Dancing with the Divine
How My Grandmother's Kitchen Became My Sanctuary
From my earliest memories, I saw things others didn’t see and knew things I had no business knowing. I thought everyone noticed the dance of light around bodies, or the tiny life forms at the base of trees. I assumed everyone could feel another’s emotions as vividly as their own.
That illusion ended when my grandmother—my Savta—took me into the kitchen (where everything important happened), closed the door, and said: “Never speak of these things to anyone but me.” And so, my training began.
Savta’s gifts were different from mine. She had grown up in a circle of women and their daughters—a circle where wisdom was passed from generation to generation. In that circle, women taught each other, shared their insights, cultivated their gifts and skills, and preserved a legacy of sacred knowing.
The wisdom she shared with me was as ancient as the land itself. We began with reverence for the Earth and her elements—echoes of pre-patriarchal Goddess traditions. She taught me that everything is interconnected: harm to a tree, insect, or stream is harm to us. Respect is not something to demand, but to embody. I learned to ask permission before lifting a stone from its resting place, to give thanks to the fruit-bearing trees in my grandparents’ yard when I plucked the ripened fruit, and to recognize Creation as a web of relationship.
She taught me that the world itself was born from longing—the Creator’s yearning for relationship—and that our task is to learn how to live in right relationship: with ourselves, with each other, with the more-than-human world, and with all existence.
Our relationship with the Divine was cultivated in the kitchen. Mornings began with “dancing with God/dess,” bringing divine energy through our bodies. I learned alchemy as Savta combined simple ingredients with prayer and praise, transforming meals into sacred offerings.
Later, when I studied Kabbalah, I recognized the resonance. So much of what Savta had taught me echoed Jewish mystical wisdom. And yet, her teachings also bore the imprint of other women’s circles, echoing across cultures and generations.
Most importantly, Savta taught me to listen with my whole being—to open heart, body, and mind to the messages waiting to be expressed through me. This is the essence of kabbalah—“receiving.” The wisdom is alive, evolving, flowing through each of us in unique ways. Our task is to embody it with humility, compassion, and presence.
Savta often reminded me of the ancient Jewish story of the Sun and Moon. Originally created equal, the Moon complained, and God instructed her to diminish herself. But Savta said we are living in the time of their restoration—when Sun and Moon, masculine and feminine, would shine again in full balance, each radiant in their own light.
By the time I came along, her circle of women had dissolved. (That’s a story for another time.) So our work was hidden, carried out in secret. For years, I kept it concealed—only carefully revealing small pieces to my beloved husband ten years into our marriage. Later, I shared it with my teacher, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a great modern mystic. He urged me to pass it on, to write a book. I refused to trap it on paper where it would become static, so he suggested training others as I had been trained. At his insistence, I founded the Wisdom School nearly two decades ago.
What began as “Secrets My Grandmother Told Me” has become a living lineage. Today, the Wisdom School is in its ninth cycle: a two-year journey of deep initiation, where Savta’s wisdom continues to unfold and renew itself. And, keeping Savta’s vision of the evolution of the sun and moon story at the heart of my work, this journey has been open to all who feel called—honoring the full spectrum of human expression and experience. Along the way, I’ve gathered my own circle of legacy holders—and called them Yoreshet—graduates who embody this evolving tradition in their own voices.
And now, a new doorway has opened. While the two-year path remains at the heart of our work, we are offering a gentler entry point: Unveiling the Wisdom.
This four-month virtual program is open to all—no application, no prerequisites. Just register, and begin. You’ll taste the essence of the Wisdom School: its teachings, practices, and community. You’ll be initiated into the heart of the path and, if you wish, discern whether to continue deeper.
We begin with a three-day virtual retreat, November 9–11, 2025, followed by three monthly two-hour gatherings in December, January, and February. I am honored to offer this program alongside my colleague and Wisdom School initiate, Rabbi David Curiel.
The circle is open. Won’t you join us?
Space is limited—register now.
Learn more here: https://www.yerusha.org/wisdom-school-unveiling