One aspect of mysticism is how the mystic can drive himself mad or worse if he is not careful in his quest for divine awareness.
"Our Rabbis have taught, four entered into the Pardes. They were Ben Azai,
Ben Zoma, Aher, and Rabbi Akiba. Ben Azai gazed and died. Of him it is
written, "precious in the eyes of HaShem is the death of his pious ones"
(Tehilim 116, 15). Ben Zoma gazed, and went insane. Of him, it is written,
"have you found honey, eat your share lest you become full, and vomit it
up.” (Mishlei 25, 16). Aher became an apostate. Rabbi Akiba entered, and
exited in peace.” Hagigah 14B
The book "As A Driven Leaf" is a fictional depiction of what happened to Aher (ussually associated with Elisha Ben Abuya)in his quest for truth. Although
Elisha Ben Abuya's life account is portraited as heroic, where in the midst of great
forces of change and tradition a man has to choose conscience as a
sanctuary for independent thought and live the consequences of that
resolve. Elisha's journey into perdition takes places as he begins to feel that the doctrines of tradition were weak against the reality he was facing, making him ponder important existencial questions. His quest for truth led him to the dark waters of heresy as Elisha admits to his childhood teacher that "the old
truth has failed me, I must find another" (p. 201). He later admonished the necessity for any form of belief for humans to define themselves. "Faith is indispensable both as a base on which thought may stand, and as a check rein when logic goes astray" (p. 242). Milton Steinberg was wise to express the climax of Elisha's inner struggles during the traumatic event of the character seeing an innocent child die. The skepticism that he had kept inside bursts as he exclaims "There is no reward. There is no Judge. There is no Judgment. For there is no God" (p. 250). These words lead to his demise; for as he runs from being ostracized, he carelessly instructs others not to put their trust in fables. Although it is important to have "... a theology, a morality, a ritual, confirmed by logic"(p. 203). People should come to a place where they can be comfortable with uncertainty. As much as we need to know that what we believe is true, we must wrestle with issues incorporating both out a strong religious foundation and leaving some room for doubt and scientific knowledge. That is how we know that we are not fanatics but mystics, those seeking g-dliness.
