[Avodah] Dating the Zohar

[Prof. Levine]

R. Micha Berger [quoted R. Jon Baker's blog]:
     If Rashb"i lived in the late Tannaitic period (according to the
     JE article on Simeon ben Yohai, citing Graetz, he fled to the cave
     c. 161), it had to have 50-100 years after his time that this story
     took place. Thus, this part of the Zohar necessarily postdates
     Rashb"i.

I have posted the following about when the Zohar was written on Avodah
before.

R. Avraham Yari in his sefer Toldos Chag Simchas Torah comes to some
interesting conclusions about when the Zohar was actually written.
His conclusions are based on when the name Simchas Torah was first used
to designate the second day of Shemini Atzeres. See

http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/zohar_yaari.pdf

and, in particular, see what he writes on page 30.

Yitzchok Levine