Judaism and Meditation
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation October 4, 2019 Tomer Persico
Jewish meditation encompasses a wide range of techniques and practices that emerged across different historical periods, each with distinct characteristics. This chronological overview traces major trends from biblical times, through Merkabah mysticism, Kabbalah, and Hasidism, to contemporary spirituality. The author highlights how modern subjectivity and secularization have shaped the evolution of these practices, and notes an inherent tension between meditative traditions and the Halakhic (Jewish legal) tradition.