As communities worldwide prepare to observe the High Holidays, Rabbah Saphir Noyman Eyal of Mishkan Hakavana offers a profound Kabbalistic perspective that transcends traditional ritual observance. In this illuminating conversation, she reframes these sacred days not merely as religious celebrations, but as a universal blueprint for human spiritual development.
The concealed names and universal purpose
"The name Rosh Hashanah is not mentioned in Torah," Rabbah Eyal begins, pointing to the holiday's original designation as a "memory day" marked by the blowing of the shofar. This distinction is crucial to understanding in Kabbalistic teachings: the High Holidays represent far more than Jewish observance—they embody a universal memory of creation's purpose that all humanity is called to carry.
The month of Elul serves as scaffolding, preparing us for what is described as "the creation of Adam"—not just the biblical figure, but the archetypal human being called to fulfill creation's ultimate purpose. This preparation requires honest self-examination, admitting that we may have approached our existence with "terms which are inadequate to the purpose."
Elul was originally designated as a 'memory day'
(Video: Mishkan Hakavana)
Drawing from the Zohar's teachings, Rabbah Eyal describes creation as a divine calling—feminine creative power summoning masculine force to cooperate in forming beings who will complete creation itself. This partnership model extends to the High Holiday cycle: Rosh Hashanah reveals creation's purpose through divine judgment, Yom Kippur introduces mercy and learning opportunities, and Sukkot represents our ability to dwell with divine light while maintaining the humility symbolized by the sukkah's temporary shelter.
"We create the shadow," she explains of the sukkah, "meaning the admission and knowing that we cannot receive the light fully because we need to prepare ourselves and build and grow those vessels which will be able to receive good."
Being over doing
When asked what people should actually do during these holidays, Rabbah Eyal offers a radical reframing. The question itself, she suggests, reflects our human desire for control when the time actually calls for surrender. "The question is not what can I do. The question is: in what can I be?"
Not what can I do, but what can I be?
This shift from doing to being requires what she calls "scouting"—a process of study and companionship that shatters our conventional perceptions of self and other. Only through engaging with Kabbalistic texts, can we access language powerful enough to break through our limited worldview and create new spiritual possibilities.
The work demands willingness to be "defeated"—to recognize that our current ways of perceiving and acting actually defeat our spiritual purpose. This admission opens space for what Rabbah Eyal calls "a new possibility and a new hope" where the self becomes dedicated to something greater than personal interest.
The significance of place
Addressing the difference between observing these holidays in Israel versus elsewhere, Rabbah Eyal emphasizes the irreducible importance of physicality in spiritual work. "It's impossible to do a spiritual journey without a body," she states, explaining that spiritual intention requires physical transformation—the body must become "the dress of the spirit."
Israel, in a Kabbalistic perspective, serves as both geographic location and spiritual concept—a place uniquely suited to serve as "a gate of the world of reformation." Those choosing to be in Israel take on the pressure and responsibility of modeling "what it means divine morality" for the world.
A blessing for transformation
A blessing is the power and responsibility to help bring humanity closer to its ultimate reformation, guided by intention and devotion. It calls on us to speak and act in the language of communion — a sacred partnership between the divine and creation — so that light may dwell in reality. True blessing is found in taking responsibility for all of humanity, recognizing even those in captivity or suffering as part of ourselves, and choosing to embrace the Creator’s partnership with reverence.
1 View gallery
Rabbah Saphir Noyman Eyal of Mishkan Hakavana offers a profound Kabbalistic perspective on Rosh Hashanah
(Photo: Courtesy)
Rabbah Eyal's wishes for the new year reflect her profound teaching: "I really wish we would be able to admit defeat and to rise from this weakness to remember that in this weakness there is a power that nothing can bind and we can grow from it."
Her vision challenges us to move beyond comfortable religious observance toward what she calls "true perception"—the willingness to bestow goodness and embody the divine partnership for which creation itself yearns.
Mishkan Hakavana is a learning community dedicated to Kabbalah studies as transmitted by Ba'al HaSulam, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, under the guidance of Rabbah Saphir Noyman Eyal. The community offers teachings that bridge ancient wisdom with contemporary spiritual seeking, providing a space for deep study and transformation.
First published: 10:58, 09.22.25