kabbalah Gershom scholem

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 13
constitutes an inner Jewish concomitant to Gnosis, and it may be termed "Jewish
and rabbinic Gnosticism."
Within these circles theosophical ideas and revelations connected with them
branched out in many directions, so that it is impossible to speak here of one
single system. A particular mystical terminology was also established. Some of it
is reflected in the sources of "normal" Midrashim, while part is confined to the
literary sources of the mystics: the literature of the heikhalot and the rna 'aseh
bereshit. Verbs like histakkel, ?afah, iyyen, and higgi 'a have specific meanings, as
do nouns like ha-kavod, ha-kavod ha-gadol, ha-kavod ha-nistar, mara di-revuta,
yo?er bereshit, heikhalot, l;zadrei merkabah, and others. Particularly important is
the established usage of the term Kavod ("glory") as a name both for God when
He is the object of profound mystical enquiry and also for the general area of
theosophical research. This term acquires a specific meaning, distinct from its
scriptural usage, as early as the Book of Tobit and the end of the Book of
Enoch, and it continues to be used in this way in apocalyptic literature. In
contrast, the use of the word sod ("mystery") in this context was'relatively rare,
becoming general only in the Middle Ages, whereas raz ("secret") is used more
often in the earlier texts.
Merkabah terminology is found in a hymn-fragment in the Dead Sea Scrolls,
where the angels praise "the image of the Throne of the Chariot" (Strugnell).
Members of the sect combined ideas concerning the song of the angels, who
stand before the Chariot, with other ideas about the names and duties of the
angels, and all this is common to the sect of Qumran and to later traditions of
the ma 'aseh merkabah. From the very beginning these traditions were surrounded
by an aura of particular sanctity. Talmudic aggadah connects exposition
of the Merkabah with the descent of fire from above which surrounds the
expositor. In the literature of the heikhalot other and more daring expressions
are used to describe the emotional and ecstatic character of these experinces.
Distinct from the exposition of the Merkabah which the rabbis gave whil on
earth below was the ecstatic contemplation of the Merkabah experienced as an
ascent to the heavens, namely "descent to the Merkabah," through entering
pardes ("paradise"). This was not a matter for exposition and interpretation but
of vision and personal experience. This transition, which once again connects the
revelations of the Merkabah with the apocalyptic tradition, is mentioned in the
Talmud alongside the exegetic traditions (l;lag. l4b ). It concerns the four sages
who "entered pardes." Their fate demonstrates that here we are dealing with
spiritual experiences which were achieved by contemplation and ecstasy. Simeon
b. Azzai "looked and died"; Ben Zoma "looked and was smitten" (mentally);
Elisha b. Avuyah, called al;zer ("other"), forsook rabbinic Judaism and "rut the
shoots," apparently becoming a dualistic Gnostic; R. Akiva alone "tntered in