Preface Introduction Part I. Models in Kabbalah and Hasidism 1. The Weakening of the Lurianic Kabbalah in the Eighteenth Century 2. Models in Jewish Mysticism 3. The Mystico-Magical Model Part II. Drawing Down 4. Mystical and Magical Prayer in Hasidism 5. Mystical and Magical Study in Hasidism 6. Zaddiq as "Vessel" and "Channel" in Hasidism Concluding Remarks Appendix A: Psychologization of Theosophy in Kabbalah and Hasidism Appendix B: Rabbi Yisrael of Ryzhin Who Cries Appendix C: On Intentional Transmission of Power Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Appendix of Hebrew Quotes Subject Index Index of Works Cited Author Index

This book represents the first wide-scale presentation of a major Jewish mystic, the founder of the ecstatic Kabbalah. It includes a description of the techniques employed by this master, including the role of music. There is a discussion of the characteristics of his mystical experience and the erotic imagery by which it is expressed. Based on all the extant manuscript material of Abulafia, this book opens the way to a new understanding of Jewish mysticism. It points to the importance of the ecstatic Kabbalah for the later developments in mystical Judaism.

This book presents important topics regarding the more mystical trend of Kabbalah - the ecstatic Kabbalah. It includes the mystical union, the world of imagination, and concentration as a spiritual technique. The emphasis in the text is on the interaction between the "original" Spanish stage of Kabbalah and Muslim mysticism in the East, mainly in the Galilee. The influence of the Kabbalistic-Sufic synthesis on the later developments of Jewish mysticism is traced, thereby providing a more precise understanding of the history of Kabbalah as an interplay between the theosophical and ecstatic mystical experiences.