Devekut, deveikuth or deveikus (Heb. דבקות , Mod. Heb. "dedication", traditionally "clinging on" to God) is a deep, trance-like meditative state attained during Jewish prayer, Torah study, or when performing the 613 mitzvot (the "commandments"). It is particularly associated with the Jewish mystical tradition. In Kabbalah, close circles of elite scholars would seek elevated mystical states, often accompanied by ascetic practices. In Hasidic Judaism, the popularisation and democratisation of Jewish mysticism was sought, so that common folk could also experience devekut through study of Hasidic philosophy, Hasidic storytelling, customs and Niggun song, and through attachment to the Tzaddik (Hasidic Master-Rebbe). With its focus on Divine Omnipresence, Hasidism discouraged asceticism in favou