The Risks of the Mystical Life
In the Jewish Talmud, there is a story that illustrates the dangers of engaging in questions of mysticism. ” Four entered the Pardes (“Paradise,” or the realms of mysticism): Ben Azzai died, Ben Zoma went insane, and Aher (the “other” who was no longer to be cited by name, Rabbi Elisha ben Abuya) left the…