Rabbenu Abraham ben Ha Rambam [1186-1237] wanted to restore the contemplative practice of solitary retreat and vigils that he believed had been forgotten by Jews....but preserved by the sufis of Islam. In our own day, Tariqa Eliyahu promotes such (originally Jewish) contemplative practices within contemporary Judaism.
Sefardim perform a vigil each weekday night during Elul in the ritual recitation of Selichot. It is a liturgy with many connections to sufic dhikr, and at its core is the chanting of the Divine Attributes. In many versions (the Syrian for example) it also features many repetitions of our “Elijan Mantra”. Some Sefardim rise around halachic midnight to recite Selichot—some attend a synagogue recitation immediately before Shacharit.
I am not a particularly ascetic type of Jewish-Sufi, and I am very fond indeed of sleep—so many years, during Elul, I have only performed an abbreviated Selichot, usually recited just before retiring late at night.
By and large, "sleep" gets a bad name (as a form of laziness) in many Jewish and Islamic mystical systems—but both those traditions also stress its role as a time for inspirational or prophetic experiences during our dreams.
Both Ibn Arabi and Al Ghazali go into considerable detail in describing the level of imaginative inspiration received during waking dreams (for example,in the moments between sleep and waking up) or during deep night-time sleep itself.
The Rambam speaks of lower forms of prophecy that are accessible to many contemplatives solely in such dreams. In a passage that could well have been written by Ibn Arabi, he states:
“Just as a bud is the actual fruit itself that has not yet developed fully, similarly, the power of the imagination at the time of sleep is exactly that which operates at the time of prophecy, in an incomplete and unperfected state.” [Moreh Nevuchim,2:36]
Whether we practice ascetic vigils or not, the idea of breaking one's sleep or rising extra-early to perform devotional acts has been one of the core practices of Jewish Sufism —from the time of the baqashot of Ibn Pequda onwards (at the very least). And significantly it is a practice dear to all of the leading Safed Kabbalists of later times.
Here is Rabbenu Obadyah ben Abraham Maimuni’s take on the importance of vigils as a penitential rite:
“Know O brother that if we are cast aside from his intimacy (al-qurb) it is because we have severed the bond (wusla) between us and Him. We have turned aside from the soul so that it has become tarnished like a mirror that no longer reflecteth any light, inasmuch as it hath sinned by forsaking moral improvement (al islah). Therefore do I recommend thee to seek the face of the Lord in moments of respite from the burden of corporeal matter. When Satan is slumbering, arise in the dead of night and turn to the Most High in prayer and supplication.”
[from P.Fenton: The Treatise of the Pool: Al-Maqala al-Hawdiyya, Octagon Press, London, 1981, p87 emphasis mine]
oooOooo
Throughout the year, night-time is the optimal time for solitary meditation. Once again this view is held in common by all classical streams of Jewish contemplative practice.
It is simulated in the darkness of the khalwa-cell, and it is something that we hold precious after the business of the day is done.
But special times of reflection in solitude during the quiet hours at night-time are something we should treasure especially during the month of Elul: It is clear from the above extract from the Treatise of the Pool that there was a specifically penitential aspect to the Jewish Sufi practice of vigils in his day.
The King is always in the field,
but we need to find and make the time
to sit alone with Him,
with a receptive and open heart,
if we are to see that.
SHABBAT SHALOM!!
Nachman Davies
Safed
19th September 2024