Donate To Keep The Lights On

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 …

Faith Fuels The Future, Fear Stirs The Past Continue Reading

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, …

All Reap, No Sow Continue Reading

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 …

Finding Grace in Time Continue Reading

Cheat Codes to Holiness

By / Kedoshim, 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. ________________________________________________________ “My kedushah (holiness) is greater than yours.” – The Maggid of Mezrich People always tell me it’s “so LA” to talk about energy and vibes, but I think perhaps it’s just more openly discussed here. In truth, we all feel and are affected by both. That’s why it’s so important to be mindful of the company we keep. I often place myself in what I call sacred spaces or spiritual environments, because when people are there to reach higher levels of being, it means the base level of what’s expected is generally pretty elevated. I often go to spaces that one Rabbi in particular will be at, and people ask if I am a chassid of this Rebbe, …

Cheat Codes to Holiness Continue Reading

MLK and paving the way

By / Inspiration

The article below is also available as a Podcast, simply click any of the following options: Apple, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud,  &/or Youtube. ________________________________________________________ When Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked Rabbi Everett Gendler to help in Albany, GA., Gendler replied, “Even though my furniture had not yet arrived, I felt the need to respond to Rev. King’s prophetic appeal to conscience.” He walked hand in hand with MLK and the Torah in Selma joined by one of my favorite Theologian/Poet/Philosopher, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. When Heschel was asked upon his return from the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights march with Dr. Martin Luther King, “Did you find time to pray?” he famously answered, “I prayed with my feet.” Some of Heschel’s most famous philosophical works charge human beings to sanctify time and space and to rediscover the power of wonder. Heschel’s …

MLK and paving the way Continue Reading

God desires the heart

By / Holidays, Rosh Hashanah

I was asked to write for the Jewish Journal’s “Table for Five: Rosh Hashanah Edition.” They chose 5 writers/teachers/rabbi’s to write 250 words about the following verses: Behold, I stand here, impoverished in good deeds, perturbed and frightened in fear [of Him,] Who is enthroned upon the praises of Yisrael. I have come to stand and to plead before You in behalf of Your people, Yisrael, who have appointed me their messenger, even though I am not worthy or qualified for the task. – Hineni, From The Rosh Hashanah prayers Here’s what’ll hit newsstands on Thursday: When Leonard Cohen released what he knew would be his last album, he titled the song to begin his parting opus, “You Want It Darker.” On it, he sings “Hineni, hineni, I’m ready, my Lord.” Rosh Hashanah is a moment in time where we …

God desires the heart Continue Reading

The Secret to Love

By / Inspiration

The great Rabbi Akiva taught that the fundamental principle of the Torah is to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The great sage Hillel went so far as to say that, “this is the entire Torah; all the rest is commentary.” Many ask if that is possible, when our default is selfishness and making sure first and foremost that we are taken care of. The Baal Shem Tov expounds on Rabbi Akiva’s lesson:though we are aware of our many faults, we still look out for and love ourselves, and we need to do the same for those around us despite their faults.  We need to uplift and elevate and that can only be done when leading with love of the “neighbor as yourself.” Ahava (ah-ha-va)/אהבה/love. In Hebrew, the root word for ‘love’ is ‘hav’ which means “to give”. Loving is synonymous with …

The Secret to Love Continue Reading

The Positivity Bias

By / Inspiration

“120 years ago to the day, a Jewish boy with a radically redemptive soul was born and dared to dream about a perfect world and devoted every fiber of his being ,  every waking moment of his life,  towards making that vision and that dream come true…,” this is how Mendel Kalmenson (who will be presenting at the Light of Infinite fest), spoke of The Rebbe to a packed crowd last night at Saban Theater in LA. It was a Farbrengen, celebrating 120th birthday of The Lubavitcher Rebbe! A few years ago Rabbi Eli Backman, the Chabad Emissary at the University of Maryland, gave me a copy of Kalmenson’s book the Positivity Bias and in it was a a letter from The Rebbe that changed my life when my mom passed away. This article in Chabad.org explains how.   —- click here to …

The Positivity Bias Continue Reading

Miracles and Revelation

By / Holidays, Purim

Soon we will be reading the Megillah (scroll) of Esther this Purim, which is also Le’galot Ha’ester (meaning “to reveal what’s concealed”). The word Esther is related to the Hebrew word, “I will hide,” which is said in Devarim when God says, “I will surely hide my face.” (Deuteronomy 32:15) The Megillah is one of the only books in Scripture not to mention Hashem’s name at all. It’s a story that took place in the Persian Empire long after the Biblical stories in which the miracles and revelations took place. Purim, like the present, is a time in which Hashem, Melech Ha’olam (King of the Universe), has hidden himself in the universe (Olam / עולם). The root of ‘Olam’ is also something that is unseen, hidden or disappeared (Ne’elam / נעלם). Hashem has hidden himself in the universe so that …

Miracles and Revelation Continue Reading

Light of Infinite on Rabbi Peretz’s Podcast

By / Inspiration

I love writing, I love making music and I dig it when people dig into either, but speaking in public or doing interviews I generally shy away from, but when Rabbi Peretz asked me to be a guest on his Podcast before Rosh Hashana to talk about Don’t Block Your Blessings and the Light of Infinite.. I’m actually glad I agreed!✨ And only Rabbi Peretz could have gotten all these stories out of me;) Go listen to the reasons behind everything that I do. He’s such an epic and inspiring being so really it was fun to finally say yes to being a guest. His Don’t Block Your Blessings video (here) is still one of my favorites, full of so much truth and wisdom, I’ve rewatched it so many times! Anyway, go and listen to the Rabbi Peretz Podcast for …

Light of Infinite on Rabbi Peretz’s Podcast Continue Reading

Scroll to Top