The contemporary revival of Jewish mysticism among young Jews raises urgent questions about authenticity, authority, and the relationship between individual spiritual experience and communal tradition. By analyzing historical and philosophical sources through the lens of William James's criteria for mystical experience and Gershom Scholem's foundational research on Kabbalah, this investigation reveals a fundamental tension between classical Jewish mysticism and its modern interpretations. While Scholem's work demonstrates Kabbalah's central role in Jewish theology from 1500-1800, today's practitioners often favor individualistic approaches over the traditionally text-centered, institutionally grounded mystical practices. Through comparative analysis of mystical traditions, the research distinguishes crucial differences between introvertive mysticism, which emphasizes meditative consciousness-emptying, and extrovertive mysticism, which prioritizes communal textual interpretation. Though mystical experiences may feel subjectively authoritative, they lack intersubjective validation methods and risk descending into ungrounded fantasy without rational constraints and community oversight. The findings suggest that abandoning the intellectual rigor and institutional frameworks that historically characterized Jewish mysticism may produce culturally appropriated practices rather than authentic Jewish spirituality, potentially undermining rather than strengthening contemporary Jewish religious life.