The main line of argument in support of the statement is that there is a distinctive mystical and esoteric tradition within Judaism known as Kabbalah, wherein the whole purpose of practice is to experience the divine nature and presence. This argument would suggest that it is the purpose of Kabbalah to interpret and ‘experience’ the traditional teachings within the Jewish scriptures in a symbolic way, but also a way that involves highly specialised and intensive practices. These practices reveal significant meaning and understanding of God that has been described as a ‘closeness’ to God. Through meditation, visual, artistic and magical means some have even claimed to have had a ‘mystical union’ with the divine. Therefore, it is clearly possible to have a personal mystical union with God in Judaism.
The Zohar, revealed in the thirteenth century, is the book containing the mystical writings of the rabbi Simeon bar Yochai and is instrumental in leading and instructing the devotee towards such union through a focus on the experience of God and trying to penetrate God’s essence. Hellner-Eshed states, ‘Torah in the Zohar is not conceived as a text, as an object, or as material, but as a living divine presence, engaged in a mutual relationship with the person who studies her.’ The Zohar contains what Dosick describes as ‘higher truths in addition to the literal meaning of the text; that the highest goal of a human being is to reach for and understand the innermost secrets of existence; and that every human act has a ripple effect on the entire universe’. It is thus considered to be the text that caters for those who wish to experience a personal mystical union with God in Judaism. As the Kabbalistic prayer states, 'For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He and His Shekinah, in awe and devotion I am prepared and ready to perform mitzvah (named here) to the full command of my Creator'. It is therefore clear that the Zohar supports the idea of a personal mystical union with God in Judaism.
Other aspects of Kabbalah also support the possibility of achieving closeness to God, and the concept of En Sof is one such example. Even though Kabbalists acknowledge that God is beyond the grasp of the human mind, one aspect of divine revelation is through the Sefirot which act as filters between a person and God. As Robinson explains: ‘they allow us to focus on and hear the 'radio signals' of the All Powerful mixed in among the static of everyday life. The emanations, then, are the ways in which God is able to interact with the sensual world, the world we inhabit.’
Furthermore, through visual and magical means, some individuals have even claimed to have had a ‘mystical union’ with God. Evidence for this can be found in a school of early Jewish mysticism known as Merkavah mysticism. The aim of this contemplative system was to be a ‘merkavah rider’ and free oneself from the bonds of physical existence in order to ascend to the heavenly realms. Followers of this tradition were not content to be commentators on the biblical text; they sought to experience it for themselves. Tradition has it that it was possible for some particularly pious individuals to ascend into the divine realm and return to earth to convey the secrets that they had discovered. All this supports the idea that a personal mystical union with God in Judaism is possible.
Overall, the above arguments would point out that Judaism is grounded in an experience of God, for example, kavod in the Biblical narrative and shekinah in rabbinic literature. Both kavod and shekinah may be mystical in nature however, it could be argued that such an experience is not specifically one of union with God, but more of a sense of the ‘other’. As Dan states, ‘The Kabbalah, according to the kabbalists, is never new; it can be newly discovered or newly received, but essentially it is millennia-old divine truth.’
However, on the contrary, traditional Judaism sees its focus on Torah and Talmudic study as very different to Kabbalah and not involving any such experience with God. According to this line of argument, the essential nature of God in Judaism is that God is transcendent, ‘other’, Holy and ‘set apart’ from humanity and beyond the realms of experience. Such a line of argument would point out that ‘mystical’ traditions within Judaism are a relatively late development and therefore not necessarily reliable.
Indeed, it could be argued that the practices of Kabbalah are too far removed from traditional Judaism in the eyes of many in the Jewish tradition today and the claims for ‘mystical union’ with the divine are a distortion of the original teachings of Kabbalah. Afterman writes, ‘In ancient forms of Jewish mysticism … mysticism is about empowerment and knowledge – but no mystic or angel integrates himself into God Himself!’ thus acknowledging mysticism in terms of knowledge or insight, but not mystical union with that which is ‘wholly other’.
In conclusion, it is also important to consider the fact that many scholars regard the ideal of contemplative or mystical communion with God as a medieval innovation, and therefore a relatively late development within Judaism. Also, it has been argued that the practices of Kabbalah are too far removed from traditional Judaism in the eyes of many in the Jewish tradition today, and that even the claims for ‘mystical’ union’ with God represent a distortion of the original teachings of Kabbalah.