12) Indeed, it is certain that all your words are divisions and exaggerations intended to agitate the foolish and the insane, lovers of wonders and superstitions, and not spoken with reason. None of your words are based on sound judgment. And through deceit, you refuse to know the Lord, as the prophet Jeremiah, may peace be upon him, said in the name of the Lord: "Your habitation is in deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me, declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 9:5).
And one of the deceivers among you has already said: "We know that the truth is not with you." But what do you gain by revealing this matter and publicizing it to some of the students? It is better for you to let them remain in their error, just as the wicked one in the parable of the four sons who asks, "What is this service to you?" and so on. The evidence you present is baseless, for in your letter you falsely claim that the revered author of "Mitzaref HaEmunah" is a heretic and denier.
You even referred to his book as "Mashref HaEmunah" (Destroyer of Faith). And he, until his final days, remains loyal to the teachings of the Zohar, the Holy Temple, Kabbalistic works such as Sefer Chassidim, Sefer HaBrit, Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Arizal), and the writings of Rabbi Chaim Vital, including Etz Chaim, Nachat Yosef, and Sulam Yaakov, all of which he studies diligently. As will be explained later, I will first present several proofs.
This Kabbalistic tradition is not a Halacha (Jewish law) that was transmitted to Moses at Sinai, as our sages said in Eruvin, that any teaching not taught in the study hall of Rabbi Oshaya is not a valid teaching and should not be derived from it, as it causes confusion. Indeed, regarding any teaching that did not enter the study hall of Rabbi Chiya or Rabbi Oshaya, it is not necessary to consider it as a Halacha (Jewish law) that was transmitted to Moses at Sinai.
Moreover, even if it is stated by an Amora (rabbinic sage from the Talmudic period), we do not rely on it. In the Jerusalem Talmud, in Eruvin, Chapter 1, in the first verse, it is stated: "And Acha said to him, so said Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, any Mishnah that did not enter the company (of scholars), we do not rely on it." Therefore, refer to later in section 42 for further discussion on this matter.
In the ancient writings of our early sages, I found a passage from there written by Rabbi Saadia Gaon, may his memory be a blessing. It states, "The measure of the height of their intellect does not come close to the measure of the Mishnah, and not to the measure of the Talmud, and not to the measure of the subtle understanding with which Rabbi Yeshaya'el excelled, or the depth of understanding with which Pnesavah (his disciple) was adorned, as if they surpassed the written knowledge contained in the highest tree of the Torah."
This is the general idea. (Translation by the author: "The book 'Sefer Shiur Komah' is not within our hands as an accepted source from the sages of our faith, as it is neither in the Mishnah nor in the Talmud. Furthermore, there is no evidence to study from it, whether it was truly said by Rabbi Yishmael or others attributed it to him, as many books attribute certain teachings to renowned scholars.")