KABBALA

Derived from the root qbl, which is a cognate to the Arabic, the term qabbaldh (reception, initiation) designates the Jewish esoteric tradition, but it is not synonymous with all of Jewish mysticism. It is specifically based on the system of the ten sefirot (powers) through which the Divine Being progressively manifests itself in the existential realm. There existed pre-Qabbalistic forms of Jewish esotericism, some of which—like many of the later major developments of Qabbalah itself—flourished in an Islamic environment. Several points of contact and similarity (not only external) exist between Islamic mysticism and Qabbalah, although they are far from being variations of an identical doctrine, as early comparatists suggested. The ten sefirot of the Qabbalistic system have no immediate equivalent in Sufism. Despite their independent developments, significant parallels exist between them. Certain Qabbalists distinguish three levels of the sefirotic world: the highest and most recondite aspect of the Divinity is called keter (crown); the intermediate level extends until the lowest sefirah and is called malkhuth (kingship), which is the interface (much like the Sufi notion of barzakh) between the metaphysical and the lowest level, which is the phenomenal world. These three levels roughly correspond with the Sufi designations of ‘alam al-jabarut, 'alam al-malakut, and ‘alam al-mulk. Some scholars assign a post-Islamic date to the two great classics of Qabbalistic literature, the Book of Creation (Sefer Yesirah) and the Book of Splendor (Sefer ha-Bahir).

The Provencal Qabbalists and even the Ashkenazi pietists saw as their spiritual forebears the sages of

The Ge’onic period in Baghdad, whose mystical speculations form the ancient strata of Qabbalistic literature. Their early writings, such as the contemplation of the Heavenly chariot ((Ocrfey ha-Merkabah), bear a striking resemblance to the (Otifi accounts of spiritual ascension, such as that of al-Bistami. Sufis also see Baghdad as their spiritual cradle, and it is there that Sufism’s formative period evolved in the shadow of the great Eastern wellsprings of Jewish spirituality. Although recognized in early studies of comparative religion, the connections between Jewish and Islamic mysticism in Spain are still unclear. Both were imbued with prophetic and messianic aspirations, which were later transported to Egypt, a land where the two mysticisms developed into institutionalized brotherhoods. R. Abraham Maimonides’ (d. 1237 CE) attempt to legitimize his Sufi-type Jewish pietism parallels Sufism’s efforts to shed itself of the suspicion of heresy by espousing strictly orthodox norms, as exemplified in the works of al-Ghazzali (d. 1111).

Just as Sufism integrated philosophical elements from the Neoplatonist and Aristotelian systems, so too the thirteenth - and fourteenth-century Spanish Qabbalists in particular undertook to reconcile the doctrines of Qabbalah and philosophy. Some, such as Judah Ibn Malka and Joseph Ibn Waqar, composed their esoteric writings in Arabic. The ‘‘science of letters’’ plays a central role in the speculative and contemplative methods of many Sufis, such as at-Tustari and Ibn ‘Arabi (d. 1240), just as its Hebrew equivalent permeated the works of Qabbalists, such as R. Abraham Abu l-’Afiyah (d. ca. 1291). Indeed, the latter’s ‘‘balance of letters’’ and his meditative technique known as hazkarah recall both by their names and methods the doctrine of jabir ibn Hazyyan and the Sufi dhikr ritual. The speculative and cosmological system embodied in Muhyi d-Din Ibn ‘Arabi’s Mekkan Revelations (al-Futuhat al-Makkiya) completely revolutionized Islamic mysticism, as did the teachings of R. Isaac Lurya (d. 1574), which reached maturity in the Muslim East. Just as all previous Sufi theory was reinterpreted through the prism of Ibn ‘Arabi’s system, so too in Judaism was the Spanish Qabbai lai h; even its crowning work, the zoi har, was reconstructed in the light of Luryanism.

Analogies can also be observed in the literary domain. The listing and clarification of istilahat (technical terms) used by Sufis are essential components of their manuals, as are the technical lexicons (kin-niiyim) that are found in Qabbalistic textbooks. The formation of Sufi brotherhoods around their shaykhs affords yet again an instructive analogy to the various Qabbalistic groups centered around the charismatic saddiq.

Finally, the modern politicization of Sufi fraternities and the involvement of their spiritual leaders in the public areas of politics and academia (e. g., the Khalwatis in Egypt) parallels the activities in prewar Poland and contemporary Israel of Hasidic dynasties, whose ranks have furnished not a few public figures and academic scholars. The most significant influences of Sufism on the development of the Qabbala came in the period of the latter’s expansion at the time of Isaac Lurya, who lived in Safed. Safed was a center of Muslim mysticism, and several practices were adopted by the Qabbalists, such as the visitation of tombs. Influence was felt too in the musical domain, where Qabbalists and Sufis often shared the same melodies and developed spiritual concerts known as baqashh-shot that were based on the structure of the Sufi samas. At the time of the pseudo-messiah, Sabbatay Zebi, close relations were established between the Bekatshis and his disciples, some of whom, as doenme (converts), became Mevlevi shaykhs.

Paul B. Fenton

See also Mysticism, Jewish