It was early morning, the last chill of winter giving way, as I climbed the steps to gaze at Alhambra—the red fortress of Granada—framed by the glow of sunrise and the snowy Sierra Nevada. Something deep shifted within me as I watched: a longing to don tefilin, the ancient ritual that embodies the essence of Kabbalah—turning keter (purpose) into malchut (earthly reality) through the ten sefirot. With age, I’ve learned to trust such images. They say the soul and the unconscious speak in pictures.
Spain is the land of my ancestors—a country that expelled its Jews in 1492. Even as I felt alive here, there was always a void: the spiritual power of Kabbalah had vanished. The deeper creative energy had left the kingdom, just as Abarbanel lamented, and its absence still echoes through Spanish culture today.
Now, through Circle of Gerona, my purpose is to return the wisdom of Kabbalah to its roots in Spain—among leaders, to reunite worlds. Spain’s living spirit, the legacy of its three cultures, and the depth of Kabbalah that once flourished here all deserve rekindling. My hope is to honor the Circle of Gerona and the great sages—like Ibn Gvirol, Moshe ibn Ezra, Abulafia, Moses de Leon, and Nahmanides—who wove mysticism into the heart of Spanish life.
This is my Oath: to revive that lost current, to merge past and present, so that the aliveness of Spain and the depth of Kabbalah can inspire new purpose—for myself and others—in this storied land.