Thank you for the quick answer.
Just making sure I understood: the Zohar was written in the Middle Ages while relying in part on earlier sources.
One does not rule Jewish law based on it, except where there is no clear established ruling.

If possible, an obvious follow-up question:
– The Zohar was written in the Middle Ages by unknown writers; if so, why should it be a central pillar of Judaism?
– Let me sharpen the question and say: is relying at all on the Book of the Zohar, which contains ideas of the corporeality of God and idolatry (for example reincarnation of souls according to Rav Saadia Gaon’s view), not mistaken and perhaps even a sin against Judaism?
– If it is like that: is there any point in studying the teachings of those who relied on it—the Ari, Rabbi Kook, Rabbi Chaim Vital, the rabbis of Hasidism, and many others? Or should one distance oneself from any “Torah” influenced by the book?

Forgive me for the “digging” on this topic, but it is important to me to know as clearly as possible about it, since in everyday life I often encounter cases where Jews around me rely on the Zohar and kabbalistic teachings, whether in Torah talks and daily study or even in Jewish law, and I would like to know how to conduct myself and think about the matter.
And if

Why does it matter who wrote it? Who wrote Halakhot Gedolot? There is a dispute about that.
Especially since it contains sections in the names of Amoraim (although one can always claim that this is a forgery). People feel that there is truth in it (I once defined this as spiritual intuition). And there are early kabbalistic sources, so it is unlikely that everything is a late invention.
As for the ideas that you find there, there is certainly room to discuss them (that also depends on interpretation), but each matter should be judged on its own.
In any case, if you do not believe in the Zohar, that is of course your right, and then do not act according to it. Nothing happened.

Forgive me, Rabbi—but it seems that the question of who wrote the Zohar is very important, because in the Middle Ages there were many Karaites among the people, and we do not rely on their teachings (and that is only one example of a group of sages who could have written or influenced the book, from whom we do not receive Torah). In general, the idea of accepting Torah from an unknown source is problematic—“If someone tells you there is Torah among the nations, do not believe it” (as opposed to other wisdom, such as philosophy: “If someone tells you there is wisdom among the nations, believe it”).

Could you point me to sources for broader study on the subject?
And regarding your comment that one does not have to act according to the Zohar, unfortunately I received answers from several kabbalistic rabbis in Israel that whoever does not believe in the Zohar “has the status of a heretic and has left the community of Israel.” Of course I am not asking you why they say that—that is not your job—but could you shed light on the reason this is considered such a severe matter in mainstream circles, and whether such a severe ruling has any basis in the sources and in Jewish law?

There is not the slightest importance to the question of who wrote it. Even if he were a Karaite—so what? If it is true, it is true.
I assume the sharp statements stem from a lack of substantive answers. That is usually how it is. In any case, you can ignore them calmly.
That’s it. I’ve exhausted the topic.

You can read the introduction of the Baal HaSulam to the Zohar. There he writes that he does not care who wrote it because he was apparently the wisest person who ever lived (according to the Baal HaSulam). In any case, if Rashbi too was a human being, and therefore it has no halakhic authority, then what difference does it make who wrote it?

Something is unclear to me in this discussion: after all, the Torah is based on tradition, on one level or another, so wouldn’t we expect tradition to be reliable?

I did not understand that question.

The “Zohar” is idolatry, like many idolatries. Every religion has its own “Kabbalah.”

In Islam there are the Alawites and the Sufis—

From Wikipedia:
A mystical movement in Islam that places emphasis on love and intention in practice more than on Jewish law itself. While the other movements in Islam hold that the prophet Muhammad died and his legacy is set in stone and nothing in it can be changed, the Sufis believe that the prophet Muhammad continues to speak to his believers through holy teachers of law, who are connected in a mystical chain to Muhammad, and they are the ones who decide regarding everything. They sought to unite with God (“ittihad”) through nullifying their own essential self, and for this purpose they developed a kind of meditation called muraqaba, reminiscent of the meditation traditions of the Far East.

(Does that remind you of anything?)

Christians also have Kabbalah.

From Wikipedia—
“The movement of Christian Kabbalah claimed that in Kabbalah is found the original revelation that was lost to humankind, and that only through its rediscovery can one understand both the teachings of Pythagoras and Plato and the mysteries of Christianity.”

And in other smaller religions too there is Kabbalah and mysticism.

In short: Kabbalah is a kind of “secret lore” that came from very, very ancient idolatrous sources thousands of years old. Of course there are points of truth in them, but the fact that there are points of truth does not mean it is true.
In any text of thousands of pages there will naturally be some points of truth here and there, but that says nothing about the text as a whole…
For example, all kinds of fitness-training methods that were rejected because they are harmful to the body also have points of truth here and there, but that does not mean the methods are correct and true.