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Only God Can Judge Me

By / Devarim, 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. _____________________________________________________________ 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 the Divine. And then how quickly– in just three weeks– that connection was destroyed. When you really consider a loss like that, no matter how ephemeral it may be in the bigger picture, its weight can feel unbearable.  The Biur Halacha explains that Devarim is always read on the Shabbat prior to Tisha B’av so that Moshe’s tochacha (admonition or reproof) to the Jews will coincide with the Tisha B’Av period. It’s important to understand the cyclical nature of …

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Don’t Play No Games That I Can’t Win

By / Matot-Massei, 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 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 give us hope and make us feel that we aren’t alone. The flip side is when empty promises leave us feeling misled, helpless, or stranded. People shouldn’t commit to things they don’t actually have time for. Language is powerful. Indeed, as we covered three parshiot ago in Chukat, we learn from Hashem that words create worlds. In the beginning, Hashem spoke …

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How To Levitate After Every Fall

By / Pinchas, Torah Portion

The Dvar/article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. _____________________________________________________________ There’s one kind of religious thought, which now feels antiquated, that teaches that a person should never fall into sin and that only in the purest state can they reach unification with the Divine and all the blessings that come with it. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov was controversial in his time and had many that railed against him because he shined a light on the profound spiritual elevation one can reach because of our fallen moments. We see throughout the Torah, and especially through the Temple sacrifices, that in a moment of sin, we have an opportunity to draw close to Hashem. This is why when the Temple was destroyed, the Rabbis instituted the daily tefillah (prayer), so that …

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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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