The Baal Shem once asked his disciples to join him on a journey. They all entered the carriage and soon were off towards some unknown destination. Journeys such as these were commonplace. The tzaddik knew where they had to go and why the journey was necessary, and his chassidim joined him without questioning the details of the outings.
This time, however, when they arrived, some of the talmidim suspected that their rebbe had taken a wrong turn. What other reason could there be for ending up at the frozen pond before them? It was the height of the gentile holiday season and the common practice was that the goyim went ice skating on the surface of the frozen lake. As they skated, they would often carve the pattern of what chassidim called the shesi ve’erev, the tzelem, or cross of the Christian faith. “Rebbe, please let us go away from here, the talmidim urged. But mysteriously, the Baal Shem told them to come closer. They stood watching this for a few moments, and then, just as mysteriously, the Baal Shem asked them to leave.
“What profound lesson did they just witness?” the talmidim sat in stunned silence and wondered. They didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
“For far too long, I wanted you to witness this scene,” explained their rebbe, “because it contains a lesson you need to understand. The Torah is compared to water. Water is vitality; water gives life. Without water, we all die. Without water there is no life; it’s mayim chaim! However, when water freezes, when it turns to ice, then, even those life-giving waters can turn into something that someone can come and carve a graven image of idolatry onto!!! The Torah is life; yet, avodas Hashem must be filled with fire, with devotion, with a bren, because if that Torah freezes, if it turns to ice, chas veshalom...
