MS Vatican, ebr. 456, fol. 2b

Jewish Mysticism
The gnosis of this wondrous faith (da‘at shel zo’t ha-’emunah ha-nifla’ah) cannot be received by the heart from itself nor can it be known from one’s soul, but rather it must be studied from an ancient tradition (qabbalah qedumah) in the way that it was known by people from the mouth of God himself … Apart from this way it is not possible for any created intellect in the world, through any thought or speculation without a tradition, to know on its own this hidden faith concerning the essence of its hidden truth.

Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Megillat ‘Emet we-‘Emunah- Contemplative Visualization and Mystical Unknowing,” Kabbalah- A Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 5 (2000)- 55-110.