A conversation with Chana Kalmenson: shlucha of Chabad of Belgravia in London, poet, and teacher of Jewish mysticism, on the Sefirot of the Omer. Chana walks through each of the seven emotional Sefirot: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. What each one is, how they relate to each other, and how they show up in everyday emotional life. The episode also covers how the months of Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan mirror human development from childhood to maturity, why the inner work of the Omer is what prepares us to receive the Torah at Sinai, and how to approach the counting without falling into perfectionism. The conversation goes especially deep on three Sefirot: Hod (humility, gratitude, surrender), Tiferet (compassion, holding paradox, the antidote to shame), and Malchut (dignity, agency, authentic expression). Chana shares what she learned about humility from her father-in-law, the Chassidic teaching on the soul's forgetting at birth, and how to step out of comparison with others. A grounded, accessible introduction to the Sefirot for anyone counting the Omer or wanting to understand the Kabbalistic map of the inner life. * * * * * * * To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at info@humanandholy.com To support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor. Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations ✨ Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. * * * * * * * TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Opening reflection: loved into existence, loving me as me 00:31 Tonia's Intro 01:58 Welcome, and Chana on women's circles 05:25 What is Sefirat HaOmer, really? Pesach as emergence, Sinai as the destination 11:38 Nissan, Iyar, Sivan — the child, the teenager, the partner 17:45 Walking through each Sefirah: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Malchut 22:10 Why we use consciousness to look at the inner emotional life 29:17 When perfectionism hijacks the practice (and what to do instead) 33:03 On Hod: humility, gratitude, the quiet power of the left leg 40:33 What Chana learned from her father-in-law about humility 46:10 The trauma of forgetting at birth, and the long work of remembering 50:37 On Tiferet: holding paradox, growing up, why compassion is truth 56:09 Self-compassion as the antidote to shame 1:00:14 On Malchut: dignity, agency, and what emerges when everything inside has a voice 1:09:33 Soul to soul
