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Letter Permutation Techniques, Kavannah and Prayer in Jewish Mysticism

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FTERMAN

Letter Permutation Techniques, Kavannah and Prayer in Jewish Mysticism

Abstract:

The article presents an analysis of a mystical practice of letter permutation conceived as part of the practice of

“kavannah” in prayer. This practice was articulated by a 13th century anonymous ecstatic kabbalist writing in Catalonia.

The anonymous author draws on earlier sources in the kab- balah and Ashkenazi spirituality. The article explores the wider connection between ecstasy and ritual, particularly prayer in the earlier stages of Judaism and its development in medieval theology and kabbalah. The anonymous author describes a unique permutation technique capable of induc- ing ecstatic experiences as part of the liturgical ritual.

Moshe Idel has written at length on many topics on the history of Jewish Mysticism and

Kabbalah1. In this article, I will focus on two subjects that have received his special atten- tion in numerous studies. The first one is the study of mystical technique and mystical experience in general and their relation to traditional Jewish prayer and liturgical ritu- al in particular.2The second is the analysis of mystical and ecstatic models in the histo- ry of Jewish Mysticism and particularly Ecstatic Kabbalah.3In what follows, these two areas will be discussed and explored, as will the nexus between liturgical practice and ecstatic experience.

In fact, that nexus is quite broad. Despite some important exceptions, these two subjects have been historically interconnected. That is to say the methods used by most Jewish mystics in their attempts to achieve ecstatic experience were tied into tradition- al Jewish practices: the performance of the mitzvoth(commandments) in general and liturgical prayer and the study of Torah in particular.4

One of the outstanding exceptions to this rule is the 13th Century ecstatic kabbal- ist, Abraham Abulafia. Abulafia’s brand of Ecstatic Kabbalah incorporated techniques and ecstatic experiences that Moshe Idel defines as essentially detached from the per- formance of the commandments and from the act of liturgical prayer.5In Idel’s eyes, Abulafia’s techniques and experiences are ‘a-nomian’ in character, meaning that his mystical techniques, which involved permutations of letters and holy names, were not designed to accompany any particular commandment or ritual. A different view has been expressed by Elliot Wolfson, who has argued that halakhicpractices are in fact an essential component of Abulafia’s mystical techniques. Furthermore, Wolfson claims that in the Jewish world of the 13th century it did not exist any notion of an ‘a-nomian’

Jewish spirituality. In Wolfson’s view, Abulafia’s techniques and experiences should be classified as ‘hypernomian’ rather than ‘a-nomian’.6 Idel has defended his own position on several occasions, in particular focusing on prayer and on the performance of com- mandments such as the donning of tefillin(phylacteries) in Abulafia‘s Kabbalah.7

Adam Afterman

The Department of Jewish Thought, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.

Author of the book: The Intention of Prayers in Early Ecstatic Kabbalah: A Study and Critical Edition of an

Anonymous Commentary to the Prayers, (2004).

Email:

[email protected]

Keywords:

Ecstatic Kabbalah, prayer, let- ter permutation, technique, ecstasy, Abraham Abulafia, kavannah.

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Leaving aside the dispute about Abulafia’s relationship to the commandments, in the following I will concentrate on the nexus between ecstatic religious experience and ritual practice by analyzing the role played by the notion of kavannah8in the perform- ance of liturgical prayer and blessings. In particular, I will focus on a technique of letter permutation designed to produce ecstatic experiences as described in the writings of a 13th Century anonymous kabbalist who wrote an enigmatic commentary on the prayers and the benedictions.9I have published a comprehensive analysis and a critical edition of this commentary10in which I conclude that the anonymous author wrote the com- mentary in the years 1260-1270 in Catalonia.11Written before or parallel to the time that Abraham Abulafia began his writing career, the Anonymous Commentary to the Prayers shows many similarities to the Ecstatic Kabbalah espoused by Abulafia, and I consider it part of the earlier stages of Ecstatic Kabbalah in Spain.12

The anonymous author of the Commentary was apparently a member of a group of ecstatic kabbalists who studied Linguistic Kabbalah and various commentaries to Sefer Yetzirah(Book of Creation) that were available at that time in Barcelona.13Three promi- nent members of this circle of ecstatic kabbalists are known of at this stage: Baruch Togarmi, who wrote an enigmatic commentary on Sefer Yetizrah; Abraham Abulafia, who testified that he visited Barcelona in the year 1270 and intensively studied Linguistic Kabbalah and commentaries on Sefer Yetzirah while there; and Yosef Gikatilla, a young student of Abulafia.14The anonymous writer of the Commentary to the Prayers should be situated within this context. At this time, in Barcelona he may have been exposed to Linguistic and Ecstatic Kabbalah, to Ashkenazi Esotericism, and also to Jewish Theology.15Moshe Idel has suggested that the neglected commentary had some influ- ence on Christian mysticism, in particular on Ramon Lull16 and later on Pico Morandola.17 A recently discovered and published partial Latin translation of the Commentary that was prepared for Giovanni Pico, Count of Morandola seems to support Idel’s contention.18In order to provide the relevant background for my analysis of the unique nexus between the mystical technique of ’letter permutations’ and kavannahin prayer and blessing in the Anonymous Commentary, I will first present a survey of the nexus between prayer and ecstatic and mystical experience in Jewish Mysticism and Jewish Theology prior to the development of Ecstatic Kabbalah in 13th century Spain.

I: Kavannah in Early Rabbinic Sources

The nexus between Jewish liturgical prayer and mystical practice has its roots in ancient Jewish Mysticism. The link between prayer and pre-kabbalistic ‘Merkavah Mysticism’ is well established.19In contrast, early rabbinic sources do not elaborate on mystical dimensions to the performance of the act of the prayer.20 Whilst rabbinic sources do discuss a requirement that an individual must have kavannah(‘intention’) in order to partake in liturgical prayer, it remains unclear what kind of intention is meant by this term.21The Tosefta, for instance, states that “One must pray with the intention of the heart (kavannath ha-lev)“, but provides no further explanation as to what that means.22Other sources seem to relate to kavannahin prayer as a focusing of the imagi- nation or of some other mental capacity on the Axis Mundisituated between the physi- cal Temple in Jerusalem and the ‘celestial Temple.’23

Shlomo Naeh has demonstrated how some of the Tannaim attempted to recon- struct institutionalized communal prayer by instituting a hierarchy that distinguishes

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between ‘ecstatic prayer’ and ‘regular prayer’.24The ecstatic kind of prayer was differ- entiable in its external form from the ‘regular’ prayer. Some of the Tannaim distin- guished between a ‘regular’ prayer, which requires some kind of intention or kavannah, on the one hand, and a type of ecstatic prayer that possesses a man and takes control of his speech, on the other. The line was drawn, in other words, between the prayer of the heart and the prayer of the ecstatic tongue.25Naeh concludes that some of the Tannaim conceived of institutionalized prayer as being based on the phenomenon of ecstatic prayer as practiced by the Hasidim Ha-Rishonim (‘Early Pious Ones’). This group, described in some of the sources as having engaged in intense ecstatic modes of prayer, seems to have focused not on conscious intentions of the heart, but rather on ecstatic techniques. Later, Talmudic sources, basing themselves on alternative descriptions of the Hasidim Ha-Rishonim, tended to prefer the ’regular’ prayer with its requirement of conscious intention of the heart.26In other early rabbinic sources that discuss the need for a mental component to accompany the physical performance of commandments, even in the cases where such a component is deemed necessary, it rarely if ever has any mystical content.27

Despite the absence of contemplative or mystical content to the notion of kavan- nahin the performance of the commandments or in the act of prayer, one can find in the rabbinic literature a theurgist understanding of halakhicpractice.28In the theurgist strands of the literature, the power relationship between human beings and God is tied to the theomorphic human body.29In other words, the effect of a specific ritual or mitz- vahis based not on mental intention or kavannah, nor on any contemplative, noetic or spiritual union with the divine, but rather on the corporal, somatic performance of the commandment itself.30

In a recent article, I explored a possible connection in rabbinic literature between liturgical prayer and a mystical practice that involved a contemplative envisioning of the Merkavah‘in the heart.’31I found a connection between the Kedusha(sanctum) sec- tions that were incorporated into the Jewish institutionalized communal prayer, and a practice of envisioning Merkavahcontent during the recitation of the daily prayer. The content that is envisioned is alluded to in the Kedushasections themselves and appears in sources known as Ma’aseh Merkavah texts or prayers.32 These rabbinic discussions, which refer to ‘Uvanta De-Liba’(‘comprehension/perception of the heart’), are excep- tional and were later used by medieval rabbinic authorities as sources on which to ground their revolutionary internalizing of the practices of prophecy, visionary mysti- cism and prayer.33

II: The Emergence of Mystical Understandings of Prayer in the Medieval Period

In the 9th and 10th century, rabbinic authorities began reflecting more systemat- ically on the vast rabbinic and mystical literature as part of an attempt to offer a com- prehensive outlook on the theological and spiritual aspects of the Jewish tradition.34 Using philosophical insights, categories and structures, the Jewish esoteric tradition was reconstructed in a creative outburst that lasted for centuries. The absorption of psychological and epistemological concepts led to an internalization of the institutions of prophecy and visionary mysticism and of parts of halakhicpractice.35

A few rabbinical statements alluding to ‘Uvanta De-Liba’mentioned above36 and

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theological insights were used and enhanced by Rav Hai Gaon and some followers in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Italy and Ashkenaz to articulate and develop a ratio- nalist introverted interpretation of visionary mysticism relating to visionary prophecy and mystical technique.37The public domain which was the locus of religious perform- ance now came to be accompanied by a mental, imaginative, or spiritual realm internal and to some extent private to man. The formation of a mental medium allowed for the development of advanced techniques of mental concentration that later evolved into the kavannahtechniques of early Kabbalah.

Several ideas influenced the particular understanding of the notion of kavannah that emerged by the 13th Century in kabbalistic circles. One idea that affected this new understanding was a distinction that was created by theologians including Bahya ibn Paquda and Abraham ibn Ezra between what came to be known as ‘commandments of the heart’ and the rest of the mitzvoth. This halakhiccategory was understood as involv- ing spiritual and mystical transformations, which would take place ‘in the heart.’ A sec- ond source of influence came from the traditional rabbinic description of prayer as avo- dath ha-lev (‘worship of the heart’).38 This appellation understandably led to prayer being viewed as the proper context during regular, day-to-day life for the implementa- tion of the transformative notions infused into the ‘commandments of the heart.’ The designation of ‘commandments of the heart’ as a separate category of mitzvothand the understanding that these commandments have spiritual and contemplative content was thus combined with a classic rabbinic understanding of prayer as ‘worship of the heart’

and as conditioned on intention of the heart.39The creation of an inner space—imagina- tion or ‘the heart’—based on the notion of ‘Uvanta De-Liba’(perception of the heart) was combined with the category of the ‘commandments of the heart’ and with the notion of

’worship of the heart.’ Gradually, this led to the defining of this inner space as the locus of mystical and liturgical worship.40

For instance, an example of this pre-kabbalistic tendency can be found in the ideas of Maimonides who demanded from the contemplative and enlightened elite the splitting of one’s consciousness, one part engaging in mundane affairs while the other concentrating on the divine.41Whilst engaged in ceremonies and ritual or whilst acting in the public sphere, the elite are required, according to Maimonides, to concentrate their thought on God gradually establishing a constant mental connection with the divine. An earlier example can be found in the thought of Bahya ibn Paquda. Ibn Paquda’s celebrated book, Hovoth Ha-Levavoth (‘Duties of the Heart’) represents an attempt to view Halakhahas an instrument for the fulfillment of particular spiritual and mystical goals, some which derive from Sufi sources. The ‘commandments of the heart’, such as the commandment to love God and to cleave to him, were interpreted by Ibn Paquda as commandments for the highest transformation of one’s being, mind, and heart.42This transformation was conceived by Ibn Paquda not only as an integral part of halakhicpractice but as its ultimate goal, meaning that all other norms were but means leading the enlightened individual towards the highest and most final goal, namely a pure, mystical love of God that was conceived of as a mystical union with the ‘divine light.’43

At this stage, one can find a tendency to associate the cleaving to God that is implied in the spiritual interpretation of the ‘commandments of the heart’ with the act of prayer and liturgical worship. Institutionalized prayer, in other words, came to be viewed as the time and place to realize one’s ‘inner’, spiritual duties.44 Idel writes of the

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theologians that were active prior to the Kabbalah that they had a vision of prayer “as a moment of recollection, of contemplation, of search for an apprehension of the divine, or even a mystical union. The medieval Jewish philosophers were above all concerned with the intellectual or inner prayer…”45The creation of the category known as ‘com- mandments of the heart’ allowed Ibn Paquda to insert Sufi mystical content into Jewish religious practice using a powerful halakhiccategory that would be influential in later developments in Jewish theology. Ibn Paquda’s innovation allowed, for example, theolo- gians such as Abraham ibn Ezra46and Maimonides to fuse into the ‘worship of the heart’

their own perceptions of the final and most advanced forms of worship.47Despite the fact that Ibn Paquda’s book was translated into Hebrew for the first family of kabbalists in Provence, there exists no unequivocal evidence that his writings influenced the Kabbalah of the 13th Century.48Nevertheless, the idea that the ‘commandments of the heart’ are related to spiritual and mystical transformation did find its articulation in 12th Century Jewish Theology and later also in early Kabbalah.49

Prayer was conceived by some 12th century Jewish thinkers as the proper moment to achieve concentration of thought, various kinds of contemplative concen- tration, and even a mystical union with the spiritual and noetic realms.50Judah Halevi for instance, in his work, the ‘Kuzari’implies that the daily prayers and benedictions pro- vide unique opportunities to activate in one’s memory and imagination ancient memo- ries of the Jewish history of cleaving to God, and to reinforce memories of collective and perhaps even private moments of intimate conjunction with the divine.51Maimonides’

famous phenomenology of prayer as the ‘worship of the heart’ leads to his understand- ing of prayer as the proper moment and context in daily life to concentrate ones heart and thoughts on God. In his model, this would ultimately lead to the ultimate, ‘loving’

worship of God that situates itself in an ongoing concentration of thought on the divine.52

In all of the above cases we find that the liturgy is the framework in which the higher purposes of spiritual transformation and the encounter with the divine can be achieved. For some, liturgical worship is even an instrument for achieving these goals.

Thus, the nexus established between the ‘commandments of the heart’ and the ‘worship of the heart’ allowed for a new understanding of spiritual and mystical prayer to emerge. It should be noted that, at this stage, the spiritual practices which accompanied prayer did not yet involve any letter permutation techniques.

III: Divine Names: Ashkenazi Influences on Early Kabbalah

In Ashkenazi mystical traditions, which in many respects continued the ancient forms of ‘visionary’ mysticism, we find an elaborate use of linguistic and numerological techniques, as well as a discussion of a linguistic ontology derived from Sefer Yetzirah.53 It is clear that certain mystical prayer techniques involving the use of divine names

‘migrated’ from Ashkenaz to Spain and in particular to Catalonia.54 Moshe Idel has demonstrated, for example, how a particular Ashkenazi esoteric tradition involving the vocalization of the divine names penetrated into the Nachmanidean School of Kabbalah in Barcelona.55There is also evidence of Ashkenazi influence on early Ecstatic Kabbalah including that of the Anonymous Commentary on the Prayers.56

The Ashkenazi tradition of letter combination techniques was centered on elabo- rate interpretations of Sefer Yetzirahand involved the portrayal of the process of God’s

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creation. Complex techniques were developed that involved creating, manipulating, and meditating upon combinations of letters and divine names. For instance, the letters of the Tetragrammatonwould be combined with each of the letters of the alphabet, or individual letters would be joined to all of the other letters of the Hebrew alphabet.57

In Ashkenazi interpretations of the liturgy, references can be found to rituals resembling magical practices. The fact that some parts of the Jewish liturgy are centered on material and mundane needs provided an adequate background for the employment of linguistic techniques correlated to magic, as a tool to effectively produce the mun- dane aims specified in the daily prayer. The magical techniques based on linguistic com- ponents were correlated to one of the most fundamental dimensions of prayer as an instrument for the fulfillment of human needs. The demand, often stressed amongst practitioners of magic, for strict accuracy in the recitation of the linguistic components of a ritual, finds articulation in Ashkenazi commentaries on the liturgy. There, we find a practice of counting the exact number of letters in the different components or meta- components of the liturgical text.58

Daniel Abrams has demonstrated how an Ashkenazi technique of counting letters served also as a technique for inducing altered states of consciousness. This mystical technique that involves counting the numerical value of the letters of a prayer was prac- ticed by Ashkenazi masters and similar techniques were later used by ecstatic kabbalists like Abraham Abulafia.59The halakhicauthority Jacob ben Asher, whose family migrated from Ashkenaz to Spain, reported that the German Hasidim ‘were in the habit of count- ing or calculating every word in the prayers, benedictions, and hymns, and they sought a reason in the Torah for the number of words in the prayers.’60

This element in Ashkenazi commentaries of the liturgy is highly relevant in attempting to understand the technique of letter permutation in the Anonymous Commentary since it provides a meta-linguistic structure that approaches the liturgical text not only as a body of propositions or as a coherent text but rather as a sequence of letters that is subject to powerful linguistic techniques. The belief that, at least on one level, the liturgical text is a linguistic substratum that can be manipulated by powerful linguistic techniques, that this substratum can have particular magical effects regard- less of the semantic layer, and that the same techniques may produce ecstatic effects, constitutes important background to the Anonymous Commentary.

The well known esoteric tradition, transmitted by Nachmanides in his commen- tary on the Torah, that the Torah can be viewed as one long name of God made up of a specific sequence of letters, was influential in the Ecstatic Kabbalah.61 Nachmanides, who wrote a short commentary on the first chapter of Sefer Yetzirah, was very careful, however, not to employ any active letter permutation technique as a hermeneutic or mystical tool. He thus limited the influence of Sefer Yetzirahand Ashkenazi innovations based on that work to a minimum.62The application of a sophisticated system of letter combination on a substratum of letters originates in Ashkenaz and was used by the Anonymous Commentator, who combined this theory with kabbalistic-mystical and theurgical notions of kavannahin prayer. Similar linguistic structures were adopted and used by Abraham Abulafia as a technique to attain prophecy and induce ecstatic expe- riences63 and as part of a very sophisticated exegetical technique.64 Abulafia and the Anonymous Commentator were particularly interested, as Idel has noted, in the dynam- ic aspects of the Ashkenazi techniques that involved recitation of the divine names. The movement of linguistic techniques based on Sefer Yetzirahfrom Ashkenaz to Catalonia found its expression in the letter permutation techniques used in the early Ecstatic

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Kabbalah.65The Anonymous Commentary used meta-linguistic structures of letter per- mutation similar to those of the earlier Ashkenazi mystical tradition both as its main ontological structure66and as a technique of ‘kavannah’in prayer that was intended to induce ecstasy and prophecy during the performance of the ritual.67It should be noted that Ashkenazi traditions were not the only influencing factor in the emergence of let- ter permutation techniques in Catalan Kabbalah.68

IV: Kavannah in Early Kabbalah

Without undermining the importance of Ashkenazi Esotericism and other possi- ble sources analyzed above in influencing the innovative interpretations of kavannah and devekuthin the early Kabbalah, I would suggest that the movements in theology and techniques of meditation that were based on the Tetragrammatonwere more fundamen- tal in this development. The early kabbalists made explicit use of the writings of Maimonides in order to reconstruct their notion of contemplative kavannahand mysti- cal conjunction.69Others, although influenced by Maimonides’ theology, were also crit- ical to some degree of his purely rationalistic interpretation of prayer and of the notion of devekuth.70It is my opinion that the kabbalistic notion of kavannahin prayer did not represent a rebellion against theological interpretations such as those of Maimonides, but rather a sophisticated adaptation that fused together theurgy, contemplative mys- ticism, magic, and Ashkenazi traditions.71 These notions, in turn, were fused with Ashkenazi and Neo-Platonic structures, thus allowing for the mystical kavannahof early Kabbalah to emerge. With the emergence of medieval Kabbalah, a strong affinity devel- oped between liturgical worship, mystical practice, and ecstatic experience.72The con- templative, Neo-Platonist kind of mysticism practiced by Yitchak Sagi Naor and his dis- ciples, was based on three fundamental concepts: devekuth - mystical union with the godhead; kavannah- mystical intention and concentration of thought during perform- ance of ritual; and theurgy- an exchange of power between the illuminated and the god- head. The unique combination of contemplative elevation of thought and soul, mystical union with the divine, and theurgist practice intended to affect the godhead, formed the central core of the early kabbalistic understanding of kavannah.73

For the early kabbalists, praying and observing the mitzvothin a proper state of kavannahwas the locus of religious action and mystical experience. In their eyes, this concept stood at the heart of the ancient mystical tradition. Philosophically oriented practices involving concentration on the Tetragrammaton merged with Neo-Platonic techniques of elevation and union of thought, and with theurgist practices that find their origins in rabbinic sources.74Kavannahcame to include a contemplative ascension of thought and sometimes of the soul which would cleave to and thus unify the godhead.

The first kabbalists borrowed from philosophical practices involving concentration upon the divine name (taken from Abraham ibn Ezra and Maimonides) and the appella- tion, ‘worship of the heart’, in order to situate their new understanding of kavannahin prayer and blessings.75Kavannah, as the early kabbalists understood it, included a series of procedures that were to take place first in the human mind or heart and later in the parallel aspects of the Divine: concentration, elevation, conjunction76, manipulation of the letters of the Tetragrammaton, and various theurgist acts intended to cause unifica- tion and movement of power between the kabbalist and the dynamic yet unified god- head. The philosophical practices involving contemplation and concentration on the

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divine name were thus developed into a fully-fledged set of practices based on a Neo- Platonic understanding of elevation of thought and mystical union as articulated in ear- lier Jewish and Arab Neo-Platonic spirituality.77 As a result, they developed a Neo- Platonic type of mystical practice that is executed during the performance of the com- mandments and especially as part of the kavannahin prayer and blessings.78

These mystical interpretations of halakhicpractice were almost always presented as being as ancient as the law itself. 79 This was particularly true of the tradition con- cerning mystical utilization of the divine names, which has roots in the ancient liturgi- cal worship that took place in the Temple in Jerusalem.80The centrality of the divine names in the ancient temple worship, according to the early kabbalists, was replaced with a similar centrality in the revised liturgy. In addition to the association with ancient temple worship, kabbalistic kavannahalso came to be viewed as continuous with the practices of a group of pietists referred to in the Mishnaas the Hasidim Ha-Rishonim (‘Early Pious Ones’), who reportedly would spend an extended period of time directing their thoughts toward God before beginning the recitation of their prayers.81

The early kabbalists understood kavannahas follows. The practice would begin in the human domain, with the visualization of the letters of a name in the heart or imag- ination.82The elevated thought would then penetrate the divine realms, where it would unite with the divine name or versions of the divine names embodied in theSefirothand in the ‘divine letters’. The unification of the divine name and the metaphysical letters and the unification of the divine realm would thus be accomplished through the union of the divine and the human. Once the mystical union is established, divine power would

‘flow’ from the higher realms to the lower, from the higher Sefirothto the lower ones, and ultimately into the human mind, into mundane reality and into human history. The benediction or prayer was understood as a theurgist act drawing blessing to the divine name and to the human who is cleaving to God.83 Since some of the divine names on which kabbalists would meditate are constituted by a complex system of letter permu- tation that makes use of verses from the Torah, as in the case of the divine ‘Name of 72 Letters,’ and since the act of kavannahwas based on concentration upon letters of the divine names, a connection was established between kavannahand complex linguistic systems. The mystical notion of kavannah, then, was viewed as an attempt to elevate the human thought up the ladder of divine emanation and eventually to join human thought with the higher aspects of the godhead, especially to the triad of the Noetic Sefiroth84 and to the ‘metaphysical’ letters of the Tetragrammaton.

Together the cleaving of human thought to ‘divine thought’85and the process of drawing light and power into the godhead and into the human mind86 constitute the innovation in the way that the early kabbalists conceived of traditional liturgical prac- tices. This way, through their understanding of the notion of kavannah, the early kabbal- ists transformed halakhic ritual into a powerful mystical contemplative instrument, designed both to affect the godhead and to draw the human being and the divine clos- er.87Thus, this circle of kabbalists, active during the first half of the 13th Century in Gerona, Catalonia, offered a fully-fledged contemplative mysticism coupled with a rev- olutionary understanding of Jewish ritual practice. The Anonymous Commentary was influenced by their unique, mystical understanding of kavannahand quotes from them extensively.88Combining this understanding with a technique most likely derived from Ashkenazi Esotericism, as well as with a particular theory about the utilization of divine names in prayer and liturgy that is articulated in the book of Bahir89, the Anonymous Commentator created a new and unique brand of Ecstatic Kabbalah.

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V: Ecstasy and Prayer in the Anonymous Commentary:

The Commentary on the Prayers and Benedictions written, as I have argued, by an anonymous author in Catalonia in the third quarter of the 13th Century, quotes exten- sively from the Bahir90, from Ezra ben Solomon’s commentary on the Talmudic exegesis and Song of Songs,91and from the ‘long version’ of the ‘Book of Contemplation.’92The Anonymous Commentator presents a linguistic ontology deriving from Sefer Yetzirah, with special emphasis on the linguistic components of divine letters and alphabets. At the same time, he articulates an extraordinarily complex technique of letter permuta- tion that is presented as a method of attaining ecstasy during the recitation of prayers and blessings. This unique letter permutation technique is in some respects similar to techniques described by Abraham Abulafia and by later ecstatic kabbalists.93It is unique, however, in its complicated application to prayer and kavannah and in its complex understanding of liturgical ritual. Although the specific technique of letter permutation used by the Anonymous Commentator was apparently drawn from Ashkenazi interpre- tations of Sefer Yetzirah, the correlation between the letter permutation technique and kavannahis unique to the Anonymous Commentary.

The author of the Anonymous Commentary made use of notions of kavannah that already existed in the early Kabbalah, particularly that of the Gerona Circle and the Bahir. Chiefly, the author borrowed the understanding of kavannahas the contemplative union of the human thought with the linguistic realm of the divine alphabet, and the idea of theurgist actions that can induce the drawing of light and power from these metaphysical alphabets into the human realm. By combining these elements with Ashkenazi linguistic ontology and technique, the Anonymous Commentator created a unique kind of Linguistic-Ecstatic Kabbalah that, to the best of my knowledge, cannot be found in any other kabbalistic text.

The conception of kavannah as centered on meditation upon divine names and of these divine names as complex linguistic entities constituted through a process of letter permutations, led to a kind of mystical practice that used the divine names as a substra- tum for the linguistic technique of letter permutation. The understanding of kavannah as an act of concentration, conjunction and permutation of the letters that make up metaphysical entities which are perceived as divine ‘names’ (such as the Sefiroth) was drawn by the Anonymous Commentator from Catalan Kabbalah. This conception was combined with a sophisticated technique of letter permutation which was applied to the liturgical text and to the complex divine names. Letter permutation functioned not only as an ontological scheme but also as a hermeneutical technique that could be applied to other texts such as the Torah and Midrashicworks. It also served as a mental technique capable of producing ecstatic experiences. We find then that the same mystical tech- nique served both as an ontology and as a magical-mystical technique. Since the differ- ent dimensions were seen as interconnected and governed by the same meta-linguistic structure, the manipulation of that meta-linguistic structure through meditative con- templation was thought to lead to effective ‘results’ in all of these dimensions.

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VI: Linguistic Continua and ‘Cord-Like’ Ontology

The main ‘form of order’94 found in the Anonymous Commentary is the

‘Linguistic Form,’ developed from Sefer Yetzirah, ordering both ontology and ritual prac- tice. Comprehension of this linguistic system is the key both to interpreting the liturgi- cal text and ceremony and to activating kavannahduring mystical liturgical practice.95 The linguistic system is based on four ‘divine alphabets.’ Each alphabet is made up of the 22 Hebrew letters and all four alphabets are situated on special metaphysical circles.

Each one is conceived of as a 22-letter ‘name of God’.96These ‘divine alphabets’ have a similar ontological status to the Sefiroth, based on the idea in Sefer Yetzirahthat the basic divine components are ten Sefirothand 22 divine letters. The ‘Linguistic-Theology’ of the Anonymous Commentary is based on these four divine alphabets.97

The alphabets in the Anonymous Commentator’s system together form a linguis- tic continuum.98This continuum begins with the first and highest alphabet, the highest aspect of the linguistic godhead. The highest alphabet emanates the lower three alpha- bets which, in turn, culminate in the spirit of the individual kabbalist who holds and manipulates the Hebrew letters in his mind and on his tongue. The three alphabets that lie between the highest one and the human being are interconnected and are part of a

‘cord-like’ linguistic continuum. They are accessible to human comprehension and, accordingly, are subject to human manipulation by means of conjunction, meditation upon the divine letters, and combination of particular letters. New permutations of let- ters from the divine alphabets, in turn, create new names or sequences of letters that may be used during liturgical rituals. The divine ‘Name of 72 Letters’ is considered by the Anonymous Commentator to be paradigmatic of the capacity of the circles of alpha- bets to create divine names given the appropriate linguistic substrata, and is itself used as a substratum for many techniques of letter permutation in Ecstatic Kabbalah.99

The Anonymous Commentary suggests that just as the ‘Name of 72 Letters’ was drawn from the Torah and is used as a magical-mystical device100, as a substratum for a technique of letter permutation, the text of the liturgy itself can be used in such a man- ner as well. Doing so would result in the formation of different names that may be used as part of the prayer, particularly in the parts of the liturgy that are concerned with the fulfillment of mundane, physical needs.101This is connected to the previously mentioned tradition, transmitted by Nachmanides and Ezra ben Solomon, which views the Torah as a long sequence of letters that constitutes a single name of God.102The conception of divine names created by circles of alphabets and the idea that different linguistic sub- strata can be used in techniques of letter permutation led the Anonymous Commentator to create a sophisticated system of letter permutation that uses the text of the liturgy itself as a substratum for generating ‘divine names’ that have the power to affect the world in various ways if used correctly during the liturgical ceremony.

The identification of the alphabets with the divine names allowed the Anonymous Commentator to connect the pre-existing theosophical-theurgist notion of kavannah based on divine names to this linguistic technique. The divine alphabets function as the divine names and as the Sefirothin the theosophical-theurgist scheme. The divine names are conceived of as complex linguistic entities represented on divine circles and, as such, they are subject to the permutation technique.103Kavannahinvolves concentration of thought on the linguistic entities considered ‘meta-alphabets’, followed by permuta- tion of the relevant letters of the divine ‘meta-names.’ The text of the liturgy itself is

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used as a substratum for the linguistic technique; its letters are ‘absorbed’ into the encircling alphabets that constitute the letter permutation system. The permutations of the specific letters absorbed from the text of the liturgy then serve as a substratum for a mystical-magical technique of permutation. The outcome of such permutation is that the ‘inner essences’ of the letters merge together and this essence is drawn towards the human world, achieving a particular outcome in direct correlation to the specific letters processed.

The connection between the alphabets, the letter permutation technique, and the divine names are the key in attempting to understand the mystical notion of kavannah in the Anonymous Commentary. The understanding that the letter permutation tech- nique involves the breaking down of divine names into discrete components and their reformulation into new names is well developed, as Moshe Idel has demonstrated with respect to the Ecstatic Kabbalah of Abraham Abulafia.104This process was believed to dramatically affect the human consciousness and to lead to ecstatic experiences.

According to Abulafia, the structure of the divine names must then “be destroyed in order to exploit the ‘prophetic’ potential of the Names and to create a series of new structures by means of letter combinations. In the course of the changes taking place in the structure of the Name, the structure of human consciousness likewise changes.”105

In a similar manner, the anonymous author uses his own technique to ‘break down’ the liturgical text and create new combinations of letters, thus affecting the wor- shiper’s consciousness as well as the divine and human worlds. Every act of kavannah involves the mental permutation of a specific sequence of letters from the three lower alphabets in accordance with the liturgical text and context. The technique ‘absorbs’

elements of the liturgy and subsequently functions as a kind of magical tool, creating new and dramatic affects. Using a series of charts, the worshiper recognizes key terms in the liturgical text and correlates them to specific letters that ‘govern’ these elements, objects, and needs.106The act of permutation is executed in the ‘dimension’ of human thought that has elevated itself to the realm of the metaphysical alphabets, working on letters that appear like “great mountains.”107

Since the godhead himself is ‘made’ out of the Hebrew alphabet and since the human spirit has the capacity to use the ‘Godly Language’ and to manipulate its ingre- dients, it is possible for the human thought to attain comprehension of allphenomena using this linguistic science, to influence the inner dynamics of the godhead, and to draw power from the divine letters into the human world. Inside the human mind, these monadic essences108can then be translated into semantic propositions disclosing secre- tive, mystical information. Alternatively, they may be translated into an angelic being with the capacity to affect the mundane needs mentioned in the prayer, or into the rev- elation of such a being as part of an ecstatic experience undergone by the worshiper.

Since the linguistic continuum is a ‘cord-like’ ontology, the physical features throughout the continuum are identical, differing only in their inner or spiritual quali- ties.109Each letter is thought to be a complex entity including a physical body, a formal representation, and a soul or inner essence.110Moshe Idel has noted that the Anonymous Commentary is one of the first kabbalistic texts to articulate a monadic theory of the Hebrew Alphabet.111Since each letter consists of a body and a spiritual essence, it is pos- sible, as part of a linguistic-talismanic liturgical practice, to draw the inner essence or power from the letters of the godhead toward the human spirit.112Permutation of let- ters results in the creation of a new letter sequence, thus allowing for the content, ‘light’

or ‘voice’ to be transmitted ‘through’ the letters down into the human mind and human

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reality. Each sequence of letters serves as a channel or ‘cord’ allowing for specific con- tent to descend. These letter sequences transmit their mystical content in a manner comparable to the way in which ‘regular’ sequences of letters transmit meaning. The liturgical text is perceived as a chart or a map indicating the relevant sequences of let- ters that need to be ‘arranged’ above in the linguistic divine realm. Once the appropri- ate sequences of letters are combined, the specific content can be transmitted from the divine to the lower realms of existence. The inner essences of the letters are manipulat- ed by kabbalists who must know the exact elements that are involved in each part of the prayer. Linguistic techniques performed during prayer and daily benedictions thus have the power, according to the Anonymous Commentary, to unify the linguistic mind with the divine powers that exist inside the letters of the divine alphabets.

VII: Hyper-Linguistic Kabbalah and Ecstatic Prayer in the Anonymous Commentary

The Anonymous Commentary presents an interesting and complex kind of Linguistic-Ecstatic Kabbalah which uniquely fuses the notion of kavannahin prayer and benedictions with mystical technique and ecstatic experience. The Commentary is con- sidered the earliest source in the history of Jewish Mysticism to develop a clear and articulated practice ofkavannah that is based on a technique involving letter permuta- tion.113According to Idel, the term ‘kavannah’, as used in the Anonymous Commentary,

“describe[s] the synthesis between the liturgical ritual and a mystical technique very similar to that of Abulafia”114.The linguistic techniques and the linguistic experiences were embodied in (or, in Moshe Idel’s view, artificially imposed on) the already existing liturgical text and ceremony.115The belief that permutation of letters can be used to draw the ‘monadic essence’ of letters into the human mind is well developed in Ecstatic Kabbalah, but only in the Anonymous Commentary is this technique identified with kavannah in prayer.116 Though less influential than Abraham Abulafia’s Ecstatic Kabbalah, the version created by the Anonymous Commentator—a type of Linguistic- Ecstatic Kabbalah—was distinct. The existence of this model demonstrates that already at the early stages of Ecstatic Kabbalah at least one attempt had been made to construct a ‘nomian’ kind of Ecstatic Kabbalah. In the Anonymous Commentary, the relationship between the human and the divine is mediated by linguistic entities tied to the Hebrew alphabet. This allows for halakhicpractices, in particular those that are language-based, to be viewed as instruments for contemplation and manipulation of the linguistic divine. Prayers and blessings that are centered on the divine names become the key in a process of contemplation, elevation, and union with the ‘higher’ linguistic realms. By concentrating on linguistic elements of halakhicpractice, the kabbalist can connect to and act upon the corresponding linguistic elements—in particular the divine name—in the higher, metaphysical realms, actively ‘opening’ channels of letters transmitting mystical content from above.

The linguistic elements of the prayer and the blessings are accompanied by a con- templative component that was adapted from Ezra ben Solomon’s Neo-Platonic type of kavannah.117The worshiper must concentrate on and conjoin his thought to the divine alphabets as a preliminary condition for the permutation itself. He must prevent his thought from drifting away118and only then can he implement the technique of letter permutation. Ezra ben Solomon and other early kabbalists used Neo-Platonic theories of

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elevation of thought and mystical union to enhance the spiritual and mystical dimen- sions of prayer. For them, this aspect of the liturgical performance was carefully and closely embedded into the ritual and into the liturgical texts.

In the Anonymous Commentary, on the other hand, the meta-linguistic structure of alphabet permutation is developed independently of prayer and liturgy. The meta- structure and technique were apparently adapted from Ashkenazi understandings of the linguistic ontology found in Sefer Yetzirah. In other words, this scheme was articulat- ed independently of any ritual or commandment, and was later applied by the Anonymous Commentator to the prayer ritual.

A key difference between Ezra ben Solomon’s theory of kavannahand the ecstatic kavannahof the Anonymous Commentator can be found in the ways that each of them understood the relationship between kavannahand the liturgical text and ceremony. For Ezra ben Solomon, kavannahis an integral part of the prayer itself; in other words, it is part of a practice that involves a definite text whose semantic layer is considered impor- tant. Thus, a balance is maintained between the mystical-theurgist elements that are added to the ritual and the original practice itself, which preserves its original content as well. While the worshiper pronounces the divine name as part of the blessing or prayer, he performs a mystical practice.119This practice does not prevent the reading of the other parts of the text and does not undermine the conventional performance of the prayer and blessing.

In the case of the Anonymous Commentator‘s practice, however, the mystical technique is more powerful than the original text and ceremony. The Anonymous Commentator’s technique, based on discrete letters and their ‘monadic essences,’ ulti- mately fragments the liturgical text. Since the linguistic technique breaks the words of the liturgy into discrete sets of letters independent of their original configuration and meaning, the technique can be said to relate to the text of the liturgy on a sub-seman- tic level. This might lead one to question whether in fact this scheme can accurately be described as ‘nomian.’ The claim could be made that the use of such a powerful tech- nique, with its focus on the sub-semantic, would lead not to a ‘nomian’ understanding of liturgical practice, but rather to an ‘a-nomian’ interpretation. By making use of this powerful linguistic instrument, the worshiper absorbs and then fragments the liturgical text; this might be understood as ‘a-nomian’ in the sense that the conventional, seman- tic understanding of the liturgy becomes irrelevant.120This would seem to suggest, then, that the Anonymous Commentary should be viewed as a kind of ecstatic-magical man- ual to the prayer book rather than as a commentary in the regular sense. This type of interpretation should be compared to Abraham Abulafia’s most advanced technique of Torah interpretation in which he breaks the canonical text into discrete letters which consist of divine names.121

VIII: The Letter Permutation Technique

The letter permutation technique is based on a rich matrix of objects, concepts, and names, corresponding to particular letters in the different divine alphabets. This system of representation and organization of concepts has roots in Sefer Yetzirah.122The permutation technique thus involves a system made up of dynamic parts that are con- nected to the alphabetical ontology. Before one can make use of the technique, one must gain understanding both of the dynamics of letter permutation and of the web of inter-

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relations between the various particulates as represented in special charts.123 This knowledge is derived, learned, and meditated upon independently and prior to the per- formance of any ritual. During the act of kavannah, then, the kabbalist combines differ- ent letters of the liturgical text—their ‘roots’—in the divine realm. Letters situated in one of the three lower alphabets are combined into a unique permutation. Their dis- crete monadic essence is thus drawn out, combined with other essences, and transmit- ted through the prism of the lower alphabets into the human mind and the physical world.

The magical-talismanic model centers on the human capacity to draw the divine power of the letters into the mundane realm and to satisfy concrete needs specified in the words of the prayer. The talismanic instrument is constituted of the letters them- selves, which are both the source of power and a device serving as a transmitter of mys- tical power, light, and speech. The mystical content is drawn from the metaphysical realms into the human world, which is itself conceived of as a linguistic matrix of let- ters. Through the permutation technique, the kabbalist can create ‘channels’ of power that allow the multiphase content to descend from the linguistic divine down to a real- ity that is constituted of and governed by letters. The aim of this practice is twofold.

First, this mystical technique is a way to transform the human mind and unite it with the linguistic godhead. Second, the permutation of letters draws emanation from the higher alphabet through the lower alphabets and, ultimately, down to man. This ema- nation, as stated, can be experienced as a mystical revelation of linguistic content, light, or speech. Alternatively, mystical content may be drawn into the mundane realm as a

‘magical’ instrument used to change history and affect physical reality. The Anonymous Commentator in fact testifies that he personally witnessed an individual achieving an angelic revelation by using this technique:

And the ministering angels rushing to execute God’s will are count- less and they fly in space from every side and every corner. And no man is granted permission to see them unless they come to him on a specific mis- sion as in the case of Abraham (Genesis 18 2) […] And I can testify that I was sitting and learning with an individual who was granted such permission, thus two angels came to him and granted him secrets concerning the future, and indeed after a short while I witnessed the truth that they pre- dicted…124

This description of revelation in angelic form is reminiscent of the revelations described by Abraham Abulafia, in whose writings we find descriptions of divine letters being revealed on some occasions in the form of secret-revealing angels.125

When practicing the letter permutation technique, the liturgical agent must con- centrate on the correct alphabet and he must choose the proper letters for manipula- tion from that alphabet. Selection of the appropriate alphabet and letters is a condition for effective execution of the prayer ritual and achievement of this-worldly results. The Anonymous Commentator states: “One who knows the right name for each of the differ- ent needs mentioned during the prayer can ask for his needs during these benedictions according to his wishes.”126 Certain portions of the liturgy are considered by the Anonymous Commentator to be the proper points at which to influence the inner dynamics of the divine alphabets. These portions include, for example, the sections that praise God and invoke God’s glory; the act of praise thus induces the drawing of bless- ings from the higher parts of the godhead into the lower. Other sections of the liturgy that include concrete requests concerning mundane affairs are interpreted as magical

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sequences. By applying the appropriate manipulation of letters, these sequences can be used to draw specific types of mystical influence ‘down’ into the human world and, in that way, to fulfill the concrete and specific needs specified in the semantic meaning of the relevant prayers:127

This is the complete intention (kavannah) when the blessing flows from its source, the first and highest alphabet, towards the specific letter of the lower alphabets that the specific matter we are praying for is correlat- ed to. And then the benefit will flow to the man from those specific [lower]

letters of the three lower alphabets. And this is the secret of the benedic- tion:

Man should always set his attention on the divine matters or on the purpose of comprehending the [Divine] names and the Mystical secrets- thus he should set his attention towards the letters of the two first and higher alphabets, to the specific letter on those alphabets that the matter is correlated to. However if the matter that concerns the man is constitut- ed of the lower two alphabets he should set his attention towards those two lower alphabets. And if he is asking for mundane matters that are made out of form and matter he should focus his mind on the relevant letters from the third and lowest alphabet […] and if he is concerned with matters that are constituted of the three lower alphabets he should combine his atten- tion on all of the three alphabets […] and all the three lower alphabets are considered to be one name, essentially one name of 22 letters, and they all have one source and they all have one source of emanations above…128

While ‘working on’ a part of the liturgy that is concerned with praising God, one should manipulate—in accordance with the relevant charts—letters from the higher alphabets. On the other hand, when ‘working on’ a section associated with the fulfill- ment of mundane needs, such as the 12 ‘middle benedictions’ in the traditional Amidah prayer, one should manipulate letters from the lowest alphabet. If the technique is per- formed through the higher realm of the godhead, then the ‘matter’ drawn down into the human mind is translated into linguistic content manifested as higher secrets. If the kabbalist draws on the second alphabet, he may experience a mystical conjunction with the divine light that constitutes the higher levels of the godhead.129 If the monadic essence is drawn into the semantic layers of the human mind, it might materialize as an inner speech or as an angelic revelation of ideas and secrets.130 If the technique is focused on the lower alphabet, the power drawn into the mind will be concrete in char- acter, answering specific, concrete questions. The power drawn from the lower alpha- bets would thus tend to consist more of information relating to this-worldly, mundane affairs, sometimes transmitted through an ‘angel’ intermediary.

IX: Ecstatic Voices of Prayer

Moshe Idel has analyzed the importance of the vocal element in the performance of the Jewish rituals and in the study of Torah.131One of the prominent features of the Linguistic-Ecstatic model of Kabbalah is the strong connection between linguistic tech- nique and linguistic revelation. The practice of praying using a linguistic-mystical kavannahtechnique was thought to have the potential to induce an ecstatic experience, often involving the receiving of messages through ‘inner speech.’ The manipulated let-

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ters were thought to have the capacity to transmit, through the channels of letters, these voices from the divine to the human realm.132

The Anonymous Commentator writes about a particular stage toward the end of the liturgical prayer, known as the Nefilath Apayim(literally, ‘falling on the face’). During the Nefilath Apayim, the worshiper bows down, and at this point in the liturgy, may add a personal prayer. The drama of ‘falling down’ indicated to the author that this is the precise moment in the liturgical ceremony that the ecstatic experience might occur.

The prayer thus climaxes in an ecstatic experience that resembles some of the prophet- ic experiences described in the Bible, in which prophets were driven to bring their faces to the floor as a result of an overwhelming ecstatic experience.133Some believe that this

‘falling down’ was in fact part of an active technique, used to induce the ecstatic expe- rience. Like the prophets, then, the kabbalist falls on his face in order to be able to receive the powerful ecstatic content that he drew from the metaphysical letters in the earlier stages of the prayer. The same energy now “explodes“ in the kabbalist’s mind in different forms: it may be realized in angelic form or, alternatively, it might manifest itself as inner, ecstatic speech without any physical representation:

The second matter related to ‘Nefilath Apayim’is the matter of block- ing one’s eyes from looking at mundane matters during the prophetic expe- rience and thus disturbing the inner voice whose speech is heard from inside, since it is possible to hear the inner voice without having a vision of the source of the voice134, a voice revealing secrets and answering your questions. And this esoteric matter transcends human comprehension and understanding, allowing only those that were granted from above the capacity to experience such ecstatic matters. It is impossible to provide any analysis of these matters [...] and I know only of a few men that experienced these kinds of revelations (alluding to the angelic revelation described ear- lier).135

We can thus see that prayer, in the Anonymous Commentator’s scheme, is the context not only of the mystical technique, but also of the ecstatic experience that results from the use of that technique. The ecstatic experience is undergone during the final sections of the prayer, while the earlier parts of the prayer are dedicated to the build-up of ecstatic energy that is drawn down from above and finally ‘realized’ at the end of the prayer. In the earlier stages of the prayer, then, the worshiper is drawing energy for fulfilling theurgist and magical ends, but ultimately also with the aim of pro- ducing an ecstatic experience. Another possibility in the Anonymous Commentator’s model is the receiving of ‘answers’ at a later point as part of a dream; this notion was further developed in later Ecstatic Kabbalah.136

X: Prayer and Ecstasy in Later Kabbalah

The Anonymous Commentary is the first source in the history of Kabbalah to make use of letter permutation as a kavannahtechnique during prayer. The use of letter permutation techniques as a device for achieving ecstasy and inducing divine revelation was, however, a common theme. Such techniques were important, for example, in the Ecstatic Kabbalah developed by Abraham Abulafia and by the 14th Century kabbalist, Yitzhak from Acre.137The latter kabbalist was influenced by Natan ben Sa’adyah Har’ar, the author of the ecstatic kabbalistic treatise, Sha’arei Tzedek, and a student of Abulafia

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who gave personal testimony to the efficacy of techniques of letter permutation.138 Letter permutation techniques continued to be important in 16th Century Kabbalah,139 and in Hasidism.140Examples of ecstatic techniques, sometimes tied to halakhicpractice and liturgical prayer, are common in the later kabbalistic sources of the 16th Century and can be found in the writings of Eliezer Azikri,141Joseph Karo, Moses Cordovero142, and Hayim Vital.143

In his comprehensive study of 18th Century Hasidism, Moshe Idel analyzes one of its important kabbalistic sources: Moses Cordovero’s synthesis between talismanic forms of prayer and ecstatic techniques involving permutation of letters.144

Idel concluded that “at the end of the fifteenth or very beginning of the sixteenth century a clear conception of letters as talismanic objects, which can be traced to works that deal with permutations of letters from Abulafia’s school, was in existence; in some of these texts an allusion or direct mention of prayer in notable”.145

In his book, Pardes Rimmonim, Cordovero describes several letter permutation techniques that are used as part of the kavannah during prayer. He states: “a prayer using Kavannahmust draw the spiritual force from the supernal levels downwards unto the letters he is pronouncing so as to be able to elevate these letters to that supernal level, in order to hasten his request.”146Although I have not been able to find evidence that Cordovero knew the Anonymous Commentary, it does seem to be the case that the Anonymous Commentary is one of the earlier sources of Cordovero’s synthesis.147Jewish mystics who were influenced by Ecstatic Kabbalah, including those influenced directly by Abraham Abulafia, usually preferred to develop in their own teachings elements of a

‘nomian’ kind of Ecstatic Kabbalah. In several instances they grounded their ecstatic techniques and experiences in the performance of the mitzvothand especially the act of prayer.148 For instance, the 16th Century kabbalist, Hayim Vital, presents a ‘nomian’

technique practiced during prayer that can induce an ecstatic experience during the act of prayer:

The Secret of Prophecy is certainly a voice sent from above to speak to this Prophet, and the Holy Spirit is likewise in this manner. However, because the voice is supernal and spiritual, it is impossible for it to be made corporeal and enter the ears of the prophet, unless it is first embodied, in that same physical voice that emerged from the prophet while engaged in [the study of the] Torah and prayer and the like. It then embodies itself in it and is connected to it and comes to the ears of the prophet, so that he hears. But without the human voice it cannot exist…that selfsame supernal voice comes and is embodied within his voice.149

Vital claims that the secret of the prophecy is received during prayer and Torah studying. While the prophet is praying, the divine voice is embodied in the human voice and in that way the prophet undergoes the prophetic experience. In suggesting this, Vital may have had in mind the important work of the 14th Century halakhicauthority, Jacob ben Asher, who was influenced by Yitzhak from Acre and by Yona Hasid of Gerona,150and who wrote the following about the prayer of the Hasidim Ha-Rishonimof the Mishna:

They used to concentrate their minds and use kavannahin prayer in order to reach an ecstatic state of ‘Hitpashtuth Ha-Gashmiuth’, meaning that their spiritual dimension left their material body and their noetic spirit was empowered up to the point that they were close to prophecy…151

According to this interpretation of the purpose of the prayer, the kavannahprac-

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ticed by ancient holy men involved a technique for achieving ecstatic experiences which were understood as a form of prophecy. As Moshe Idel has demonstrated, this kind of synthesis between ecstatic experience and liturgical prayer continued to be cen- tral in later developments in Jewish Mysticism, up until and including the emergence of Hasidism in the 18th Century.152

Notes:

1 This study in Ecstatic Kabbalah is presented to my teacher Professor Moshe Idel in gratitude for his scholarship and generosity.

2 Moshe Idel, ‘Kabbalistic Prayer and Colors’, Approaches to Judaism in Medieval Times, Vol. III, ed. D. Blumenthal, Atlanta 1988, pp. 17-27; Moshe Idel, ‘Some Remarks on Ritual and Mysticism in Geronese Kabbalah’, Jewish Thought and Philosophy3 (1993), pp.

111-130; Moshe Idel, ‘On R. Issac Sagi Nahor’s Mystical Intention of the Eighteen Benedictions’, Massu’ot, Studies in Kabbalistic Literature and Jewish Philosophy in Memory of Prof. Ephraim Gottlieb, eds. M. Oron and A. Goldreich, Jerusalem 1994, pp. 25-52 (Hebrew);

Moshe Idel, ‘Prayer in Provence Kabbalah’, Likkutei Tarbiz6 (2003), pp. 421-442 (Hebrew)

;Moshe Idel, The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia; Moshe Idel, Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid, Albany 1990; Moshe Idel, Kabbalah and Eros, New Haven & London 2005, pp. 22-44; Moshe Idel, Absorbing Perfections: Kabbalah and Interpretation, New Haven and London 2002, pp. 352-389; Moshe Idel, Enchanted Chains:

Techniques and Rituals In Jewish Mysticism, Los Angeles 2005. Moshe Idel, Ascensions on High in Jewish Mysticism: Pillars, Lines, Ladders, Budapest 2005.

3 Moshe Idel, Abraham Abulafia’s Works and Doctrine (PhD Diss, Jerusalem 1976)(Hebrew); Moshe Idel, The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia, Albany 1988;

Moshe Idel, Language, Torah and Hermeneutics in Abraham Abulafia, Albany 1989; Moshe Idel, Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah, Albany 1988; Moshe Idel, Le Porte Della Giustizia Saare Sedeq, Milano 2001; Moshe Idel, ‘Abraham Abulafia and Unio Mystica’, Studies in Medieval Jewish History and Literature, Vol. 3, edited by I. Twersky and J. M. Harris, Cambridge 2000, pp. 147-178; Moshe Idel, Hasidism: Between Ecstasy and Magic, Albany 1995.

4 See Moshe Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, New Haven and London 1988, pp. 267- 271; Moshe Idel, Absorbing Perfections, pp. 218-219; Moshe Idel, ‘The Qedushah and the Observation of the Heavenly Chariot’, From Qumran to Cairo: Studies in the History of Prayer, edited by J. Tabory, Jerusalem 1999, pp. 7-15 (Hebrew).

5 See Moshe Idel, The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia, New York 1988, pp.

8-9; Moshe Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, pp. 74-75, 97-102; Moshe Idel, Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah, New York 1988, p. 18.

6 See, Elliot Wolfson, Abraham Abulafia-Kabbalist and Prophet: Hermeneutics, Theosophy and Theurgy, Los Angeles 2000, pp. 178-228. For his discussion on Abulafia’s let- ter permutation techniques, see pp. 197-205. .For his definition of the term ‘hypernomi- an’ see p. 209.

7 See, Moshe Idel, Le Porte Della Giustizia Saare Sedeq, pp. 147-163; Moshe Idel, ‘The Kabbalistic Interpretation of the secret of Arayyot in early Kabbalah’, Kabbalah 12 (2004) (Hebrew), pp. 157-159, 180-184. For Abulafia’s view on Tefillin, see Wolfson, Abulafia, pp.

191-195, 209-210, and cf. Moshe Idel, ‘On the meaning of the term Kabbalah- between the Ecstatic and the Sefirotic schools of Kabbalah in the 13th Century’, Peamim93 (2003) (Hebrew), p. 51; Moshe Idel, ‘The Kabbalistic Interpretation of the secret of Arayyot in early Kabbalah’, p. 159; Moshe Idel, Le Porte Della Giustizia Saare Sedeq, p. 296.

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