When kabbalistic teachings made their way from southern France into northern and then central Spain, they were introduced to rabbis who were literate in multiple languages and well-versed in philosophy and the work of Moses Maimonides, leading to both competition between, and synthesis of, philosophical and mystical ideas. One of the most remarkable figures of this era was Abraham Abulafia, born in Zaragoza to a distinguished family around 1240. Tamar Marvin writes:

Abraham Abulafia sought, and claimed to have experienced, mystical union and even prophetic visions, alongside a more studied, intellectual knowledge of Kabbalah. . . . Abraham began his advanced learning with a study of The Guide of the Perplexed, Rambam’s late-breaking philosophical magnum opus. . . . This quickly led Abraham to a place of esoteric seeking.

In the summer of 1280, in a quixotic attempt to convert . . . Pope Nicholas III to Judaism, thus provoking the beginning of the messianic age, Rabbi Abraham arrived in Rome. Unfortunately for him, the pope died unexpectedly in August of 1280, arousing suspicion of Abraham and leading to his imprisonment. After his release, Abraham continued teaching and writing in Italy, but by 1285 he had sufficiently aroused the ire of the great Rabbi Solomon ibn Adret (Rashba), who placed him under a ban as a messianic pretender and effectively proscribed ecstatic Kabbalah, resigning it to obscurity.

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.