Lesson 5: Connecting with the Divine: Prophecy, Attachment and Union

Unit 1 – Introduction: Encounters and Union with the Divine in Kabbalah

Welcome to our 5th lesson. In the previous lesson, we discussed Kabbalistic ideas concerning

human influence on the divine system. As I argued, these ideas play a central role in most

Kabbalistic trends and schools. Human impact on the divine system, which is mostly achieved

through performance of normative Jewish ritual, does not necessarily entail a direct encounter

with God. Nonetheless, throughout the generations, some Kabbalists have reported on encounters

they had with God or with lower divine powers. Some Kabbalists developed and practiced

different methods and techniques to achieve contact with divine entities and receive information

from the upper realms. Many of them were connected or influenced by the school of prophetic

Kabbalah established by Abraham Abulafia in the 13th century. Different Kabbalists described

different types of encounters with the divine. Some described ascents to the upper realm and

visions of divine entities. Other Kabbalists received information in dreams, heard a divine voice

speaking to them, or wrote messages dictated to them by a higher power. Some Kabbalists

described attachment to the divine realm, and complete union with it. In addition to this,

Kabbalists also described encounters with other supernatural entities, such as angels or the souls

of deceased people. Kabbalists claimed that through such encounters they reached higher realms

and received divine information.

Academic scholars of Kabbalah describe the encounter and union of Kabbalists with

divine entities as “mystical experiences” and identify Kabbalah as “Jewish Mysticism”. As you

may remember from the first lesson of this course, I prefer not to use these terms, because I think

they are inaccurate and misleading. The term mysticism, as it is used today, is embedded in
modern western theological presuppositions, and, as the scholars who use this term admit, it is

vague and difficult to define. Furthermore, the identification of Kabbalah as Jewish mysticism

entails the assumption that encounters with God are the essential and defining aspect of

Kabbalah. I do not accept this assumption. Some Kabbalists described encounters with God and

other supernatural powers, and these play an important role in the history of Kabbalah. Yet,

many Kabbalists did not aspire to such encounters, or union, with God, and there are many

doctrines and practices in Kabbalah that are not related to them. Furthermore, encounters with

divine entities were described by Jews who were not Kabbalists, both before and after the

emergence of Kabbalah. Hence, so-called mystical experiences should not be considered the

defining element of Kabbalah.

In this lesson, we will examine several types of encounters described in Kabbalistic

literature. We will also discuss Kabbalistic ideas concerning attachment to (dvekut in Hebrew),

and union with the divine. Finally, I will introduce several techniques that were used by

Kabbalists to ascend to the higher realms, achieve prophetic revelations, or unite with God. But

first, I would like to give a short survey of different types of encounters with the divine found in

pre-Kabbalistic Jewish literature.

Unit 2 - Prophecy, Heavenly Ascents, and Divine Revelations in Early Jewish Literature

The Bible describes many human encounters with God or divine beings. Moses and the biblical

prophets received divine revelations and had visions of the divine throne, the angels, and God

himself. For instance, the prophet Ezekiel saw four angelic creatures, and above their head, the

semblance of a throne: “and on top, upon this semblance of a throne, there was the semblance of

a human form. From what appeared as his loins upwards, I saw a gleam of amber – what looked
like a fire encased in a frame; and from what appeared as his loins downwards, I saw what

looked like fire” (Ezekiel 1:26-27). The prophet Isaiah reported: “I beheld my Lord seated on a

high and lofty throne; and the skirts of His robe filled the temple. Seraphs stood in attendance on

Him. Each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his legs,

and with two he would fly” (Isaiah 6:1-2). Some of the themes that appear in the biblical visions

reappeared later in Kabbalistic literature and Kabbalists wrote several commentaries on the

biblical revelations of the divine chariot.

Visions of God and angels and descriptions of ascents to the celestial realm ascribed to

biblical figures such as Enoch also appear in Jewish literature written during the Second Temple

period. This literature, called the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, was preserved by different

Christian churches. It did not become part of the Jewish canon and was unknown to Kabbalists.

Talmudic literature also contains stories concerning the revelations of God and

supernatural entities. Several Talmudic stories relate that the prophet Elijah (who, according to

the Bible, did not die but ascended to heaven alive) revealed himself to some rabbis and provided

them with divine information. As we shall see later, such revelations of Elijah, called in Hebrew

Gilui Eliyahu, were also prevalent in Kabbalah. In several cases, the Talmud describes a divine

voice or echo, called in Hebrew Bat Kol, meaning, literally, “a daughter of a voice.” This voice

transfers divine information to human beings. Also, if you recall, in the previous lesson, we

mentioned the story of Rabbi Ishmael, the high priest, who encountered God in the holy of holies

of the Temple on Yom Kippur. Another famous Talmudic story concerns the entrance of four

rabbis to a place called pardes. Pardes, originally a Persian word, usually denotes an orchard in

Hebrew (in European languages, which adopted the Persian word via Greek and Latin, it became

“paradise”). The pardes in the Talmudic story is clearly not a regular orchard. Entering it
involves an ascent to the heavenly palaces, a heavenly journey. According to the Talmud, this is

a dangerous venture. Of the four rabbis who “entered the orchard”, three were injured. Only one,

the great sage Rabbi Akiva, “entered in peace and left in peace”.

Unit 3 - Ascents to Divine Palaces in the Hekhalot Literature

Ascensions to the divine palaces are a central theme in some Jewish writings from late antiquity.

This body of texts is called the hekhalot literature. (Hekhalot is the Hebrew word for palaces.)

These writings, which include Hekhalot Rabati, Hekhalot Zutarti, 3rd Enoch, and some other

compositions, were probably written around the middle of the first millennium in unknown

Jewish circles whose relation to rabbinic Judaism is debated amongst scholars. The writings

contain detailed descriptions of the journeys of central rabbinic figures (especially, Rabbi

Ishmael, Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Nehunia ben ha-Kannah) to the divine palaces of God. Besides

the detailed descriptions of the heavenly journeys, which, interestingly, are referred to as a

“descent to the chariot”, the hekhalot literature also contains other esoteric themes, especially

relating to angels and their adjuration. One of the major texts of this literature, Hekhalot Rabbati,

describes the “descent to the chariot” as follows:

“When a person asks to descend to the chariot, Anaphiel the prince opens before him the doors

of the gate of the seventh palace. That person enters and stands at the threshold of the gate of the

seventh palace, and the divine creatures look at him with five hundred and twelve eyes … Then,

that person moves, and shakes, and shrink backwards. He is frightened, and faints, and falls

backwards. Anaphiel the prince supports him, together with sixty- three guardians of the gates of

the seven palaces. All help him and say: “do not be afraid son of the beloved seed. Enter and see
the King in His beauty. You shall not be injured or burned.” (Hekhalot Rabbati, sections 247-

248)

There is an evident connection between the Talmudic story about the entrance of the four sages

to the pardes and the hekhalot literature (in which a version of this story also appears). Yet, as

we saw, in the Talmud, the ascent to the heavenly palaces is described as a highly dangerous

venture that only the greatest rabbi can survive. According to the passage in hekhalot rabbati, on

the other hand, it seems that the heavenly journey is open to any person who is interested in

“descending to the chariot”. The angels approve of such a journey and support the person

interested in having a vision of the Divine King in his beauty.

Unit 4 - Vision, Divine Revelations, and Heavenly Ascents in Kabbalah

Visions and revelations of supernatural entities were reported by Kabbalists throughout the

generations. Thus, for instance, it was said that the prophet Elijah appeared to the early

Kabbalists in the South of France in the late 12th century. Abraham Abulafia, a 13th century

Kabbalist who founded the school of prophetic Kabbalah, reported diverse revelations he

experienced and wrote down the prophecies he received. Abulafia’s description of his first

revelation is reminiscent of biblical prophecies:

“When I was thirty-one years old, in the town of Barcelona, God woke me from my slumber...

My spirit awakened within me, and the spirit of God reached my mouth. A spirit of holiness

shone through me, and I saw many terrible and wonderful sights and wonders, through a sign and

a miracle.” (Abraham Abulafia, Otzar Eden ha-Ganuz)

Another important form of Kabbalistic revelation was automatic writing. Some

Kabbalists reported that following a special adjuration called Shem HaKotev (the name for
writing), the hand of the Kabbalist would move by itself, and write down texts dictated by a

celestial power. It is possible some Kabbalistic texts (including some parts of the Zohar) were

created in this way.

Other Kabbalists reported that a divine voice spoke through their mouths without their

control. The most famous case of such a revelation was that of Rabbi Joseph Karo, the prominent

16th century rabbi and Kabbalist. Karo, who is best known as the author of the great code of

Jewish religious law, The Shulchan Arukh, received information from a heavenly voice who

spoke through his mouth. The celestial entity was called a magid, which in Hebrew means,

someone who tells, or a narrator. The revelations of Karo’s magid, who was sometimes

identified as a personification of the early rabbinic religious legal code, the Mishna, and

sometimes as the Schekhina, the feminine sefirah, were written down by Karo, and later

published in a book called Magid Mesharim – the Narrator of Uprightness. A typical entry from

Karo’s diary of divine revelations reads as follows:

“I ate very little and drank only a small portion of wine. I recited passages from the Mishna at the

beginning of the night, and then fell asleep until the morning. I woke up, and the sun was

shining. I was very upset, saying to myself, ‘why did I not wake up in the middle of the night, so

that the speech will come upon me, as usual?’ Nonetheless, I started reciting the Mishna, and

read five sections from it. While I was reciting, the voice of my beloved sounded within my

mouth speaking by itself. It started saying: ‘God is with you wherever you shall go. In whatever

you did, and in whatever you shall do, God assists you. Yet, you must attach yourself to me, fear

me, and attach yourself to my Torah and Mishna all the time. Not as you have done this night.

Although you sanctified yourself in your drink and food, yet you have slept like a lazy person.’”
Interestingly, apart from Karo’s own reports of the divine voice speaking through his mouth, we

also have a report of such an event written by Karo’s friend, Rabbi Shlomo Alkavetz, the author

of the poem Lecha Dodi, which we discussed in the third lesson. Alkavetz described the

revelation of the heavenly voice that occurred during the performance of Tikun Leil Shavout.

This, you may recall from our previous lesson, was the first account of Kabbalists performing the

study ritual described in the Zohar. The group of Kabbalists who performed the ritual included

Karo, who Alkavetz referred to as “the pious one”. I will read from Alkavetz’s description:

“And when we started to study the Mishna, and finished studying two tractates, we were granted

by our creator the privilege of hearing the speaking voice through the mouth of the pious one. It

was a loud voice, with a distinct sound of the letters. All the neighbors heard it, but could not

understand. It was very pleasant, and the voice grew louder. We prostrated ourselves and no one

dared raise his eyes and look, because of the great fear. And the voice started to speak with us”.

It is interesting to note that on that occasion, when Alkavetz and Karo resided in Greece, the

voice of the Shekhina, the divine presence, which spoke through Karo’s mouth, encouraged the

Kabbalists to emigrate to the land of Israel. Aklavetz and Karo followed that advice and were

amongst the founders of the famous Kabbalistic center in the town of Safed.

Apart from Joseph Karo, other Kabbalists in Safed (first and foremost Isaac Luria) were

reported to have received revelations from angels and from the prophet Elijah. The Safed

Kabbalists used to prostrate themselves on the graves of famous rabbis, including that of Rabbi

Shimon Bar Yochai, the alleged author of the Zohar, in order to unite with their souls and

acquire divine information from them.

In a few cases, Kabbalists described the ascent of their souls to the upper realms. One of

the most famous descriptions of a heavenly ascent is that of Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem Tov, the
founder of the Hassidic movement. In a famous letter of September 1746, which the Ba’al Shem

Tov wrote to his brother in law, he said:

“In the New Year (Rosh ha-Shana) of the (Hebrew) year 5507, I practiced an adjuration of the

soul, with which you are familiar. And I saw wonderful things in a vision, which I had not seen

before, since I became mature. And of the things I saw and learned while ascending there, it is

impossible to tell and convey, even speaking face to face… I ascended rung after rung until I

entered the palace of the Messiah, where he studies Torah with all the sages and righteous ones”.

(The Baal Shem Tov, Holy Epistle)

This epistle, and the information given to the Ba’al Shem Tov by the messiah played an

important role in the Hassidic movement. We will return to it when we discuss Hassidism in a

later lesson.

In addition to revelations from divine and angelic entities and ascents to heaven, many

Kabbalists believed it was possible for human beings to attach themselves to the divine realm

and unite with it. According to some Kabbalists and Hassidic masters, such a union entailed a

complete annihilation of the individuality of the person who united with God. I will describe

some of these Kabbalistic ideas in the next unit.

Unit 5 - Attachment and Union with the Divine

As we have seen, Kabbalists described encounters with celestial beings, a divine voice, and

journeys to the upper palaces. Kabbalists also believed it was possible for human beings to attach

themselves to and unite with the divine, thereby achieving prophecy. Kabbalists used medieval

philosophic ideas to explain this possibility. Many kabbalists made use of neo-Platonic ideas
concerning the divine source of the higher elements of the human soul. According to such

theories, which we will examine in more detail in the following lesson, the higher immortal soul

originated in the divine Universal Soul, and would return to its divine source after death. Some

medieval philosophers and Kabbalists believed the higher soul could also ascend and unite with

its divine source during a person’s lifetime. They explained the prophecy, or the reception of

divine information, through reference to this theory. Thus, for instance, Rabbi Ezra, one of the

early Kabbalists from the town of Gerona, in the early 13th century, explained: “The righteous

person, uplifts his pure and clear soul to the upper, sacred soul. He unites with it, and can foretell

the future. Such is the case of the prophet, as the evil inclination does not separate him from the

upper soul. Hence, the soul of the prophet unites with the upper soul in complete union”. (Rabbi

Ezra, Sod Etz ha-Da’at)

Belief in the possibility of complete union with the divine and aspiration to prophetic

revelation through such a union were central in the teachings of Abraham Abulafia, the itinerant

Kabbalist active in the late 13th century. Abulafia developed unique doctrines and practices that

he called “Prophetic Kabbalah”. He regarded himself as a follower of the great Jewish medieval

philosopher, Moshe ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides, and explained that prophecy could

be attained through union with the divine. Using Aristotelian philosophical ideas, he explained

that the human intellect originated in the divine intellect, and could unite with it under certain

conditions. Union between the human and divine intellects enabled the reception of divine

information, and the person who attained such a union was a prophet. In one of his books,

Abulafia described the person who attained such a high degree of perfection:

“The person who knows the truth of reality in such a way that he combines within him these

three things: wisdom attained thorough study, received understanding transmitted from the true
masters of tradition (mekubalim), and knowledge reached through intellectual debate … such a

person is not separated from his Master, and behold, he is his Master and his Master is he,

because he is attached to Him in such a way that nothing can separate them. Because he is He”.

(Abulafia, Sefer ha-Yashar)

Abulafia described a complete union between the perfect sage and God. He explained that such a

complete union was possible because God was the complete and perfect intellect, which is

completely separate from materiality. A person, who can detach himself completely from

materiality and immerse himself totally in pure intellectual activity will unite with, and become

identical to, the divine, pure thought.

The idea of complete unity with the divine was also present among later Kabbalists,

including in the Hassidic movement. The Hassidic movement was developed in Eastern Europe

in the 18th century on the basis of Kabbalistic ideas. Some Hasidic masters described a state in

which a person detached himself completely from the material world, lost his individuality, and

became one with the divine. In Kabbalistic literature, a prevalent symbol for the highest sefira

was Ayin, the Hebrew word for nothingness. According to the early Hasidic master, Rabbi Dov

Baer of Mezerich, if a person completely forgot himself, annulled his individuality and regarded

himself as nothing, he indeed became nothing and united with the divine nothingness. Self-

annulment, according to the Hasidic rabbis, was the way to become one with God.

Unit 6 - Techniques to Attain Revelation and Prophecy

According to the Bible, most of the prophets were granted divine revelations spontaneously.

Kabbalists on the other hand, aspired to make contact with the divine, and created diverse
methods and techniques to initiate revelations and prophecies. Most of these techniques involved

the recitation and combinations of letters and divine names. The use of a special adjuration to

ascend to the divine palaces appears before the emergence of Kabbalah, in the hekhalot

literature. According to Hekhalot Rabbati, the person who aspires to “descend to the chariot”

should invoke the angel Suriyah. “Descending the Chariot”, as you may recall, is the term used

in the hekhalot literature to describe the heavenly ascent. The adjuration consists of a very long

list of divine names. The person who aspires to ascend should recite these names one hundred

and twelve times – no more, no less. If he makes a mistake, says the text, his life is in peril. If he

performs the adjuration correctly, he will immediately “master the chariot”. It is quite probable

that the adjuration stimulated a visionary experience through the recitation of a long list of names

and sounds performed with great concentration.

Kabbalists throughout the generations recited letters and divine names. Such techniques

were especially central in Abraham Abulafia’s school of prophetic Kabbalah. Abulafia suggested

various techniques to achieve prophecy in his writings. They involved not only recitation of

Hebrew letters and divine names, but also some body movements and the regulation of

breathing. The techniques included combinations of different letters of the Hebrew alphabet with

each other according to different vowel pronunciations, as well as the recitation of different

names of God, such as the “seventy-two names of God.” Abulafia recommended practicing these

techniques alone at night in a secluded place, lighting candles, and wearing clean white clothes

and a Jewish prayer shawl, and donning tefilin (phylacteries). He asserted that through such

recitations, a person could detach his mind from worldly matters, unite his intellect with the

divine intellect, and achieve prophetic revelations.

 Other Kabbalists used different techniques to achieve supernatural revelations. As we

saw previously, Joseph Karo used to recite a canonical text, the Mishna, to stimulate the

revelations of the magid. Karo and other Kabbalists in Safed (including Shlomo Alkavetz and

Moshe Cordovero), used to prostrate themselves on the graves of Jewish saints buried in the

upper Galilee to connect with them and receive information from their souls. Such information

was considered by them to be superior to that received from angels.

Isaac Luria adopted this practice and prescribed a complex technique, which involved

prayers, and combinations of divine names aimed at attaching one’s soul to that of a deceased

sage, and ascending to the higher realms with his assistance. This technique, called “yicud

(unification) on the grave of saints” was performed while prostrating on the grave.

While all the above techniques were conducted privately, and involved special rituals established

by the Kabbalists, the Hassidic masters suggested a person could annul his individuality and

reach a state of nothingness during the regular prayer service. In the last unit, I mentioned the

teaching of Rabbi Dov Baer of Mezerich, that if a person annuls his individuality and regards

himself as nothing, he indeed become nothingness and can unite with God. In the book Magid

Devariv LeYakov, the Hassidic master said:

“A person must think himself as nothing, and forget himself completely, and during prayer, ask

for everything for the sake of the Schekhina. Then, he can surpass time and enter the realm of

pure thought, were everything is equal … when one regards himself as something, and asks for

his own needs, the Holy One Blessed be He, cannot enter him, Because, He, Blessed be He, is

infinite, and no vessel can hold Him. But this is not so, when one thinks himself as nothing.”
 As you can see, according to Rabbi Dov Baer, one can enter the divine realm of pure

thought, which is beyond time and beyond differences. There, he annuls himself and enables the

infinite divinity to enter him. Achieving this close connection with the divine does not require a

complex technique. It is performed during the regular prayer service. The way to achieve this

elevated stage is simply through forgetting oneself, and praying for the divine, rather than asking

for ones’ own needs.