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Hande Gençünal

Sep 20, 2026, 4:31 AM

Why Plural on Yom HaKippurim

The Torah never called this day Kippur. It always said Kippurim, plural. Some days refuse to mean only one thing.

The Torah never once calls this day Yom Kippur. Every time, it says Yom HaKippurim, atonements, plural. That small letter looks like a grammatical detail easy to skip past. But four separate traditions, from four separate directions, have stopped...

G. Orah Adarah Paris

Sep 15, 2026, 7:54 PM

Little-known Jewish folkloric creatures embody kabbalah in a new book.

I am excited to announce the release of my new book All Ineffably Divine, now available to order (in English) from Amazon. The book expands greatly (545 pages!) upon ideas that I first posted here in this blog, teaching about...

Hande Gençünal

Sep 13, 2026, 9:27 PM

Hidden in Forty-Two Letters, on Ana BeKoach

Every time we usher in Shabbat, right after the six psalms, we say the same seven lines, Ana BeKoach. To say these words without knowing what they carry is to open a door with no lock on it at...

Mihran Kalaydjian

Sep 12, 2026, 10:59 AM

Rosh Hashanah Inspires Us to Change. Shabbat Makes Us Live It.

Rosh Hashanah asks us who we want to become. Shabbat returns every week to ask whether we are actually becoming that person. Have you noticed how often we hear “Shana Tova” this time of year and how easily “Shabbat Shalom”...

Sep 9, 2026, 8:46 AM

Tishrei: The Lamed of Becoming

After the quiet work of Elul, the Jewish calendar enters Tishrei. Throughout Elul, the shofar has sounded. Then comes Rosh Hashanah, and the call becomes a coronation. We stand before Hashem, our King, as the life we have lived is placed...

Hande Gençünal

Sep 8, 2026, 4:08 AM

A Litany Born From Drought, on Avinu Malkeinu

We repeat this prayer every year, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, morning and afternoon. This year, rereading the actual Talmudic story, a detail I'd always skipped past caught my eye. On the twenty-fifth page of tractate Ta'anit, the story...

Sep 4, 2026, 1:20 AM

Shalom Brothers: The Art of Letting Go (Nitzavim)

There is a particular temptation that comes with leadership, especially for men who have spent years building organizations, communities, careers, or reputations. We begin by wanting to serve something larger than ourselves. Eventually, almost without noticing, we can start...

Sep 1, 2026, 10:18 AM

The Lion: King of the Animal Kingdom, Symbol of Jerusalem and Moshiach’s Tribe

The lion is called the king of the animal kingdom. The Talmud does not dispute this ancient image: “The king of the beasts is the lion” (Chagigah 13b). But Jewish wisdom rarely leaves a royal title unquestioned. Why the lion? If kingship...

Sep 1, 2026, 8:10 AM

The Seven Days, the Seven Sefirot, and the Daily Psalms

“The Ark of the Covenant Brought unto his Place; The Levites Singing,” c. 1589, by Stradanus (Jan van der Straet), engraved by Adriaen Collaert and published by Philip Galle. Royal Library of Belgium, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (CC0)

There is a beautiful idea in Jewish mystical thought that the seven days of the week correspond to the seven lower sefirot—the Divine qualities through which God's presence is expressed in the world: Sunday — Chesed: loving-kindness and giving Monday —...

Hande Gençünal

Aug 30, 2026, 5:03 PM

What Ten Days Conceal, on Aseret Yemei Teshuvah

We call these days the Ten Days, we always have. But when I counted, I found only seven days between the end of Rosh Hashanah and the start of Yom Kippur. To reach ten, you have to fold in...

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