Reb Jeff
  • Blog
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Resources
  • Wedding Officiation
  • Stay in Touch
  • Contact Me
  • Temple Sinai

Tzav: Transformation through Fire

3/15/2014

 
PictureMe and some of the students in our Confirmation program.
I ended Shabbat last night with a group of teenagers on a small spoil Island in the Indian River Lagoon on the east coast of southern Florida. We kayaked here for a Confirmation retreat that included paddling on the shining water, preparing meals, camping overnight, planting fruit trees, and studying texts about Judaism and the environment.

After dinner last night, we made the havdalah blessings over wine and spices. We lit and extinguished the braided candle as we heard the water ripple, the crickets chirp, and the manatees and dolphins breathe. Then we assembled sticks, pine needles and palm fronds to make a small, intimate fire to keep us warm through the evening.

We sat around the campfire for two hours, sometimes chatting, sometimes putting more wood on the fire, and often just sitting in silence. To me, it seemed like a precious moment — a group of teenagers with no cellphones or laptops to stare at, no lessons or sport practices to run off to, nothing better to do than just stare into the red, orange, yellow and blue flames of our modest fire.

There is something captivating and intoxicating about a fire. Staring at it, feeling its warmth, feeding it and tending it, lulls us into quiet appreciation. We are fascinated by the way fire transforms things. It turns scraps of wood into energy. It dances and breathes and shines out where there was darkness. Fire also has that hint of danger to it. Fire reminds us of our physical vulnerabilities and the way that, if we are not careful, we can be consumed by forces beyond our control.

We watch a fire and feel that we are, somehow, a bit closer to the eternal source of creation and change in the universe — a power that can seem, sometimes, to overwhelm us. Watching a fire, we are transfixed by a world that is always, right before our eyes, becoming something new.

In this week's Torah portion, Tzav, we read about how the ancent Israelites kept a fire burning before the Temple: "A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out" (Leviticus 6:6). The Israelites burned offerings on that fire to express their gratitude for their blessings, to find forgiveness of their faults, and to come close to their God. 

Nowadays, when we talk about the sacrifices described in the book of Leviticus, we often say things like, "These ancient practices seem very strange to us," or we talk about how we are lucky that we now worship God with words, not with burning animal carcasses on an altar. But I think the old, abandoned practices of the Temple and its sacred fire are not as strange to as we like to say they are. They are not so irrelevant. 

We, too, stare into the fire of the Shabbat candles, the havdalah flame, or just a friendly campfire on a cool Florida night, and we discover a bit of eternity in the sparks and the shifting, living light. We are fascinated by it and we are reminded of our fragility in a universe filled with wonder and change. 

Today, as we get back into our kayaks, we will feel the swells and currents of the lagoon's waters under us — another reminder of transforming power that is not fully under our control. We will paddle our way back to the mainland and back to the usual rhythms of our lives. We will carry with us, though, some memories of a Shabbat spent looking into the light, feeling ourselves warmed by sacred flames, peering out of the darkness into the transforming fire of eternity. 


Other Posts on This Topic:
And After the Fire — a Still, Small Voice
Tzav: Find the Sacred in Every Little Thing


Comments are closed.

    Welcome

    This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.
    "Like" Reb Jeff on FB

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address to subscribe to Reb Jeff posts by email

    Follow Reb Jeff's Tweets

    Recent Posts

    Purim & COVID-19
    ​The Honor of Heaven
    Chasing Our Own Tails
    Drilling Under Your Seat
    Change the World
    Self-Righteousness
    Where We Came From
    What We Must Believe
    ​Is Passover 7 or 8 Days?Origin Story
    Va'eira: Leadership​

    Jeff's Favorites

    • First Post
    • Searching for How the Bible Defines Marriage 
    • The Difference between God and Religion
    • In the Beginning of What?
    • Rape, Abortion and Judaism
    • Ten Thoughts about Being a Rabbi
    • Temple Dues and Don'ts
    • A Pesach Lesson from Yoga
    • The Purpose of the Torah

    Torah Portions

    Genesis
    Bereshit
    Noach
    Lech Lecha
    Vayera
    Chayei Sarah
    Toledot
    Vayetze
    Vayishlach
    Vayeshev
    Miketz
    Vayigash
    Vayechi

    Exodus
    Shemot
    Va'eira
    Bo
    Beshalach
    Yitro
    Mishpatim
    Terumah
    Tetzaveh
    Ki Tisa
    Vayakhel
    Pekudei

    Leviticus
    Vayikra
    Tzav
    Shemini
    Tazria
    Metzora
    Acharei Mot
    Kedoshim
    Emor
    Behar
    Bechukotai

    Numbers
    Bamidbar
    Naso
    Beha'alotecha
    Shelach
    Korach
    Chukat
    Balak
    Pinchas
    Matot
    Masei

    Deuteronomy
    Devarim
    Va'etchanan
    Ekev
    Re'eh
    Shoftim
    Ki Tetze
    Ki Tavo
    Nitzavim
    Vayelech
    Ha'azinu
    Vezot Haberachah

    Holidays
    Shabbat
    Rosh Chodesh
    Pesach/Passover
    Omer Period
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron
    Yom Ha'atzma'ut
    Pesach Sheini
    Lag B'Omer
    Yom Yerushalayim
    Shavuot
    Fast of Tammuz
    Tisha B'Av
    Tu B'Av
    Rosh Hashanah
    Days of Awe
    Yom Kippur
    Sukkot
    Hoshanah Rabbah
    Shmini Atzeret/
    Simchat Torah
    Chanukah
    Tu BiShvat
    Adar (Joy Increases!)
    Purim

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Loading
    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
    Picture