Martin Luther and the Zohar? On Martin Sommer`s Specimen Theologiae Soharicae of 1734

In 1734 Martin Sommer, a preacher from Gotha, published a treatise with the title Specimen Theologiae Soharicae, in which he tries to show that there is no contradiction between Martin Luther`s ideas and reforms and zoharic thinking. He translated relevant passages from the Zohar into Latin in order to demonstrate that the Shimon bar Yohai as author of the Zohar, identified as the Shimon who blessed little Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple (according to Luke 2), already predicted the Christian faith, even the idea of the Messiah as truly human and divine. The paper tries to illuminate Sommer`s strategies of adopting and transforming kabbalistic symbols and concepts and showing their compatibility with the innovative thought of the Reformation-movement. Such adaptations of kabbalistic theorems are part of a broader phenomenon within the 17th and 18th century in Germany, esp. in the context of the Reformation and various reactions to it among pious circles in Swabia, Halle and other areas. The forerunners and further reverberations of Sommer`s attempt will therefore also be discussed and put into a broader framework of "spiritual renewal" with the help kabbalistic key concepts in Germany after the Reformation.