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# 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/tmr/discourse-terms/)), 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc-x-zohar/texts/) §4) |
| פָּתַח אֵלִיָּהוּ וְאָמַר, רִבּוֹן עָלְמִין … | Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, second introduction | recited before prayers in Sephardi and Ḥasidic rites ([Zohar texts, annotated](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc-x-zohar/texts/) §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.

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