What a Kabbalistic Candle Session Is, and What It Is Not

A candle is one of the simplest objects in the world. A little wax, a wick, a match. And still, when people sit in front of a lit candle with something important on their mind, the room tends to go quiet.

The candle sessions I offer grow out of Kabbalistic tradition and from years of sitting with people at exactly that moment. Because the word "Kabbalah" means so many different things to different people, I want to explain clearly what a session with me involves, and also what it is not.

My framing: a personal intention candle

At the center of a session is one candle, lit for one person and one intention.

Before we light it, we talk. I ask what brought you to me now. Sometimes it is a decision you keep circling. Sometimes it is a relationship, a move, a new chapter at work, or a general feeling that something needs to shift. We work together to put it into one clear sentence. That sentence becomes the intention of the candle.

Then I write down your full name, and often your mother's name, as is customary in many Jewish blessings. The name anchors the candle to you. The intention gives it a direction.

I think of the candle as a focus. For the time it burns, your intention has a place in the room, visible and warm, instead of only spinning in your head.

How a session unfolds

Sessions can take place in person or remotely, and the structure is similar.

1. Conversation. We clarify the intention together. This part is not a formality. Many people find it is the most valuable part of the hour.
2. Preparation. I prepare the candle and the space, say words of blessing, and light it with your name and intention.
3. Watching. We sit with the flame. In person, you watch it with me. Remotely, I describe what I see as it happens, and I often share photos afterward.
4. Reading. When the candle has burned, I look at the wax, its shape, its color, what remains.
5. Reflection. We talk about what came up and what you might want to do next.

Reading the flame and the wax as a mirror

People often ask me what the flame "means." I approach it the way I approach a dream or a passage of text: as a mirror for reflection, not a verdict.

Some things I pay attention to:

• The flame. Is it steady, tall and quiet, or does it flicker, jump or bend in one direction? A restless flame often opens a conversation about what in your life feels unsettled right now.
• The sound. A candle that crackles or hisses can invite us to look at what is still active, still unresolved.
• The wax. How it melts and where it gathers. A clean, even burn and a candle that leaves large shapes behind tell different stories, and I share what I see in them.
• What remains. Sometimes there are shapes in the wax that the person recognizes immediately, before I say a word.

I always invite you to bring your own reading. You know your life. My role is to notice, to ask questions and to offer what the tradition and my experience suggest. What you take from it is yours.

What this is not

I want to be clear about this, out of respect for Jewish practice and for the people who come to me.

It is not Shabbat candles. Lighting candles before Shabbat and holidays is a mitzvah with its own laws and blessings. My sessions do not replace it and are not connected to it.

It is not a yahrzeit candle. The memorial candle lit on the anniversary of a loved one's passing has its own meaning and customs. If you have questions about it, a rabbi is the right person to ask.

It is not a ruling of halacha. I am not a rabbi and I do not give halachic guidance. When questions of Jewish law come up, I gladly refer people to their own rabbi or community.

What I offer belongs to the world of folk tradition, Kabbalistic inspiration and energy work. I hold the halachic practices with deep respect, and I keep them separate from my work.

What I do not promise

A candle session does not predict the future, guarantee an outcome or change a situation on its own. It does not replace a doctor, a psychologist, a lawyer or any other professional, and when someone's situation calls for professional care, I say so plainly.

What a session can offer is an hour of focused attention on something that matters to you, a ritual that marks a moment of change, and a new way of looking at a familiar question.

Related practices

Candle work often sits next to other traditions I use. Lead pouring is an old custom in which molten lead is poured into water and its shape is read, and I describe it in lead pouring explained. Many people who come for candle sessions also ask about the red string worn on the wrist, which I write about in the red string. And if you are curious about fire as an element in your own nature, see the Fire Day Master in BaZi.

If you would like to light a candle together, in person or remotely, in English or in Hebrew, write to me and we will find a time.