Episode 90: Professor Daniel C. Matt "Becoming Elijah"

In this episode, we're honored to have Dr. Daniel Matt discuss his book "Becoming Elijah." He explores Elijah's evolving role through history, focusing on his transformative character from Tanakh to Talmud to Kabbalah and beyond. Dr. Matt delves into the significance of Elijah's name, his unique encounter with God on Mount Sinai compared to Moses', and the profound meaning of the qol demamah daqqah, "a sound of sheer stillness." He also examines Elijah's supposed immortality, his foretold return as a harbinger of the Messiah based on Malakhi, and his intriguing ability to shape-shift, which influenced rabbinical teachings and stories. Dr. Matt further illuminates Elijah's crucial role in Kabbalah, drawing parallels between Elijah and Moses, and discusses the kabbalists' perspectives on "Gilui Eliyahu." He sheds light on Hasidic interpretations of Elijah's presence, his pivotal role in Jewish rituals like the Passover Seder, Havdalah, and the Brit Milah, and his significant role in Christianity and Islam, underscoring his universal impact across religious traditions. The conversation concludes with insights into Dr. Matt's translation of the Zohar, highlighting the need for a fresh perspective despite existing translations and the revolutionary (sometimes controversial) ideas it introduced. ---

• Bio: Daniel Matt is a scholar of Kabbalah and the Zohar. He has been featured in Time and Newsweek, and has appeared on National Public Radio and the History Channel. He has published over a dozen books, including The Essential Kabbalah (translated into eight languages), Zohar: Annotated and Explained, and God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony between Science and Spirituality (revised edition, 2016). Several years ago Daniel completed an 18-year project of translating and annotating the Zohar. In 2016, Stanford University Press published his ninth volume of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, concluding the Zohar’s main commentary on the Torah. For this work, Daniel has been honored with a National Jewish Book Award and a Koret Jewish Book Award. The Koret award hailed his translation as “a monumental contribution to the history of Jewish thought.” Daniel received his Ph.D. from Brandeis University and for twenty years served as Professor of Jewish Spirituality at the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He has also taught at Stanford University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Daniel lives in Berkeley with his wife Hana. His book Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation was the Rabbi Sacks Book Prize Winner in 2022. He currently teaches Zohar online. For information visit www.danielcmatt.com.

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• Check out his course here: https://www.danielcmatt.com/zohar-courses.html

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