Hineni, Hineni
by Melanie Gruenwald According to the Torah reading over Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year)- Abraham is called on by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham’s response to God is “Hineni,” or in English, “I am here.” And when Isaac calls to his father to understand what is happening, Abraham responds again, “Hineni.” God’s […]
Changing the Narrative
by Dr. David Sanders “And God said to Eve, ‘It is not good that you should be alone, I will give birth to a man so that you will have a companion.’ And God brought the man to Eve and she said, ‘I will call him, Partner, for God has given me the gift of […]
The Masks of Simone Biles
by Melanie Gruenwald Simone Biles, the 24- year old GOAT (Greatest of All Time) world-champion gymnast, withdrew from the Olympics this past week. After concerns about a physical injury, we were curious to learn more when we heard she withdrew due to mental health concerns. In Transformative Kabbalah, we study ‘masks’ as those we are […]
Unlearning
by Dr. David Sanders To unlearn something, by definition, means that you have learned something already and that to one degree or another you have committed to it. Innovators and influencers for change share a commonality—they excel at unlearning. The comedian George Carlin found it funny to turn the tables on Déjà vu by proposing […]
Sanctuaries in Time
by Melanie Gruenwald Today we celebrate Rosh Hodesh Tammuz, the beginning of the month of Tammuz on the Jewish calendar. Jewish time is marked by the cycles of the moon. A new moon begins a new month. Just at the moment when the light of the moon is most diminished, it begins to grow again. […]
A letter to my moms: In honor of Mother’s Day
by Melanie Gruenwald I am blessed to have two moms in life, the one who gave birth to me, and the one I chose when I married her son. Dear Mom(s), On the Jewish calendar, we are on a path of journeying. We move from Passover to Shavuot, journeying from slavery in Egypt to […]
Sufficient Funds
by Dr. David Sanders Martin Luther King often used economic metaphors to drive home the plight of African American citizens. He said that those who gathered at the Lincoln Monument to hear his I Have a Dream speech had come to the nation’s capital to “cash a check.” King went on to say that “America […]
Next Year in Person
by Dr. David Sanders What is it like to meet someone in person who you have only spoken with over the phone, chatted with via text or seen on a ZOOM call? Our daughters returned to the classroom this week after a year of being at home. They had never met their teachers or many […]
My Spiritual Journey
by Melanie Gruenwald In early 2020, before we realized COVID was a pandemic, before we spent a year with limited physical and social interactions, David Sanders published Pass Over to Freedom: A Spiritual Journey, Kabbalah Experience’s Haggadah. Reviewing the pages of the book, and preparing for my spiritual journey in these weeks leading up to […]
The Infinite Gambit
by Dr. David Sanders Along with some 100 million viewers we watched The Queens Gambit this past year. The title refers to the opening sacrifice Beth Harmon, the aspiring queen of chess, offers the Russian world chess champion. It also has a metaphoric meaning for a young woman whose life has been filled with the […]