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 3 weeks ago in the Torah portion – Chukat, we learn from Hashem (God) that words create worlds. In the beginning, Hashem spoke existence into being. It is the same with each of us, speech is a way to connect and create or to disconnect and destroy.
Thinking about nedarim (vows) in this Torah portion brought to mind a song from my favorite band, The Beastie Boys, dubbed, “Don’t Play No Games That I Can’t Win,” featuring Santigold. The song title came to mind because I was thinking about how often people say that they will do things “bli neder”, in other words, without a strict vow. It’s a way for people to say “I do intend to do this, but without the weight of a vow”. It’s a way to play the game and ensure that you never lose.
The Hebrew letters and their associated numerical value are our mystical link and the code, in a sense, that connects our physical and finite world to the spiritual world that is infinite.
The laws and Kabbalah around speech and the power and meaning behind each word – their roots and permutations and contexts – hold the key to elevating the mundane into the ineffable.
I do a deep dive into the power of words and promises in this week’s Dvar/article – 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, ‘𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙸𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚎: 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜,” &/or at https://lightofinfinite.com/dont-play-no-games-that-i-cant-win
Thanks for reading/listening!
Much love & Shabbat Shalom!
– Erez // @erezsafar
*
Listen: Audio/Podcast version – https://lightofinfinite.com/podcast
**
BOOKS OF LIGHT – https://amzn.to/3uvdfxw
**** the Festival with Keynote speaker, Rabbi Simon Jacobson, Sara Esther Crispe, and Yom Tov Glaser (July 11th) Free with RSVP @ www.lightofinite.com
****
READ THIS IN FULL @ https://lightofinfinite.com/how-to-levitate-after-every-fall/
️
**** watch the video – https://youtu.be/1weTcPVb5lg