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 under the instruction of the Ostrova-Biala Rebbe. The minyan is in his backyard, and the group of men and women couldn’t be a more elevated group. You know the feeling you get when you walk into a room full of family members that you adore or best friends from school, and all the jokes you had for all those years come rushing back, and you know you are about to be surrounded by love? It may sound cheesy, but it’s the feeling of being in a community that truly feels aligned. And I’ve found it in this minyan, with this group of friends in the life, light, and love that lives in the space that we all create.
After we pray, we move the tables around so that we can drink and eat together, and one by one people start to get up and speak words of Torah, spirituality, and what inspired or moved them the previous week. I was caught off guard and sort of in disbelief when someone got up this past Shabbos and said, “I wanted to share a little something based on Erez’s dvar Torah, and it’s that anger and hatred only harm the person who holds onto them. I had gotten screwed out of a deal at work, and I was literally cursing the person in my head, praying that no blessings would come to them, and then reading Erez’s words around the parashah (Torah portion) of how to let go of anger, I realized that the person wouldn’t even know I was cursing him, and it was only hurting me, as I couldn’t sleep because I was just too upset. I knew I had to let it go, take whatever lesson awaited, and be open to the next blessing that is meant for me.”
I started writing these books when my ex-wife’s mother (Yehudis Chava bat Yakov) passed away. It was her one year yahrzeit (passing), and I never thought that I would write dvar Torahs weekly let alone a book series, but as I continued and started to hear things like this or receive messages about how it keeps people going and positive throughout their week, I was motivated to keep going. I’m only sharing this because, as I thought of this, I saw the love that could be created by community, sharing positivity and inspiration, starting in your community and pushing outside of that. It’s just so important to push away from being focused on oneself and from existing in negativity, anger, and hatred.
Read this article/chapter in full in my latest 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, ‘𝙴𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙸𝚕𝚕𝚞𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.’ Get your copy on @Amazon, or read it online @ https://lightofinfinite.com/dont-hate-foster-the-people/
Thanks for reading/listening!
Much love & Shabbat Shalom!🪬🤍🕊️
– Erez // @erezsafar
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