Light of Infinite
by Erez Safar
Light of Infinite is a blog, a podcast, a festival and a soon to be released book series, where Erez Safar acts as Your Spiritual DJ, curating insights into the weekly Torah portion and the infinite light of Kabbalah.The project began on the Yartzeit (yearly memorial) of my ex wife’s mother’s passing, and it’s inspired by both her (Yehudis Chava bat Yakov Dov) and my mother (Frida Levona bat Shalom), who passed the same year. When I think of these women, I think of tzedaka and chesed, words that are hard to translate because they capture the real depths of words like ‘generous’, ‘giving’, ‘loving’, and ‘kindness’. These two women embodied and exemplified these qualities to an angelic degree: so full of life, love, warmth, and light, at every turn, every single moment. Being around them inspired me to be more loving, more giving, more full of a zest for each moment in life.My goal with this ongoing project is to spread that inspiration and Light that I received and still receive from
Episodes
-
The Three Sided Story (genesis: vayeishev)
For this week, I do a deep dive into the damaging effects of lashon hara (speaking negatively). Blessings don’t come easily in this world. Everything of great value comes through hardship. Even peace itself comes from being diligent in bittul (self-transcendence), choosing how to navigate our...
-
The Bay Area is quickly becoming the antisemitic capitol of America.
We all have encountered Esavs in our lives, whether as a part of ourselves or manifested in various people we encounter. Yakov demonstrates the various ways to overcome Esav and the yetzer hara he represents. Last week we saw Yakov asking only for food and clothing. He’s a picture of the simple...
-
What Happens To A Dream Deferred? (genesis: vayeitzei)
What Happens To A Dream Deferred? (genesis: vayeitzei) by Erez Safar
-
The Other Side (genesis Toldot)
This week with Jim Morrision & Annie Hall, & of course Rebbe Nachman, Rashi, & The Rebbe. It seems that in almost every moment of our lives we are caught between two choices: the easier or more selfish choice & something a bit harder, a selfless choice. Sometimes safek blurs the lines between the...
-
The Future is Female (genesis: chayei sarah)
The Future Is Female The Talmud teaches that “In the merit of righteous women, our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt”. Redemption is intrinsically related to women, malchut (sovereignty), and the Divine feminine dimension. God’s Infinite Light originates at a level that is beyond this world,...
-
Greetings From The Edge Of The World (genesis: vayeira)
Greetings From The Edge Of The World (genesis: vayeira) by Erez Safar
-
Go To Yourself (genesis: lech-lecha)
In the Torah this week, we learn that on Avraham’s journey toward Israel that he finds himself in a famine and is forced to go down to Egypt, as it’s written, “And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt.” This seems like an odd turn of events, after he is tasked with the...
-
Light Of Infinite - Found A World So New (genesis- Noach)
Light Of Infinite - Found A World So New (genesis- Noach) by Erez Safar
-
Just Keep Me Where The Light Is (genesis: genesis)
We're back in the Torah portion of Bereishit (Genesis), which contains almost all of the mind-blowing kabbalistic concepts of the Light of the Infinite. When Hashem (God) said, 'Let There Be Light…. And It Was Good,' it clues us into the purpose of Creation– to reveal light and goodness in this...
-
And Never Become That Which Is Not God (deuteronomy: v’zot haberachah)
And Never Become That Which Is Not God (deuteronomy: v’zot haberachah) by Erez Safar
-
The Secret To Being In Harmony With Each Other & The Universe (deuteronomy: ha'azinu)
For this week, I wrote about the secrets to being in harmony with each other and the world, bringing in wisdom by Pharrell, Rebbe Nachman, David Sacks and the Ramban. Meanwhile, around this time (Yom Kippur) marked the last day I was to say Kaddish for my mom who passed away almost three years…
more -
The Song That Saved My Life (deuteronomy: vayelech)
Music has been such an important healing tool for me over the years. Feeling good comes in waves, so if you hit a funk, it’s important to have ways to get yourself out. For some it’s being in nature, seeing the grand grace and epic beauty of creation, for others it’s exercising, and for others…
more -
Greener Where You Water It (deuteronomy: nitzavim)
As we touched on in the "Don’t Hate, Foster The People" chapter in my latest book, "Emanations of Illumination." Another way to think about our collective Oneness is through water. We know that water is fundamental to all life; our bodies are mostly water, and the brain and heart, in particular,...
-
First Fruit (deuteronomy: ki tavo)
First fruits, blessings and our Promised Land. I dive into it all via The Rebbe, Jay-Z, Mark Twain, The Arizal and a memory of my Savta from Addis Ababa and Yemen in this week’s Parashah, Ki Tavo! Here are the first couple paragraphs with some memories of my time in Israel. My family is…
more -
Don’t Hate, Foster The People (deuteronomy: ki teitzei)
In this week's Torah portion we learn how to not perpetuate hatred, bringing in wisdom by Rav Kook, Rebbe Nachman, Dr. David Hawkins, MLK, and more. I set it off writing about my favorite minyan. I was at the minyan I’m almost always at on Shabbat, my friend Lorenzo’s minyan, inspired by and…
more -
…And Justice For All (deuteronomy: shoftim)
So much anxiety is brought on by thinking one won’t receive what is just. Of course, everyone’s view of their own justice looks different. But the idea of not receiving what you think you deserve, whether from a person or the universe creates a division and distancing in one’s relationships to...
-
Mo Money Mo Problems, Mo Charity Mo Peace (deuteronomy: re'eh)
Even though it sounds like a contradiction, the reality is that our possessions are only ours to the extent that we give them away. With this article/dvar titled, "Mo Money Mo Problems, Mo Charity Mo Peace", I dive into the kabbalistic powers of charity, a lesson from the Middle Ages of a Sultan...
-
There’s Always Money In The Banana Stand (deuteronomy- Eikev)
When I was living in Bushwick, NY, my roommate Aaron Wertheimer, an old childhood friend, would always watch Arrested Development. Seeing it in passing, I didn’t fully get the epicness of the show and its humor. When I gave it a real chance, I was hooked. I think it even topped Seinfeld in how...
-
The Secret To Oneness (and the Shema) [deuteronomy: va'etchanan]
I remember learning the power of the Shema (שְׁמַע) as a little kid. It felt like I was in the world of Harry Potter and someone had clued me into the Patronus charm, so if I put myself into a deep enough spiritual space, I would be able to conjure up protective power. The Shema was a way to...
-
Only God Can Judge Me (deuteronomy: deuteronomy)
Tisha B’av is the most somber day in the Jewish calendar. It’s sobering to think that thousands of years ago, we were on top of the world: in the Promised Land, with our Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), fully connected to Hashem (God) in a revealed state. It’s not a coincidence that the first word…
more -
Vanquishing Fears (number: massei)
The flip side of sleep and dreams is the one-sixtieth of death, and the flip side of faith is doubt which begins a vicious cycle of anxiety and brings us further from faith and peace. Many have been taught and can certainly feel that Shabbat is one-sixtieth of the World to Come, that is why the...
-
Don’t Play No Games That I Can’t Win (number: matot)
The majority of us have the best of intentions, but life sometimes gets in the way. Even when we fully promise and believe that we are going to help a friend out, there are times that, in the end, it doesn’t work out how we had hoped. It’s these promises said with such love and enthusiasm that…
more -
How To Levitate After Every Fall (number: pinchas)
There is so much epic wisdom around our falls and our elevation, but it's far too much to post here, so I thought I would share the first & last paragraph of my latest Dvar/article, "How To Levitate After Every Fall." First paragraph -> There’s one kind of religious thought, which now feels...
-
The Other Side (number: balak)
If at every moment you can choose the path that you want to pursue, as the Talmud states, Hashem will help you towards the path of your choosing, then you have to ensure that you're in alignment & on a path of positivity! We shouldn’t ever look at ourselves as fully bad or fully good, cuz that…
more -
How To Never Get Angry (numbers: chukat)
“The best fighter is never angry.” ― Lao Tzu The main problem with hitting the rock, which was born from a moment of imperfect faith by Moshe, was that it was an act of force. Moshe’s sin was in the moment of questioning, & the anger seeped in in that one tiny moment. The Maharal teaches: where...
-
Revolt vs. Redemption (numbers: korach)
The concept of doing something Lishmah (for its sake) is a key concept in both living in alignment with oneself and living in alignment with our Source. It’s the inner spiritual work, when done with the physical performance of a mitzvah, that sanctifies our outer being. The Zohar stresses that...
-
Out of Sight, Out of Mind (numbers: shlach)
As Big Sean raps on Justin Bieber’s album, “Believe”, “the grass ain’t always greener on the other side. It’s green where you water it.” It’s like this with anything— our relationship with our partner, with life, & just the same or even more so with our Source, the Light of Infinite. We need to...
-
The Secret To Never Falling (numbers: behaalotecha)
The Secret To Never Falling (numbers: behaalotecha) by Erez Safar
-
The Secret to Blessings (numbers: naso)
King Solomon writes in Mishlei that whatever a person pictures in their mind has the power to happen. Our power to draw down blessings is tied into the faith that colors our beings as vessels to receive. The law of attraction is simple yet profound— positive thoughts bring positivity into a...
-
The Colour of Humility (numbers: bamidbar)
We all have a Nefesh Elokit (part of God) in us, we just need to transcend the layers of doubt and unlock the powerful truth and redemption that awaits. It’s written in a Mishnah, “Every human being is unique, and every human being is a copy of the prototype human being (Adam)…therefore, every...
-
Faith Fuels The Future, Fear Stirs The Past (leviticus: bechukotai)
For this week I wrote about how to bring more blessings into your life, which is outlined in the beginning of this Parashah. I brought in elements from Jon Batiste’s speech at the Grammy’s and some deep lyrics by Kendrick Lamar, + epic teachings by the Alter Rebbe and Rebbe Nachman, and as…
more -
All Reap, No Sow (leviticus: behar)
All of life is about the beautiful balance of releasing control and connecting. Because we're tasked to toil for our bread, we find ourselves stuck in a mindset of thinking that we are in control of our lives, that the more that we dominate our circumstances, the more in control we are. What we...
-
Finding Grace in Time (leviticus: emor)
Finding Grace in Time (leviticus: emor) by Erez Safar
-
Cheat Codes to Holiness (leviticus: kedoshim)
Cheat Codes to Holiness (leviticus: kedoshim) by Erez Safar
-
G.O.A.T. amongst goats (leviticus: acharei mot)
“I visualize what it is, not what it isn’t” – Nas We read, Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two sons, who drew close to Hashem & died. Or HaChayim explains that the sins of Nadav & Avihu were very different than sins as we generally understand them. He explains that their sin...
-
Birds in a Trap (leviticus: metzora)
Staying tapped into hashgacha prati/Divine providence, requires proactive alignment. There's that feeling inside, an elevating feeling when one feels tapped into one’s purpose and Creator, and the opposite feeling when we feel trapped and one’s actions are disconnected from the positive, from...
-
Becoming a Semblance of God (leviticus: tazria)
In this week we enter a new section of Vayikra dealing with the laws of man. The previous parshiot dealt with the laws pertaining to animals. This follows the order of creation; man was created last. It’s simpler to understand the sanctification of the animal world. It’s natural for us to make...
-
The Transformative Power of Passover & Sefirat HaOmer
All of Passover (Pesach) is an opportunity for bitul hayesh, to negate and nullify all traces of ego and self-centeredness, to transcend the illusion of self. I just wrote this Pesach & Omer companion called, ‘The Transformative Power of Pesach and Sefirat Ha’Omer’ that you might find…
more -
Step in Rhythm, Grow in Concert (leviticus: shemini)
When I can’t sleep, I often free-verse about whatever’s on my mind. It’s always interesting reading it the next morning. From the other night: The world is full of enough dissonance produce melody perform alchemy sift the good notes from the bad the serene from the siren song step in rhythm grow…
more -
When the Screens of Separation Fall (leviticus: tzav)
When the Screens of Separation Fall (leviticus: tzav) by Erez Safar
-
Spiritualize Reality (leviticus: vayikra)
𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕫𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 - This week we read: “When one among you offers a sacrifice to G-d…”. Immediately, we ask, what sort of sacrifice? Why? and how? King David writes in Psalms, “For You [G-d] do not desire sacrifices; else I would give it: You do not delight in burnt offering....
-
The Grounding Elements (exodus: pekudei)
This week, we read about the mikvah and its purifying, status-altering power. The mikvah process in this sense is like a rebirth, as it’s written in regards to the convert’s status change and renewal: the mivkah is like reentering the womb, “a convert who embraces Judaism is like a newborn…
more -
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose (exodus: vayak'hel)
So many of us feel disconnected so much of the time. Exile is a state of disconnect; redemption is the rectification of that state. We spin stories in our heads, filling in the blanks of desolation that often feels like desperation, because it’s chiyut (life and connection) that we all crave and...
-
When to Abstain from Creating and Meditate on Being Created (exodus: ki tisa)
This week we are commanded to keep the Shabbat - there is no more elevated bridge between this world and the next; it’s the finite time and space where our soul feels tapped into the infinite. Its splendor is ineffable. Hashem created the world in six days, and on the seventh He rested. We spend...
-
The living revelation of the concealed (exodus: tetzaveh)
This week has been a bit more challenging navigating the ups and downs that come with living in this life of exile… as Mark Ronson says, Nothing Breaks Like A Heart. I woke up today and it hit me that we’re all just scattered pieces of a broken soul trying to come together and make it whole. The...
-
The love you take is equal to the love you make (exodus: terumah)
The love you take is equal to the love you make (exodus: terumah) by Erez Safar
-
Hear & Grow (exodus: mishpatim)
Loving is giving– it’s literally the root of the Hebrew word – אהבה/Ahava – hav’means ‘to give’. The basis of Jewish faith is action/giving of oneself, and it’s through the mitzvot that clarity, unification & love manifest themselves.This is the love we look for in partners and often feel lacking...
-
Seeing Sound (exodus: yitro)
Seeing Sound (exodus: yitro) by Erez Safar
-
The Song of the Sea (exodus: beshalach)
The lesson that keeps coming up is that the path to the Promised Land is fraught with obstacles, and we each must overcome our doubts and confusions and continuously clarify our goals. This happened with Avraham, having to go to Egypt first, and now we see it happening to the entire Jewish…
more -
Sing to the Moon (exodus: bo)
The first mitzvah (commandment) given is to sanctify the New Moon. Rashi explains that Moshe wasn’t able to fully understand the mystery of the New Moon until Hashem showed him the exact moment of the moon’s renewal - and the deeper reason for the moon’s waxing and waning, one of the mysteries...
About this show
Light of Infinite is a blog, a podcast, a festival and a soon to be released book series, where Erez Safar acts as Your Spiritual DJ, curating insights into the weekly Torah portion and the infinite light of Kabbalah.The project began on the Yartzeit (yearly memorial) of my ex wife’s mother’s passing, and it’s inspired by both her (Yehudis Chava bat Yakov Dov) and my mother (Frida Levona bat Shalom), who passed the same year. When I think of these women, I think of tzedaka and chesed, words that are hard to translate because they capture the real depths of words like ‘generous’, ‘giving’, ‘loving’, and ‘kindness’. These two women embodied and exemplified these qualities to an angelic degree: so full of life, love, warmth, and light, at every turn, every single moment. Being around them inspired me to be more loving, more giving, more full of a zest for each moment in life.My goal with this ongoing project is to spread that inspiration and Light that I received and still receive from
Hosted by
Erez Safar
Categories