Boulder Jewish News Arts, Culture, Events, Lifestyles, Holidays, Synagogues, Education
Authentic Kabbalah and Practical Wisdom with Samuel Ben-Or Avital
Samuel Ben-Or Avital, author of “The Invisible Stairway: Kabbalistic Meditations on the Hebrew Letters,” will be holding a seminar on authentic Kabbalah, starting May 14 in Boulder, CO. The seminar, entitled Gathering the Sparks: Authentic Kabbalah and Practical Wisdom, will run May 14, 21, 28, June 4, 11, 18, six Fridays from 10 am to 12 noon. This series will focus on the Hebrew letter Samekh.
In the seminars, Avital presents a wide range of Kabbalistic knowledge. He explains that his purpose is to present tools for students to explore and understand the Kabbalah for themselves. He views Kabbalah as tradition that is “both personal, practical, and universal,” and is available to all who have “a sincere desire to learn.”
Avital explains that the Hebrew letters in particular are one of the most basic keys to properly explore the Kabbalah’s “mysteries.” In his seminars, Avital delves into the spiritual meanings and discoveries contained in each letter. He describes the letters as the “blueprint from which the stuff of creation is created, formed and made,” explaining that “Each verb has built in its essence a nucleus and a root to plant and build. Each letter contains a spiritual power or energy.”
Avital grew up with a family background steeped in Kabbalah. He was born in Sefrou, in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, from a family which traces its roots to 15th Century Spain and before, as he explains it, “carrying from father to son in an unbroken line the ancient, beautiful and practical wisdom of the Hebrew knowledge of the Kabbalah.” Samuel later became an accomplished performer of mime and physical theater, studying extensively with Marceau Marcel and Etienne Decroux. In 1971 , Avital founded Le Centre Du Silence mime school in Boulder, CO. As a mime, he says he is able to “make the unseen seen” and to “communicate universal truths without using of words.” Avital is also the author of five books, including “The Invisible Stairway: Meditations on the Hebrew Letters.”
Avital says, “Remember! Life is not a mystery to be solved or analyzed; it is a reality to be experienced profoundly. We are the mystery itself who experiences life.” He emphasizes that these studies are “a reminder and a kind of urgency to go beyond superficial and convenient learning, to discover Kabbalah as an art to be experienced and lived deeply.” It is clear from speaking with Avital that he views the Kabbalah not merely as information stored in books but as a living art.
For more information on the Gathering of the Sparks Seminar, or to register, please visit:
