Paul B. Fenton

Solitary Meditation in Jewish and Islamic Mysticism in the Light of a Recent Archeological Discovery

It is an oddity that hitherto, students of comparative mysticism have paid little attention to the possibility of Islamic influence on the development of Qabbalistic doctrine and practice. This neglect is all the more suprising when it is borne in mind that, following its eastward migration from its Spanish cradle and up until the culmination of the Shabbataian movement, Jewish mysticism developed predominantly in the Islamic Orient. The research devoted to this period by the founder of the modern critical study of Qabbalah, Gershom Scholem, is disconcertingly parsimonious in its treatment of Islamic phenomena. Scholem himself rightly observes regarding the Qabbalists of the East: A great upsurge of mystical religion occurred in Palestine during the 16th century, accompanied by parallel developments in Egypt and Syria. It would therefore be logical to look for documents of Kabbalistic thought coming from these parts which might enlighten us about a possible impact of Sufi ideas and concepts on some Kabbalists. Jews living in the Orient could scarcely escape acquaintance with the existence of the many orders of dervishes in those countries and their practices and rituals, many of which were common knowledge.