“If the [inner] fire [of the heart] is kept burning continuously, it will extinguish all negativity.”
But the fire can only work its magic if it is kept burning continuously; any lapse in enthusiasm is an opportunity for pessimism to creep in. An intermittent fire or the memory of recent flames is therefore not enough; we must become adept at keeping our inner fires burning no matter how our moods may vary.
As the source of the fire for the lamps of the Candelabrum: Even though the Candelabrum stood right next to the incense Altar, inside the Sanctuary, its lamps were lit with fire taken from the sacrificial Altar, which stood outside the Sanctuary, in the Tabernacle Courtyard.
The Sanctuary structure and the furnishings within it (including the Candelabrum) represent our inner, personal spiritual refinement, the processes through which we learn to manifest our Divine soul and ascend the ladder of our relationship with God. In contrast, the surrounding Courtyard and the furnishings within it (including the sacrificial Altar) represent how we elevate the outside world to higher levels of Divine consciousness.
The fact that the Candelabrum’s lamps are lit with fire taken from the Outer Altar rather than from the Inner Altar teaches us that in order to become a “Candelabrum,” a light illuminating our own spiritual journey, we must tap the resources that are only found “outside,” the great Divine potentials (“sparks,” in the terminology of Kabbalah) that inhere within physical reality, by revealing their Divine purpose, thereby elevating the consciousness of the “outside” to the Divine consciousness native to the “inside.”
By rising to the challenges of the world “outside” the Sanctuary, far removed from Divine awareness, we can not only kindle our personal light but ensure that it remains continuous and steady, as well.
Although Divine fire descends from heaven: In general, any spiritual initiative on our part elicits a reciprocal response from God, just as any physical action elicits a reciprocal reaction. Logically, however, since our initiatives are limited by our human finiteness, they should only be able to elicit commensurately-finite Divine responses. Nonetheless, as we have seen previously, God bestows upon us infinite reward for our finite initiatives. Nonetheless, our initiative must bear some semblance to the reciprocal Divine reaction we wish to elicit.
Such is also the case here: Inasmuch as the Divine fire is the visible manifestation of God’s infinite presence within the finite temporal and spatial confines of the Tabernacle, the Altar-fire that elicits it must also be “infinite” in some way.
As we have seen, creation is by definition finite; from God’s perspective, the act of Creation was a process of contracting and limiting His infinite self-revelation in order to create specific, defined entities. Time and space are therefore inherently finite; there is no natural way we can make them infinite, either quantitatively or qualitatively (by infusing them with infinite meaning and substance). Yet, using a physical object to do something continuously and consistently evokes the sensation of eternity, of a reality that transcends the fluctuations of relative, ephemeral existence. In this sense, consistency and continuity are the human reflection of Divine infinity. Therefore, by ensuring that our fire is consistent and continuous, we enable it to elicit the infinite Divine fire.
As we have seen, our personal Altar-fire is the enthusiasm with which we fulfill our Divine mission. Keeping this flame of enthusiasm constantly and consistently burning elicits God’s infinite revelation in our lives, which in practical terms is manifest as supra-natural success in our earthly endeavors.
By keeping our enthusiasm fired even in such times, the Divine flame within us will eventually burn away all impediments to joyful, holy living. As the Maggid of Mezeritch interpreted this verse,
