Daniel C. Matt

Daniel Chanan Matt (born 1950) is an author, teacher and scholar of Kabbalah. He received his Ph.D. from Brandeis University and served as a professor at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley from 1979-2000. He has also taught at Stanford University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Matt's fascination with the Zohar began during his junior year at Brandeis University when he read his first few lines of the Zohar. He continued his studies of it at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and developed a deep appreciation for it. He explores how the theory challenges Jewish conceptions of God and whether it offers insights into spirituality. Matt draws parallels between the kabbalistic idea of the "breaking of the vessels," which signifies a loss of divine unity, and the physics concept of "broken symmetry," which describes a similar loss of unity in the universe. He argues that both kabbalists and physicists seek a deeper sense of unity, a theme reflected in their work. In 1997, the Pritzker family asked him to translate the "Zohar" from Aramaic into English, which took 18 years with the final volume published in 2017. He composed the first nine volumes of this twelve-volume series (covering the Zohar's main commentary on the Torah), and was the General Editor of the remaining three volumes (covering other sections of the Zohar).

He teaches Zohar courses online.

Publications (partial list) Daniel Chanan Matt, Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment. New York: Paulist Press, 1983. (Selections) Daniel C. Matt, ed. Walking Humbly with God: The Life and Writings of Rabbi Hershel Jonah Matt, Hoboken, New Jersey: Ktav, 1993. Daniel C. Matt, The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism, New York: HarperCollins, 1995. Daniel C. Matt, God & the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony Between Science and Spirituality, Woodstock, Vt.: Jewish Lights, 1996, ; 2nd ed., 2016. Daniel C. Matt, Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2022, (Jewish Lives series).

Awards 2004: National Jewish Book Award for The Zohar: Pritzker Edition 2004: Koret Jewish Book Award for The Zohar: Pritzker Edition