Devekut

Devekut, debekuth, deveikuth or deveikus (Heb. דבקות; Mod. Heb. "dedication", traditionally "clinging on" to God) is a Jewish concept referring to closeness to God. It may refer to a deep, trance-like meditative state attained during Jewish prayer, Torah study, or when performing the 613 mitzvot (the "commandments"). It is particularly associated with the Jewish mystical tradition.

דבק, or devek, the modern Hebrew word for glue literally means to cling. It is sometimes referred to as devekut, "dvekut" or devekus. The concept of Devekut is important in Jewish culture, particularly in Hasidism and in the history of Jewish thought, mysticism, and ethics.

In modern Israeli Hebrew, "Devekut" or "dvekut" is also often a synonym for dedication toward a particular goal.

In religious Judaism and in academia, "Dvekut" refers most commonly to the philosophical, mystical and Hasidic understanding of "Devekut" as "cleaving" or "attaching oneself" to God in all areas of life.

In Kabbalah, close circles of elite scholars would seek elevated mystical states of devekut, often through ascetic practices.

Until its communal popularisation and psychological internalisation in Hasidism in the 18th century, Jewish mystical study and practice was confined to close circles of elite scholars. Medieval Kabbalists often adhered to ethical and ascetic practices, such as among the Chassidei Ashkenaz of the 12th-13th century. They sought elevated mystical states as part of their endeavours in Kabbalah Iyunnit ("Conceptual Kabbalistic" investigation). They sought an esoteric, transcendent scholarship in Scriptural exegesis, that involved subtle metaphysical descriptions of Divine emanations and Heavenly Realms. Their elite schools had an influence on wider Jewish thought, with Kabbalah and Hakirah (Medieval Rationalistic Jewish philosophy) emerging as the two competing traditions of Jewish theology.

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