It is astounding how many words we use today have a direct connection to Biblical Hebrew. However, when tracing the origins of these words, the world’s dictionaries deliberately leave out semitic languages as original sources. Thankfully, the same way we can make the judgment that the Greek Alphabet is actually directly derived from the Hebrew Aleph Bet, we can use our ears and our brains to make the judgment that certain words did not begin with the Greeks or any other culture but actually originated over a thousand years prior.
The word “Mystical” is one of these words. As Rabbi Zamir Cohen points out, the difference between מסתכל and ראה is that a while a man is allowed to ראה a woman, (meaning to look at her) he is not allowed to מסתכל her. Any woman on the street that has ever been made to feel uncomfortable by a man’s gaze can tell the difference. מסתכל means to stare in a way that should be reserved for when one is studying an object or a word for the purpose of meditation and not to satisfy one’s fantasies in their imagination which make others uncomfortable and corrupt the mind.
In Biblical times, mystical feats such as prophecy were attained while in the meditative state. While prophecy has left Earth until the times of the Moshiach, anyone who has ever meditated correctly can share the benefits of meditative experience and how it leads to greater clarity. Meditation is undoubtedly a mystical practice and while it is a difficult one to achieve, it is worth it for anyone who is seeking a deeper connection to the Infinite to meditate on certain Biblical Hebrew words (such as Hashem’s name י–ה–ו–ה) to achieve this euphoric state.