![[Torah Studio logo.png]] # Abulafia Meditation at the Torah Studio ![[שם העגול המעושר.png]] by Shaiya Rothberg ([email protected]) Link to this Coursebook: https://tinyurl.com/hazkarah The Torah Studio: https://www.thetorahstudio.org/ # Table of Contents - [[#1 Introduction|1 Introduction]] - [[#1 Introduction#1.1 About the Class|1.1 About the Class]] - [[#1 Introduction#1.2 Course Objectives:|1.2 Course Objectives:]] - [[#1 Introduction#1.3 How to use this Coursebook|1.3 How to use this Coursebook]] - [[#1.3 How to use this Coursebook#1.3.1 Structure of coursebook:|1.3.1 Structure of coursebook:]] - [[#1.3 How to use this Coursebook#1.3.2 Preparing for Class|1.3.2 Preparing for Class]] - [[#1.3 How to use this Coursebook#1.3.3 In *Hevruta* During Class|1.3.3 In *Hevruta* During Class]] - [[#2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)|2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)]] - [[#2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)#2.1 Introduction to Prophetic Kabbalah and Elements of Practice|2.1 Introduction to Prophetic Kabbalah and Elements of Practice]] - [[#2.1 Introduction to Prophetic Kabbalah and Elements of Practice#2.1.1 A Brief History of Prophetic Kabbalah|2.1.1 A Brief History of Prophetic Kabbalah]] - [[#2.1 Introduction to Prophetic Kabbalah and Elements of Practice#2.1.2 The Practice: Vocalizing the Divine Name - *hazkarat hashem* / הזכרת השם|2.1.2 The Practice: Vocalizing the Divine Name - *hazkarat hashem* / הזכרת השם]] - [[#2.1.2 The Practice: Vocalizing the Divine Name - *hazkarat hashem* / הזכרת השם#2.1.2.1 Your heart is your master and your God dwells within you.|2.1.2.1 Your heart is your master and your God dwells within you.]] - [[#2.1.2 The Practice: Vocalizing the Divine Name - *hazkarat hashem* / הזכרת השם#2.1.2.2 Spiritual Practice in the Service of Y-H-V-H.|2.1.2.2 Spiritual Practice in the Service of Y-H-V-H.]] - [[#2.1.2 The Practice: Vocalizing the Divine Name - *hazkarat hashem* / הזכרת השם#2.1.2.3 The Basic Elements of the Vocalization|2.1.2.3 The Basic Elements of the Vocalization]] - [[#2.1 Introduction to Prophetic Kabbalah and Elements of Practice#2.1.3 *Hevruta*: Reviewing the Elements of the *hazkarah* (vocalization)|2.1.3 *Hevruta*: Reviewing the Elements of the *hazkarah* (vocalization)]] - [[#2.1 Introduction to Prophetic Kabbalah and Elements of Practice#2.1.4 Concluding Vocalization|2.1.4 Concluding Vocalization]] - [[#2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)#2.2 The Five Vowels and the Kavanah (Intention) for the Hazkarah (Vocalization).|2.2 The Five Vowels and the Kavanah (Intention) for the Hazkarah (Vocalization).]] - [[#2.2 The Five Vowels and the Kavanah (Intention) for the Hazkarah (Vocalization).#2.2.1 The Five Vowels or Movements of the Vocalization|2.2.1 The Five Vowels or Movements of the Vocalization]] - [[#2.2 The Five Vowels and the Kavanah (Intention) for the Hazkarah (Vocalization).#2.2.2 *Hevruta* on Abulafia's *Kavanah* for the *Hazkarah* (Intention for the Vocalization).|2.2.2 *Hevruta* on Abulafia's *Kavanah* for the *Hazkarah* (Intention for the Vocalization).]] - [[#2.2 The Five Vowels and the Kavanah (Intention) for the Hazkarah (Vocalization).#2.2.3 Concluding *hazkarah*|2.2.3 Concluding *hazkarah*]] - [[#2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)#2.3 The Vocalization of Ehevi and Abulafia on the Experience of the Anointing Oil|2.3 The Vocalization of Ehevi and Abulafia on the Experience of the Anointing Oil]] - [[#2.3 The Vocalization of Ehevi and Abulafia on the Experience of the Anointing Oil#2.3.1 Abulafia on the Anointing Oil|2.3.1 Abulafia on the Anointing Oil]] - [[#2.3 The Vocalization of Ehevi and Abulafia on the Experience of the Anointing Oil#2.3.2 *Hazkarat Ehevi* - הזכרת אהו"י: Vocalizing the Divine Name of *alef* combined with *yod, vav* and *heh*|2.3.2 *Hazkarat Ehevi* - הזכרת אהו"י: Vocalizing the Divine Name of *alef* combined with *yod, vav* and *heh*]] - [[#2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)#2.4 Spiritual Pleasure as the Telos of the Vocalization|2.4 Spiritual Pleasure as the Telos of the Vocalization]] - [[#2.4 Spiritual Pleasure as the Telos of the Vocalization#2.4.1 Vocalization Ya-Ah|2.4.1 Vocalization Ya-Ah]] - [[#2.4 Spiritual Pleasure as the Telos of the Vocalization#2.4.2 Study: התענוג הרוחני - Spiritual Pleasure|2.4.2 Study: התענוג הרוחני - Spiritual Pleasure]] - [[#2.4 Spiritual Pleasure as the Telos of the Vocalization#2.4.3 Practice: Back to the Basic Elements of the Vocalization and to the Eh Yeh|2.4.3 Practice: Back to the Basic Elements of the Vocalization and to the Eh Yeh]] - [[#2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)#2.5 The Meaning of the Letters *Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod|2.5 The Meaning of the Letters *Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod]] - [[#2.5 The Meaning of the Letters *Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod#2.5.1 Practice: The Vocalization of God's Name|2.5.1 Practice: The Vocalization of God's Name]] - [[#2.5 The Meaning of the Letters *Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod#2.5.2 Study: The Meaning of the Letters אהו"י [Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod]|2.5.2 Study: The Meaning of the Letters אהו"י [Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod]]] - [[#2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)#2.6 Focusing on the Breath|2.6 Focusing on the Breath]] - [[#2.6 Focusing on the Breath#2.6.1 Practice: Alef and Vav|2.6.1 Practice: Alef and Vav]] - [[#2.6 Focusing on the Breath#2.6.2 Abulafia on the Breath|2.6.2 Abulafia on the Breath]] - [[#2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study)#2.7 Class Seven (15.12.24): The Circular Tenfold Name and the Prophetic Speech of Letters and Bodily Organs|2.7 Class Seven (15.12.24): The Circular Tenfold Name and the Prophetic Speech of Letters and Bodily Organs]] - [[#2.7 Class Seven (15.12.24): The Circular Tenfold Name and the Prophetic Speech of Letters and Bodily Organs#2.7.1 Practice: Vocalizing the Circular Tenfold Name|2.7.1 Practice: Vocalizing the Circular Tenfold Name]] - [[#2.7 Class Seven (15.12.24): The Circular Tenfold Name and the Prophetic Speech of Letters and Bodily Organs#2.7.2 Study: The Prophetic Speech of Letters and Bodily Organs|2.7.2 Study: The Prophetic Speech of Letters and Bodily Organs]] - [[#3 Sources and Resources|3 Sources and Resources]] - [[#3 Sources and Resources#3.1 Instructions and Symbols Charts for the *hazkarah* (Abulafian Meditation)|3.1 Instructions and Symbols Charts for the *hazkarah* (Abulafian Meditation)]] - [[#3 Sources and Resources#3.2 Abulafia and other Primary Texts|3.2 Abulafia and other Primary Texts]] - [[#3 Sources and Resources#3.3 Secondary Sources|3.3 Secondary Sources]] - [[#3.3 Secondary Sources#3.3.1 Rabbi Avraham Abulafia in Historical Context|3.3.1 Rabbi Avraham Abulafia in Historical Context]] - [[#3.3.1 Rabbi Avraham Abulafia in Historical Context#3.3.1.1 Good Links to Begin|3.3.1.1 Good Links to Begin]] - [[#3.3.1 Rabbi Avraham Abulafia in Historical Context#3.3.1.2 The Abulafian Controversy|3.3.1.2 The Abulafian Controversy]] ## 1 Introduction ### 1.1 About the Class Abulafia Meditation is a seven-week course that introduces students to the world of Abulafia’s prophetic kabbalah. This unique system, rooted in Jewish esoteric tradition, offers a gateway to expanded consciousness and a deeper connection with the Divine. Through text study, discussion, and meditative practice, participants will explore prophecy, divine overflow, and ecstatic experience within a Jewish context. The course aims to provide students with a significant encounter of this classical method of cleaving to God, emphasizing its distinctive features and potential for spiritual growth. The course consists of 90 minute sessions that combine text study, individual practice, and group exploration. Each class will focus on a specific aspect of Abulafia’s system, covering both theoretical foundations and practical techniques. Participants will learn to work with Hebrew letters and vowels, engage in letter permutations, and practice the vocalization of Divine Names. Abulafia’s method makes careful use of breath, voice, the physical vibrations involved in speech, movement of the body and guided imagination. No prior knowledge of Hebrew is required, as essential letters and vowels will be taught in the course. By the course’s end, participants will have explored Abulafia’s prophetic Kabbalah practice so that they are able, if they choose, to incorporate aspects of this profound system into their personal spiritual practice. The class is taught by Shaiya Rothberg. Feel free to contact me at [email protected]. ### 1.2 Course Objectives: 1. Understand some of the basic theory and practice of Abulafia’s prophetic Kabbalah. 2. Develop proficiency in Abulafia’s meditative techniques, including breath work, vocalization, body movement, and guided imagination. 3. Learn key Jewish texts on meditation, prophecy, divine overflow, and ecstatic experience. 4. Consider integrating elements of Abulafia’s prophetic Kabbalah into your own spiritual practices. ### 1.3 How to use this Coursebook #### 1.3.1 Structure of coursebook: On a PC, you can navigate the coursebook using an outline that appears on the right. On small screens, the outline does not appear, but you can still navigate using the table of contents at the beginning of the document. The coursebook is divided into two parts: 1. *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study). Here you'll find the materials for each class by date. 2. Sources and Resources. Here you'll find instructions and charts for meditation, primary texts by Abulafia and in his tradition, and secondary sources about Abulafia and vocalization. #### 1.3.2 Preparing for Class Each of our classes covers a lot of material, and our time together will suffice only for a first encounter. If you want to get deeper into it, I suggest preparing for class by yourself, or with a *ḥevruta*, beforehand. Start by locating the material for the next class. The classes are listed by date in the section entitled *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study). Familiarize yourself with the material for the relevant class and, if you are willing, engage in the suggested practices. Jot down any ideas or questions that you'd like to share in class. Further down in the coursebook, under Sources and Resources, you'll find primary and secondary texts relevant to our practice. If you finish these, ask me for more! #### 1.3.3 In *Hevruta* During Class In our meetings, we will break for *hevruta* study. Each time, I will specify which elements of the coursebook are meant for study in *hevruta*. Its great to begin your *hevruta* with a bit of shmoozing. Getting to know each other, to share your different perspectives with each other, is what has made Jewish *hevruta* learning such a powerful traditional practice. ## 2 *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study) ### 2.1 Introduction to Prophetic Kabbalah and Elements of Practice #### 2.1.1 A Brief History of Prophetic Kabbalah In class, I'll give a brief overview of our practice in historical context, and then we'll jump into exploring it experientially. If you want to get into the materials in advance, see the Sources and Resources section below. #### 2.1.2 The Practice: Vocalizing the Divine Name - *hazkarat hashem* / הזכרת השם ##### 2.1.2.1 Your heart is your master and your God dwells within you. Our first class will focus on your experience of the basic elements of the practice. This emphasis on your experience reflects Abulafia's teaching: >[!cite] Abulafia on the Practice >לא תצטרך... להטריח עצמך לבקש ספרים או חברים או רבנים ללמדך מה שיחסר לך מן החכמה. כי רבך הוא לבך, ואלוהיך הוא בקרבך. ספר אמרי שפר > You do not need...to bother yourself searching for books or comrades or rabbis to teach you what you lack in wisdom, for your heart is your master (*rav*), and your God dwells within you. > > *Imrei Shefer* ##### 2.1.2.2 Spiritual Practice in the Service of Y-H-V-H. Our focus in this course is on the vocalization (*hazkarah* - הזכרה) of divine names as a spiritual practice in the service of Y-H-V-H. Let's begin our exploration by clarifying these concepts. > [!info] An explanation of spiritual practice > In the context of this course, spiritual practice means engaging in an activity with the purpose of achieving **altered states of consciousness** in which we **encounter Y-H-V-H** in an intensified form. This is how I understand Abulafia's instruction for vocalizing the name, but it is important to point out that I am unpacking what he means by using concepts borrowed from my experience of practicing yoga and the teachings of contemporaries such as Ram Dass and Eckhart Tolle (see Sources and Resources below). > > An **altered state of consciousness** is a state that is different from our day-to-day state of mind. Our day-to-day states of mind are characterized by identifying with our ego-personas (our name, our story and our social roles). Abulafia characterizes this state of mind as "thoughts of this world". In this state, our heads are often filled with verbal thoughts and inner movies and talk shows about our personal dramas, with an emphasis on evaluating whether we are getting what we want. This may be a perfectly valid state of mind, but sometimes it results in a sense of being small, threatened and blocked. > > There are many altered states of consciousness relevant for spiritual practice in the sense meant here. Some of them are characterized by quiet equanimity; Others are hypnotic, trance-like, ecstatic or rapturous. Sometimes the experiences are erotic or musical or otherwise sensual. Abulafia and others describe these experiences in a great variety of ways. Since altered states of consciousness are subjective, its often hard to understand what people experienced from their descriptions. You need to make an effort to connect descriptions of spiritual experiences written by others with your own experience. > >**Awareness - Presence - Being / הוויה** > There is one altered state of consciousness that I think of as the foundation for the others. Following contemporary traditions like Ram Dass and Tolle, we might call it *awareness* or *presence*. Abulafia calls it "becoming alive in the world to come", as we will see below. This is a state in which we stop telling stories and watching internal movies about who we are and what we want. In this state, its as if the internal talk show about myself that's often playing in my head is turned off. Or, maybe its still broadcasting, but its in the background. When thoughts and images and bits of story pass through my awareness, they are like clouds, and my awareness is like the sky, through which they pass. Or another metaphor is the movie screen: Movies are projected onto the screen - the screen is where they happen - but the screen doesn't play a part in the drama; it is the space in which the drama happens. > >**Space and Flow** > >This sky awareness or presence is associated in my experience with two qualities: space and flow. Space refers to the release that I experience when I feel the weight of my day-to-day train of thoughts slip off from on top of me. It is sense of relief and liberation; like dropping a burden and relaxing into a wide expanse. Flow refers to feeling awash in creative energy. When the burden of narrowness falls away for a moment, and I feel the freedom of the expanse, a sense of possibility and motivation to do creative things often awakens in me. I call this the experience of flow. *Space* and *flow* are qualities that characterize *awareness* and *presence* in the sense that I mean. >[!info] An explanation of **יהו-ה** Y-H-V-H. >The letters יהו-ה for most streams of Jewish religion symbolize the true object of service and worship; they are the powers or entities or attributes that we aspire to embody in our lives and to cultivate in the world. They are symbols of the most high, the ultimate good, the set of everything that we recognize as truly valuable. > >For every person who sees the world through the prism of יהו-ה, they mean something different, since the meaning of life is different for each person. At the same time, many of the traditional attributes associated with these letters are recognized as virtues by all human beings. These attributes include wisdom, consciousness, love, justice, beauty and compassion. These attributes are drawn from the names and qualities associated with the ten sefirot of the Kabbalah. All ten sefirot are contained in the four letters Y-H-V-H. > >In the context of this course, we are particularly concerned with Y-H-V-H as the aim of spiritual practice. This layer of meaning is a subset of the broader symbolism of the name, which contains everything that matters. Following traditional Kabbalistic symbolism, Y-H-V-H symbolizes the two qualities, space and flow, mentioned above. The Yah of the name, associated with the three upper sefirot, symbolizes space - the expanded awareness we experience when we let go of identification with the ego-persona. The Vah of the name, which is associated with the seven lower sefirot, symbolizes the flow of creative energy that is opened up by the space of the Yah. In Vah, that energy differentiates into *hesed* (love), *din* (justice), *tiferet* (beauty) and so forth. Then we feel motivated to love, to pursue justice, or to begin some other creative project. > >In spiritual practice, we shed our day-to-day state of mind, which is characterized by inner talk shows about the ego-persona and its relative success in life, and enter altered states of consciousness in which we encounter Y-H-V-H in an intensified manner. Awareness/presence is one of the most important of those states, and also a prerequisite for them. Evoking awareness/presence within ourselves, and then combining it with the elements of the vocalization, is what this practice is all about. Entering into the awareness or presence described above, in which we let go of our day-to-day train of thoughts, and experience space and flow, is how I understand Abulafia's instruction for preparation before vocalizing the divine name. As I understand him, getting into this state of mind and being is a prerequisite for vocalizing the names. > [!cite] From Abulafia's *Kavanah* for the *hazkarah* (Intention for the Vocalization): > וטהר לבך ונפשך מכל מחשבות העולם הזה. וחשוב שבאותה שעה תפרד נפשך מגופך. ותמות מן העולם הזה, ותחיה לעולם הבא, אשר הוא מקור החיים הנמצאים המפוזרים בכל חי. > Purify your mind and soul from all thoughts of this world. And imagine that at this time, your soul departs from your body. And you die in this world, and become alive in the world to come, which is the source of all life, the life dispersed among all living creatures. Abulafia calls our day-to-day state of mind, in which we identify with our stories and social roles, and in which we play movies inside our heads about our successes and failures, "thoughts of this world". When he says that your soul leaves your body, he is using the body as a symbol of "this world" and the day-to-day state of mind. When he says that we must "die in this world", he means letting go - for awhile - of our sense of individual self. Since in the state of awareness or presence, we let go of our thoughts and stop listening to the talk show about ourselves, its as if our persona (with its story and social role) dies. We leave it behind. Now that we are dead in this world, we become alive in "the world to come". This phrase symbolizes for Abulafia and other medieval Jewish thinkers the dimension of the eternal. It is the space and flow of awareness unburdened by the need to play a part in the ego's drama. In this space, since we leave our individual identity behind, we become "all life", the undifferentiated source of life, that surrounds and is the source of every individual life. ##### 2.1.2.3 The Basic Elements of the Vocalization Now that we have clarified our terms, we have a sense of what a spiritual practice in the service of Y-H-V-H might mean. We will now turn to the elements of the vocalization. The practice involves four basic elements: ![[2 Basic Elements]] When we vocalize a divine name, we combine these four elements. Below is the Hebrew letter *alef*. The *alef* is a sign, one of the basic elements of the vocalization. For Abulafia, and much of Jewish tradition, the *alef* is the letter of unity, the root of all letters and all existing things. It is both the first letter of the alphabet and the number one. Familiarize yourself with its shape. <p style="text-align: center; font-size: 200px; font-family: 'David', serif; margin: 0; line-height: 1;">א</p> Now, let's experientially explore the basic elements of the practice one by one. What we want to do is to bring our awareness/presence to each element in its turn. Once we have tasted each element by itself, we will begin to combine them into different permutations. It is awareness/presence that combines [מצרף] the elements together into the הזכרה / *hazkarah* / vocalization of the name. > [!tip] *Ma'aseh* - Practice > **Getting Centered in Awareness/Presence** > > Sit comfortably on a chair or cushion. Face forward with your neck and back straight, but not rigid. Breathe in and out. Let go of verbal thoughts; turn your attention away from any talk shows going on in your head. Relax. Imagine that any thoughts and feelings that pass through your mind are like clouds passing through the sky. You are the sky, not the clouds. Evoke in yourself the space and flow of awareness/presence. Let's practice this for a few minutes. > > In order to help clear your mind of verbal thoughts and evaluations, try asking yourself: "What is the next thought that I am going to think?". The momentary pause that follows that question, before an answer emerges, is the space for which we are looking. (This method is borrowed from Eckhart Tolle's *The Power of Now*). > > **Breath** > > The breath is in some ways the most powerful element of the vocalization. It is a very effective way of evoking awareness/presence. Let's now focus that awareness on the breath. Feel how the air enters and exits your body. Focus on how it feels while letting other thoughts fall away. Focus your attention on your breathing. In this state, slowly inhale and exhale ten times. > > **Voice** > > Now we'll add the element of voice. As you exhale, and for the full length of your exhalation, say one long *Ohhhh* (as in Joe). Your vocalization of the *Oh* should end as you run out of air and so reach the end of your exhalation. > > As your breathe and vocalize, notice how this practice is as much about the body vibrating as it is about the sound that your ears hear. Let your awareness sink into your voice as you exhale. Try to let go of all verbal thoughts and movies about your life. Vibrate like this for ten exhalations. > > **Sign** > > Look at the letter *alef* above. Notice how it comes into existence through the contrast of colors on your screen or page, as seen by your eye and interpreted by your brain. Focus your attention on the letter as you breathe. Clear your mind of everything except the letter. Close your eyes and imagine the letter. Breathe silently for ten breaths with your mind focused on the letter. > > Now, continue for another ten breathes, vocalizing the *alef* with your *Ohhhhh*. Notice how your breath, and the vowel that you vocalize, give movement and life to the letter *alef*. In this way you are binding the *alef* to your breath and to the vibration of your body. The cord tying it all together is your *awareness/presence*. > >**Movement** > >Above, we have already touched on one of the most important meanings of *movement* for the practice of vocalizing divine names: The vowel which *moves* the letter, as when you give movement and breath to the letter *alef* through the vibrations of your voice. > >Abulafia's practice involves another form of movement related to the movement of the vowel: Moving your head in a motion that recalls the placement or shape of the vowel in Hebrew. You'll learn more about this below. For reasons explained later, the sound *Ohhh* is associated with turning your face up towards the sky. > >Let us explore this experientially. First, sit comfortably with your neck straight and your face forward. Inhale. Now, start to exhale while vocalizing *Ohhhh*. As you vocalize, slowly turn your face upward, so that you exhale the last of the air from your lungs as you finishing turning your face upwards (your maximum height is as high as is comfortable; be careful not to strain your neck). Then, without inhaling, turn your face back down so that you are centered and facing forward, and then inhale. When you exhale again, pronounce the *Oh* and turn your face upwards again. Do this 5 times. Focus your attention on the motion. > >Once you've got that down, don't just move your head, but also direct your heart (which in pre-modern Jewish sources is the seat of your thoughts) upwards with the motion of your head. I like to imagine that my awareness is flowing out of my heart and ascending out in front of me as I raise my face towards the sky. Do this 5 times. >[!info] Vocalization = Awareness + Breath + Sign + Voice + Movement > Once you finish practicing the motion, sit and reflect: You have now experienced the four basic elements of vocalizing the divine names: breath, sign, voice and movement. >[!info] Awareness/Presence: The First and Final Element >Your awareness, freed from identification with the stories and drama of the ego-persona, is the most important altered state of consciousness aimed at by spiritual practice. It is the first and final element of the vocalization. #### 2.1.3 *Hevruta*: Reviewing the Elements of the *hazkarah* (vocalization) After practicing together the elements of the vocalization, we will break for some study in *hevruta*. Today's session will be **15 minutes of *hevruta* followed by a five minute break.** > [!example] *Hevruta Study* > >At this point in class we will break into *hevruta*, which means study pairs. Groups of twos or threes will go into breakout rooms to study together. > >Its great to begin your *hevruta* with a bit of schmoozing. Getting to know each other, to share your different perspectives with each other, is what has made Jewish *hevruta* learning such a powerful traditional practice. > >In today's session, I suggest you review together the elements of the vocalization as they appear above. If you are willing, practice together some of the elements, and then discuss your reactions to them. You might also discuss what questions you want to ask about the practice in the discussion in class that will follow *hevruta*. > After *hevruta* we will have some free discussion in class. Then, we'll move on to the concluding vocalization. #### 2.1.4 Concluding Vocalization We'll conclude class with five minutes of practice. > [!tip] *Ma'aseh* - Practice > Sit comfortably with your back and neck straight but not rigid. Center yourself with your face forward. > > We will begin with five silent breaths. With each breath, focus your mind on leaving behind "thoughts of this world" and inviting the space and flow of awareness / presence. > > After the silent breaths, on your exhalation, vocalize the *alef* with the sound of *Ohhh*. As you exhale, move your heart (with intention) and your head (physically) upwards towards the sky. We will vocalize in this way five times. As we do this, remember the different elements involved in the vocalization: awareness + breath + sign + voice + movement. > > We will conclude with five silent breaths to seal the *hazkarah* (vocalization). ### 2.2 The Five Vowels and the Kavanah (Intention) for the Hazkarah (Vocalization). In our second meeting, we will briefly review the basic elements of the *hazkarah* (vocalization) which appear above, and then move on to learning the vowels. #### 2.2.1 The Five Vowels or Movements of the Vocalization In these five vowels, we combine consciousness, breath, voice, sign and movement into the *hazkarah* (הזכרה) or vocalization of the divine name. The letter *alef* is the letter of divine unity and the power of the beginning and end. Even when we vocalize the *alef* alone, we may regard ourselves as inside what Abulafia calls "the space of the name" (See below in Abulafia on the Breath). We will now learn to vocalize the *alef* with the five vowels. ![[3 Vowels]] > [!tip] *Ma'aseh* - Practice > Together, we will vocalize the *alef* with the five vowels as follows. > 1) Empty your mind of all thoughts of this world. > 2) Breathe five silent breaths, letting go of verbal thoughts and evaluations. > 3) Vocalize the *alef* with each of the five vowels. Each vowel receives one long exhalation. Move your head in keeping with the motions for each vowel. Time your exhalation so that you run out of air as you complete the movement of your head. Then, holding your breath, turn your face back to the center and inhale. Make sure to only hold your breath and extend your neck as far as is comfortable. > 4) Seal the vocalization with five more silent breaths. > 5) Now it is time to return to thoughts of this world. But perhaps with a renewed sense of groundedness and creativity. #### 2.2.2 *Hevruta* on Abulafia's *Kavanah* for the *Hazkarah* (Intention for the Vocalization). We will now break for *hevruta* study for 20 minutes (afterwards we'll take a five minute break). > [!example] *Hevruta* Study > Don't forget to shmooze a little when you begin your *hevruta* study, getting to know who you are studying with is part of the process. > > In today's session, we will study Abulafia's *kavanah* (intention) for the *hazkarah* (vocalization). It appears in a book entitled *or hasekhel* (The Light of the Intellect). This text expresses many key ideas in Abulafia's thought. It can also act as a kind of activization itself, when you read it out loud. As you study it, consider how it sounds and what images it evokes, in addition to the ideas it expresses. > > Beneath the text you'll find some notes and study questions. ![[02 In the hour you desire - Hebrew and English]] > [!example] Notes and Study Questions for *Hevruta* > **Paragraph 1** > "Seclude yourself" renders the term *hitboded* in Hebrew. This is a technical medieval term for the preparation required for entering into prophetic states. As we will see, for Abulafia, prophecy (נבואה) is one of the most important names for the state of consciousness brought on by the *hazkarah*. The term can mean both *secluding oneself from others* and also *secluding the most transcendent part of the self from other lower parts*. Here I think both meanings are intended. > > **P. 2** > Above, we discussed this section: Abulafia calls our day-to-day state of mind, in which we identify with our stories and social roles, and in which we play movies inside our heads about our successes and failures, "thoughts of this world". When he says that your soul leaves your body, he is using the body as a symbol of "this world" and the day to day state of mind. When he says that we must "die in this world", he means completely letting go - for awhile - of our sense of individual self. Since in the state of awareness or presence, we let go of our thoughts and stop listening to the talk show about ourselves, its as if our persona and our social role dies. We leave it behind. Now that we are dead in this world, we become alive in "the world to come". This phrase symbolizes for Abulafia and other medieval Jewish thinkers the dimension of the eternal. It is the space and flow of awareness unburdened by the need to play a part in the ego's drama. In this space, since we leave our individual identity behind, we become "all life", the undifferentiated source of life, that surrounds and is the source of every individual life. > > *How do these ideas resonate with you? Do you recognize any of the states of mind and being described in the text as similar to states that you have experienced?* > > **P. 3** > Here Abulafia talks about the intellect (שכל *sekhel*). This is also a technical medieval term. Its meaning partially overlaps the modern meaning of intellect, but the medieval meaning is much more expansive. For Abulafia, Maimonides and other medieval thinkers, intellect is the element in the universe that comprises knowledge and awareness. It is a kind of universal consciousness that exists forever in a state of transcendence and bliss. Each human mind is like a tiny piece or spark of the universal intellect. When we leave behind thoughts of this world, and with them our individual identities, then our awareness returns to the pool of all awareness, and we feel how we are part of the universal intellect. This movement from differentiation to unity with everything is parallel to the movement from being an individual living thing to being part of universal life, as described in paragraph 2 above. > > *Does this idea of intellect feel like something you share in? Have you ever felt like your mind was a cell or spark in a larger consciousness?* > > **P. 4** > After all that mystical-philosophical talk above, the text suddenly swerves into this visual mythical image. Note: I've changed the gender. In the original everything is in the masculine. > > A queen of queens or king of kings is an imposing majestic figure, maybe like a cosmic Mount Rushmore cut out of the bottom half of the sky. Above, our individual lives became one with all life, and then our individual minds became part of universal mind. Now, we behold a personal god[dess] figure who evokes in us an experience of "awe" and "ascension". Is She what we look like when we are universal life and mind? Or is She who we encounter when we are in that state? I'm not sure. In a moment, it won't matter (see below :) > > **P. 5** > > In the final paragraph, Abulafia seeks to activate something in us, a layer of our awareness, in which we intuit that our individual awareness is part of the larger sea of universal divine awareness, which in P. 4 took the form of the queen of queens. He describes us facing hir, and then becoming one. This is accomplished through the power of *hazkarat hashem* (the vocalization of the names), so Abulafia attributes our union with divine awareness to the power of the name. > *I find this paragraph trippy. Should we imagine two faces merging into one? What would it feel like to be that face? When I put myself inside these words, it feels sometimes like my brain is dissolving. I think Abulafia structured this text - using concepts, images and words - to prepare us for this final paragraph, in which he dunks us under the surface of the sea of divine awareness. Do you resonate with this description? How would you describe your experience of it? There is a lot of practical instruction in this text. Here's an overview of some of its key points: ![[In the Hour - Stages]] #### 2.2.3 Concluding *hazkarah* We'll conclude with a little more than ten minutes of meditative practice. Here is the chart of the vowels from above for convenience: <p style="text-align: center; font-size: 200px; font-family: 'David', serif; margin: 0; line-height: 1;">א</p> ![[3 Vowels]] > [!tip] *Ma'aseh* - Practice > We have now learned the basic elements of the practice (awareness, breath, sign, voice and movement) and the five vowels / movements. We're ready to combine all of them together. > > Sit comfortably with your back and neck straight but not rigid. Face forward, and center yourself in awareness. > > We will breathe 5 silent breaths. Feel your inhalations and exhalations. With each breath, let go of all thoughts of this world. Allow yourself to relax into the space of the sky. Thoughts and feelings that emerge are like clouds in the sky which pass through you. > > After the five silent breaths, we will vocalize vowel three times. In between the vowels, we will breathe one silent breath. > > As we vocalize, we will move with the vowels, in our hearts and with our heads. > > *Feel your breath. Recognize the sign - alef. Feel your voice. Move your heart and body* > > After we finish the vowels, we will seal the vocalization with five silent breaths. ### 2.3 The Vocalization of Ehevi and Abulafia on the Experience of the Anointing Oil #### 2.3.1 Abulafia on the Anointing Oil We will begin in *Hevruta* studying the below text: ![[21 Abulafia Anointing Oil Text in Hebrew-English Table]] **Commentary and Study Questions** Paragraph 1: - **Know that it is through these names, combined together here in the explanation of these 72 letters** - Here Abulafia refers to the 72 Letter name discussed above. While we are studying the four letter name for now, the same principles apply. - **...that those who practice prophecy [מתנבאים]** - "Those who practice prophecy" is a term which first appears in the context of prophetic bands of biblical hippies who wandered the land "speaking in ecstasy", playing music, and rolling around naked in the desert. See Samuel 1:19:20-24. - Abulafia's use of this term also recalls medieval interpretations of prophecy as a transpersonal meditative state understood in light of Aristotelian and neoplatonic philosophy. - **...will attain eternal life [חיי העולם הבא], and therefore this book is called The Book of Eternal Life. -** Eternal Life [חיי העולם הבא] is a term that resonates with rabbinic and medieval philosophical and Kabbalistic meanings. For Abulafia, like Maimonides, it involves an expanded state of consciousness which involves transcending the ego or personal identity, and it also overlaps a metaphysical reality. - The rabbis would not necessarily approved of Abulafia's idea that the prophecy is still is a thing and that he was one. The rabbis who excommunicated Abulafia were certainly not sympathetic. Paragraph 2 - **It is known in the divine prophetic tradition of the Torah that when an enlightened sage combines the letters, the holy spirit overflows upon hir.** *The combination of letters* is understood as the means of the creation of the world and achieving higher states of consciousness. This tradition may first originate in the Tanakh, but it appears in any case in rabbinic (200-500 CE) and medieval (circa 1000 CE) sources. - **...This is for you a sign when you study the holy letters in truth and faith".** I think the "this" is this sentence is the experience of the holy spirit overflowing on you. When you feel it, it is a sign that you are studying the letters correctly. - **...and combine them, the beginning with the end, and the end with the beginning**: "Combining the end with the beginning" etc. is the patten of combining letters in various orders, back and forth, until all possibilities are covered. - **Thus, you will understand everything in this way, you will role the letters forward and back, repeatedly vocalizing them.** "Repeatedly vocalizing them" refers to Abulafia's meditation technique, according to which you vocalize letters from the divine name for the full length of your exhalation. Paragraph 3 - **One should begin in a relaxed manner...**: Abulafia is describing the process of vocalizing the name. - **And one should also be learned in the secrets of Torah and wisdom so that s/he may recognize what emerges through the rolling of the combinations...** During the vocalization, breathing and movement, images or feelings or symbols appear to the mind's eye. Abulafia teaches that it is important to learn Torah tradition so that one will be able to interpret these appearances. - **...and hir heart will be aroused in the contemplation of the intellectual, divine, prophetic image."** When one focuses hir awareness on images that emerge during the vocalization of the name, this awakens spiritual energies in the practitioner. Abulafia calls the image that appears *intellectual* in light of Jewish philosophy in the middle ages. He calls in *divine* and *prophetic* in light of biblical and rabbinic tradition. Paragraph 4 - **At first, that which emerges from the combinations in secluded meditation [התבודדות] will reignite an experience of fear and trembling, and the hairs of hir head will stand, and hir limbs will be shocked.** - *Fear and trembling* are common in biblical and medieval portrayals of altered states of consciousness. *Secluded meditation [hitbodedut]* is a technical term for transcending our day-to-day state of mind in order to seclude the divine part of the self. The term was coined by medieval thinkers seeking to understand biblical prophecy. It is today an important practice for hassidut Breslov. It is also the term Abulafia uses to describe his own technique. - **Afterwards, if one should merit this, the spirit of the living God will pass over hir, *And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon hir, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2).*** Abulafia identifies the experience of awakened spirit accessed by the meditator as becoming possessed with the spirit of God. His source is the biblical prophecy of Isaiah. - **And s/he will feel as if hir whole body, from head to foot, has been anointed with the anointing oil...** - Abulafia describes his experience during the vocalization of the divine name: She feels awash in a pleasurable life-giving flow which identifies as the anointing oil used to anoint the *mashiach* (the anointed of God). I think I know that feeling of being awash in life-giving energy during meditation. Have you every felt it during meditation or some other time? This is what we referred to as "flow". - **and s/he will be the anointed one [mashiach] of God, and God’s emissary. And s/he will be called "the angel of God", and hir name will be like the name of hir master, which is *Shadai*, the one who is called *Metatron*, the heavenly ministering angel.** Abulafia said you experience the anointing oil and so you are...the anointed one! You are the mashiach. And also may become an angel, or perhaps even God. This is the stuff that got Abulafia excommunicated. What do you think about it? #### 2.3.2 *Hazkarat Ehevi* - הזכרת אהו"י: Vocalizing the Divine Name of *alef* combined with *yod, vav* and *heh* We will now get deeper into Abulafia's methodology for vocalizing the divine name. The foundational vocalization appears below: ![[Slide1 h.jpg]] ![[Slide2.JPG]] ![[Slide3.JPG]] ![[Slide4.jpg]] ### 2.4 Spiritual Pleasure as the Telos of the Vocalization #### 2.4.1 Vocalization Ya-Ah > [!tip] Ma'aseh We will begin our session with the second vowel of *Ehevi*, the *kamatz*. The meditation will take us about 15 minutes and then we'll discuss the experience of the vocalization. ![[Slide1 h.jpg]] #### 2.4.2 Study: התענוג הרוחני - Spiritual Pleasure > [!example] *Hevruta Study* > After discussing the vocalization, we will enter into study mode, and get deeper into the idea of *spiritual pleasure* (התענוג הרוחני). There are many ways to frame in Abulafian terms what we are doing when we vocalize God's name. We are engaging in prophecy; realizing the highest human potential; becoming the messiah; becoming one with the active intellect; dissolving the self as "part" and becoming the One as self. Some pretty heady and dramatic stuff. > > Sometimes I resonate with these descriptions, but sometimes they seem too big and important, too over my head, to actually motivate me to do the practice. A lot of the time, what I will do in reality is what I most feel like doing right then, without much consideration for the larger arc of my moral or spiritual aspirations. > > It is in this context that I find Abulafia's talk of the pleasure of the vocalization so interesting. He understands the experience of the vocalization as involving a spiritual but also this-worldy pleasure that I think I recognize (more on that in a minute). And this pleasure is of a kind that sometimes when I ask myself the question "What do I feel like doing?", the answer is engaging in a practice leading to that pleasure. From this point of view, the purpose of the practice is the pleasure that accompanies it. That pleasure is not indifferent to moral and other aspirations, because it opens up a flow that motivates good works and creative projects. But from this angle they are by-products. The initial aim of getting up and doing the practice is the pleasure. > > Below appear relevant selections from Abulafia's writing. We'll try to understand from these selections what kind of pleasure he's talking about and in what sense it is the purpose of the vocalization. > > As a point of departure, recall that the basic elements of the vocalization involve what we described as the *space* and *flow* that accompanies *presence* or *awareness* (in the first class). When I think of spiritual pleasure, I think of the pleasure of the space and flow. Like in Abulafia's descriptions, this is a pleasure that we experience when, during the vocalization, we "die in this world and become alive in the world to come" by "letting go of thoughts of this world". What I mean by the pleasure of space and flow may not be exactly what he meant by spiritual pleasure, but I think they must at least partially overlap. First, review the fourth paragraph of the text we learned last week from the Introduction to Hayei Haolam Haba (Life in the World to Come): | (4) At first, that which emerges from the combinations in secluded meditation [התבודדות] will reignite an experience of fear and trembling, and the hairs of hir head will stand, and hir limbs will be shocked. Afterwards, if one should merit this, the spirit of the living God will pass over hir, *And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon hir, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2)*. And s/he will feel as if hir whole body, from head to foot, has been anointed with the anointing oil, and s/he will be the anointed one [*mashiach*] of God, and God’s emissary. And s/he will be called "the angel of God", and hir name will be like the name of hir master, which is *Shadai*, the one who is called *Metatron*, the heavenly ministering angel. | (4) ובתחילה מה שיעלה לו מן הצירוף בהתבודדותו תתחדש עליו פחד ורעדה ויעמדו שערות ראשו ויזדעזעו אבריו, אח"כ אם יזכה תעבור עליו רוח אלהים חיים, **וְנָחָה עָלָיו רוּחַ יְהֹוָ"ה רוּחַ חׇכְמָה וּבִינָה רוּחַ עֵצָה וּגְבוּרָה רוּחַ דַּעַת וְיִרְאַת יְהֹוָ"ה** (ישעיהו יא:ב) וידמה לו כאילו משחו כל גופו מראשו ועד רגליו בשמן המשחה ויהיה משיח ה' ושלוחו ויקרא מלאך האלהי"ם ויכונה שמו כשם רבו והוא שד"י אשר כינוהו מטטרו"ן שר הפנים. | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | > [!example] *Hevruta Study* >Does anything in this text answer to your idea of pleasure? Let's now examine a text we haven't seen before that expresses how Abulafia thinks about the pleasure involved in vocalizing the name: ![[Ears of Pleasure]] > [!info] An Explanation of this text by me and Chat GPT: >The text uses the metaphor of music and sound to describe _tziruf_ (the combination or permutation of letters) as in the permutation of letters we engage in when we vocalize divine names. Abulafia is comparing the permutation of letters with the permutation of sounds in music. Here's how the analogy unfolds: > >1. **Hearing and Combining:** The ear hears distinct sounds (letters) that are combined into melodies (letter sequences). The act of combining letters is likened to composing music. > > 2. **Musical Instruments:** The harp and lyre represent the interplay of forces (right hand and left hand) that create harmony, like the back-and-forth letter permutations in the vocalization. > >3. **Path of Joy:** The combination of sounds (letters) moves from the ears to the heart, then to deeper parts of the body like the spleen, stimulating visceral pleasure. > >4. **Renewal of Joy:** The alternation of melodies, like the permutations of letters, generates delight and spiritual renewal, illustrating how the mystical act of _tziruf_ elevates the practitioner to a state of joy and connection. > > This passage emphasizes the interplay of sensory perception, emotional response, and spiritual transformation, showing how the physical act of hearing parallels the mystical process of combining divine letters. > [!example] *Hevruta Study* > This is a difficult text. First work on its simple meaning for awhile. Then ask yourself: What kind of pleasure is he talking about? Have you ever felt it during the vocalization of a divine name or in a different spiritual practice? Finally, if we have time, we will also explore the below text from The Book of Desire: ![[Divine Love and Kisses]] > [!example] *Back to Class* > After Hevruta we will discuss the texts together. #### 2.4.3 Practice: Back to the Basic Elements of the Vocalization and to the Eh Yeh Here was our initial presentation of the elements: > [!tip] *Ma'aseh* - Practice > **Getting Centered in Awareness/Presence** > > Sit comfortably on a chair or cushion. Face forward with your neck and back straight, but not rigid. Breathe in and out. Let go of verbal thoughts; turn your attention away from any talk shows going on in your head. Relax. Imagine that any thoughts and feelings that pass through your mind are like clouds passing through the sky. You are the sky, not the clouds. Evoke in yourself the space and flow of awareness/presence. Let's practice this for a few minutes. > > In order to help clear your mind of verbal thoughts and evaluations, try asking yourself: "What is the next thought that I am going to think?". The momentary pause that follows that question, before an answer emerges, is the space for which we are looking. (This method is borrowed from Eckhart Tolle's *The Power of Now*). > > **Breath** > > The breath is in some ways the most powerful element of the vocalization. It is a very effective way of evoking awareness/presence. Let's now focus that awareness on the breath. Feel how the air enters and exits your body. Focus on how it feels while letting other thoughts fall away. Focus your attention on your breathing. In this state, slowly inhale and exhale ten times. > > **Voice** > > Now we'll add the element of voice. As you exhale, and for the full length of your exhalation, say one long *Ohhhh* (as in Joe). Your vocalization of the *Oh* should end as you run out of air and so reach the end of your exhalation. > > As your breathe and vocalize, notice how this practice is as much about the body vibrating as it is about the sound that your ears hear. Let your awareness sink into your voice as you exhale. Try to let go of all verbal thoughts and movies about your life. Vibrate like this for ten exhalations. > > **Sign** > > Look at the letter *alef* above. Notice how it comes into existence through the contrast of colors on your screen or page, as seen by your eye and interpreted by your brain. Focus your attention on the letter as you breathe. Clear your mind of everything except the letter. Close your eyes and imagine the letter. Breathe silently for ten breaths with your mind focused on the letter. > > Now, continue for another ten breathes, vocalizing the *alef* with your *Ohhhhh*. Notice how your breath, and the vowel that you vocalize, give movement and life to the letter *alef*. In this way you are binding the *alef* to your breath and to the vibration of your body. The cord tying it all together is your *awareness/presence*. > >**Movement** > >Above, we have already touched on one of the most important meanings of *movement* for the practice of vocalizing divine names: The vowel which *moves* the letter, as when you give movement and breath to the letter *alef* through the vibrations of your voice. > >Abulafia's practice involves another form of movement related to the movement of the vowel: Moving your head in a motion that recalls the placement or shape of the vowel in Hebrew. You'll learn more about this below. For reasons explained later, the sound *Ohhh* is associated with turning your face up towards the sky. > >Let us explore this experientially. First, sit comfortably with your neck straight and your face forward. Inhale. Now, start to exhale while vocalizing *Ohhhh*. As you vocalize, slowly turn your face upward, so that you exhale the last of the air from your lungs as you finishing turning your face upwards (your maximum height is as high as is comfortable; be careful not to strain your neck). Then, without inhaling, turn your face back down so that you are centered and facing forward, and then inhale. When you exhale again, pronounce the *Oh* and turn your face upwards again. Do this 5 times. Focus your attention on the motion. > >Once you've got that down, don't just move your head, but also direct your heart (which in pre-modern Jewish sources is the seat of your thoughts) upwards with the motion of your head. I like to imagine that my awareness is flowing out of my heart and ascending out in front of me as I raise my face towards the sky. Do this 5 times. > [!tip] Ma'aseh > Once we have reviewed the elements, we will vocalize the next vowel in the chart of Alef with Yod: Eh Yeh and Yeh Eh (the fifth line down on the right). ![[Slide1 h.jpg]] > [!tip] Would you consider vocalizing one vowel each day? ### 2.5 The Meaning of the Letters *Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod #### 2.5.1 Practice: The Vocalization of God's Name > [!tip] Ma'aseh > In today's meeting, we will begin with the practice. First we'll briefly review the basic elements of the vocalization, and then the vowels. We'll then vocalize together the first vowel (holam) of the *tsiruf* (combination) Alef and Heh. Below are the relevant charts. ![[3 Vowels]] ![[Slide2.JPG]] #### 2.5.2 Study: The Meaning of the Letters אהו"י [Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod] > [!example] *Hevruta Study* > In Hevruta, we'll get into some texts in which Abulafia speaks about the significance of the letters Ehevi. I suggest you read through them all once, and then double back and focus on anything that seems important. In class we'll discuss your questions and thoughts and look to integrate these teachings into our understanding of the practice as a whole. ![[34 אותיות אהוי עברית אנגלית]] ![[34 אותיות אהוי - זה זכרי לעולם]] ### 2.6 Focusing on the Breath #### 2.6.1 Practice: Alef and Vav > [!tip] *Ma'aseh* - Practice > We will begin with a *hazkarah* (vocalization) of the permutation *alef* and *vav* using the *holam*. We will be looking for a volunteer to lead us in the vocalization this week :) > ![[Slide3.JPG]] #### 2.6.2 Abulafia on the Breath > [!example] *Hevruta Study* > We'll then move on to a close reading of Abulafia's discussion of the nature and importance of the breath for vocalizing God's name. > > As you read the text, consider each image that Abulafia suggests for the breath. What does this image communicate? Consider also how he conceptualizes and describes the breath. > > In class, we will explore Abulafia's discourse on the breath together, and also experiment with meditating on our breathing in keeping with his images and analysis. ![[08 Abulafia on Breath Hebrew English]] ### 2.7 Class Seven (15.12.24): The Circular Tenfold Name and the Prophetic Speech of Letters and Bodily Organs #### 2.7.1 Practice: Vocalizing the Circular Tenfold Name > [!tip] *Ma'aseh* - Practice > Abulafia offers several different versions of the *hazkarah* (vocalization). We have focused throughout our course on *hazkarat ehevi* - the vocalization of the four letters Yod Heh Vav Heh combined with the letter Alef. > > In our final session, we will experiment with another somewhat more advanced vocalization: The Circular Tenfold Name. This vocalization is taught in Abulafia's work אור השכל (The Light of the Intellect). Below is the chart we will use for this vocalization. !![[שם העגול המעושר.png]] #### 2.7.2 Study: The Prophetic Speech of Letters and Bodily Organs > [!example] *Hevruta Study* > In our *Hevruta* study today we will dive into a text that I find beautiful and intriguing, but also quite difficult to fully understand. First, read through the text as a whole, to get a feel for it and its subject. Then, go back, and carefully reread each section and see if you can parse out what it means. In class, we will explore it together :) ![[ראשית נבואה עברית -אנגלית]] ## 3 Sources and Resources ### 3.1 Instructions and Symbols Charts for the *hazkarah* (Abulafian Meditation) - Sit comfortably with head and neck straight but relaxed. - Let all thoughts that take the form of words in your head fall away. When they come again, let them pass by. - Exhale all the way on each exhalation. - If you feel impatient, notice that other versions of you are enjoying the vocalization and are not impatient. Let the impatient "you" pass by. ### 3.2 Abulafia and other Primary Texts ![[08 R Abulafia on the Breath]] ### 3.3 Secondary Sources #### 3.3.1 Rabbi Avraham Abulafia in Historical Context ##### 3.3.1.1 Good Links to Begin If you'd like to get more into Abulafia's historical context, see these links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Abulafia and here (under **13th century**): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_messiah_claimants. ##### 3.3.1.2 The Abulafian Controversy As we have mentioned, Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Aderet excommunicated Abulafia. Here is an excerpt from Abulafia's entry in Wikipedia: > **Decline and exile to Comino** > He remained active in [Messina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messina "Messina") for a decade (1281–91), presenting himself as a "prophet", "messiah" and "son of God". He had several students there as well as some in [Palermo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palermo "Palermo"). The local Jewish congregation in Palermo energetically condemned Abulafia's conduct, and around 1285 addressed the issue to [Shlomo ben Aderet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shlomo_ben_Aderet "Shlomo ben Aderet") of [Barcelona](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona "Barcelona"), who devoted much of his career to calming the various messianic [hysteriae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hysteria "Hysteria") of the day. Shlomo ben Aderet subsequently wrote a letter against Abulafia. This controversy was one of the principal reasons for the exclusion of Abulafia’s Kabbalah from the Spanish schools. > > Abulafia had to take up the pilgrim's staff anew, and under distressing conditions compiled his _Sefer haOt_ "Book of the Sign" on the little island of [Comino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comino "Comino"), near [Malta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta "Malta"), between 1285 and 1288. In 1291 he wrote his last, and perhaps his most intelligible work, the meditation manual _Imrei Shefer_ "Words of Beauty"; after this, all trace of him is lost. In spite of his excommunication, Abulafia's dozens of books survived in manuscript until our time. Evidence of his continuing influence is apparent the works of many philosophers, Kabbalists and Hassidim over the generation. In the last few decades, most of his works have been published by an ultra-Orthodox Jew. This turnabout in status, from heretic to kosher-even-for-ultra-orthordox, was effected largely by a later rabbinic figure, one of the Achronim, who argued that Abulafia was legit: > **Haim Yosef David Azulai ben Yitzhak Zerachia** (1724 – 1 March 1806) ([Hebrew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_language "Hebrew language"): חיים יוסף דוד אזולאי), commonly known as the **Hida** (also spelled Chida, the [acronym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym "Acronym") of his name, חיד"א‎), was a [Jerusalem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem "Jerusalem") born [rabbinical scholar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbi "Rabbi"), a noted [bibliophile](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliophile "Bibliophile"), and a pioneer in the publication of Jewish religious writings. He is considered "one of the most prominent [Sephardi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardic_Jews "Sephardic Jews") rabbis of the 18th century". (From the Hida's Wiki entry) The Hida, in his biographical book on various sages, writes as follows (translation curtesy of ChatGPT with a few corrections): > "It is a book authored by Rabbi Abraham Abulafia with the name of 72 [letters] in a circle, and I saw it written by hand on parchment. Know that the Rashba, in his responsa, section 548, and Rabbi Yeshayahu Horowitz (the Shelah) in his book _Metzaref LeChokhmah_ scorned it as something worthless, or worse. However, I speak the truth: I saw a great rabbi, one of the masters of mysteries, and his name is great in Israel, and no one dares to contradict his words. He embraces the aforementioned book, and his right hand supports him." The Hida felt sure that Abulafia was kosher because of the extensive positive attention he enjoyed among the scholars of an earlier group of Achronim, the mystics of 16th century Tsfat ([Learn about them on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safed#Sixteenth-century_prosperity)). The scholar he refers to as embracing Abulafia is [Rabbi Haim Vital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayyim_ben_Joseph_Vital), an important student of the [Ari](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Luria). Thus we see how Abulafia and his teachings moved, submerging and resurfacing, with the currents and waves in the sea of Jewish sacred intertextuality.