The Jewish mystical tradition is rich and diverse, and Jewish mysticism has taken many forms.

Scholar Moshe Idel groups the different expressions of Jewish mysticism into two fundamental types: moderate and intensive.

Moderate mysticism is intellectual in nature. It is an attempt to understand God and God’s world, and ultimately affect and change the divine realm.

This type of mysticism incorporates many aspects of traditional Judaism, including Torah study and the performance of the commandments, infusing these activities with mystical significance.

Intensive mysticism, on the other hand, is experiential in nature.

Intensive mystics use nontraditional religious activities, including chanting and meditation, in an attempt to commune with God.

Origins

The first forms of Jewish mysticism emerged in the early centuries of the first millennium. Merkavah mysticism was the most common early form.

Merkavah mystics aimed at understanding and experiencing the vision of the divine throne discussed in the first chapter of the biblical book of Ezekiel.

Another form of early mysticism focused on exploring the mysterious methods that God used to create the world.

Sefer Yetzirah, the most important work of creation mysticism, describes the creation of the world through the arrangements of letters and numbers.

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