|
It is the fire that we keep burning on the altar that assures that, when we are ready to bring that which we have to offer, it will be fully accepted by God. Lessons for Today
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, it shall not be extinguished; every morning the priest shall place wood on it, arrange the burnt offering on it, and turn the fat parts of the offerings of well being into smoke. A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to be extinguished. (Leviticus 6:5-6)
|
The Sefat Emet comments:
A fire must always burn, it may never go out (Leviticus 6:6). The Midrash begins by quoting: "...love covers over all sins" (Proverbs 10:12). Scripture elsewhere says: "Great waters cannot douse love" (Song of Songs 8:7).
In the soul of every Jew there lies a hidden point that is aflame with [love of] God, a fire that cannot be put out. Even though "it may not go out" here refers to a prohibition, it is also a promise. Thus our sages said: "Even though fire descends from the heavens, it is a commandment to bring it from a common source." The same is true of the human soul: there needs to burn in it a fiery longing to worship the Creator, and this longing has to be renewed each day, as we read: "The priest shall burn wood upon it each morning". Everyone who worships God may be called a priest, and this arousal of love in Israel 's hearts is the Service of the Heart, that which takes the place of sacrificial offerings.
|
|
Lawrence Kushner writes:
Why is it so important to keep the fire burning on the altar? If it goes out, you light another one. Perhaps the fire is more than combustion; it resembles God. "The Eternal your God is a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 4:24, 9:3). And that might be why God twice instructs Moses and Aaron to make fires that must always burn: "Have the Israelites bring the clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling a perpetual flame" (Exodus 27:20, Leviticus 24:2). And now we learn that there is also supposed to be a perpetual fire going on the altar - a fire for consuming sacrifices and with them, the designs of men. Surely if they get consumed, then the request had been accepted (consummated?). Fire is the core symbol of transformation, the process whereby matter becomes energy, right before our eyes. Remember, the possibility of being consumed is ever present. It takes any "somethingness" and turns it into "nothingness."
From Kushner and Mamet, Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (New York: Schoken Books,2003), p. 85.
|
On the pshat level, the text appears simple: the fire on the altar is to be kept burning all the time. This means that not only should it never be actively extinguished, but it shouldn't even ever be allowed to go out. Each morning the Priests should replenish the wood on the altar to keep the fire fuelled, and it should never ever be allowed to die out.
Both of our commentators ask the same question, although one just alludes to it while the other asks the question quite explicitly: What 's the big deal about the fire? Why not just rekindle it every morning if it should burn itself out? Why such emphasis on the altar fire being "perpetual"? In both cases our commentators conclude that the fire represents something to do with God.
The Sefat Emet sees the fire as representing love of God. He begins by identifying text in Psalms and Song of Songs which uses the same type of language as the text to refer to love. He then expands on the idea: The fire of the text refers to the 'love' that 'burns' at the core of the Jewish soul. That love - love of God - is equated to, and expressed through, worship, referred to as avodah she'b'lev - the Service of the Heart." The type of worship we do today with prayer replaces sacrificial offerings. Sincere prayer is considered more difficult than sacrificial worship, because it comes from within and involves offering of our truest self. This offering, at its highest level of kavannah (intention) is motivated by love of God and holding God at the very centre of our hearts and lives. It may be difficult, the Sefat Emet suggests, to maintain this type of intense love throughout our prayers every day (three times a day!) and yet this is what we must work towards. In order to achieve it, we must keep our love of God burning all the time like the fire on the altar, never allowing it to be extinguished. Because, as the Sefat Emet suggests in his continuing commentary, such a constant fire will consume any forces that might distract us from our purpose.
Lawrence Kushner sees the fire as actually representing God. Like the perpetual fire on the altar, God is all consuming, burning up equally, as Kushner puts it, the "sacrifices and with them, the designs of men". The particular offerings referred to in this text, the olah and the shlamim, are not sin offerings but the regular daily offerings which serve to petition God for well being and thank God for good fortune. The consumption of the entire offering suggests that God has accepted the offering, and through that acceptance the offerant and God draw closer to one another. But, in a wonderful metaphor drawn from physics, Kushner notes that fire represents transformation. Like the sacrificial offering, the possibility always exists that we too can be "consumed" by God, transformed through the process of offering ourselves into something that is accepted, and therefore closer, to the Holy One.
Lessons for Today
In Kushner 's analogy, I can 't help but reflect on the story of Aaron 's sons, Nadav and Abihu, which we read next week (Leviticus 10) who were literally consumed by fire shooting off the altar. But their consumption by fire is generally believed to have been a punishment, for bringing "strange fire" to the altar. That story always serves as a reminder that there are risks around the way we approach holiness. However, the replacement of sacrificial worship with prayer does not remove this risk. The perpetual fire on the altar is still all consuming, and whether it represents God or love of God, it still reflects a powerful holiness, which warrants our constant awareness. The purpose of worship today remains the goal of drawing closer to God - there is no other reason to worship. And worship is a two way process. We always need to be conscious of what we bring to our worship, and the depth of spirit that supports our efforts to connect with God. It is not enough to just show up at synagogue three times a day (once a week, or once a year?!) and expect that this connection is going to be easily made. Like the perpetual fire on the altar, we must strive to make this connection always, in the synagogue and outside of it, continually stoking the fire of our souls and keeping that fire burning always. It is the fire that we keep burning on the altar that assures that, when we are ready to bring that which we have to offer, it will be fully accepted by God.
|
