In the Torah this week, we learn that on Avraham’s journey toward Israel that he finds himself in a famine and is forced to go down to Egypt, as it’s written, “And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt.”

This seems like an odd turn of events, after he is tasked with the journey and given blessings of greatness. But we see in Avraham’s journeys, the history of B’nei Yisrael (Children of Israel) was rehearsed and actualized: just as he went down to Egypt, we did the same through the Egyptian Exile, but also just as Avraham went up out of Egypt, we too were brought to Israel, to redemption, and just as Avraham left, “weighed down with cattle, silver and gold,” we did the same, leaving Egypt, “with greater wealth.”

And so the descent to Egypt was for its departure, which was “weighed down with cattle, silver, and gold,” a phrase that was used for Avraham and all of Israel’s ascent, transforming the most secular to the most high in service of Hashem (God) through sacrifices in the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple). We see that Avraham’s descent to Egypt wasn’t counter to his ascent to Israel, to Jerusalem, to the Promised Land; it was integral, because out of darkness, comes the greatest light. As my brother, @Matisyahu, sings on his single, “Jerusalem (Out of Darkness Comes Light)”;

Ain’t no one gonna break my stride
Ain’t no one gonna pull me down
Oh, no, I got to keep on moving...

So it is with us, with all that seem like unending descents, hardships, and ways to break our stride, we can’t let it pull us down, we have to keep moving, keeping our soul’s essence and the ultimate purpose of spiritualizing reality until our own redemption, both prati (personal) and klali (communal) become actualized into the final redemption.

And so each of us is tasked with not only upholding the covenant of Avraham, but of doing right with all the blessings that come from it – going inward to elevate ourselves to the most high, and spiritualizing reality which inspires all those around us to do the same.


*** dive deeper in my ‘𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞’ book, “𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.” Get your copy on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3uvdfxw), or read it online @ https://lightofinfinite.com/go-to-yourself/


Stay Safe, & Shabbat Shalom!
- @ErezSafar 🪬🤍🧿🕊️

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Thanks for listening/reading.
Much love, Erez // @ErezSafar


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Go To Yourself (genesis: lech-lecha)

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.

Go To Yourself (genesis: lech-lecha)

light of infinite