Formulas and discourse of the Zohar
A Zohar homily is built from a small set of recurring formulas: an opening ("Rabbi X opened"), a verse, a question about a word of the verse, an identification ("this is …"), a secret ("the secret of the matter"), a supporting verse ("as it is written"), a conclusion ("and therefore"), and, in the narrative frame, the movements and emotions of the companions. Like the technical terms of the Bavli (The technical language of the sugya), the formulas let a reader — or a tagger — segment the text into moves.
Counts are occurrences of the string in the public-domain Zohar texts on disk (Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, vocalised; Zohar Ḥadash; 344 133 words; Sefaria), made on 2026-10-17, with niqqud and editorial parentheses removed. Some strings also occur inside longer ones; treat the counts as approximate. Comparisons: Y = Guggenheimer Yerushalmi (CC BY), B = Wikisource Bavli (CC BY-SA, measurement only).
1. Opening a homily
| formula | translit. | literally | function | count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פָּתַח וְאָמַר | pāṯaḥ wə-ʾāmar | he opened and said | begins a homily on a verse | 91 |
| פָּתַח רַבִּי X | pāṯaḥ rabbī | Rabbi X opened | (45 with abbreviation ר׳) | 45 |
| רַבִּי X פָּתַח, כְּתִיב … | Rabbi X opened: it is written … | the standard first line (Zohar 1:1a: רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה פָּתַח) | ||
| כְּתִיב | kəṯīḇ | it is written | introduces the verse | 2 574 |
| אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן | R. Shimon said | the master speaks | 72 | |
| תָּא חֲזֵי (ת"ח) | tā ḥăzē | come and see | turns to the explanation; the Zohar's most characteristic opener (Bavli: תָּא שְׁמַע "come and hear") | 280 |
| תְּנִינָן | tənīnan | we have learned | cites the Zohar's own "Mishnah" | 93 |
| תָּאנָא | tānā | it was taught | cites a tradition | 26 |
| תַּנְיָא | tanyā | it was taught | (Idrot: תַּנְיָא אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן) | 26 |
2. Asking and identifying
| formula | translit. | literally | function | count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַאן X? | mān | who is X? | asks what a word of the verse refers to — used of things as well as persons | 1 104 |
| מַאי X? | māy | what is X? | same | 1 275 |
| אַמַּאי | ʾammāy | why? | 144 | |
| דָּא X | dā | this (is) X | identification: מָאן שׁוֹשַׁנָּה? דָּא כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל (Zohar 1:1a) | (4 225 as a word) |
| דָּא אִיהוּ / וְדָא אִיהוּ | dā ʾīhū | this is | identification | 491 / 345 |
| אִיהוּ רָזָא | ʾīhū rāzā | it is the secret (of) | 106 | |
| רָזָא דָא | rāzā ḏā | this secret | "the secret is this:" | 256 |
| וְעַל רָזָא דָא | wə-ʿal rāzā ḏā | and concerning this secret | links the secret to a verse | 7 |
| רָזָא דְמִלָּה | rāzā ḏə-millā | the secret of the matter | the deeper meaning | 237 |
| כְּגַוְונָא דָא | kə-ḡawnā ḏā | in this manner | parallel case | 281 |
| כְּגַוְונָא דִּלְעֵילָּא | kə-ḡawnā də-lʿēllā | as above | the lower world mirrors the upper | 21 |
| מַה … אוּף … | ma … ʾūp̄ | as … so too | analogy (Hebrew מַה … אַף …) |
3. Supporting with Scripture
| formula | translit. | literally | function | count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב (הה"ד) | hāḏā hū diḵṯīḇ | this is what is written | the supporting verse — a Palestinian midrashic formula (Genesis Rabbah); Y 59, B 0 | 1 125 |
| כְּמָה דְּאַתְּ אָמַר (כד"א) | kəmā də-ʾat ʾāmar | as you say | "as it is said" — also Palestinian; Y 72, B 0 | 270 |
| דִּכְתִיב | diḵṯīḇ | as it is written | 1 795 | |
| וְהָא אוֹקְמוּהָ | wə-hā ʾōqmūhā | and indeed they have established it | "this has already been explained" | 76 |
| אוֹקְמוּהָ | ʾōqmūhā | they established it | 356 | |
| מָארֵי מַתְנִיתִין | mārē maṯnīṯīn | the masters of the Mishnah | the authorities cited for an established explanation (Z 140, Y 0, B 0) | 140 |
| דְּאִתְּמַר / אִתְּמַר | də-ʾittəmar | which was said | refers back to what has been said | 962 / 2 345 |
| מִכָּאן | mikkān | from here (Hebrew) | inference | 90 |
4. Concluding and connecting
| formula | translit. | literally | function | count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְגִין דָּא | ū-ḇəḡīn dā | and because of this | conclusion | 756 |
| בְּגִין דָּא | bəḡīn dā | because of this | conclusion | 1 078 |
| בְּגִין כָּךְ | bəḡīn kāḵ | therefore | conclusion | 192 |
| וְעַל דָּא (ע"ד) | wə-ʿal dā | and concerning this, therefore | 412 | |
| דְּהָא | də-hā | for, since | reason | 569 |
| בְּגִין דְּ־ | bəḡīn də- | because | reason | |
| וַדַּאי | waddāy | certainly | confirms | 566 |
| אֶלָּא | ʾellā | but rather | correction | 1 816 |
| לְבָתַר | lə-ḇāṯar | afterwards | sequence | 294 |
| כַּד | kaḏ | when | time | 2 155 |
| בְּשַׁעְתָּא דְּ־ | bə-šaʿtā də- | at the time when | 154 | |
| בְּהַהוּא זִמְנָא | bə-hahū zimnā | at that time | (Z 315, Y 0, B 0) | 315 |
| הָכִי נַמִי | hāḵī nammī | so too | (Bavli formula) | 21 |
5. The narrative frame
| formula | translit. | literally | function | count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲוָה אָזִיל / הֲווֹ אָזְלֵי | hăwā ʾāzīl / hăwō ʾāzlē | he was going / they were going (on the road) | the companions walking — the frame of many homilies | 32 / 24 |
| יוֹמָא חַד | yōmā ḥaḏ | one day | 33 | |
| חַבְרַיָּא | ḥaḇrayyā | the companions | R. Shimon's circle | 71 |
| סָבָא | sāḇā | the old man | a mysterious elder who appears and teaches | 144 |
| יַנּוּקָא | yannūqā | the child | a wonder-child who teaches | 34 |
| רַעְיָא מְהֵימְנָא | raʿyā məhēmnā | the Faithful Shepherd | Moses, as teacher in Raʿaya Meheimna and the Tiqqunim | 49 |
| בּוּצִינָא קַדִּישָׁא | būṣīnā qaddīšā | holy lamp | title of R. Shimon | 51 |
| קָם | qām | he rose | the companions rise to honour a teaching | 216 |
| בָּכָה | bāḵā | he wept | emotion at a teaching | 40 |
| נַשְׁקֵיהּ | našqēh | he kissed him | the master kisses the teacher | 7 |
| זַכָּאָה חוּלָקֵיהּ | zakkāʾā ḥūlāqēh | happy is his portion | blessing (Z 12, Y 0, B 0) | 12 |
| זַכָּאִין אִינּוּן | zakkāʾīn ʾinnūn | happy are they | blessing | 32 |
| וַוי | way | woe | lament | 201 |
| אָמַר לֵיהּ / אָמְרוּ לֵיהּ | ʾāmar lēh | he said to him / they said to him | dialogue | 578 / 55 |
| אֲתוֹן | ʾăṯōn | they came (JPA ־וֹן) | (239, with "you") |
6. Prayer formulas from the Zohar
Some formulas entered the liturgy and are recited by people who do not otherwise read Aramaic:
| formula | source | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| בְּרִיךְ שְׁמֵיהּ דְּמָארֵי עָלְמָא | Zohar 2:206a (Vayaqhel) | "Blessed is the name of the Master of the world" — recited when the Torah scroll is taken out (Zohar texts, annotated §4) |
| פָּתַח אֵלִיָּהוּ וְאָמַר, רִבּוֹן עָלְמִין … | Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, second introduction | recited before prayers in Sephardi and Ḥasidic rites (Zohar texts, annotated §3) |
| לְשֵׁם יִחוּד קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא וּשְׁכִינְתֵּיהּ | later kabbalistic formula built from Zohar vocabulary | "for the sake of the union of the Holy One, blessed be he, and his Shekhinah" |
| קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא וְאוֹרַיְיתָא וְיִשְׂרָאֵל חַד הוּא | often attributed to the Zohar (no exact source in our texts: our count 0; treat the attribution with care) | "the Holy One, Torah and Israel are one" |
7. A homily marked up
Zohar 1:1a (consonantal standard text, public domain), with the moves:
| text | move |
|---|---|
| רבי חזקיה פתח כתיב כשושנה בין החוחים | opening + verse (Hebrew: Song 2:2) |
| מאן שושנה | question about a word |
| דא כנסת ישראל | identification |
| מה שושנה דאיהי בין החוחים אית בה סומק וחוור | analogy, first half |
| אוף כנסת ישראל אית בה דין ורחמי | analogy, second half |
| מה שושנה אית בה תליסר עלין, אוף כנסת ישראל אית בה תליסר מכילן דרחמי | second analogy |
The formulas (פתח, כתיב, מאן, דא, מה … אוף) mark every move; a tagger keyed on them segments the passage.
The Elamur team
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc-x-zohar/style-formulas/