I know the Nexus has a very broad readership, including people from many religious backgrounds. I was curious if we have any Jewish (or otherwise Hebrew-speaking) folks who might be able to shed some light on the role of esevim (grasses) in Kabbalah.

I came across a quote in rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's Meditation and Kabbalah mentioning magical techniques which "include the use of `grasses,' which were possibly psychedelic drugs." He cites the Soshan Yesod Olam in reference to this claim, but as far as I can see it's never been translated to English. In fact, that seems to be the case with most Kabbalah literature. I've seen rabbis mention that esevim are frequently discussed in Kabbalist texts, but I'm at a loss regarding where to find these texts... I suspect most of them are not available in English.

Can anyone point me toward some resources I may have overlooked? Or is it just a topic that's inaccessible to people who don't read Hebrew?


P.S. Feel free to respond by private message if you'd rather not have a public discussion on religious affiliation.