sanctified himself to be one of those who approaches it to rest in its shade, and one of those who have entered and exited this realm.

I will further request from Him that I will fulfill my heart’s desire, as I yearn to visit the courtyards of His blessed providence while I remain alive, to the extent that it is possible for the mind of a mortal to understand and apprehend His perfect Torah, which restores the soul [see Psalms 19:8] and the hidden treasures [see Deuteronomy 33:19] of its secret pearls, which are more precious than fine gold and sweeter than honey, which are included in this divine book. May I and my descendants, and the descendants of my descendants, bask in the light of eternal life, behold His graciousness [see Psalms 27:4] and enjoy the splendor of His glory, as this is the whole of man [see Ecclesiastes 12:13].

May He grant me the merit to be counted in the list of those who love and fear Him and who think upon His name [see Malachi 3:16], with regard to whom it is written: that I may cause those who love Me to inherit substance, and that I may fill their treasuries (Proverbs 8:21). No eye has seen, God, except You, that which He will do for he who waits for Him (Isaiah 64:3).

May the Lord also provide the anticipated, general goodness in our days; the inhabitants of Judea and Israel will dwell in safety, in tranquility, serenity, and in secure abodes, with everlasting joy upon their heads; Amen, so may it be His will.

Written in Mantua, on the 22nd of First Adar, 5320 [1560], in the portion of in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge (Exodus 35:31).³

With the help of the partners, who are none other than the scribe, the honorable teacher, R. Meir (may his Rock protect and sustain him), son of the honorable teacher, R. Ephraim, may his memory be for the life of the World-to-Come, of Padua, and Jacob, son of the honorable teacher, R. Naphtali ha-Kohen (may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing) of Gazzuolo, the humblest of printers.