From Nachman Davies – a Jewish-Sufi contemplative in Safed, Hazafon, Israel.
Tariqa Eliyahu is a global Jewish-Sufi group for religious Jews who wish to study and develop the contemplative practices of the Mediaeval Egyptian Pietist Movement that flourished in the 13th to the 15th centuries.
The Egyptian Pietists believed that the ascetic and contemplative practices of the Biblical B’nei Nevi’im (Schools of the Prophets) had been lost to Judaism but preserved in Islamic Sufism—and they sought to restore, renew, and develop those practices in Judaism.
Their aim was to prepare the movement’s members to attain a personal and intimate state of contemplative “nearness to G-d” and thereby hasten the return of prophecy.
Those perspectives and aims are also those of our Safed Jewish-Sufi group: this has its own distinct adab (form and character) because membership is open to anyone who wishes to attend its meetings.
Though its core members are religious Jews, and though the texts it uses paraliturgically are Jewish— the group also welcomes participants (from all religions and none) who respect that core ethos even if they do not follow it.
The main element of our meetings is the practice of SILENT ZHIKR (silent congregational contemplation).
As such, they can bypass “guided meditations”, “method-lectures”, and “therapeutic self-improvement sessions”. Such practices are attractive but they can also distract from our simple attentiveness to the Divine Voice.
We wish to make our Group’s meditational process to be something experienced privately in the hearts of the members—an educational process whose direction and form is left entirely up to G-d who is our true Teacher and Master. So the envisaged format is simply: sit together in silent contemplation for between thirty minutes to an hour…. arriving and leaving in silence.
In classic Sufic tradition, and in reference to the musical practice of the Bnei Nevi’im—meetings would begin and end with a very short vocal Zhikr (mantra recitation of a Hebrew word or phrase). At the start of the meeting this might also assist the members to transition from their busy world and interior noise to the calm and receptive mode of the silent zhikr that follows.
Occasionally, special meetings may be planned once the regular gatherings for silent contemplation have become well established—but their nature and format will require much group discussion and agreement AFTER the group has been meeting regularly for some time.
For the first few months we would like to avoid being distracted by discussing or planning such events, but they might well include:
SOHBET (discussions, group study, and informative lectures) arranged as stand alone events from time to time at the request of members.
EXTENDED VOCAL ZHIKR Occasional ad hoc sessions involving more lengthy Sufic choral chanting of Jewish-text mantras—with or without movement.
SEMA (spiritual sufic-type/niggun music and/or movement) These would be occasional ad hoc events with guest musicians ( hopefully from the local Maqamat School) Private events for the group only. (Like everything we do, there would be zero fees or charges from performers or members.)
This group offers online study and paraliturgy resources to help us understand the details of our Jewish-Sufic history and practice. As that Tariqa’s Administrator I would also be happy to try to answer membership queries privately.
Merrimack Valley Havurah 