Medieval Mysticism

By: Joel Bentley 

        In the study of Medieval history certainty and unanimous agreement can be hard to find. One thing that any student or scholar of Medieval history would agree on, though, is that the three Abrahamic religions were crucial to the development of the Middle Ages. Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic faith not only defined how societies would be ruled over, but also how people within a community interacted with each other and how individuals interacted with themselves. Judaism, in a historical context, stands at a unique spot among the three religions. Being founded in approximately 1800 BCE makes Judaism the oldest monotheistic religion. In order to survive this long Judaism has had to develop a tight-knit community that follows universal laws of the faith. Without strict guidelines on the scripture, liturgy, and law Jewish faith would not be as much of a coherent group as it is today. It is for this reason that Mysticism - the belief that one can be in union with God through certain religious practice - in Judaism is so fascinating; it straddles the line between the strong rules of inner Jewish faith and exterior, potentially problematic, parts of the faith. In this article I will explore the history of Jewish Mysticism including Apocalypticism, Merkavah, and Kabbalah.
 

It is impossible to create a completely comprehensive explanation of the history of Jewish Mysticism in this short article, so instead we will lay out a broad-strokes roadmap of how mysticism has developed. Some of the earliest elements of mysticism came from the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 586 BCE. Solomon’s Temple served as a bastion of early Jewish faith and is said to be where priests directly interacted with Yahweh. The later destruction of it was seen as cataclysmic to the Jews, representing the shattering of spiritual and communal foundations that had long defined Judaism. With this tragic loss Jewish faith was forced to evolve and a byproduct of this evolution was the adoption of ‘Apocalyptic’ elements within the faith. Apocalyptic is derived from the Greek word ‘apokálypsis’ meaning revelation or uncovering and, true to the name, Jewish Apocalypticism adopted a lot of these revelatory ideals. With the main teachings being of a Messiah to lead humanity to a new era of enlightenment, a Eschatological framework predicting a day of judgment, and the idea of divine unveiling of hidden teachings within the Torah, these themes show how Jews were looking for a brighter future in the shadow of the First Temples destruction. While Apocalypticism was not a denomination in its own right, we see the great influence it had on the development of mystical ideas, namely through its themes of revelation and divine unveiling. 

Following the trying times of the First Temple's destruction we enter the era of the Second Temple from 500 BCE - 70 CE. During the late Second Temple era the earliest sect of mysticism emerged: Merkavah. The word Merkavah is derived from Hebrew and means ‘chariot’ and was named this in reference to the chariot of God as seen by Ezekiel in his vision (Ezekiel 1:4-28). Merkavah took some of the ideas from early mysticism and tailored them to an individual experience, contrary to early mystical ideas, like Apocalypticism, which were focused on broader themes of the entire religion. A lot of Merkavistic practice looked for divine encounters and heavenly ascension of the individual through the study of esoteric knowledge (like interpretation of Ezekiel’s Chariot vision). These newly adopted practices signaled a turn from a communal belief in Jewish future to an individual pursuit of spiritual apotheosis. With Merkavah being one of the earliest forms of direct mystical practice it did not come without concern. There were many reasons that the greater Jewish community would be wary of mystical practice, such as potential misinterpretations, inadequate preparation to undergo a mystic journey, or risks to communal stability since these individual pursuits could distract from the communal nature inherent to Judaism. While all of these concerns were taken seriously, mysticism was still seen as a valid part of the faith. To curb these worries tight restrictions were placed on mystical practices such that only spiritually mature men who were engaged with the faith all their lives could study it.

 

The individualism and pursuit of esoteric knowledge inherent to Merkavah paved the way for the most dominant form of Mystic Judaism - Kabbalah. Originating on the Iberian Peninsula in the early 12th century, Kabbalah borrowed many ideas from Merkavah like individual ascent to the divine and esoteric interpretations, but greatly expanded on these practices and fleshed it out into a new side of Judaism. One of the most foundational developments for Kabbalism was the creation of the Zohar, or “The Book of Splendor,” in the late 13th century. The Zohar is the central Kabbalistic text giving mystical interpretations of the Torah and discussing the nature of God, namely the Tree of Life and Ein Sof.  The Tree of Life is a kind of map in Kabbalistic teachings that tries to show the Sefirot, or divine emanations of God. These Sefirah are arranged in three columns and have lines that show the deep interconnectedness of them. These attributes of God range from the transcendent unknowable crown to the worldly manifestation (Malkhut). The Ein Sof is the fundamental attribute of God that mysticism explores and that is the infinite aspects of God that are beyond comprehension. The Ein Sof is the source from which all eminations flow and from which comes the Tree of Life.

 

This concludes our overview of mysticism throughout the Medieval age, but this in no way encompasses the vast intricacies of Jewish history or faith. Mysticism highlights a subtle nuance in a faith that may at times seem very rigid in tradition. While interpretations and practice in mysticism may seem different to that of traditional Judaism, it is important to note that it was no less accepted by members of the faith. Deeply spiritual practices like Merkavah and Kabbalah were very much valid, just treated with respect and caution because of the power they hold. Through this article I hope you have developed an idea for what Jewish Mysticism has looked like throughout the ages and from there explore more of what you find interesting.