Abraham Abulafia
1240 – ? Spanish (Sephardic Jewish) Kabbalist, founder of 'prophetic' Kabbalah
Wandering mystic who taught an ecstatic, meditative Kabbalah based on letter combinations.
- Religion
- Judaism (Kabbalah)
- Affiliations
- Traveled through Spain, Italy, Greece and the Near East
Abulafia developed a technique of meditating on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and divine names to reach prophetic states. In 1280 he traveled to Rome with a plan to meet the pope, an act that nearly cost him his life. His approach, called ecstatic or prophetic Kabbalah, stood apart from the theosophical stream of the Zohar; his death year is not firmly established.
In the timeline
- 1270 Abraham Abulafia develops prophetic Kabbalah central figure
- 1280 Abraham Abulafia and ecstatic Kabbalah central figure