Podcast

The truth is we all will fall time & 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 & of itself, presents challenges, & 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 Maharash’s: l’chatchila ariber, he would say, “The world says that if you cannot crawl under an obstacle, try to leap over it. However, …

The Secret To Never Falling (numbers: behaalotecha) Continue Reading

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 opposite is also true, it’s that much more important to paint the pictures that rest in our subconscious with positive brush strokes. It’s wild to think that only about 3% of our brain processes are conscious (our thoughts, ideas, understanding, and our decisions), while the other 97% is used for subconscious and automatic functions. Our habits and beliefs also fall under the 97%, which kabbalistically is tied to our Nefesh HaBehemit (our Animal soul), and illustrates how powerful our subconscious mind is. The 3% …

The Secret to Blessings (numbers: naso) Continue Reading

We all have a Nefesh Elokit (part of God) in us, we just need to transcend the layers of doubt and unlock the powerful truth and redemption that awaits. It’s written in a Mishnah, “Every human being is unique, and every human being is a copy of the prototype human being (Adam)…therefore, every human being must say, ‘For my sake the world was created.’” The same Mishnah teaches, “that every life is like an entire universe.” It’s when our soul enters our body that this becomes true. A body without a soul is similar to any other, but when the awareness of the soul as part of the body is recognized by an individual, we can begin to live out our purpose – our potential to be an entire universe becomes apparent. To use the body, the finite, to spiritualize …

The Colour of Humility (numbers: bamidbar) Continue Reading

For this week I wrote about how to bring more blessings into your life, which is outlined in the beginning of this Parashah. I brought in elements from Jon Batiste’s speech at the Grammy’s and some deep lyrics by Kendrick Lamar, + epic teachings by the Alter Rebbe and Rebbe Nachman, and as always, lots of Kabbalah around the Parashah! The two aspects of the ה (heh) in the Havayah bring to mind this necklace that I received this week. Much like this parashah outlines the two ways we could choose to act in this world, one bringing blessings and the other blocking them, the necklace signifies how we can emulate our Source. The upper and lower ה depicted in this necklace and in the world are about giving, receiving, and oneness. The letters that spell out the Divine name …

Faith Fuels The Future, Fear Stirs The Past (leviticus: bechukotai) Continue Reading

All of life is about the beautiful balance of releasing control and connecting. Because we’re 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 Shemita (the year of release) is that the rewards come from the release. Yes, we must work the field, 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, especially with our phone addiction, is that while we seem to be steering the ship, the ship often steers us. When we shift the dynamics and put away our phones, we can reconnect …

All Reap, No Sow (leviticus: behar) Continue Reading

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 & what’s truly aligned will arise at the right time. We have to shift our focus from what’s lost & 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’re somewhat separate from the Shechinah. How to elevate in exile is a part of the process of Sefirot HaOmer, rectifying each level …

Finding Grace in Time (leviticus: emor) Continue Reading

“My kedushah (holiness) is greater than yours.” – The Maggid of Mezrich It’s not just an LA thing;), we’re all affected by vibes & energy. 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, cuz when people are there to reach higher levels of being, it means the base level of what’s expected is elevated. Life can be so precious if you’re truly present, & Torah is the present that presents the tools of how to sanctify time, space, & oneself. When we have full faith, we can tap more into our purpose & our spirit & worry less about the temporal “realities” of this material world. Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: religion begins with a consciousness that something is asked of us. It is in that …

Cheat Codes to Holiness (leviticus: kedoshim) Continue Reading

“I visualize what it is, not what it isn’t” – Nas We read, Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two sons, who drew close to Hashem & died. Or HaChayim explains that the sins of Nadav & Avihu were very different than sins as we generally understand them. He explains that their sin involved allowing themselves to cling to Hashem so totally that their souls simply left their bodies – because it was the drawing close in the way they had that caused their death. We are tasked with divesting oneself of materiality, but this spiritual ascent must be balanced. There is the concept of ratzo ve’shov, which means to run & to return. That ratzo must always be coupled with shov. Ratzo being the state of dveykut (longing for Hashem), the insatiable desire of the neshama …

G.O.A.T. amongst goats (leviticus: acharei mot) Continue Reading

Staying tapped into hashgacha prati/Divine providence, requires proactive alignment. There’s that feeling inside, an elevating feeling when one feels tapped into one’s purpose and Creator, and the opposite feeling when we feel trapped and one’s actions are disconnected from the positive, from purpose, from our Creator. In the Beit HaMikdash, sitting on top of the holy ark, were the two Keruvim. When we as a people were in alignment with our Source, the Keruvim would face each other, but when we were not, they would face away from each other. The opposing forces manifest as the yetzer hara or kelipot. In the world, it’s the outer coverings or “shells” that conceal Godly light. In ourselves, it is the negativity or egocentricity that keeps us from connecting to our true selves as creations with a Divine purpose, which connects us to the Divine light. …

Birds in a Trap (leviticus: metzora) Continue Reading

In this week we enter a new section of Vayikra dealing with the laws of man. The previous parshiot dealt with the laws pertaining to animals. This follows the order of creation; man was created last. It’s simpler to understand the sanctification of the animal world. It’s natural for us to make important distinctions between the clean and unclean, purity and impurity, in the animal world. Man’s struggle with himself, however, and the work we have to do to sanctify ourselves, is far more complex. The Zohar compares man to animals in the regards of the korban (sacrifice), deducing from the verse “and the eighth day the skin of the orlah should be circumcised” being amidst the verses that deal with purity and impurity of the woman giving birth. What we see in these readings in their proximity and importance …

Becoming a Semblance of God (leviticus: tazria) Continue Reading