My impression is that mixing up mysticism with Musar was not a good idea. [That is almost all post Zohar Musar].
But I do not mean this in the sense of critique on the Ari'zal. Rather the tendency is to get off track.
And after all, there is a very different sense of what Muar means when it comes from the rational schools of thought of Saadia Gaon and the Rambam -as opposed to the mystic schools of thought of the Ramban/ Nahmanides and almost all subsequent Musar.
To me it seems I myself got off track. And that would not have happened if the straight Litvak yeshiva I was in had been straightforward about saying that the Mystics just got too much stuff wrong. Not that they got everything wrong, but enough to make it no worthwhile.
There were great tzadikim like Rav Yaakov Abukazeira who came to great "maddragot" [levels] but that was not from learning mysticism but from simple service towards God.
[I do not want to turn this into a critique on great tzadikim, but rather to emphasize that no one became a tzadik through learning mysticism. They became tzadikim because they served God simply.Straight Torah. No frills.
[Even books that are thought to be relatively free of mysticism like the Mesilat Yesharim open the door to the mystic stuff. It is hard to know what to make out of this.I certainly do not what to be critical of the Ramhal but in point of fact, the mystic stuff sends people on tangents--often not very good ones.
But I do not mean this in the sense of critique on the Ari'zal. Rather the tendency is to get off track.
And after all, there is a very different sense of what Muar means when it comes from the rational schools of thought of Saadia Gaon and the Rambam -as opposed to the mystic schools of thought of the Ramban/ Nahmanides and almost all subsequent Musar.
To me it seems I myself got off track. And that would not have happened if the straight Litvak yeshiva I was in had been straightforward about saying that the Mystics just got too much stuff wrong. Not that they got everything wrong, but enough to make it no worthwhile.
There were great tzadikim like Rav Yaakov Abukazeira who came to great "maddragot" [levels] but that was not from learning mysticism but from simple service towards God.
[I do not want to turn this into a critique on great tzadikim, but rather to emphasize that no one became a tzadik through learning mysticism. They became tzadikim because they served God simply.Straight Torah. No frills.
[Even books that are thought to be relatively free of mysticism like the Mesilat Yesharim open the door to the mystic stuff. It is hard to know what to make out of this.I certainly do not what to be critical of the Ramhal but in point of fact, the mystic stuff sends people on tangents--often not very good ones.
