Light My Fire

 

Dear Friends,

In this week's Torah reading we are taught that a flame should be ignited on the altar in order to perform the Temple ritual.

Some understand that the flame should be ignited into the individual who performed the ritual.

As I think about the discussion in the portion, Tzav, I think about what lights up the lives of those who serve us and perform acts of tikkun olam (repairing our world).

A friend with whom I study Torah once a week, wrote the following poem:

Tzav

We are called to remember that we are all priests.

that we must keep the fire burning

to notice the Holiness of every bit of reality,

the marvel that our lives are,

that the Infinite conspired to create us, 

to sustain us.

to offer us the incalculable joy of existence,

the gift of being an infinitesimal but integral bit of Infinite Being.

That the fire is fervor for justice,

that we can't just notice the wrong,

but must passionately pursue the path of healing,

and forgive ourselves when that fervor

doesn't yield the justice we sought.

Yet still feed the fire

tend the coals,

tone down the flame

so that the blaze doesn't consume the fuel

and even the flicker 

keeps the spark alive.

(from "Torah, A Template for Healing" by Herb Levy

May we fulfill the words of Peter, Paul, and Mary, and do our share to not let the light go out and let us keep hope alive.

There is much in our world which can cause despair, and yet as we approach Passover, may  we be liberated from the bondage of hopelessness, and enjoy a renewed sense that we can make our world a safer place.  How you choose to do this is up to you, but do not desist from making every effort to help us live in a world where human life is valued and we do not need to be afraid to send our children and grandchildren to school.

As events in Nashville this week reminded us, "if not now, when?"

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Bruce Aft