Episode 540 - 25 Iyar (Regular Year) - Have You Ever Been to a Light Show?

In this episode of the It Is Taught Tanya Podcast, host Sarit Switzer explores the profound concept of God's presence and concealment across all realms—physical and spiritual—using the metaphor of a light show at Brooklyn's Botanical Gardens. Drawing from Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi's Tanya, she explains that while God is equally present and equally concealed in every part of creation, from the highest spiritual worlds to the most mundane physical objects like a pet rock, the revelation of God's light varies. The key insight is that God's essence cannot be confined to any single place, but His influence—like light—can be more revealed in certain vessels, such as the Holy of Holies, not because He is more present there, but because the spiritual 'vessels' allow for greater revelation. The episode contrasts two types of divine influence: 'shefa' (like water, which leaves its source) and 'or' (light, which remains unchanged in its source while illuminating many places simultaneously). This distinction helps explain how God's infinite vitality sustains all worlds, even as it becomes increasingly veiled in our material reality. The episode concludes with an uplifting message: despite the thick concealment in our world, the same divine light that animates the highest realms also sustains us, hidden but ever-present.