Editing Meditation (section)

====Judaism====
{{Main|Jewish meditation}}

Judaism has made use of meditative practices for thousands of years.<ref name=Verman1 >''The history and varieties of Jewish meditation'' by Mark Verman 1997 {{ISBN|978-1-56821-522-8}} p. 1</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jacobs |first=L. |year=1976 |title=Jewish Mystical Testimonies |place=Jerusalem |publisher=Keter Publishing House Jerusalem}}</ref> For instance, in the [[Torah]], the patriarch [[Isaac]] is described as going ''"לשוח"'' (''lasuach'') in the field&nbsp;– a term understood by all commentators as some type of meditative practice ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 24:63).{{sfn|Kaplan|1978|p=101}} Similarly, there are indications throughout the [[Tanakh]] (the Hebrew [[Bible]]) that the [[Old Testament prophets|prophets]] meditated.<ref name=Verman45 >''The history and varieties of Jewish meditation'' by Mark Verman 1997 {{ISBN|978-1-56821-522-8}} p. 45</ref> In the [[Old Testament]], there are two [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] words for meditation: ''hāgâ'' ({{langx|he|הגה}}), ''to sigh'' or ''murmur'', but also ''to meditate'', and ''sîḥâ'' ({{langx|he|שיחה}}),  ''to muse'', or ''rehearse in one's mind''.<ref name="Kaplan, A. 1985">{{cite book |last=Kaplan |first=A. |year=1985 |title=Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide |publisher=New York Schocken Books }}</ref>

Classical Jewish texts espouse a wide range of meditative practices, often associated with the cultivation of ''[[kavanah]]'' or intention. The first layer of [[Halakha|rabbinic law]], the [[Mishnah]], describes ancient sages "waiting" for an hour before their prayers, "in order to direct their hearts to the Omnipresent One" ([[Mishnah]] [[Berakhot (tractate)|Berakhot]] 5:1). Other early [[rabbinic texts]] include instructions for visualizing the Divine Presence (B. [[Talmud]] [[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]] 22a) and breathing with conscious gratitude for every breath ([[Genesis Rabba]] 14:9).<ref>Buxbaum, Y. (1990) ''Jewish Spiritual Practices'', New York, Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 108-10, 423-35.</ref>

One of the best-known types of meditation in early Jewish mysticism was the work of the [[Merkabah]], from the root /R-K-B/ meaning "chariot" (of God).<ref name="Kaplan, A. 1985"/> Some meditative traditions have been encouraged in [[Kabbalah]], and some Jews have described Kabbalah as an inherently meditative field of study.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scholem |first1=Gershom Gerhard |title=Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism |date=1961 |publisher=Schocken Books |isbn=978-0-8052-1042-2 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kD2y4wMOlAoC&pg=PA34 |access-date=2018-05-09 |archive-date=2023-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317095145/https://books.google.com/books?id=kD2y4wMOlAoC&pg=PA34 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Kaplan|1982}}<ref>Matt, D.C. (1996) ''The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism'', San Francisco, HarperCollins.</ref> Kabbalistic meditation often involves the mental visualization of the supernal realms. [[Aryeh Kaplan]] has argued that the ultimate purpose of Kabbalistic meditation is to understand and cleave to the Divine.<ref name="Kaplan, A. 1985"/>

Meditation has been of interest to a wide variety of modern Jews. In modern Jewish practice, one of the best known meditative practices is called ''"[[hitbodedut]]"'' (''התבודדות'', alternatively transliterated as "hisbodedus"), and is explained in [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]], [[Hasidic]], and [[Mussar Movement|Mussar]] writings, especially the Hasidic method of Rabbi [[Nachman of Breslav]]. The word derives from the Hebrew word "boded" (בודד), meaning the state of being alone.{{sfn|Kaplan|1978|loc=op cit p. 2}} Another Hasidic system is the [[Habad]] method of "hisbonenus", related to the [[Sephirah]] of "Binah", Hebrew for understanding.{{sfn|Kaplan|1982|loc=op cit, p. 13}} This practice is the analytical reflective process of making oneself understand a mystical concept well, that follows and internalises its study in Hasidic writings. The [[Musar Movement]], founded by Rabbi Israel Salanter in the middle of the nineteenth-century, emphasized meditative practices of [[introspection]] and [[Mental image|visualization]] that could help to improve moral character.<ref>Claussen, Geoffrey. [https://www.academia.edu/1502958/The_Practice_of_Musar "The Practice of Musar"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902005723/http://www.academia.edu/1502958/The_Practice_of_Musar |date=2013-09-02 }}. Conservative Judaism 63, no. 2 (2012): 3–26. Retrieved 10 June 2014</ref> Conservative rabbi [[Alan Lew]] has emphasized meditation playing an important role in the process of [[Teshuvah|''teshuvah'' (repentance)]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2006/09/15/september-15-2006-rabbi-alan-lew/3733/|title=Rabbi Alan Lew|date=2006-09-15|website=Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, PBS|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-09|archive-date=2019-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728150811/https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2006/09/15/september-15-2006-rabbi-alan-lew/3733/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_2BA8b7eUEUC|title=Be Still and Get Going: A Jewish Meditation Practice for Real Life|last=Lew|first=Alan|date=2007-07-31|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0-316-02591-1|language=en|access-date=2019-08-09|archive-date=2023-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317095151/https://books.google.com/books?id=_2BA8b7eUEUC|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jewish Buddhist]]s have adopted Buddhist styles of meditation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Michaelson |first1=Jay |title=Judaism, Meditation and The B-Word |url=https://forward.com/culture/3652/judaism-meditation-and-the-b-word/ |work=The Forward |date=10 June 2005 |access-date=9 May 2018 |archive-date=10 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510115414/https://forward.com/culture/3652/judaism-meditation-and-the-b-word/ |url-status=live }}</ref>