moshe idel - the quest for spiritual paradise in judaism

8/12/2019 Moshe Idel - The Quest for Spiritual Paradise in Judaism

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This is a report on a series of lectures given by Moshe Idel at the University of Washington (Seattle) about a year ago. I have divided report into three posts, one for each lecture.

These are not verbatim transcripts they are summaries of the Sort that might be made by anyone from notes made during the

!ecture. "ot everything is included, and most of #hat Idel said Is summari$ed. I have tried to indicate #here I missed things, %nd #hat I missed. The initial material is from the flier that Was passed out to everyone before the lectures.

Moshe Idel is in no #ay responsible for my reports of his !ectures. I have done my best to be as accurate as I could. %t the same time, I should hope that I&m not infringing on his 'opyright by reporting #hat he said. Such are the mysteries of the copyright la#

T*+ S%MU+! %!T*+% ST- UM !+'TU-+S*I/ I" 0+WIS* STU1I+S

Moshe Idel

/%-1+S T*+ 2U+ST 3 - S/I-ITU%! /%-%1IS+ I" 0U1%ISM

%pril 45 /rimordial Wisdom The /hilosophers& 2uest

%pril 46 /rimordial !ight The +cstatics& 2uest

%pril 77 /%-1+S 8et#een Sefirot and 1emonology

The 'ore of the 9/ardes9 Tradition Tosefta *agigah 7 : ;

3our entered the rchard (/ardes) 8en %$$ai, 8en <oma, %=her and -abbi %>iva. ne pee=ed and died? one pee=ed and #as Smitten? one pee=ed and cut do#n the shoots? one ascended safely and descended safely.

8en %$$ai pee=ed and died. 'oncerning him Scripture says 9/recious in the eyes of he !ord is the death of *is loyal ones9 (/s. 45. 4@).

8en <oma pee=ed and #as smitten. 'oncerning him Scripture says 9If you have found honey, eat only your fill lest you become filled #ith it and vomit9 (/rov. 7@ 45).

%=her pee=ed and cut do#n the shoots. 'oncerning him Scripture says 91o not let your mouth bring your flesh to sin, and do not say before the angel that it is an error? #hy should Aod become angry at your voice, and ruin your handi#or=9 (+ccl. @ @).

-abbi %>iva ascended safely and descended safely. 'oncerning him Scripture says 91ra# me, let us run after you, the Bing has

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brought me into *is chambers9 (Song I ;).

!ecture I /rimordial Wisdom The /hilosophers& 2uest Tuesday 45 %pril 4CC4, 6 DD pm.

EThis is a precis summary? reporter&s comments are in s>uare

brac=ets? other#ise teFt should be ta=en as an attempt to transcribe the gist of #hat the spea=er actually said. The result is a rather dry, compressed teFt? typographical devices have been used to brea= it up and ma=e it more readable. Some of these may not transpose #ell to "et teFt. I have tried to regulari$e the spellings of *ebre# terms, but I&m afraid I&ve probably let a number of them vary all over the map.G

EThe first lecture #as something of a Society event? there #as >uite a collection of The 8etter Sort, #ho actually toughed it out through much of the first lecture, if only for the sa=e of the reception after#ard. Idel&s lecture (in thoroughly accented +nglish) made fe#er concessions than one might imagine to a non specialist audience. These lectures are usually edifying cultural events, but Idel used the opportunity to go over material he #as #or=ing up for a boo=. imposing countenances, #ho had a reception for themselves and the spea=er after#ard.G

3irst, some general observations in an attempt to locate the/ardes legend in its conteFt.

4 8iblical and -abbinic 0udaism #ere eFoteric in nature 0udaism#as seen as being open, to both the elite and the vulgus Ethecro#d, common people, hoi polloiG on the same basis. The idea #asthat the =no#ledge and practice #ere to be spread, and could bespread, to all levels of the 0e#ish nation, and that study of theTorah #as open to all. -eligious life #as not regarded asdangerous.

7. This might seem li=e belaboring the obvious, but it #as notobvious if seen in the conteFt of contemporary cults andreligions, in either the #orld of early 0udaism (#ith the naturereligions of neighboring nations) or in the *ellenistic #orld(#ith its mystery religions). 0udaism insisted on rules bindingon all members, and on public rites, as eFemplified by the needfor a >uorum to legitimi$e certain rites. It #as collective,group oriented, and 9nomian,9 Ecf. 9antinomian9G that is,oriented to#ard practicing a nomos, i.e., the Torah. The attitudeto#ard the 'ommandments #as summed up in the saying, 9Hou shalllive by them.9

:. Thus, in a sense, that 0udaism #as relatively egalitarian Ethespea=er actually said 9e>ualitarian9G. The !a# #as (in principle)available to and incumbent upon everyone, and the !a#, the nomos,#as the standard. -eligious practice #as collective, public,non sectarian, and not dangerous.

This then is ho# one can describe the first phases of 0udaism,the 8iblical and #hat might be called the 'lassical (i.e.-abbinic Midrashic) phases.

8ut there #ere also other types of 0udaism, cultivated insmaller circles, as eFemplified by the *e=haloth literature.These involved contemplation of the 1ivine vehicles, or the 1ivine

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stature, and involved non *ala=hic techni>ues for transcendingcommon eFperiences in favor of achieving a strong but dangerousresult the eFperience or vision of the Mer=avah, or of the 1ivinebody or glory. ne finds these efforts eFpressed in some veryancient teFts, #hich also lin= them #ith dangers and the paying ofa high price. These efforts lead to a#ful Eor a#efulG encounters

#ith angels? their result is the eFperience of a tremendum. Itseems to have been less than delightful, and it #as reserved forthe very fe#.It is presented in terms that constitute both thestatement of an ideal and a #arning against embar=ing on a >uestfor it.

ne of the =ey eFemplary teFts is the account of the four sages,the four upright persons, #ho entered the /ardes, the rchard orAarden, all but one of #hom #ere severely damaged by theeFperience despite their eFcellent >ualities. This cannot be ta=en as a historical document, despite the factthat these four did live at approFimately the same time. This isnot a report of historical events? it should be ta=en as acollection of traditions about the effects of entering the /ardes.T#o results #ere positive one person died, but remained loyal?one (-abbi %>iva) remained safe. T#o results #ere negative oneperson #ent mad? the other became a heretic. Instead of reading this as a biographical account, #e shouldread it as a typological account, one describing types ofeFperiences and the types of effects those eFperiences can have.3rom its first appearance, this crucial teFt #as not historical,but eFemplary.

This teFt is used in different #ays in different settings. Inmystical literature, it is used to point out dangers that canbefall the mystic. In Talmudic Midrashic sources, it is used topoint out the dangers and achievements that are related tospeculations, rather than to eFperiences. The interpretation ofthe account depends on the conteFt in #hich it is used? thus it isa mista=e to try to establish a single 9genuine9 meaning common toall versions.

This account is, then, a parable #hose significance is noteFplicated, as in Babbalah the /ardes is an uneFplained parablefor an unrevealed secret. There is a crucial vagueness here, andone must ma=e the assumption that this sort of vagueness does notrepresent a defeat but an opportunity to introduce ne# meaningsto an open teFt, as in Umberto +co&s account of reading teFts asopen teFts. E'f. Umberto +co, The pen Wor=.G The /ardes be comesa generali$ed metaphor for the danger $ones of religiouseFperience, seen as something #hich is good for the fe#, butpernicious for others.

The /ardes story, then, has been (re)interpreted in a variety ofdirections? here, #e are interested in patterns of interpretationproposed in the Middle %ges (though the history of theinterpretation of the story could be continued on#ard from there).

Today #e tal= about Maimonides and the philosophical tradition."eFt about the ecstatic tradition.!ast about (a) the 1ivine Sefiroth and (b) the encounter #ith the demonic.

In all three streams of interpretation, the vagueness of thebasic story contributed to the richness of the resulting

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interpretations.

%fter the 'lassical (-abbinic) period, 0udaism under#ent t#oma or changes, one of #hich #as its transformation into anesoteric religion (at least as understood by some elite masters),a religion having t#o levels. %n esoteric understanding of

0udaism #as a shared feature of various traditions the Babbalah,the classical philosophical schools (e.g. Maimonides), and the*asidi %sh=ena$ and other medieval mystical groups. This moveinvolves Ethough the spea=er did not overtly label it, the secondchangeG the atomi$ation of the collective or the group. The groupis important as a mystical tool in some forms of Babbalah, but itplays a restricted role. The core aim of personal redemption, orthe achievement of individual perfection, moved to the forefront.To understand the underlying secrets, and to behave in accordance#ith them this #as crucial to the 0e#ish elite in the middleages. It #as a cult of individual attainment, #hich involved thereading of its sources as secret messages hidden in canonicalscriptures, messages connected to the goal of salvation. There #ere t#o models for salvation in those scripturessalvation as attaining the +nd, or as returning to the rigin.Thus the effort to obtain salvation meant either hastening the end(collectively, this involved messianism), or reaching bac= to alost paradise that had been eFisting since the beginning. This is#hy the concept of /aradise is important in understanding themeaning of the /ardes, even though they #ere not originally asclosely connected is it might seem.

9/ardes9 actually means an orchard. The actual term for9/aradise,9 in the sense of the Aarden of +den, #as Aan +den,#hich in the Septuagint #as translated by the Aree= #ord for/aradise Ederiving originally from /ersianG, from #hich there #asa bac=#ard lin=age to the *ebre# #ord /ardes. The t#o ideas,originally different, came to eFplain or amplify each other.Thus, the dangers associated #ith Aan +den Ethe angel #ith theflaming s#ordG and /ardes also converged both came to representdangerous ideals, and ideal dangers. The /ardes story then came to have as a subteFt the story of/aradise (Aan +den). It became a common effort of medievalcommentators to eFplain the story of /aradise by means of thestory of /ardes. The attempt to escape ritual and return to/aradise #as a threat to 0udaism as a religion Ei.e., as areligion based on ritual and the !a#G? thus, it could not beproposed openly as a goal. %ny attempt to enter /ardes then #asan entry into a dangerous $one. 'lassical 0udaism #as notescapist that is, it did not involve an attempt to transcendhistory. The transcendental ideal could stand as an ideal for thefe#, but it #as an ideal that #as dangerous to (or if adopted by)the many? it thus had to be reserved to the fe# to stop escapistreligious trends.

Maimonides& interpretation, in summary, too= perfect philosophyas the #isdom of %dam, lost but retrievable by some (perfect)persons, e.g., -. %>iva. To be in /aradise, from this point ofvie#, #as to be a philosopher. /hilosophy is perfection in thepresent? /aradise is perfection in the past and in the future.The ideal of philosophy is to eFist in continuous contemplation.When the /rimordial Man fell he #as Eor becameG unable to stay inthe state of perfect philosophy. The /ardes story, ho#ever, points out a path of return, andsuggests an analysis of 0udaism as a pro ect of return to perfect

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philosophy. It points out both techni>ues and possible problems. The first part of Maimonides ma or *ala=hic #or= is #here heeFplains the meaning of /ardes but of course, since he #as a-abbi, he doesn&t eFplain it openly. *e mentions that it is amatter of the EfourJG =ey 9themes dealt #ith in the precedingchapters,9 leaving the reader to select #hich of the many themes

are the =ey themes. Though all four of the characters in thestory #ere great men of Israel, not all had the capacity to graspthe sub ect clearly. 3or him, then, the /ardes is lin=ed tospeculation it is something to be =no#n, something that must begrasped clearly, rather than a mystical eFperience. Maimonidesstates that it is not proper to #al= in the /ardes #ithout beingfilled #ith bread and meat, i.e., =no#ledge of #hat is permittedand forbidden, i.e., #ithout having had a solid -abbiniceducation. Why is thisJ 8ecause =no#ledge of these things givescomposure to the mind. Maimonides presents 0e#ish la# as a #ay ofachieving a certain stability, a mastery of lust and imagination.The 'ommandments are a sine >ua non, the basis for the re>uisitecomposure. The !a#, then, gives one the possibility of calming the mind, ofmastering imagination and lust, in order to be able ... to study%ristotle. 8y #hich he meant, to study the /hysics andMetaphysics. This study has t#o ma or dangers. ne is the cognitive orclassical or %ristotelian a misunderstanding of physics andmetaphysics due to imaginative distortion of reality. ne&sunderstanding Eor the clarity of one&s understandingG can bespoiled by one&s Enon rationalG inclinations. There is also the /latonic danger the political implicationsbetter not understood by the masses, as in 8oo= l E8oo= KIIG ofthe Metaphysics.

"ot all of the four Masters, then, #ere calm enough, educatedenough, to grasp %ristotelian metaphysics.

There are t#o #ays of understanding Maimonides& position hereone eFoteric, the other esoteric. The eFoteric understanding #ould ta=e the historical %dam as theperfect philosopher, brought do#n into a fallen state by the lastremnants of desire and fantasy. Thus our current condition ofisolation from philosophic truth #ould be the historical result of%dam&s fall. The esoteric reading, ho#ever, is that the state of the/rimordial Man is al#ays open to us, al#ays available at any time as, too, is the sin of %dam. In principle, at least. Baf=a hasan interpretation of the eFpulsion from /aradise that can be ta=enas a =ey to the esoteric reading of Maimonides& position.%ccording to that interpretation, the +Fpulsion from /aradise isfinal, and life in this #orld is irrevocable. It is eternal innature. EI.e., it is an event 9in eternity,9 rather than inhistory.G %t the same time #e are continuously in /aradise,#hether #e reali$e it or not. Thus neither the +Fpulsion nor the/aradisal state are historical events they are structures ofeFperience open to each of us. This is also, by the #ay, theBabbalistic interpretation developed by %bulafia, #ho #as thefirst to treat the /ardes as an ongoing eFperience. *isinterpretation #as very similar to Baf=a&s. 9%nyone #ho enters/ardes has to enter in peace and eFit in peace.9

This spiritualistic reading, that the /ardes is not a matter ofhistory but is open to anyone, proposes a spiritualistic typology,

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a scheme of typical eFperiences or states that can be actuali$edat any time. *istory becomes unimportant. 8y studying 8ible,Talmud, Babbalah, philosophy, #e become a#are of #hat can happenin eFperience. This reading seems to do ustice to certain passages inMaimonides about people 9of the ran= of -. %>iva.9 *istory

disappears The 8ible, Talmud, %ristotle all spea= about innereFperiences related only to the elite because they are dangerous,but #hich are to be pointed out to the masses to orient them, togive them the sense that 0udaism is more than its ritual. This approach still assumes that there is danger, but 0udaism ishere seen as trying to cope #ith the problem of the dangerousideal. The ideal may be dangerous, but it is to be cultivated.This formulation becomes a #ay of balancing ritualistic approachesagainst the eFplosion of metaphysical speculations that mightendanger the observance of the ritual. The aim is not merely to propose philosophy but to use%ristotelian psychology and metaphysics to point to meditations onsecret 0udaism, to introduce a ne# paradigm for understanding0udaism. Thus, Maimonides #as able to begin a tradition ofinterpretation (#hich lasted from about the 4;th to the 46thcenturies) #hich too= ritual as means of introduction tophilosophy. This interpretation fortifies the place of ritual,yet puts it in its place, sho#s that it is not final. It isneeded, but in a #ay to be transcended by the fe#, for #hom ahigher ideal is needed, that of the /ardes.

"eFt time, #e tal= not about philosophic speculation but aboutecstatic eFperience, the encounter #ith a terrible !ight, the/rimordial !ight.

2U+STI "S

2uestion The aim is to master the corporeal, #hich if not understood #ill distort one&s grasp of realityJ Then for Maimonides there #as a specific absolute realityJ%ns#er Hes. *e believed a certain metaphysics #as true. *is #as not a modern, *eideggerian philosophy. 3or him, Aod #as the sum of the intelligibilia, as #as the case for other medieval philosophers. Aod #as ta=en as the great intelligence. There #as a negative theology, but there #as also a positive theology.

2uestion What about the /ardes story and the %riJ%ns#er % very compleF issue and another story.

2 Baf=a #rote about Maimonides% "ot about Maimonides, but Aenesis.2 Aenesis then. If the eFpulsion is eternal...% We are eFpelled all the time from /aradise, but it is here. We are out and in at the same time. It is a matter of each of us. That is #hy the 3all is not final.

2 The *ala=ha becomes then a means is it time boundJ May there be other means at other times for MaimonidesJ% *ala=ha remains necessary all the time. It is not li=e a ladder. 1esires are al#ays present. *ala=hic discipline is not simply preliminary it is needed all the time it too is eternal. E'f. the Areat 'hain of 8eing, or 'ro#ley&s understanding of initiatory hierarchy.G

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2 Why is this in the Mishne Torah, not in the AuideJ% To Maimonides, the code of behavior is an introduction to the /ardes. *e starts #ith the /ardes, only then to go on to tal= about the !a#. The /ardes is integral to the Mishne Torah.2 What then does the -am8am have to say about the MessiahJ% There is only one hint /erfect /hilosophy is /aradise,

personal salvation. +ach of us then is his o#n Messiah, and #e don&t need another Messiah as individuals. %s a collective, it is another story. The Messiah is needed to embody a certain political, social, et cetera, state.2 %nd *ala=ha is a mechanism to reach that eFperienceJ% Hes.

2 What about the discussion of the 'astle in the AuideJ% In III @4 of the Auide of the /erpleFed, Maimonides mentions 8en <oma among rabbis eFpert only in *ala=ha, unable to understand metaphysics. Thus they are outside the castle.

2 Is there any significance in this to the fact that some of Maimonides& students #ere not 0e#ish, but MuslimJ% I&m not a#are of any advanced students #ho #ere Muslim. There #ere Muslims #ho #ere follo#ers, #ho studied the Auide...2 8ut there #as a Muslim #ho studied %ristotle #ith Maimonides? #e have diaries...% I don&t =no# about that.2 +sotericism #as #idespread% 8ut Maimonides #as not in 8aghdad.2 This #as in +gypt...

2 What is the nature of danger in the BabbalahJ% 1anger is associated #ith individual initiative. 1anger enters #ith the desire for the paranormal, for the transcendent eFperience, the desire to go beyond the communal eFperience.

2 What about the use of /%-1+S as a code Ean acrosticG for the four #ays of interpreting the TorahJ% It did become that, but only later, long after Maimonides, #ith Babbalists in Spain and Italy. 8ut there is a huge amount of material available, and I had to select it very even inside this narro# topic in order to be able to give a manageable lecture. There is material for a year&s #orth of lectures for any of these topics.

II The /rimordial !ight The +cstatics& 2uest Thursday 46 %pril 4CC4

EThe introduction to the lecture mentioned that the lecture series #ould eventually be coming out as a boo= to be published by the University of Washington /ress.G

EThe introducer mentioned an article in the 0erusalem /ost about Scholem and Idel. Idel has established the basis for a critical loo= at Scholem&s #or=. Scholem&s approach #as historical and conteFtual he interpreted the Babbalah as a system of thought. Idel&s approach is phenomenological he endeavors to discern #hat the symbolism and ritual meant to those #ho practised it. 3or Idel, the Babbalah is not a system of ideas but a practical path to mystical eFperience. 3or Scholem, Babbalah entered 0udaism from the outside, and

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#as the result of the influence of Aree= gnosticism on -abbinic 0udaism. It #as, in effect, an alien heresy #ith an underground eFistence. 3or Idel, Babbalah is an esoteric tradition flo#ing from #ithin 0udaism itself, though #ith lin=s and correspondences #ith other mystical traditions. Idel feels that the study of the manuscript tradition has ust

barely begun, and that therefore most of the field has yet to be eFplored. *e also feels that even the most theoretical teFts are eFperientially oriented. This has led him to try to reconstruct the techni>ues that #ere actually used. *e has done so in part through observation of practices of ultra rthodoF communities in Israel and they in turn have come to him for technical advice on reading and understanding their teFts.G

There is another paradigm through #hich the story of the entry to/ardes can be read one #hich is not philosophical, but ecstatic.This variety of paradigms by the #ay is very important. It sho#sthat 0e#s #ere less interested in establishing a unified theologythan they #ere in finding secret interpretations that #ouldattract many different =inds of people. They #ere open to havinga different #ay for each sort of person. This is a sign of theopenness of the elite culture to allo#ing different approaches fora variety of people not so much to attract the masses, but toallo# for diversity among the elite. This second interpretation of the /ardes #as the result of themerger of 0e#ish mysticism and "eoplatonic philosophy. 3orMaimonides, it #as a /ardes ha 'ho=mah, a /ardes of Bno#ledge. Ithad to do #ith the solution to cognitive problems. 3orMaimonides, %dam #as lost in contemplation of metaphysical truths.Thus, for Maimonides, -. %>iva #as the central figure, the mostperfect of the four sages. 8ut for some Babbalists at the beginning of the Thirteenth'entury the ma or figure #as not -. %>iva but 8en %$$ai, theTalmudic master #ho died. 3or them, the /ardes #as not a matterof intellect, but of the eFperience of a supreme light. This!ight #as not an intellectual or conceptual light, but aneFperiential light.

%ncient 0e#ish teFtual material is rich in emphasis on theimportance of light as in Aenesis, #here !ight is the firstcreated entity. Midrashic teFts portray %dam as an entity of!ight, and as having garments of !ight, #hich #ere lost after hiseFpulsion from +den. In this tradition, the basic activity of%dam #as the contemplation of the !ight, of the She=inah. The9!ight of the She=inah9 is a =ey term in these teFts. 8oth /ardes and /aradise, in this tradition, are seen as full of!ight. %dam&s eFperience in the 3all is the loss of thepossibility of contemplating the !ight. The loss of garments of!ight leads to their replacement by garments of s=in (a pun in*ebre#). This loss of the possibility of eFperience of the !ightis crucial in ancient *ebre# teFts. 3or eFample, in the 8oo= of %dam and Seth (as preserved in%rmenia) 98ut %dam .. in being stripped of the 1ivine !ight ..became an e>ual of the dumb beasts. +noch for forty days andnights did not eat. Then he planted a garden .. and #as in itfor @@7 years. Then he #as ta=en up into heaven ....9 EThe>uotation #as >uite a bit longer? unfortunately, I couldnot =eepup.G This portrays an attempt by +noch to reconstruct andre enter the situation of %dam. This is a basic pattern in laterdiscussions of the /ardes teFts an attempt to return to the

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ability to contemplate the !ight as %dam once did. In the *e=haloth teFts, too, the idea of !ight is paramount./ardes is described as full of the radiance of !ight. There is a manuscript teFt by an un=no#n author one #hich Ineeded some 5D pages to analy$e, so #e can only deal #itha smallpart of it here. There are some ten lines in it about 8en %$$ai

(#ho did not return). 98en %$$ai pee=ed and died. *e ga$ed atthe radiance of the 1ivine /resence li=e a man #ith #ea= eyes #hoga$es at the full light of the sun and becomes blinded by theintensity of the light that over#helms him... *e did not #ish tobe separated, he remained hidden in it, his soul #as covered andadorned ... he remained #here he had cleaved, in the !ight to#hich no one may cling and yet live.9 E2uotation approFimateG This teFt portrays people ga$ing not at a 'hariot or a marblethrone, but at the radiance of Aod (T$vi ha She=inah), a light sostrong that no one can bear it. The idea of 9over#helming9 isteFtually crucial. The idea of having a great desire to cleave,as described in the medieval teFt, is ne#. In ancient literature,contemplation is of something far a#ay, across an unbridgeablegap. There is no idea there of love, only of a#e. *ere, ho#ever,#e see a trace of a radical change the intensity of theeFperience is lin=ed #ith a great desire to cleave to the radianceof the She=inah. There is a strong eFperience of union #ith the1ivine, the result of a desire to enter and become a part of the1ivine realm. There is an attempt to en oy the 1ivine #ithoutinterruption. The language of desire implies erotic overtones tothe eFperience, especially since 9She=inah9 in *ebre# is feminine.The teFt then is spea=ing about an attempt to cleave to a feminineaspect of the 1ivine also a development uni>ue to the medievalliterature (and not found in the ancient literature). %nd alsothe idea of 9s#eet radiance9 has erotic overtones.

So #hat happenedJ *e couldn&t return from the eFperience. The*ebre# terms are very strong. %fter his death he #as 9hidden a#ayin the place of his cleaving.9 This death #as the death of thepious ones #hose souls are separated from all concerns #ith themundane #orld, and #ho cleave to the supernal #orld. It #as, inother #ords, not an accident but an achievement. There is a threefold structure implied here, reminiscent of'hristian and "eoplatonic mysticism. The first phase is the viapurgativa, 9Those #ho are separated from all concerns of the lo#ly#orld.9 The second phase is the via illuminativa. The thirdphase is the via unitiva. There is here a combination of ancient0e#ish material #ith pagan or 'hristian "eoplatonist material toportray or interpret the eFperience of 8en %$$ai. Thisinterpretive paradigm continued in active use from the Thirteenththrough the +ighteenth centuries, #here it #as used among the*asidim. It #as a tradition that lasted 5DD to LDD years, and itis eFactly the =ind of tradition it is hard to study #ithoutloo=ing at manuscripts.

This teFt #as also copied by a Thirteenth 'entury Babbalist #hogave it an even stronger nuance of mysticism. 8en %$$ai diedbecause of the cleaving of his soul out of a great love? his souldidn&t return because he reached a great attainment. Theassumption out of intense love, his cleaving #as total. !ater,there #ere even stronger formulations, in #hich the soul and the!ight become one entity. This teFt is one eFample of teFts dealing #ith the unio mystica.It allo#s for bridging in a total manner the gap bet#een man andAod. This is another eFample of the formative po#er of the

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"eoplatonic mystical tradition, as it also eFpressed itself in'hristianity and Islam. *o#ever, for the Babbalists the ma or events too= place in thepast. *e is reporting not on a contemporary but on 8en %$$ai. Isthis simply a matter of an intepretationJ r is there somethingmore to it a practical interestJ 'an #e eFtract from the

sources a method, a practiceJ In my opinion, since the end of the Thirteen 'entury there is

evidence that there #ere eFperiences of !ight connected #ith thestory of 8en %$$ai and the Babbalists #ho discussed it but thisis not al#ays simple to demonstrate. %nother anonymous teFt, #ritten in 47CD or so in Aalilee,describes a techni>ue, and after#ard describes a personaleFperience characteri$ed by ama$ement, confusion, and a need forclarification and interpretation. Its author describes the 1ivine!ight as attracting the !ight of the soul, 9#hich is #ea= inrelation to the 1ivine !ight.9 (There is a magnetic metaphorhere, and #e can see in this adoption of non traditional metaphorsan attempt to come to terms #ith personal eFperience.) ThiseFperience #as the result of letter combination techni>ues. !aterthe anonymous Babbalist attempts to describe ho# he approached amaster to learn a techni>ue to stop the eFperience. Thus,discussing this eFperience in terms of the story of 8en %$$ai isan attempt to relate personal eFperience to a model. It is notsimply an attempt to provide an interpretation for the story of8en %$$ai. %nother ecstatic Babbalist also relates his eFperience to thestory of 8en %$$ai 9If a man does that #hich his soul #ishes inthe proper #ays of hitbodeduth, his soul is immersed in this lightand he #ill die li=e 8en %$$ai.9 The Babbalists tried to reach the pre fall state of the/rimordial Man, to enteragain the radiance of the She=inah, andeven to enter a certain erotic relationship #ith the 1ivine/resence, as later #e find in the <ohar in other forms. They alsoprovided, by the end of the Thirteenth 'entury, certain detailedtechni>ues. 98y letter combinations, unifications, and reversalsof letters, he shall call up the Tree of Bno#ledge of Aood and+vil... Elist of encounter #ith various polari$ed >ualities andentities, e.g., Mercy and SeverityG ... he #ill be in danger ofthe same death as 8en %$$ai.9

8eginning #ith the end of the 3ourteenth 'entury, there aredescriptions of Babbalists studying together, and of eachobserving the others to see if they become luminous. 9!i=e#isetoday, if someone #ill loo= at the faces of students #ho are#orshipping out of love .. you #ill see on them the radiance ofthe 1ivine /resence so that those #ho see them #ill be afraid, andeach of them #ill have the radiance of the 1ivine /resenceaccording to his ran=.9 There is, in other #ords, the eFpectationof a corporeally observable radiance.

3or Maimonides the eFperience of the /ardes #as mental, #ith noout#ard sign? for the Babbalists it #as corporeal and visible. 3or Maimonides, Aod #as an intellect? for the Babbalists, Aod #asa radiance. 3or Maimonides, %dam #as a perfect intellect? for the Babbalists,%dam #as a creature of !ight. 3or Maimonides, /aradise and /ardes #ere intellectual (cerebral)states? for the Babbalists, they #ere corporeal, sensuous, erotic,seFual and an ob ect for practical striving.

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The Babbalists developed techni>ues Maimonides had no clearmethod. The Babbalists attempted to describe techni>ues, and signs ofattainment. Thus the Babbalistic tradition is not one of speculations aboutmysticism? it is full fledged mysticism. In the Babbalistic

tradition, an eFtreme type of eFperience is sought out andconsidered positive. The mystical death is the real goal of ecstatic Babbalah. 3orMaimonides, the ideal is to remain in a state of intellection.3or the ecstatic Babbalists, eFtreme eFperience is finaleFperience.

The /ardes #as thus ideali$ed by 0e#ish mystics, and given ne#meanings. This ideali$ation opened another avenue, one eFploitedespecially by +ighteenth 'entury *asidic mysticism. We can see acontinuous line from the beginning of the Babbalah up to thefounder of the modern *asidic movement #ho himself >uoted parts ofthe same teFt. This can be understood as an inner 0e#ishdevelopment, and not a historical accident.

2uestions 2 1id all Babbalists #ish actual deathJ 3or those #ho did not, #hat #as the rationale for not #anting itJ% That is a matter of the mystic&s role in society. Moses, it is said, #anted to die, to leave the #orld, to remain in a state of union. 8ut Aod said he had a role as a mystic to reach the eFtreme and yet return. 8ut that is not the case for all Babbalists not all of them #ere oriented to#ard society. There as also a controversy about the desirability of it, but the idea that it could be achieved #as admitted on all sides of the controversy. It #as not theologically denied. +ven those #ho opposed it admitted that a total union #as possible.2 In that case, ho# #as %>iva understoodJ% *e #as understood as someone #ho could balance, #ho could enter and leave. %>iva (li=e Moses) could enter, but he =ne# #hen to retreat. *e =ne# ho# to combine the t#o.

2 n Tuesday you discussed the role of *ala=hic ritual as a #ay of controlling impulses, for Maimonides. Tonight you did not mention it at all. 1id it have a roleJ% Maimonides #as a *ala=hist. 8ut most of the Babbalists #e have mentioned #ere not. Most #ere anonymous they #ere not *ala=hic masters, but mystics. 3or them, =eeping the norms #as not as important as reaching beyond the norms. 8asically, they #ere a nomian. They did not regard the 'ommandments as a ma or tool. They might be preparatory, but they #ere not final.2 'ertainly not all aspects of *ala=ha #ould have been neutral it afforded ma or opportunities for ecstatic eFperiences on certain feasts, for eFample...% These Babbalists #ere not unobservant, they #ere not antinomian. 8ut as mystics (rather than as 0e#s) they used other types of rituals or techni>ues. -itual any#ay #ould be suspended at the pea=s of ecstatic eFperience, #hen one cannot do anything. The issue is not simple but there seems to have been no friction. It is highly significant that there are no criti>ues of the use of mystical techni>ues, e.g., of combining 1ivine "ames. Their practice probably did not interfere #ith regular *ala=hic observances.

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2 *o# did such eFperiences tend to affect their eFperience of the material #orldJ 1id it enhance their opinion of itJ !o#er itJ% *ere #e touch on the paradoFical connection of the mystic and the prophetic mission. %s ecstatics, they #ere escapist. 8ut they also felt that the eFperience prompted or provo=ed a

mission. In coming bac=, the return #as interpreted as a being sent forth, as having a mission. This offered a rationale for coming bac=. 9Hou are permitted to return if you are needed.9 Thus there #as a tension bet#een the drive for attainment and the feeling of a mission.

2 What about free #illJ 'ould one say that 8en %$$ai got #hat he #anted, and that %>iva got #hat he #antedJ% "ot eFactly. %t a moment in an eFperience one may be caught up or captured by another dynamic. Hou may lose control? free #ill may be over#helmed, overridden.

2 Is there an attempt to revive these things in IsraelJ% Hes? some are studying and practising these techni>ues.2 3or eFampleJ% 8reathing, letter combination I have contacted at least ten people I =no#.2 They base this on Babbalistic descriptionsJ% They %-+ Babbalists.

2 In this Babbalistic conteFt Aod is described as radiance, energy, but in basic 0udaism Aod is also anthropomorphic, interested in the #orld. Is there a connectionJ% If one is spea=ing about erotic eFperience, there must be some sense of a personalistic ob ect. The Babbalists tried to compromise bet#een anthropomorphic and spiritualistic content. The Sefiroth #ere seen as a structure of !ight, but also as corporeal. They #ere able to shape the anthropomorphic content to a more spiritual, energic model.

E%fter#ard, as is usual at such lectures, people approached the spea=er #ith congratulations, comments, and assorted >uestions. T#o stand out.G

E% thin, intense young man =ept as=ing Idel about energy eFperiences, and the sense of 9energy coming in,9 and as=ed if anyone had done any ++A studies of Babbalists. Idel said that 0udaic studies #ere still in their infancy? mostly they #ere teFtual studies, an attempt to figure out #hat the teFts actually said and #hat they #ere about and even ust to find them and get them edited and printed. "o one had gotten to doing anything else, though he =ne# of the #or= by rnstein and others, and thought it #ould be interesting to do in a Babbalistic conteFt.G

EThe young man, consumed by his >uestioning, didn&t >uite see Idel&s point about the emphasis on teFtual scholarship? Idel gradually reali$ed the young man #anted advice about his o#n meditational eFperiences, and #as a little ta=en abac=, and tried to achieve polite closure.G

EIdel turned to another >uestioner, #ho as=ed something teFtual G 2 Hou mentioned that these techni>ues became discussed and

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elaborated in the Thirteenth 'entury or so. Is there any teFtual evidence for their sourceJ% Hes? in fact some of them can be found in teFts of the *ellenistic period, especially those involving breathing and letter combination and visuali$ation. They seem to be a part of a general fund of such techni>ues at the time, parallel to

similar things one finds in *ellenistic magical papyri, for eFample.

EThen, as though reali$ing then that the young man&s >uestions about #hat it meant #hen energy came in, as opposed to finding oneself else#here, about the dangers of possession, and so onN #ere pressing, Idel turned bac= despite attempts by various professors to ease him out of the hallN and began >uietly to address himself to his >ueries.G

Eend of part IIG

III /ardes 3rom Sefiroth to 1emonology Monday 77 %pril 4CC4

We have already eFamined t#o paradigms for reading the story ofthe entry into /ardes. Tonight, I #ant to tal= about t#o othersthe Theosophical and Theurgical paradigms. The paradigms alreadycovered in the first t#o lectures, different though they #ere, hada common feature both deal #ith inner eFperience, #hetherintellectualistic or ecstatic. The drama ta=es place inconsciousness. +ven if ecstasy involves possession, it is stilloccurring in human consciousness. The 1ivine is not affected by the entrance of the philosopher ormystic into the /ardes. This activity only affects the humanintellect or soul not the 1ivine. The t#o other paradigms also have an assumption in common thatthe entry into the /ardes has a deep effect on the non humanrealms. In the Theosophical paradigm, the 1ivine is not a simpleentity, but a system of divine po#ers. The entry into the /ardesinfluences the relationships bet#een these divine po#ers. Theother paradigm, the Theurgic, involves an influence on, orstruggle #ith, the demonic realm. These t#o may seem >uitedifferent, but, according the Babbalah, the demonic and the 1ivineshare a common anthropomorphic structure. The Sefiroth areprototypes for the demonic as #ell as the 1ivine realms. 8othparadigms, then, deal #ith attempts to affect the structure andrelationship of eFternal entities, either by inducing harmony inthe 1ivine #orld or by combatting some aspect of the demonic#orld. In both cases, the /ardes again represents a danger $one anaspect of these realms that is too strong for most mortals. %ndboth approaches, in their reading of the /ardes story, ta=e as the=ey figure that of %=her, or +lisha ben %buya, the hereticalfigure, he #ho 9pee=ed and cut the shoots.9 *e is seen as one #ho#as unable to understand appropriately either the sefirotic or1emonic realm. I #ould li=e to deal first #ith the demonic, so that #e canfinish #ith something more positive. The basic assumption of thistype of Babbalah became important around the end of the Thirteenth'entury (it is not generally found earlier) that the =no#ledge ofthe structure of the demonic is the most profound form ofBabbalah, the most recondite. % commonly used name for members ofthis tradition can be translated, 9The More /rofound Babbalists.9Their teFts run to long lists of evil angels, and detailed

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discussions of the relationships bet#een the demonic and the1ivine. The tradition also includes a strong reinterpretation ofthe /ardes story. In this tradition, it #as held (e.g. by Mosesde !eon) that it #as a religious duty to =no#, and pursue=no#ledge of, the demonic #orld but not to be immersed in it.nly #hen one has the ability to distinguish good and evil can one

truly =no# the good, and truly #orship Aod. 8ut this must be doneso that one is not attracted by or immersed in or inundated by thedemonic realm. Thus, one also finds in these teFts long lists of sinners, #ith%=her as the last ma or figure. These sinners #ere those #ho #ere attracted by the demonic realm,#ho #ere, in essence, seFually seduced by it. They #ere those #hohad become immersed in a certain commerce or intercourse #ithdemonic seFual figures. Thus one finds %dam (seduced by !ilith),and Solomon, #hose 9thousand #ives9 #ere regarded as a multitudeof demonic po#ers, and 8alaam, said to have had intercourse #ithhis ass. These figures #ere all seduced into sin. SeFualattraction, then, becomes an eFplanation of the po#er of the/ardes, #hich one must understand but not be immersed in. Why did this paradigm arise at the end of the Thirteenth 'enturyJMost of the Babbalists #ho used it lived in 'astile, #here there#as a certain phenomenon of 0e#s having seFual relations #ith'hristians, or, more often, #ith Muslims. There are discussionsof this phenomenon in de !eon and others the fascination #ith thether is there portrayed as a demonic attraction. "o#, there is a basic pattern #ell =no#n in the history ofreligions, often called 9=atabasis 9 the descent into hell toperform some rite. Usually the =atabasis is a salvific descent an attempt to rescue some of the d#ellers in hell (thoughgenerally not demons). 8ut in 'abalistic tradition it often endsnegatively the person #ho ma=es the descent is unable to surface.%lready in the Talmud 8en %buya is described as being in somerelationship #ith a prostitute. Babbalists eFploited this toportray him as indulging in seFual transgression. The others are portrayed as more successful. -. %>iva entered,but did not get involved. % parallel #as seen #ith %braham, #hodescended into +gypt (often ta=en as a type of the demonic realm)and #ho #as able to emerge in peace. %nother similarity #as found#ith "oah, #ho eFperienced the 3lood but #ho came out in safety.This is, in other #ords, a typological approach. The /ardes storyis used to summari$e certain prototypical stories from %damon#ard. That the interpretations are typological is obviousbecause of the range of figures adduced to ma=e the point. ne ofthe most eFciting is the pro ection of the /ardes story onto the8iblical story of Samson. %t the beginning, Samson is able into arelationship #ith 1elilah, and ultimately he is able to destroythe realm of evil. Samson met 1elilah in the e>uivalent of/ardes in a vineyard. %ll of these are instances that indicatethat medieval 0e#ish hermeneutics #as in fact very typological #hich >uite contradicts the claims of certain modern scholars, #hosee the typological approach as typical of scholastic philosophy,and not at all 0e#ish. This approach remains, from the Thirteenth 'entury up through the!urianic Babbalah, #here it reaches an apeF.

The other paradigm I #ish to consider addresses itself to theSephirotic realm. This paradigm #as typical of those Babbalists#ho assumed that the crucial issue #as to induce or re induce theharmony in the 1ivine spheres #hich had been disturbed byprimordial human transgression. There #ere t#o metaphors for the

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1ivine that of the Tree, and (to simplify) the anthropomorphicone of the couple. In the latter, the first nine Sefiroth #ereta=en as male, and the last as female. The basic sin of %=her #asto brea= the connection bet#een the first nine and the tenth (seenas the shoots, or as a female figure). The challenge created bythis transgression is to see the /ardes as a Aarden.

In /aradise, the transgression #as the separation of the fruitfrom the tree, pro ected on high. The transgression #as noteating, but separating one aspect of the 1ivine from the rest. 8yseparating the fruit from the Tree, %=her (or %dam) separatedaspects of the 1ivine from each other, thus inducing a disturbancein the 1ivine realm often referred to as 9the devastation of theplantations.9 +ven more dangerously, by affecting the 1ivine#orld in this #ay you are prone to accept the assumption thatthere are t#o different po#ers, to believe no longer in a Unity onhigh, but a 1uality. In the moment of separation, in other #ords,the possibility of a dualistic misunderstanding arises. Thechallenge, then, is to heal this rupture, #hich too= place in theprimordial era. The #or= of restoring the lost unity is open to 0e#s in general,but especially to the Babbalists, by the use of 0e#ish ritual,#hich is seen as a Theurgical techni>ue, i.e., one able toinfluence Aod (#hich is one #ay of understanding the #ord9theurgy9). %ccording to the Theosophical Theurgical Babbalah,the ma or role of the Babbalist is to restore the organic unitybet#een the 1ivine po#ers. It is, in a sense, the transposition of the mystical pro ectinto another =ey, the attempt to repair the rupture in the 1ivine(rather than bet#een the human and the 1ivine) induced by humantransgression. -. %>iva, then, #as seen as one #ho #as able to actritualistically to restore the relationship bet#een the t#o lastSefiroth Ethe ninth and the tenthG. This pro ected a certain typeof sacramental value onto 0e#ish ritual #hich #as absent in otherforms of Babbalah or in Maimonides. In other traditions, theindividual #as the center. 8ut in these demonic or Sephiroticpursuits, the focus is on repairing the cosmos, on inducing a moreharmonious state in general, in the nation, and in the cosmos.

The last issue I #ish to consider involves ma=ing a comparativeobservation about the distribution of the discussions of the/ardes story. It is found of course in ancient literature, but inthe medieval period, surprisingly (and this surprised me #hen Ifirst loo=ed into this >uestion), only the Sephardi #ereinterested in it. It does not appear in medieval %sh=ena$i teFts.The Sephardic literature is less interested in the Talmud and the*e=haloth, and more interested in the /ardes. It #as in theSephardi literature that the interpretations #e have discussed#ere invented. "o#, Sephardi culture #as in much more open contact #ith aliencultures, and thus more endangered. Muslim (and even 'hristianphilosophicOscholastic) culture #ere perceived as a danger, andopenness to it #as eFperienced as a danger a dangerous ideal. %sh=ena$i society of the period #as closed? there #as not muchscholarly interchange #ith other cultures. %sh=ena$i culture #asvery confident, and it #as not open precisely because it #asconfident that 0e#ish culture #as the highest form of religion.Thus for it there #as no dangerous ideal. The story of 9+ntering/ardes,9 then, did not meet any cultural need, because there #asno sense of cultural danger. +ven later, in the SiFteenth'entury, #hen the /ardes story is discussed, the discussion is

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inspired by Sephardi literature, and this is true even up to themid +ighteenth 'entury. 8ut by the "ineteenth 'entury, a deepchange has occurred all interest in the /ardes theme is foundamong the %sh=ena$im. This, I thin=, is connected #ith the entryinto interaction #ith general culture, #ith the +nlightenment.There came to be a need to eFplain the meaning of this

interaction. +lisha ben %buya, in fact, could be seen as one ofthe ma or protagonists in much modern *ebre# literature. It #as, then, cultural eFposure and openness #hich invo=ed,provo=ed, and evo=ed (all three ) the interest in the /ardestheme. The /ardes story eFplained the encounter bet#een the0e#ish and other mentalities. In fact, this may also be theeFplanation for the Talmudic treatment of +lisha %=her, especiallyif he is ta=en as a Anostic, as modern scholars often do. +venthe early forms of his story, then, #ould typify the encounter of0e#s #ith a general culture in this case, a Anostic culture.%=her #ould be someone open to a non 0e#ish type of culture though in fact it is hard to be sure #hich of many it might havebeen. There area as many different scholarly +lishas as there #erecontemporary cultures. %=her typifies a situation in #hich thereis a #illingness to be open, but a danger of being unable toreturn to one&s patrimony. There is a danger that one #ill beseduced by, and remain immersed in, philosophy, Anosticism,"eo /latonism ... or #hatnot. *is plight is used to describe aneFistential situation in #hich 0e#s found themselves bet#een0udaism and a general culture that fascinated and endangered them.

2uestions 2 Is there any connection bet#een these interpretations and a current of opposition to MaimonidesJ% Well, I don&t believe in single eFplanations. %ll of these 'abalistic eFplanations became published or eFposed after the period of Maimonides. Most 'abalists #ere probably ac>uainted #ith Maimonides. 8ut this #as probably not so much a matter of a silent polemic #ith Maimonides as a matter of a tension bet#een a ritualistic and eFperiential approach and an intellectualistic one (often regarded as alien).

2 ne interpretation of the /ardes theme is of an entry into the demonic sphere. *o# #as this combat carried outJ% 8y the commandments mit$voth. The idea #as to eFplore, and attempt to subdue, by performing the 'ommandments in a 'abalistic manner, thus eFtricating some part of the demonic #orld. In the Sephirotic realm, by means of the positive commandments, one #or=ed to unify the 1ivine #orld? by observing the prohibitions, one could subdue (but not eradicate) the demonic #orld. The Babbalists #ere >uite uneasy #ith the idea of destroying an aspect of reality, even a demonic one. %s a part of reality it #as needed, and had to be not destroyed but managed or coped #ith.

2 *o# is the /ardes story understood and used by Babbalists no#J% I don&t =no#. I haven&t yet discussed this #ith them. %fter I ma=e up my mind on the basis of the teFts, then I #ill go to them and see #hat they thin=.

2 What about 8en <oma ho# #as he seenJ% %s someone #ho had progressed to a certain level, but #ho #as

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not able to enter metaphysics, so to spea=. *e forced himself into the /hysics, but he became mentally disturbed. The ecstatic Babbalists too= him as one #ho had entered the strong eFperience and become cra$y. thers assumed that he had been damaged by the demonic #orld. 8ut he did not receive much treatment as an ideal type, unli=e %=her or 8en %$ai, or +lisha

the prototype of imperfection. 8en <oma #as not a strong type, he #as not so interesting, so he #as not ta=en as a type. %nd I have not found him interesting enough to discuss much myself...

2 What if you are in a group having religious eFperiences, can you then go out into the #orld to change the #orldJ% !oo= most Babbalists functioned at a social level. Some #ere leaders, and #ere very important members of their communities, so often they naturally #ere social figures. 8ut even ecstatic Babbalists #ho #ere sometimes very individualistic became messianic in their eFternal activities. Most =no#n Babbalists contributed the perfection of the 1ivine, or of individual perfection, in service of messianic aims. The same by the #ay is often true of non 0e#ish mysticism, #hich could also be a #ay to energi$e the personality to return to the group in an activist manner.

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moshe idel - the quest for spiritual paradise in judaism

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