10/09/2026
שמחים לשתף אתכם בטעימה נוספת ממה שמחכה לנו בכנס המשותף שלנו עם האקדמית צפת – "מפגשים בתפר"!
הפעם אנחנו צוללים למפגש בין קבלה, מיסטיקה ואפריקה. לפניכם התרגום לאנגלית לפוסט שפורסם היום
Here's another sneak peek into what awaits us at our upcoming joint conference, "Meeting on the Seam," co-hosted with Zefat Academic College! Below is the English translation of today's post.
What Happens When the Secrets of Kabbalah Leave Zefat, Cross Continents, and Take On New Meaning in Africa?
We usually think of tradition as something passed down from generation to generation. But what happens when it also crosses from culture to culture?
Ahead of our upcoming joint "Meeting on the Seam" conference, Dr. Orly Partook-Shekron—an independent researcher of Jewish philosophy, mysticism, and religious identity—takes us on a fascinating encounter between ideas rooted in Jewish Kabbalah and an African community with its own distinct cultural and spiritual worldview.
And this encounter isn't just about copying ideas.
Amulets, holy names, and spiritual protection practices exist in different contexts within both worlds. When they meet, the exact same act can take on an entirely new meaning. It is precisely at the point where cultures seem similar that the deepest differences are sometimes revealed.
Which leads to a bigger question: When a tradition crosses borders, does it lose part of its identity, or is it reborn?
In her research, Dr. Partook-Shekron discovered that the community doesn't merely adopt Kabbalistic ideas. It reinterprets and reshapes them, to the point where the encounter between these two worlds creates a whole new spiritual reality.
In her lecture, "Between Global Kabbalah and Cultural Dissonance: Identity, Mysticism, and Religious Interpretation in an African Community," she will examine what happens to identity, faith, and meaning when an ancient idea leaves its original context and meets another culture.
Perhaps, in the end, traditions aren't just things we inherit.
They are also things we reinterpret.
"Meeting on the Seam" Conference | Zefat Academic College
October 6–8, 2026
