Light of Infinite

π•Šπ•‘π•šπ•£π•šπ•₯π•¦π•’π•π•šπ•«π•– β„π•–π•’π•π•šπ•₯π•ͺ - This week we read: β€œWhen one among you offers a sacrifice to G-d…”. Immediately, we ask, what sort of sacrifice? Why? and how? King David writes in Psalms, β€œFor You [G-d] do not desire sacrifices; else I would give it: You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit. A broken & contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”  

Animal sacrifices were a way for ancient Jews to elevate themselves spiritually, but the sacrifices would have been meaningless if they weren’t done with true intention & a full heart to heal oneself & the harms one has done. King David writes that God will not despise a β€œbroken spirit”, because true remorse makes a person feel broken, & true repentance comes from the desire to be connected to Hashem again, in order to be whole. In order to achieve this level of return/teshuva, we were commanded to bring a sacrifice in the time of the Temple, just as we are now commanded to pray, in the absence it.

 The Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban which comes from the word karov or lekarev meaning β€œclose” or β€œto bring closer”. It’s written in the pasuk, ΧžΦ΄Χ›ΦΆΦΌΧ, which means yourself, implying the one who is offering the korban, is sacrificing themself. I love how Rabbi Sacks puts it: It’s about being human, sinning, falling short, always conscious of our fragile hold on life, yet seeking to come close to God & – what is sometimes harder – allowing Him to come close to us.

 The sacrifices were a beautiful & spiritual ritual – picture the elements surrounding the sacrifice, with the presence of the kohanim accompanied by the chanting of the Levites. The Zohar teaches that the service of the kohanim was in silence, with the devotion of the heart, signifying drawing forth, from Above, while the service of the Levites was with music, signifying sublimation; elevating from below upwards. 

 This is mirrored in how we tend to the sanctuaries within our own souls, the inner acts of sacrifice we practice each day, the desire we have to bring holiness down from above, & the artfulness we use to draw our spirits & surroundings upward. 


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Purim *Sameach*, & Shabbat *Shalom*!
Love y'all!
- @ErezSafar

What is Light of Infinite?

Fall in love with life, through weekly bursts of ancient Jewish mystic inspiration!

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.