TO SEE GOD IN HIS BEAUTY: AVRAHAM CHALFI AND THE MYSTICAL QUEST FOR THE EVASIVE GOD

Avraham Chalfi's poetry contains some of the main themes of the mystical experience, namely, the attempt “to see God in his Beauty” and the quest to gain an intimate communion with the Divine.1 I am grateful to the poet Raquel Chalfi for sharing of her memories and insights to her uncle Avraham Chalfi's life and work. The discussions we had contributed to my appreciation of Chalfi's poetry and character. I would also like to thank Claire Rechnitzer for her help in the translations of Chalfi's poems and to Prof. Jonathan Garb, my graduate student Mr. Vadim Putzu and the anonymous readers for their insightful comments. Of course, I take full responsibility for all errors that remain. View all notes Uncovering the intertextual references and the repertoire of his allusions positions this poetry within the ever-evolving mystical-religious discussion. Chalfi's theology transforms the Jewish mystical tradition into a critical, at times even fierce, encounter with God and turns fundamental elements, such as ascent to the Pardes and the respective roles of the mystic and God, on their heads. Exploring Chalfi's mystical poems expands our awareness of the theological elements embedded in a variety of modern secular Hebrew poems and their contribution to the evolution and diversification of the canon of Jewish thought.