Contemplation as Solitude

Summary

The author of the Darkhei Yesharim holds a particular view with regard to such a central theme of Hasidism as the ideological background of devotion. What is the spiritual precondition for devotion, and what are the general rules by which it is conducted? As a first assumption, everyone admits that the contemplative life must be organized in such a way as to bring about the soul's communion with God. For it is universally accepted that communion as such (devekuth) is no regular and spontaneous expression of our nature: it depends upon exercises, persistence, concentration of the soul upon its task, and the removal of all spiritual distractions and disturbances. The limitation of social intercourse was always considered an important device for inducing devekuth, or as an important precondition for its achievement. Just as there is a whole array of positive regulations designed for the attainment of devekuth, so there is an array of negative restrictions—that is to say, a catalogue of things, the avoidance of which liberates the human being for his contemplative task; and the limitation of speech, or to put it in more positive terms, silence is one of those very significant commands. Idle or unnecessary talk arising from the obligations of social intercourse prejudice what may be called the higher functions of the soul. This fact is taught by every mystic from his own personal experience. Speech swallows strength and powers of concentration that are needed elsewhere. The solitary life of a desert hermitage or of a monastery present the ideal pattern of contemplative existence or, to be more exact, the ideal conditions for it. Solitude, being the sociological expression of the habit of silence, serves to limit the external hindrances to the attainment of devekuth. It is no wonder then that the exponents of the contemplative way (whether Jewish or non-Jewish) have always emphasized the important principle of solitude and its corollary, silence. Solitude and silence are the chosen climate of those who lead the life of contemplation. The deeper and more comprehensive the silence, the better the prospects of success in the contemplative way.

What novel departure does the manual Darkhei Yesharim make in the history of Hasidic contemplation? We must understand the paradoxical nature of R. Israel Baalshem's position on this question.