Professor Moshe Ideal brings a doubt as to the development of Rav Avraham Abulafia. That is what was the trigger for the new revelations of 1270? Was it his method of Divine Names or was it grace?
This rings a bell with me because I think that it is a combination of factors. That is to say in my view there are certain stages to come to "Devekut" [literally "attachment"] (or prophecy in the language of the Middle Ages) and there are also certain stages to leaving that and coming back down to Earth as we find in Plato's cave where those who left it were forced to come back and instruct those that remained inside.
In my view coming to Devekut is simply a matter of following the straight, simple path of Torah as defined by the Gra and Rav Shach. That is Devekut comes by grace. But then to contain the light and focus it one needs the Divine names. And then one is forced to leave in order to help thoese that are left inside the cave.
[But what to do with the problem of ego inflation and religious delusions? To me it seems that one needs to be rid of evil before one can come to truth. To be rid of evil I think depends a lot on the art of discernment. To take literally the advice of the Gra in his letter of excommunication. But not to use that to dismiss Rav Nahman who I think would not be included as can easily be seen from the language used there.]
See Moshe Idel on this subject
In my view coming to Devekut is simply a matter of following the straight, simple path of Torah as defined by the Gra and Rav Shach. That is Devekut comes by grace. But then to contain the light and focus it one needs the Divine names. And then one is forced to leave in order to help thoese that are left inside the cave.
[But what to do with the problem of ego inflation and religious delusions? To me it seems that one needs to be rid of evil before one can come to truth. To be rid of evil I think depends a lot on the art of discernment. To take literally the advice of the Gra in his letter of excommunication. But not to use that to dismiss Rav Nahman who I think would not be included as can easily be seen from the language used there.]
See Moshe Idel on this subject
