INTRODUCTION:

The sefirot in Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism) are ten divine attributes of God through which we interact with the Divine. The ten emanations are: 

1. Keter: (Crown) 
2. Hokhmah: (Wisdom) 
3. Binah: (Understanding) 
4. Chesed: (Mercy) 
5. Gevurah: (Severity/Judgment) 
6. Tiferet: (Beauty/Harmony) 
7. Netzah: (Endurance/Victory) 
8. Hod: (Majesty/Glory) 
9. Yesod: (Foundation) 
10. Malkhut: (Kingdom) 

Each one of the 10 also corresponds to a color. Chesed is white, Netzach is light pink, purple or orange, Yesod is red or orange. Or, Tipheret is a combination of colors – could be a fun flavor of wine or sparkling wine. 

The goal of this program is to teach about the concept of the sefirot in a creative fun way – by tasting different wines and chocolates and thinking about the meanings of the colors/sefirot. 

MATERIALS:  

• Each bottle of wine yields around 12 (2 oz pours) or 10 (3oz) pours.  
• 3 bottles of white wines, 3 bottles of red wines, 3 bottles rose wines.  
• 1-2 varieties of N/A wine 
• Resources for sefirot 
• Plastic tasting cups  
• Napkins 
• Water 
• 3 types of chocolate – dark, milk and white.  

*Can do Kosher wine or regular depending on individual preference 

PROGRAM OUTLINE (60 minutes): 

• Overview of Sefirot (10 minutes)
• Tasting of wines and chocolate; personal reflections on Sefirot (45 minutes)
• Judging of wine and chocolate flavors (5 minutes)

Overview of Sefirot (10 minutes)

• Program facilitator will begin by explaining about the concept of the sefirot in Jewish mysticism. God is both infinite (Ein Sof) and hidden according to Kabbalah, the way by which we get closer to a concept of God and interacting with the Divine is through the sefirot, the attributes of God. The sefirot are not hidden but revealed. How do we understand them? It could be that the Ein Sof is the blinding light, but the sefirot are the prisms that refract the light. The sefirot are the bridge to God. The doing of Mitzvot impact them. The sefirot are all arranged in a connecting grid, often called the Tree of Life. Similarly, each of the sefirot can be metaphorically connected to a color.  

Tasting of wines and chocolate; personal reflections on Sefirot (45 minutes)

• Wine tasting according to color, comparison to sefirot 
• Talk about Chesed (Mercy/loving kindness) and drink and discuss white wine and white chocolate. 
  • Question: How has God shown loving kindness in your life? How do you incorporate loving kindness in your life as a way of connecting with God or Judaism?  
• Talk about Netzach (Endurance/victory) and drink and discuss Rose wine and milk chocolate. 
  • Question: Comparing our Jewish lives to a marathon, what do we do to increase our endurance? How does God give us victories in the marathons of our lives? 
• Talk about Yesod (Foundation) and drink and discuss red wine and dark chocolate. 
  • Question: What are some of the core foundations in Judaism? What are some of the foundations in our lives? Do they interact with one another? 

Judging of wine and chocolate flavors (5 minutes)

• Looking back on all 3 wines and chocolates, were there flavors that you liked the best?  
• Did you think about the wine and chocolate according to the sefirot influence how you tasted it?  
• Which of these wines or chocolates would you serve again?