Prophecy & Kabbalah

The Prophet Elijah

Judaism [From Chapter Two of Psi Development Systems]
The biblical Hebrew word for prophet is nabi (plural, nebiim). Max Weber (1921/1952) suggests that the word is derived from the Arabic naba, which means "to announce." Weber describes the training of the nebiim as follows: "Obviously the Israelite Nebiim did not essentially differ from the trained professional ecstatics found elsewhere. They were recruited according to personal charisma largely from among plebians as their pejorative treatment by the later tradition indicates. They apparently tattooed themselves on the forehead (I Kings, 20:41) like the Indian mendicants, and wore a costume including, above all, a special kind of coat. It seems that the leaders of the school (the ‘fathers') designated their disciples or successors by throwing their magically efficacious coats over them. They pursued their common exercises in special habitats, apparently at times on the mountains (as, for example, Carmel).... Permanent asceticism or bachelorhood is not reported of them (11 Kings, 4:1). Music and dance here, as elsewhere, were means of evoking ecstacy (11 Kings, 3:15).... The practices of the Yahwe Nebiim included besides self-punishment (I Kings, 20:35) and wounding of one another also the production of cataleptic states and nonsense speech.... The purpose was to acquire magical force."

Weber also provides other clues as to the nature of the Hebrew nebiim. They were often sought after as medicine men and rainmakers. However, the school originally existed, according to Weber, not for precognition but solely for the purpose of providing military inspiration and success for the troops. The later, unmilitary ecstatic phenomena were thus Somewhat more "tempered" in their manifestations. The Prophet Elisha is said by Weber to have been the "last master of the guild." In a later period, the prophet Amos, under King Jeroboam, protests that he is not a nabi; and the later scriptural Prophets repeatedly complain of the mendacity and corruption Of the nebiim or professional ecstatics. However, things were likely to have been different under the rule of Elisha, who severely punished one student for accepting payment from a man who had been cured of leprosy by the prophet. Weber mentions that the nebiim are also associated with the name of the Babylonian oracle god.

The Book of Kings (11, ii) related a story that describes how Elisha became the head of the school of prophets. The time had come for the death of the prophet Elijah. His disciple, the prophet Elisha, insisted on remaining with him at the time of his death and followed his master on a journey through Bethel and Jericho to the Jordan river. At each of these locations a "company of prophets" came up to Elisha and asked him if he realized that the Lord was going to take his master on that day. Elisha responded that he realized this and that they need say no more. By the time that Elijah and Elisha had reached the Jordan river, they were being followed by a company of fifty prophets. As a last request, Elisha asked Elijah if he might inherit a double share of his master's spirit. Elijah responded that this was a difficult request, but that it would come to pass if Elisha was able to see his master being taken away. Elisha had the vision of chariots and horses of fire taking his master up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha picked up the mantle which his master dropped (from which we get the expression "inherits his mantle"). After this event, the company of prophets formed a school around Elisha, as we learn several chapters later where the prophets complain to Elisha, "You can see that this place where our community is living, under you as its head, is too small for us (Kings, 11, A)."



The Book of Kings relates many stories of the prophet Elisha working wonders, which have probably become exaggerated in the telling far beyond the experiences and phenomena reported in the parapsychology literature of the last century. In one story - related in Kings, 11, vi - Elisha is depicted using his abilities to inform the king of Israel of the battle plans the king of Aram had formed against him. While there are no data supporting the authenticity of these particular stories, the milieu depicted is clearly suggestive of a psi training program within the company of prophets who were to have a decisive influence during the period of Israel's early history.

Another type of scriptural prophet, referred to as roeh, was often employed by ancient kings for the purpose of giving "magically efficacious promises of good fortune (Weber 1921/1952)." Unlike the nebiim, they refrained from the employment of orgiastic frenzy and mass ecstasy and had their visions in solitude. Weber mentions that the later Hebrew prophets of doom also lived in solitude. However, they were not popular and could not be employed (Micah 3:5, 3:11). One other characteristic differentiating the Hebrew prophets from their neighbors was that the Hebrews refrained from the use of divination techniques (Whitley 1969).

Several instances are reported in the first Book of Samuel (10:10-12 and 19:20-24) in which the ecstatic enthusiasm of the company of prophets is so infectious that bystanders were caught by it and began to prophesy as well. Paton (1921) notes, in this regard, the similarity between the Hebrew prophets and the Chinese wu or oracles who were powerful in the court of the Han dynasty.
The renowned scholar of Jewish mysticism, Gershom Scholem (1974), describes a form of visionary practice known as Merkabah mysticism which existed in Palestine as early as the third century. This ecstatic ascent to the world of the chariots which carried the holy prophets to the throne of god came after preparatory exercises of an "extremely ascetic nature.... The aspirant placed his head between his knees, a physical position which can induce altered states of consciousness and self-hypnosis. At the same time, he recited hymns of an ecstatic character, the texts of which are extant in several sources, particularly in the Heikhalot Rabbati." Scholem mentions possible Greek and Persian influences on these practices but stresses that the inner dynamism within Palestinian Judaism was capable of Producing its own unique mystical and esoteric movements Within the "very heart of established rabbinic Judaism."

Scholem distinguishes this movement from the earlier schools of prophecy, which he believes were less mystical in character. The visions attained are very precisely described in the Heikhalot Rabbati, "with details of all the technical and Magical means which assist the ascending spirit and save it from the dangers lying in wait for it." These practices were essentially visionary in nature. The magic, which was performed through internal purification plus the mental use of words and images, was thought to have an effect only in the spiritual realms and not on the physical plane.

Other, parallel schools of Jewish mysticism have presented a many-sided practical magic involving the use of sacred words and images for the purpose of conjuring tip spirits to serve the mundane bidding of the magician. Many of the formulas preserved by Jewish scholars were written in Babylonian Aramaic and, Scholem notes, were not always used on behalf of Jewish customers. "This," states Scholem, "may have something to do with the origin of the medieval stereotype of the Jew as a magician and sorcerer."

It is difficult to determine the extent to which these mystical and magical practices actually related to genuine psi training. It is clear, nonetheless, that the traditions of Merkabah mysticism continued and particularly flourished in Italy during the ninth century. "Italian Jewish tradition, particularly in the popular forms it assumed in the Megillat Ahima'az by Ahima'az of Oria, clearly shows that the rabbis were well versed in matters of the Merkabah," says Scholem, "It also tells of the miraculous activity of one of the Merkabah mystics who emigrated from Baghdad, namely Abu Aharon (Aaron of Baghdad), who performed wonders through the power of the Sacred Names during the few years that he lived in Italy."

The kabbalah (also cabala and kabala) was an esoteric system of Jewish mysticism based largely on an oral tradition and on the obscure biblical commentaries known as the Zohar. Much of the kabbalah involves a symbolic arithmetic in which the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are quantified - words in the Bible with the same numeric value are thought to have esoteric equivalence. The clearest indications of a relationship between Jewish mysticism and psi training stem from the writings of kabbalists during the 13th century in Spain. For the first time, in the particularly influential rabbinic circle of Gerona, books were written ‘in attempts to bring the major ideas of esoteric kabbalah to a wider public, whereas these teachings had previously been reserved for a select few. Scholem notes that it is doubtful that these kabbalists would have had any great influence were it not for the stature of one of their colleagues, Moses ben Nahman (Nahmanides) (c. 1194-1270), who was the highest legal and religious authority of his time in Spain.

The Gerona kabbalists advocated a new form of "prophetic kabbalah" in which visions of the future were obtained through a combination of techniques involving the use of sacred names, numerology, and "a powerful renewal of ecstatic tendencies."

The second exponent of a "prophetic kabbalah" in 13th century Spain was Abraham Abulafia, whose influence extends to the present day and who was himself influenced by German pietist Jews known as Hasidei Ashkanaz a well as Sufis whom he met during travels in the east. Scholem describes his system as follows: "This mystical discipline made use of the letters of the alphabet, and especially of the Tetragrammaton and the other Names of God, for the purpose of training in meditation. By immersing himself in various combinations of letters and names, the kabbalist emptied his mind of all natural forms that might prevent his concentrating on divine matters. In this way he freed his soul of its natural restraints and opened it to the divine influx, with whose aid he might even attain to prophecy.... Abulafia himself described quite explicitly and in a seemingly objective manner, just what were the obstacles and dangers, as well as the rewards, that such mystical experience could bring.... The techniques of ‘prophetic kabbalah' that were used to aid the ascent of the soul, such as breathing exercises, the repetition of the Divine Names, and meditation on colors, bear a marked resemblance to those of both Indian Yoga and Muslim Sufism."

Ginsburg (1864/1956) offers another description of Abulafia's teachings: "To have the prophetic faculty and to see visions ought to be the chief aim, and these are secured by leading an ascetic life, by banishing all worldly feelings, by retiring into a quiet closet, by dressing oneself in white apparel, by putting on the fringed garment and the phylacteries; by sanctifying the soul so as to be fit to hold converse with the Deity; by pronouncing the letters composing the divine names with certain modulations of the voice and divine pauses; by exhibiting the divine names in various diagrams under divers energetic movements, turnings and bendings of the body, till the voice gets confused and the heart is filled with fervor. When one has gone through these Practices and is in such a condition, the fullness of the Godhead is shed abroad in the human soul: the soul then unites itself with the divine soul in a kiss, and prophetic revelations follow as a Matter of course."

Abulafia's status as a mystical poet and influential kabbalistic teacher is recognized by historians. The status of his prophecies have yet to be evaluated, although he wrote 22 unpublished prophetic treatises. In 1296, he moved to Jerusalem where he had a revelation of the restoration of a Jewish state in Israel. On the other hand, earlier in 1281 he had had a call from God to convert the Pope, Martin IV, to Judaism.

Scholem notes a trend within the literature of kabbalah to avoid discussing "occult phenomena," that he associates with a general tendency of kabbalists to refrain from discussing their experiences in the autobiographical form, which was common in the mystical literature of both Christianity and Islam. However, he does mention a personal memoir written by one anonymous disciple of Abulafia. Scholem also mentions some of the forms which kabbalistic prophecy is said to take. He notes that in a number of places, "prophecy is defined as the experience wherein a man sees the form of his own self standing before him and relating the future to him." In other rare cases, initiates are said to perceive "invisible letters that spelled out the secret nature of each man's thoughts and deeds which hovered every head." These letters relate to the concept of the "aura," which was well-known to kabbalists as the ha-avir ha-sppiri or "saphiric ether." It was said to surround all men and provide a record of all their movements.

Scholem further notes various sources that refer to spiritualistic phenomena produced both spontaneously and deliberately: ". . . the ‘levitating table' . . . was particularly widespread in Germany from the 16th century on. According to one eyewitness report, the ceremony was accompanied by a recital of Divine Names taken from practical kabbalah and the singing of psalms and hymns (Wagenseil, Sota. 1674). An acquaintance of Wagenseil's told him (ibid., 1196) of how he had seen some yeshiva students from Wuerzburg who had studied in Fuerth lift such a table with the aid of Divine Names. Specific instructions for table levitation have been preserved in a number of kabbalistic manuscripts (e.g., Jerusalem 1080 8 ^o). The use of divining rods is also known in such literature, from the 15th century on at the latest."

Scholem points out that for a period of about three hundred years, roughly from 1500 to 1800, kabbalah was widely considered to be the basis of authentic Jewish theology. Other approaches were considered minor and during this time there were no open polemical attacks on the teachings of the kabbalah. It not clear that this influence included the area of psi training apart from prayer, customs, and ethics.

In the l9th century, Jewish mysticism was revived with the growth of the Hassidic movement, founded by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, more commonly known as the Baal Shem Tov or "master of the holy name." The Hassidic movement continued the kabbalistic practices of previous generations and added an element of emotional enthusiasm and intensity resulting in grassroots movement which challenged the leadership of the rabbinical scholars of the time. Many tales indicative of psi functioning are told of the Hassidic rabbis and their students.

The term Baal Shem, or Baal Shem Tov, had been used for centuries to refer to adepts of kabbalistic formulas and wonder workers. Often the term was associated with charlatans and adventurers who were treated with disapproval by kabbalistic scholars such as Abulafia. Some of these reputed wonder workers were clearly fictitious characters; at other times the title was accorded to liturgical poets; the term also referred to inscribers of amulets based on holy names. Scholem describes this class of individuals, known as ba'alei shem as follows: "In the 17th and 18th centuries the number of ba'alei shem who were not at all talmudic scholars increased. But they attracted a following by their real or imaginary powers of healing the sick. Such a ba'al shem was often a combination of practical kabbalist, who performed cures by means of prayers, amulets and incantations, and a popular healer familiar with segullot (‘remedies') concocted from animal, vegetable, and mineral matter. The literature from that period teems with stories and testimonies about ba'alei shem of this kind, some of which, however, were written in criticism of their characters and deeds. It was generally thought that the ba'alei shem were at their most efficacious in the treatment of mental disorders and in the exorcism of evil spirits."

It is clear from Scholem's description that the existence of such a class of people provides only the slightest suggestion of efficacious psi training programs within the kabbalistic tradition. Many were undoubtedly charlatans; and of those who may have had genuine powers, the available literature in English provides no indication regarding their training.

Ginsburg, C.D. The Essenes, the Kabbalah. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1956. (Originally published, 1864.)

Paton, L.B. Spiritism and the cult of the dead in antiquity. New York: Macmillan, 1921.

Scholem, G. Kabbalah. New York: Quadrangle, 1974.

Weber, M. Ancient Judaism. (H.H. Gerth and D. Martindale, Eds. and trans.). Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1952. (Originally published 1921.)

Whitley, C.F. The genius of Israel. Amsterdam: Philo Press, 1969.