R EADING I DEL ’ S W ORKS T ODAY Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 6, 18(Winter 2007): 52-78 p. 52 WWW .JSRI.RO ADAM AFTERMAN Letter Permutation Techniques, Kavannah and Prayer in Jewish Mysticism Abstract: The article presents an analysis of a mystical practice of letter permutation conceived as part of the practice of “kavannah” in prayer. This practice was articulated by a 13th century anonymous ecstatic kabbalist writing in Catalonia. The anonymous author draws on earlier sources in the kab- balah and Ashkenazi spirituality. The article explores the wider connection between ecstasy and ritual, particularly prayer in the earlier stages of Judaism and its development in medieval theology and kabbalah. The anonymous author describes a unique permutation technique capable of induc- ing ecstatic experiences as part of the liturgical ritual. Moshe Idel has written at length on many topics on the history of Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah 1 . In this article, I will focus on two subjects that have received his special atten- tion in numerous studies. The first one is the study of mystical technique and mystical experience in general and their relation to traditional Jewish prayer and liturgical ritu- al in particular. 2 The second is the analysis of mystical and ecstatic models in the histo- ry of Jewish Mysticism and particularly Ecstatic Kabbalah. 3 In what follows, these two areas will be discussed and explored, as will the nexus between liturgical practice and ecstatic experience. In fact, that nexus is quite broad. Despite some important exceptions, these two subjects have been historically interconnected. That is to say the methods used by most Jewish mystics in their attempts to achieve ecstatic experience were tied into tradition- al Jewish practices: the performance of the mitzvoth (commandments) in general and liturgical prayer and the study of Torah in particular. 4 One of the outstanding exceptions to this rule is the 13th Century ecstatic kabbal- ist, Abraham Abulafia. Abulafia’s brand of Ecstatic Kabbalah incorporated techniques and ecstatic experiences that Moshe Idel defines as essentially detached from the per- formance of the commandments and from the act of liturgical prayer. 5 In Idel’s eyes, Abulafia’s techniques and experiences are ‘a-nomian’ in character, meaning that his mystical techniques, which involved permutations of letters and holy names, were not designed to accompany any particular commandment or ritual. A different view has been expressed by Elliot Wolfson, who has argued that halakhic practices are in fact an essential component of Abulafia’s mystical techniques. Furthermore, Wolfson claims that in the Jewish world of the 13th century it did not exist any notion of an ‘a-nomian’ Jewish spirituality. In Wolfson’s view, Abulafia’s techniques and experiences should be classified as ‘hypernomian’ rather than ‘a-nomian’. 6 Idel has defended his own position on several occasions, in particular focusing on prayer and on the performance of com- mandments such as the donning of tefillin (phylacteries) in Abulafia‘s Kabbalah. 7 Adam Afterman The Department of Jewish Thought, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. Author of the book: The Intention of Prayers in Early Ecstatic Kabbalah: A Study and Critical Edition of an Anonymous Commentary to the Prayers, (2004). Email: adam.afterman@mail.huji.ac.il Keywords: Ecstatic Kabbalah, prayer, let- ter permutation, technique, ecstasy, Abraham Abulafia, kavannah.