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The Other Side

By / Balak, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. _____________________________________________________________ If, at every moment, you can choose the path that you want to pursue and, as the Talmud states, Hashem will help you towards the path of your choosing, then ensuring that you are in alignment and on a path of positivity is that much more important. It’s being mindful of the saying, “be careful what you wish for.’ We shouldn’t ever look at ourselves as fully bad or fully good, because that can color how we approach the future and, more often than not, in a negative way. If we realize that at any given moment we have the power for bad or the power for good, then we can begin to be present, let go of the weight …

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How To Never Get Angry

By / Chukat, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ “The best fighter is never angry.” ― Lao Tzu Being unhappy is a vicious cycle. It can lead to worry, anxiety, anger, depression. And each of these can trigger any of the others. Anger is toxic to your body and soul, often triggering one’s ‘fight or flight’ response, which floods the body with stress hormones (e.g. adrenaline and cortisol.) This could manifest in all sorts of health, nervous system, and digestive problems. The cure for all this is easier said than done, but it begins with a healthy perspective, with trust and faith that all is for the good and that everything will work out. I went through periods of depression when everything in my life was seemingly …

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Revolt vs. Redemption

By / Korach, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ 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 ahavah (love) and yirah (fear) are the two main ingredients needed for Torah and mitzvot to affect their ultimate purpose. The chassidic concept of dirah b’tachtonim (a dwelling for the Infinite Light in the lower realms) is an oft-repeated teaching by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. It’s expounded by the verse, “They shall make for Me a dwelling, and I will dwell amidst them (veshachanti betocham).” Grammatically, the text should …

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind

By / Shlach, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ “Out of sight, out of mind” is a very truthful line. Anyone who has gone through a breakup might remember how seemingly impossible it feels to stop thinking about your ex all the time, seeing them either in person or in your mind. But when you stop seeing them physically, you start seeing them less in your mind, and eventually the preoccupation subsides. This week’s Parashah, Sh’lach, teaches us how to do the opposite for Hashem, how to keep Hashem always in mind, even if He is, in some ways, always out of sight. We need to reveal the concealed, bring Hashem to our awareness as we move throughout the day. This is the power of the mitzvot …

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The Secret To Never Falling

By / Behaalotecha, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ The truth is we all will fall time and again. The secret is to not view it negatively. Because life is only truly negative if we don’t use our fall toward elevation. If falling back pushes us forward, it’s a powerful tool towards transcendence. Just living, in and of itself, presents challenges, and each challenge is an opportunity to get it right the next time. If we can greet hate with love, our life can change; if we don’t, we tend to stay stuck in a cycle that doesn’t feel aligned. As Mac Miller so eloquently sang on ‘Hurt Feelings’, “You been going through it, I just go around it.” This touches on the concept of the Rebbe Maharash’s: …

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The Secret To Blessing

By / Naso, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ At my weekly fire on the beach earlier tonight, some friends asked me to set an intention and give a blessing. I said, ‘May we hold onto the fear and ego that protects us and let go of the fear and ego that could destroy us, instead turning the negativity to positivity. ’ That captures the spirit of this dvar in a nutshell.  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 person’s life. And since the …

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The Colour of Humility

By / Bamidbar, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ The part of poetry that I love the most, beyond spinning words and thoughts into what sounds like spaces I would want to travel, is that much like visual art, the reader interprets in the way they want or may need to in the moment and takes away what they may. This week’s poem goes something like this: amazing how a day dreams from night through might  light brings darkness dependent on its contrast  first love last to last but closer to you  being the only answer to a question you’ve only been guessing  inward lies the truth This week, we near the end of Sefirat HaOmer, the counting of the days between Pesach and Shavuot. This counting …

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Faith Fuels The Future, Fear Stirs The Past

By / Bechukotai, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ When Jon Batiste won the well deserved Grammy for Best Album, his speech was beautiful. He got up there, and in such an aidel way, and shared: “Wow. Wow. Thank you. You know I really, I believe this to my core: there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor. The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most. It’s like a song or an album is made, and it almost has a radar to find the person when they need it the most. I mean, man. I like to thank God. I just put my head down and I work on the craft every …

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All Reap, No Sow

By / Behar, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ Let Go, Let God All of life is about the beautiful balance of releasing control and connecting. Because we are 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 find in the lessons of Shemittah (the year of release) is that the rewards come from the release. Yes, we must work the field, so to speak, but without pause, there is no ultimate pleasure. To demonstrate faith to ourselves and our Creator, we have to pause our compulsion to constantly control. What we see most immediately with Shabbat, …

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Finding Grace in Time

By / Emor, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ Going through a break up can be one of the most difficult things to endure. A break or a separation in what felt like a divine union. What feels like a heart shattered into a million pieces. But we have to find a way to trust that it is for our own good and what’s truly aligned will arise at the right time. We have to shift our focus from what’s lost and lean into faith that whatever is meant to be will be. We never know what our Creator has in store for us. All of life in various ways, even if we don’t fully feel it, is an element of heartbreak, since at all times we …

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