The Rose Among Thorns: Entering the Gates of the Zohar: A Teaching Reflection

Introduction 

Chaverim, today we are invited to step gently into the opening lines of the Zohar, the great mystical commentary on the Torah. These first verses are like a sacred doorway. They do not shout; they whisper. They are veiled, fragrant, and full of light hidden in shadow. The Zohar begins not with an explanation, but with a vision: the vision of a Rose, blossoming among thorns.

Let us reflect together on the meanings held within this image — how it speaks of Israel, of the soul, of the Church, and of the Divine Mystery dwelling among us.

The Zohar speaks of a "Rose among thorns." This Rose is Kneset Yisrael — the assembly or soul of Israel, the feminine principle, the Bride of the Holy One. She is not only the people of Israel, but also the inner soul of creation, yearning for union with her Beloved.

The thorns around her are not only sufferings, but also the sharp boundaries of judgment (din) that surround mercy (chesed), making it more precious, more protected. The thorns sharpen the beauty of the Rose.

As Catholics, we may also see in this figure an echo of Mary, the New Israel, and of the Church, the Mystical Bride of Christ. But it is crucial not to collapse the image too quickly—this Rose is first and foremost the holy feminine presencewithin Israel, faithful and radiant, even amid exile.

The Zohar teaches that the Rose has thirteen petals, symbolising the Thirteen Attributes of Divine Mercy revealed to Moses. These petals are the protective radiance around the soul of the world. Mercy, not wrath, is God's deepest nature.

In our own lives, we are invited to contemplate:

• What protects the sacred centre in us?

• How do we allow Divine Mercy to encircle our wounds, our vulnerability?

This is not abstract theology—it is mystical psychology. The soul, like the Rose, must be surrounded by the dew of mercy to open.

Below the petals, the Rose has five strong leaves, which the Zohar links to the five times the Name Elohim is used in Genesis 1:1–5. Five is the number of foundation, of strength, of protective structure. The Sages often link this to the five books of the Torah, the five fingers of the hand, and the five gates through which Divine Light enters the soul.

For us, these leaves are a call to stand upon sacred structure: the Word, the Covenant, the Spirit-formed habits that hold us fast when the winds rise. They also point to the Mystery of the Brit, the sacred bond — circumcision in Israel, and in the Christian vision, fulfilled in the heart by the Spirit.

The Zohar references Psalm 116: “I will lift up the cup of salvations (yeshuot).”
This Rose is also a chalice — a vessel of life and covenant, bearing the sweetness of intimacy and the sorrow of sacrifice.

This is a place where Jewish and Christian mysticism gently touch. The word Yeshuot is plural—"salvations"—and hints toward the many unfoldings of deliverance in every generation. Some Christians hear in it the name "Yeshua," but we must tread with reverence here, honoring what the Zohar reveals while see its many diverse and radiantly beautiful lights of interpretation gleaming with 70 faces of the mystical Sapphire or Diamond.

Let us ask:

• What is the cup we are called to lift?

• How do we hold the tension between joy and suffering, glory and thorns?

In its opening verses, the Zohar reveals the Divine Name hidden ten times — an allusion to the Ten Sefirot, the ten emanations of God's light. This sacred numerology is not just symbolic—it is spiritual architecture.

These Ten Emanations are not separate gods, but ten aspects of the One — flowing, interacting, shimmering in unending harmony. The Rose unfolds through these pathways, like a soul ascending through stations of grace.

In our journey, we too are being shaped through these emanations—from Keter (Crown) to Malkhut (Kingdom)—through will, wisdom, understanding, beauty, and mercy, toward the place where the Divine touches Earth.

The Zohar begins not with the Law, nor the Temple, nor the Prophets, but with a flower—a mystical Rose that holds the secrets of all things.

This is a text not to be mastered, but to be received and contemplated — like dew upon the petals of the soul. It calls for silence, wonder, reverence. It reminds us that the soul is feminine before God—meant to be receptive, radiant, fruitful.

Let us ask ourselves, as a group:

• Where is the Rose blooming in my life?

• What thorns surround the sacred in me?

• How might I become more open to the dew of Mercy, and less bound by the thorns of fear or judgment?

• How does this vision deepen my respect for the Jewish roots of the faith, and open me to the mystical unity of all God's work in history?

Let us close with silence — and perhaps a blessing, or a sung Psalm — allowing the fragrance of the Rose to linger among us.

Amen.
Shalom.
Selah.