hitlahavut . . . is a rare and precious moment that happens in the life of those who give themselves wholly to prayer. Usually it comes and goes almost in a flash. But no matter: The real impact of hitlahavut is in the memory of such moments. They are stored in the contemplative's mind and become important steps on the road toward the much cooler but longer lasting goal of devekut, an attachment to God in which one may live and act.
— Arthur Green, These Are the Words