It has been years since my arms and lips stopped working. I ache to hug and kiss my children. I ache to speak to them, and tell them how much I love them and how proud I am of them.
Now more, than ever, I see the value of these things.
In the portion of Tzav we read, “And the fire on the altar shall burn on it; it shall not go out. The kohen shall kindle wood upon it every morning.”
The fire on the altar was a G‑dly fire that remained whether wood was added or not.
What was the purpose of adding the wood? What can we learn from this?
Every one of us is a Holy Temple. At our spiritual center, our altar, is a G‑dly fire that can never be extinguished. This is our neshamah, our soul.
One may mistakenly think, “I am a Jew at heart, isn’t that enough? I will set myself on auto-pilot. My current direction is good enough for me.”
To this, the Torah says, the kohen must kindle wood every morning. You must invest your physical self, your possessions and your time, to develop and grow your fire every day.
We can take a lesson from this in our own personal relationships. One may mistakenly think, “They know how I feel, that should be enough.” You might think, “I give them everything they want, that should be enough.” To this, the Torah says, “The kohen must kindle wood every morning.”
You must constantly rekindle the spark of your relationships.
Please, do not take your loved ones for granted! Grab the opportunity to develop your connections. Keep adding wood to your fires. Don’t wait for the “right moment.”
Do it now.
I send much love to you, Rabbi Huritz, and if I was near you my hug for you would be gigantic. May G d’s blessings be plentiful in
yours and your families lives. When we hug our loved ones, love just seems to flow upon and inside of our bodies. Showing affection to those family members who’ve been in our lives for so many years is a blessing to both them and us. At this time, while this dark virus is making its way all over the world, makes me feel deep heartfelt sadness for those people whose loved ones have passed on and they never had the opportunity to express their love to them. This demanded lack of sentiment toward all those suffering who need encouragement from their families just makes this ugly evil outbreak all the more worse. However, for their sakes and their families, I’m sure it must be followed. All we can do is pray everyday for all of them to be strong and ask our Creator, G d, to put his loving touch upon them.