(טז) וַיְהִי֩ בַיּ֨וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֜י בִּֽהְיֹ֣ת הַבֹּ֗קֶר וַיְהִי֩ קֹלֹ֨ת וּבְרָקִ֜ים וְעָנָ֤ן כָּבֵד֙ עַל־הָהָ֔ר וְקֹ֥ל שֹׁפָ֖ר חָזָ֣ק מְאֹ֑ד וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד כָּל־הָעָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃ (יז) וַיּוֹצֵ֨א מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הָעָ֛ם לִקְרַ֥את הָֽאֱלֹקִ֖ים מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ בְּתַחְתִּ֥ית הָהָֽר׃ (יח) וְהַ֤ר סִינַי֙ עָשַׁ֣ן כֻּלּ֔וֹ מִ֠פְּנֵי אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָרַ֥ד עָלָ֛יו ה׳ בָּאֵ֑שׁ וַיַּ֤עַל עֲשָׁנוֹ֙ כְּעֶ֣שֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁ֔ן וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד כָּל־הָהָ֖ר מְאֹֽד׃ (יט) וַיְהִי֙ ק֣וֹל הַשּׁוֹפָ֔ר הוֹלֵ֖ךְ וְחָזֵ֣ק מְאֹ֑ד מֹשֶׁ֣ה יְדַבֵּ֔ר וְהָאֱלֹקִ֖ים יַעֲנֶ֥נּוּ בְקֽוֹל׃
(16) On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder (kolot) and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast (kol) of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. (17) Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain. (18) Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for God had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. (19) The sound (kol) of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God would answer in a voice/sound/thunder (kol).
(15) All the people saw the thunder (kolot) and lightning, the blare (kol) of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. (16) “You speak to us,” they said to Moses, “and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” (17) Moses answered the people, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray.” (18) So the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Responsa of R. Hai Gaon, 10th-11th century Baghdad
A. And likewise [regarding] a dream question: there were several elders and pious men who [lived] with us who knew them [the Names] and fasted for several days, neither eating meat nor drinking wine, [staying] in a pure place and praying and reciting great and well-known verses and [their] letters by number, and they went to sleep and saw wondrous dreams similar to a prophetic vision.
B. Many scholars thought that, when one who is distinguished by many qualities described in the books seeks to behold the Merkavah (divine chariot) and the palaces of the angels on high, he must fast a number of days and place his head between his knees and whisper many hymns and songs whose texts are known from tradition. Then he will perceive within himself and in the chambers [of his heart] as if he saw the seven palaces with his own eyes, and as though he had entered one palace after another and seen what is there. (Transl. in Moshe Idel, The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia, p. 15)
Maggid Meisharim Introduction
Know that the saint [Karo] and I [Solomon Alkabetz], his and your humble servant, belonging to our company, agreed to stay up all night in order to banish sleep from our eyes on Shavuot. We succeeded, thank G*d, so that, as you will hear, we ceased not from study for even a moment....
No sooner had we studied two tracts of the Mishnah than our Creator smote us so that we heard a voice speaking out of the mouth of the saint, may his light shine. It was a loud voice with letters clearly enunciated. All the companions heard the voice but were unable to understand what was said. It was an exceedingly pleasant voice, becoming increasingly strong. We all fell upon our faces and none of us had any spirit left in him because of our great dread and awe. The voice began to address us, saying:
"Friends, choicest of the choice, peace to you, beloved companions. Happy are you and happy those who bore you. Happy are you in this world and happy in the next that you resolved to adorn Me on this night. For these many years had My head been fallen with none to comfort Me. I was cast down to the ground to embrace the dunghills but now you have restored the crown to its former place....
Behold, I am the Mishnah, the mother who chastises her children, and I have come to converse with you. Had you been ten in number you would have ascended even higher but you have reached a great height nevertheless. Happy are those who bore you, My friends, in that, by denying yourselves sleep you have ascended so far on high. Through you I have become elevated this night and through the companions in the great city [Salonica], a mother-city in Israel."
R. Joseph ben Shalom Ashkenazi, 13th century Germany & Barcelona
The philosophers have already written on the issue of prophecy, saying that it is not improbable that there will be a person to whom matters will appear in his imaginative faculty, comparable to that which appears to the imaginative faculty in a dream. All this [could take place] while someone is awake, and all his sense are obliterated, as the letters of the divine name [stand] in front of his eyes, in the gathered colors. Sometimes, he will hear a voice, a wind, a speech, a thunder, and a noise with all the organs of his hearing sense, and he will see with his imaginative faculty with all the organs of sight, and he will smell with all the organs of smell, and he will taste with all the organs of taste, and he will touch with all the organs of touch, and he will walk and levitate. All this while the holy letters are in front of his eyes, and its colors are covering it; this is the sleep of prophecy. (Translated in Moshe Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, p. 105)
Michael Pollan, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, 2018
The mystical experience may just be what it feels like when you deactivate the brain's default mode network. This can be achieved any number of ways: through psychedelics and meditation, as Robin Carhart-Harris and Judson Brewer have demonstrated, but perhaps also by means of certain breathing exercises (like Holotropic Breathwork), sensory deprivation, fasting, prayer, overwhelming experiences of awe, extreme sports, near-death experiences, and so on. (p. 306)
What happens when, under the influence of psychedelics, the usually firm handshake between brain and world breaks down?[...]
People who are color-blind report being able to see certain colors for the first time when on psychedelics, and there is research to suggest that people hear music differently under the influence of these drugs. They process the timbre, or coloration, of music more acutely - a dimension of music that conveys emotion. When I listened to Bach's cello suite during my psilocybin journey, I was certain I heard more of it than I ever had, registering shadings and nuances and tones that I hadn't been able to hear before and haven't heard since. (pp. 309-310