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 ﻿
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Thanks for reading/listening!
Much love & Shabbat Shalom!﻿
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- Erez // @erezsafar


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Listen: Audio/Podcast version - https://lightofinfinite.com/podcast

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**** the Festival with Keynote speaker, Rabbi Simon Jacobson, Sara Esther Crispe, and Yom Tov Glaser  (July 11th) Free with RSVP @ www.lightofinite.com


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READ THIS IN FULL @ https://lightofinfinite.com/how-to-levitate-after-every-fall/ ﻿
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**** watch the video -  https://youtu.be/1weTcPVb5lg

Don’t Play No Games That I Can’t Win (number: matot)

Light of Infinite is a blog, a podcast, a festival and a soon to be released book series, where Erez Safar acts as Your Spiritual DJ, curating insights into the weekly Torah portion and the infinite light of Kabbalah.

The project began on the Yartzeit (yearly memorial) of my ex wife’s mother’s passing, and it’s inspired by both her (Yehudis Chava bat Yakov Dov) and my mother (Frida Levona bat Shalom), who passed the same year. When I think of these women, I think of tzedaka and chesed, words that are hard to translate because they capture the real depths of words like ‘generous’, ‘giving’, ‘loving’, and ‘kindness’. These two women embodied and exemplified these qualities to an angelic degree: so full of life, love, warmth, and light, at every turn, every single moment. Being around them inspired me to be more loving, more giving, more full of a zest for each moment in life.

My goal with this ongoing project is to spread that inspiration and Light that I received and still receive from them. Using each week’s Torah portion, delving deep into the text, the commentaries, and the Kabbalah connected to it, I’ll share insights that bring that inspiration and Light to life for me, and will hopefully do the same for you.

As DJ Shadow sampled on his seminal record, Entroducing, “It’s not me that’s coming through– the music’s coming through me”. With that said, I do not take any recognition for any part of the material except the writing style. The recognition is meant for the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and the Giants of Torah that reveal the the Light of Infinite in a way that only they can. So, I would like to give thanks to some of the Chassidic Masters and Rabbis that I draw the most inspiration from, whose wisdom I’m attempting to bring down and make accessible. These include Reb Nachman & Reb Nosson Mi’Breslov, The Arizal, The Ba’al Shem Tov, R’Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the Rebbe), Carlebach, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and so many others.

I hope that these words inspire you to delve deeper into the Torah and kabbalisitc texts, and, as Chaim Vital says, “One can go deeper and deeper, as far as the human mind can delve, and it will always yield new treasures.”

Light of Infinite is an upcoming book series where I act as your spiritual DJ, curating insights into the weekly Torah portion and the infinite light of Kabbalah. The sefer (book) will include newly edited, and in some cases, expanded text on the weekly parashah. There will also be a section on key concepts of Kabbalah as well as a section that includes stories and info on some of my favorite Rebbe’s.

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Don’t Play No Games That I Can’t Win (number: matot)

light of infinite