The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia

This study describes the mystical experience, a central issue in Rabbi Abraham Abulafia’s work. The author stresses the significance of Abulafia’s writing in medieval Jewish mysticism, and the ambivalent approaches toward him.

Abulafia calls his theory by two names: ‘Prophetic Kabbalah’, the ecstatic Kabbalah, and ‘Kabbalah of Names’, which focuses on letter combinations of holy names. Ecstatic Kabbalah is distinguished by its aim as well as the technique for obtaining it. The ecstatic Kabbalists strive to experience revelation and near unison with God, by movement, the enunciation of letters, breathing exercises, and music. Abulafia often describes this experience using erotic imagery.

This edition includes an additional chapter, a survey of Gershom Scholem’s approach, which situates Abulafia within the general Kabbalah discipline.