Shekhinah: A Creative Tradition
2026-05-06 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Wednesdays, May 6, 13, 20 & 27, 2026
12-1:30 p.m. EST
$180

One of poetry’s oldest and most powerful purposes is to make divine presence perceptible through language. In this series led by poet Joy Ladin, we will explore the rich intersections between poetry, Jewish tradition, and the Shekhinah: Judaism’s name for a form of God’s presence that dwells within human life—within time, space, relationship, community, and even suffering.

Unlike other understandings of divine presence that arise through prophecy or revelation, the Shekhinah emerged through the imaginative and spiritual work of the rabbis. The word comes from a biblical root meaning “to dwell,” yet the Shekhinah does not appear in the Torah. Instead, it was developed in response to human longing and need—a way of naming the sacred as something close, intimate, and accompanying.

Together, we will read early rabbinic texts alongside later interpretations, including medieval mystical writings and contemporary feminist Jewish poetry that reimagines the Shekhinah as a more explicitly female-identified presence.

Through discussion and gentle writing exercises, participants will experiment with language as a way to search for, question, imagine, and respond to the Shekhinah—or however we understand presence beyond the human. This series offers space for reflection, creativity, and spiritual exploration through the art of poetry.

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Joy Ladin has published ten books of poetry, including her new collection, Shekhinah Speaks (Selva Oscura Press); The Book of Anna, winner of the National Jewish Book Award; and Transmigration, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. She is also the author of a memoir of gender transition, Through the Door of Life, which was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, and The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards and the Triangle Award. Ladin has received fellowships and scholarships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fulbright Foundation, and the American Council of Learned Societies Research, among other honors. A nationally recognized speaker on transgender issues, she convenes an online conversation series, “Containing Multitudes,” which is available at JewishLive.org/multitudes. Her writing is available at joyladin.wordpress.com.
