Jewish Pyrotechnics

There is an inner fire and an external fire. The external fire we use in the weekdays to destroy the resistant forces of nature and convert them into spiritual energy. The internal fire is serene and warm. It is the fire of our soul, of Torah. It is revealed particularly on Shabbos. PIKUDEI PIKUDEI

Don’t light fires on the Sabbath

This week’s Torah portion describes the way Moses gathered all the Jewish people for the purpose of delivering the instructions as to how they should build the Mishkan, the temporary and portable sanctuary the Jews had in the wilderness.

But, before he imparted the message about the construction of the Mishkan, Moses first exhorted them about not doing work on the Sabbath.

According to the Talmud, the Torah’s juxtaposition of the Sabbath with the building of the Mishkan, teaches us that the definition of “work” in regard to the Sabbath are the 39 categories of labor that were instrumental in building the Mishkan.

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However, notwithstanding the fact that there are 39 categories of work (e.g. planting, cooking, building, weaving etc.), the only category of work mentioned here is the lighting of a fire.

Why Single out Lighting Fires?

The question has been raised. Why does the Torah single out the prohibition of lighting fires on the Sabbath? Why doesn’t the Torah just say, “Do not do work on the Sabbath?” That would presumably include lighting fires as well.

One answer provided by Rabeinu Bachaye (14th century) is that all forms of work require fire. For example, one of the types of work that is banned on the Sabbath is plowing. To make a plow one must use fire. And so it is with all forms of work, whose instruments have to be created with fire.

This is why, Rabeinu Bachaye continues, we light a fire at the end of the Sabbath, during the Havdalah service. It is through fire that all forms of work are facilitated. By thanking PIKUDEI G-d for the creation of fire, we are in effect thanking Him for our ability to perform all of our work that commences at the end of the Shabbos.

The spiritual essence of fire

In addition to the foregoing simple explanation, there is also a more profound explanation as to the reason why the Torah singled out the prohibition against lighting a fire on the Shabbos.

What is the spiritual meaning of fire? And why is it so important to know that fire is the essence of all work? And if fire is so special, why are we commanded not to light a fire on the Shabbos?

Fire is energy that is created by combustion, the consuming of a physical substance. Throughout the week, we are obligated to take the mundane aspects of our lives and transform them into a more subtle and spiritual state of being. This is comparable to the piece of wood that turns into vapor, smoke and ashes, a far cry from the original PIKUDEI block of wood. This is the function of all of our work throughout the week. By investing fiery passion for G-d in our work, we can replicate the work of the Mishkan.

We can now appreciate why when the Mishkan was completed and dedicated, the Torah tells us that G-d expressed his satisfaction with the efforts of the Jewish nation by sending a fire that consumed the sacrifices. G-d was, in effect, saying that their work was “well done” (pun intended).

The serene inner fire of Shabbos and Moshiach

Despite the importance of the fire metaphor, there is a need to rise above it on the Shabbos. The process of refining the physical world around us has its place six days a week. On the seventh day, we desist from creating fires that consume, because on the Shabbos we rise to a higher level of service to G-d. On the Shabbos we have an inner fire that burns. This fire is peaceful and serene.

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The difference between the weekdays and the Shabbos are a reflection of the contrast between the way we serve G-d in the pre- Messianic Age and the way it will be in the future.

In the days of exile, the fire of our souls is needed to change the world. The fire that we kindle is constructive by being destructive. We remove the coarseness of the material world and make the world a holier place.

In the future Messianic Age, the world will have already been refined sufficiently. We will then no longer need to kindle fires. The only fire that will exist will be the internal flame of our soul and of our Torah. Fire will be used not for its destructive powers, but for the light it will generate.

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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayakhel-Pikudei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.