About Us

Malchut.Co JewShoes

When I walk or jog, I frequently listen to messages and midrashim on the weekly Parsha or Jewish insights to the Hebrew month. It was on one of these outings that this idea of “Jew Shoes” first became a thought.

It is the Tehillim, Psalms, that Malchut.co finds its theme. Psalm 145 includes the phrase:

Malchut’cho Malchut chol olamim umemshalt’cha b’chol dor v’dor

“Your Kingdom is a kingdom spanning all eternities, and Your dominion is throughout every generation.”

Torah is not just a historical telling of our forefathers. The sages tell us, Torah is a reflection of each and every one of our souls. When you look into the Torah, you are supposed to see yourself in every situation, as your soul makes its pathway through the stages of life.

Jew Shoes is designed to be one of those daily symbols that remind us to constantly Walk with God and be aware of His presence, to develop our inner character and be a reflection of His light.

Why Malchut.Co?

The Mem of Malchut symbolizes so much for our faith. It’s numerical value is 40, symbolizing for example: Noah’s 40 days of rain, 40 years in the wilderness, and 40 weeks of a human’s gestational timeframe. All of these point to the number 40 being a number of cleansing, renewal, giving way to a new creation. The Mem represents both Moshe and Messiah, and the word “malchut” itself is a revelation of God’s Kingdom established on earth. We daily ask God to send us Messiah in our days, and with perfect faith say, “even if he tarries, I will wait for him.” Through this endeavor, Malchut.Co shares in the desire to bring the Malchut, “Kingdom of Heaven,” or “Kingdom of Messiah” into a greater awareness, if it is possible, to aid in his imminent arrival.

Making the Connection

As I’ve matured in life, I have found great pleasure, comfort, and inspiration in “shul life,” attending Shabbat services, being active in the minyan, and studying Torah.

One of these studies, Parsha Ekev, (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25) with its meaning, literally, “on the heels of,” speaks of HaShem’s blessing overtaking those who walk in His ways.

By profession, I have been a Physical Therapist for 20 years. I work in the realm of restorative stance, balance and gait training with individuals post injury or surgical intervention. Proper shoe wear enables all age groups, from the pediatric population learning to walk, to the injured athlete, to the elderly person who tends to fall, connect with the ground and normalizes the impact and counter forces that each step sends back up thru the joints and tendons of the foot and ankle.

In the world of rehab, physical therapy focuses much of its expertise into normalizing the gait cycle, or how you walk, stand and move. There are 3 primary phases: heel strike, mid-stance and toe-off.

Heel strike is the first normal stage of the gait cycle, ie. taking a step. As the heel contacts the ground, the body exerts force thru the ground, but the ground also sends a counterforce back thru the body, as a regular force defined by Sir Isaac Newton, “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

At mid-stance of the gait cycle, or just simply standing, the body is supported by the structure and function of the arch and midfoot complex. The foot has 27 bones in total creating the supportive structure that holds the weight of the body, transferring forces from the back of the foot to the front of the foot in forward motion. Breakdown in the supportive arches of the foot decrease efficient weight transfer, create or reveal dysfunctional health in other parts of the system, and often results in pain.

Toe-off is the last stage of the gait cycle, and is the transference of weight thru the forefoot and toes, primarily the second ray, the tarsals and metatarsals of the second toe, yet balanced by the presence the others. This action of the forefoot and toes is what propels the walker forward.

Spiritually speaking, the right and left legs, and by extension, the feet, represent the two pillars of Netzach and Hod. In static stance, these are like two strong pillars, reminiscent of the pillars of Solomon’s Temple. In active walking, they are mobile “pillars,” set out to accomplish a desired task. This then culminates action into Malchut.

The right side, Netzach, reveals the attributes of endurance, fortitude, victory, faithfulness and steadfastness. The left side, Hod, reveals the attributes of awe, humility, strength and splendor. Hence, you will notice each shoe has been defined in its corresponding posterior label, yet at it’s front, Malchut is outlined to reveal forward propulsion toward this goal.

Mission: Walking with God

After the Second Temple was destroyed, the Sages were confronted with an obvious dilemma, where would the presence of G-d dwell on earth? Their answer was perhaps surprising. The answer was that G-d’s presence would dwell within the four cubits of man. What does this mean? A cubit is the measure from the elbow to the fingertip. Under most normal circumstances, the height of a person is 4 times this distance. The Sages of old were saying G-d’s desired place to dwell was within the person. The purpose of Torah is not meant to be hidden away in a secret text, it is meant to be embodied, revealed to the world thru each of us, as we realize our greater potential, to be made in the divine image.

The mission of Malchut Company Jew Shoes is to cause mindfulness of this greater purpose, the daily walk in the path that HaShem has intended for each one. Walking with God requires that we act in lovingkindness, in truth, in justice and strength with those in the world around us.

I hope you will be proud of who Hashem has made you. I hope you will develop and allow growth in your life for the better. I hope as a nation, and as a people, we will become unified with one purpose: to bring about a greater awareness & reality of God’s Kingdom. May it be in our lifetimes.