One of the hallmarks of Tariqa Eliyahu’s Path is its practice of silent mental prayer as a congregation.
The principal rationale for this activity is derived from R. Abraham HeHasid’s commentary on the three day retreat at Sinai and the specific “preparation and sanctification” that leads to group prophetic experience. (see our essay on this HERE)
But
the Communal Khalwa-Hitbodedut
that we perform weekly in Safed has another, albeit secondary, function—namely
the generation of a sense of confraternity and bonding between all members
of the
Tariqa present.
One can be certain of the
importance of solitude and
solitary devotion in the Jewish-Sufi path of the mediaeval Egyptian Hasidim of the Maimuni circle—it was the penultimate maqam (station) of their contemplative system—and yet one
of the outstanding characteristics of their practice is that it generated a movement, a confraternity
of salikun (seekers) practicing both solitary contemplation
and yet also seeking to bond as a
group with shared aims and practices.
Gershonides (R.
Levi ben Gershon,1288 –1344) says that the strength
of an individual soldier is multiplied exponentially
when he enters a battle in the company
of like-minded soldiers.
Those
who aspire to become sufis are engaged in a jihad (battle)
with the nafs, the “lower” self. That is an ascetic process of
purification that was part of the Jewish-Sufi
maqamat systems of R. Bahya Ibn Pequda and R. Abraham ben Ha Rambam. One of the differences between their respective approaches is that the former was promoting a private meditative practice, whereas the latter was also building a community of contemplatives.
In
Tariqa Eliyahu HaNabi we are similarly engaged in a shared jihad as
a spiritual community—and each of us has the power to contribute
both support and encouragement by linking up with other members of the Order in
prayer, in thought, in person, and online.
We aim to renew and develop the Path of the Egyptian Hasidim— and therefore,while much of our own adab (praxis)is concerned with solitude and solitary devotions: We are also a Jewish-Sufi Order, and this involves shared responsibilities as a confraternal congregation.
Those who are not able to attend the
Safed meetings geo-physically are encouraged to link-up in some mental
and spiritual way at the time of the
group meeting, or at sometime on the day
it is scheduled to occur. Members are
particularly encouraged to recite (silently and
mentally) the formal Wird/Litany
of the Tariqa on the day of the meetings if they have time. If this is not
possible, then even a brief thought or a
short prayer would be
sufficient to generate something
of a bond with the other salikun in the Tariqa.
Our
Jewish-Sufi mystical tradition insists that the Light that
is generated by such activity can, somehow, be transmitted to
all worlds.
In Kuntres
Maarat HaLev ,
I quoted R. Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev on the effectiveness of such spiritual
activity when he claimed (with an unintended reference
to fana and baqa! ):
“When man nullifies himself completely
and attaches his thoughts to Nothingness, then a new sustenance
flows into all the universes. This is a sustenance that did not exist
previously.”
The Chassidic Masters, R'Aryeh
Kaplan, page 73,
I
would also suggest that Tariqa members
might spend some time
on Shabbat in intentional (mental and
spiritual) bonding with the other members of the
Tariqa. Again, just a few moments very briefly but with kavanah.
Personally I make an intention of this nature in the Mi Sheberach prayer during the
formal Shabbat liturgy, mentioning every Tariqa member by name. In the late Shabbat
afternoon, after Minchah and before Arbit,
I also repeat this activity before performing a solitary and mental Dhikr and Khalwa.
oooOooo
The halachic requirement for performing formal prayer with a minyan is in accord with the notion of Gershonides stated above. But in the Kifaya, Rabbenu Abraham ben Ha Rambam applies the same principle to the kind of concentration that is part of congregational Khalwa. He makes a specific point of highlighting the generative power of this kind of silent hitbodedut when it is performed as a group.
We know
that his Jewish-Sufi Hasidic movement saw khalwa (both as
reclusive solitary retreat and as silent and concentrated meditation in
solitude) to be the primary method for the
attainment/reception of certain
levels of prophetic intuition and
insight—but it might come as something of a surprise to many to read that he also
saw the same activity increase in effectiveness when such silent “retreat”is
performed in a congregational setting. R. Abraham writes:
“Whenever the concentration of
ten individuals who have joined together for prayer...is combined, it is
greater than the concentration of each of the ten praying individually.
Mysteries are thereby revealed by intuition
(asrar yakshufuhu al-dhawq) to
one who has followed the Paths of the Pietists and contemplated their diverse
states...
There are certain times and
certain states that can enable an individual to attain
serenity in contemplation (khalwah) in which his mind is
purified in his state of contemplation far more than it is during
formal public prayer.”
(Rabbi Avraham ben ha-Rambam:
Sefer ha-Maspik le-‘Ovdey Hashem, Kitab Kifayat al-‘ābidīn; (translated N Dana) p188)
oooOooo
At
the moment: Our tiny nation is under intensive attack—regionally, globally, and
even internally — and I believe that our spiritual effort is urgently needed as much as the military and
political one. Perhaps it is needed even more.
That
is another reason why it is important that our Tariqa members should supplement
their solitary private khalwa (hitbodedut) and their recollection of the Divine (zhikr-hazkarah)
by practising such contemplative silence with other group members
at our weekly meetings wherever possible.
By doing this, they can generate a shared
blessing and peace which can
uplift both the Tariqa members and the entire nation.
Even
if one cannot attend the Safed Jewish-Sufi meetings in person, one
may share in its beraka by having the kavanah to
be there in spirit.
As
an oft-quoted European Hasid is reputed to have said:
“One is where one’s thoughts are”.
Nachman Davies
Safed
3rd April 2025
