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Hande Gençünal

Aug 9, 2026, 6:43 AM

Israel, The Name That Outlived Ruin

This is the black granite Merneptah Stele, discovered by Flinders Petrie in Thebes in 1896 and dating to the reign of Pharaoh Merneptah. It contains the earliest known written reference to the name Israel. The line that is commonly translated as “Israel is laid waste, its seed is no more” appears in the hieroglyphic text in the lower section of the stele. One particularly important detail is that Egypt refers to Israel as a people rather than as a city or kingdom. The stele is now displayed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

When we look at a name, we usually stop at its meaning and go no further, rarely asking where it came from. I prefer the opposite, tracing a name back to its root, because a name often hides more...

Aug 6, 2026, 5:49 AM

Messianic Light: The Astounding Unity of Torah and Science

For centuries, academics have divided knowledge into increasingly specialized disciplines. Physics studies the movement of matter and energy. Psychology studies the mind. Sociology studies group behavior. Theology concerns itself with God. The majority of researchers stay within their narrow...

Hande Gençünal

Aug 2, 2026, 4:54 AM

Shin, The Letter Two Sources Tell Differently

In Kabbalistic tradition, letters are never treated as mere linguistic tools. Among the twenty-two letters, Shin (ש) carries some of the most layered readings. But those layers don't always agree with each other, sometimes they pull against one another,...

Hande Gençünal

Jul 26, 2026, 6:42 AM

Borrowed Garments, Buried Dead on Tu B’Av

I described the longing I feel walking through Jerusalem in my last piece, being among the stones without ever quite arriving at the city itself. Six days after Tisha B'Av, the same calendar now asks the opposite question. Can...

Hande Gençünal

Jul 19, 2026, 2:42 PM

Broken Vessels, a Burning Temple, on Tisha B’Av

I miss Jerusalem, even when I'm standing in it. I know that sounds like a strange thing to say, missing a city while walking its own streets. But as Tisha B'Av approaches I keep returning to the same feeling,...

Hande Gençünal

Jul 12, 2026, 3:16 PM

The Woman Who Chose the Broken Road

What the Book of Ruth reveals about love, loyalty, and the hidden architecture of the soul Here is the paradox that has followed me through years of sitting across from people in pain the ones who love the most carefully...

Jul 12, 2026, 3:02 PM

Av: The Tet of Hidden Goodness

After the constriction of Tammuz, the Jewish calendar descends into what appears to be its darkest point. The walls have been breached. The siege has tightened. The shadow of destruction hangs over Jerusalem. Then comes Av. At first glance, Av seems to...

Jun 30, 2026, 6:08 PM

A superb book that shows how to confront evil

Kabbalah and the Holocaust Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel is an American rabbi, educator, author, and lecturer whose many superb books span Jewish theology, philosophy, biblical interpretation, mysticism, and interfaith dialogue. Born in San Francisco and raised in California, he...

Hande Gençünal

Jun 28, 2026, 6:01 AM

וְדַע, כִּי טֶרֶם שֶׁנֶּאֶצְלוּ הַנֶּאֱצָלִים וְנִבְרְאוּ הַנִּבְרָאִים Know that before the ne'etzalim (emanated beings) were emanated, and before the nivra'im (created beings) were created, הָיָה אוֹר עֶלְיוֹן פָּשׁוּט מְמַלֵּא אֶת כָּל הַמְּצִיאו the Simple Supernal Light filled the entirety of existence. וְלֹא הָיָה...

Michael Laitman

Jun 25, 2026, 10:29 PM

Why Does Kabbalah View Israel as a Beacon of Unity?

The Jewish people are a microcosm. We were gathered here from all corners of the world in order to serve as a universal model for connection among people who are very different from one another. This is, in a...

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