Parashat Tzav
What is the Connection Between the
Eternal Fire and the Land of Israel?
How Can we Keep Our Fire Going While Constantly Breathing Continued Life
into Others?
“I don’t know how I can go on anymore – everything is just too much,” cried
a student (let’s call her Sarah) at my kitchen table. “I just want a simple
life, enjoying the closeness with Hashem experienced here in the Holy Land in
peace and quiet,” she continued. “There are so many demands on me – everyone
wants my attention, and to engage in deep heart-to-heart conversations with me,
it’s just all too much!” Sarah’s words reflected my own feelings of being
overwhelmed with demands, dealing with various emergencies, and tedious
administrative tasks on top of all the Pesach cleaning. I wish I could just
peacefully settle on my land, softly playing my harp, prayerfully tending to
the garden, and writing my books without all the interruptions. Sarah’s words,
“I need a break; I can’t go on anymore!” couldn’t have reverberated more in my
own heart. How can I keep my fire going when I am constantly having to breathe
continued life into my institution? How many years have I had to write new
rules? Dealing with challenging students and staff, ensuring we have enough
money to pay our bills and avoid going into minus, tossing and turning in bed
about losing a staff member, and trying to shift staff roles to make sure all
the vital chores would be covered? For nearly 30 years, I have nursed and
diapered, pulsating my blood, heartbeat, and essential life force to keep
everything going. I, like Sarah, longed for peace and quiet to serve Hashem
without interruptions. Yet, how do we grow in the Torah way and in our
relationship with Hashem? Perhaps our understanding of serving Hashem is
topsy-turvy. “What does it really mean to serve Hashem without interruptions
for a Jew?” I asked Sarah. “Doesn’t the name Yisrael mean, ‘You have struggled
with G-d and with people and you have prevailed’ (Bereishit 32:28)?
Don’t we learn from this that it is precisely through the interruptions to our ‘peace
and quiet’ that we serve Hashem in the highest way?” So perhaps we need to
exchange our mindset – from assuming that the challenging drama with people and
with figuring out the way of G-d are interruptions to our Divine service – to
realizing that it may be the ‘peace and quiet’ that interrupts our true Divine
service of continuous struggle.
The Eternal Fire on the Altar: A Flame Burning in the Soul of Every Jew
Reading the opening in Parashat Tzav describing the eternal flame of
the altar encouraged me to keep my own fire burning. It is only when we allow the
chametz (ego) of Amalek to inject the poison of doubt into our bloodstream
that we feel our strength ebbing out. Our fire will remain steadfast, as long
as we keep strengthening our emunah that whatever challenge we are undergoing,
it is 100% designated from our Creator to help us grow. There is no greater
way of serving Hashem than keeping the fire of emunah going. Perhaps
this is why the Torah repeats how the fire on the altar must never be
extinguished:
ספר ויקרא פרק ו פסוק ה וְהָאֵשׁ עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
תּוּקַד בּוֹ לֹא תִכְבֶּה וּבִעֵר עָלֶיהָ הַכֹּהֵן עֵצִים בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר וְעָרַךְ
עָלֶיהָ הָעֹלָה וְהִקְטִיר עָלֶיהָ חֶלְבֵי הַשְּׁלָמִים: פסוק ו וְאֵשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בּוֹ לֹא תִכְבֶּה:
“The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be extinguished.
The kohen shall kindle wood upon it every morning, and upon it, he shall
arrange the burnt offering and cause the fats of the peace offerings to go up
in smoke upon it. “A continuous fire shall burn upon the altar; it shall not go
out” (Vayikra 6:5-6).
The repetition of keeping the fire of the altar burning suggests that this
fire did not simply serve to cook the sacrifices offered to Hashem upon the
altar. Rather, the eternal burning of the flame was crucial in and of itself,
as an independent value, to arouse our internal flame – to keep going against
all the odds – and burn away the doubts that weaken our spiritual determination.
A Sacred Tool for Spiritual Endurance
This eternal flame is not merely a technical detail of ritual worship. It
symbolizes the ever-present relationship between Israel and Hashem. The fire and
flame that must never be extinguished reflect the spark of divine connection
that is meant to burn constantly within the heart and soul of every Jew. The Maggid of Kozhnitz, author of Avodat
Yisrael, quotes a teaching from the Siddur haAri, citing a tradition
from the prophet Eliyahu, that a spiritual remedy for distracting thoughts, is
to recite the verse: אֵשׁ תָּמִיד תּוּקַד עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לֹא
תִכְבֶּה/Aish tamid tukad al hamizbeach lo tichbeh – “A constant
fire shall burn on the altar; it shall never go out” (Vayikra 6:6). This
verse serves as a spiritual tool to remove impure thoughts and ignite inner
holiness. The Maggid takes this further, identifying the Yetzer Hara –
the evil inclination – as one who schemes “to kill his fellow,” meaning the Yetzer
Tov (good inclination), through devious and misleading thoughts. These
words seem to speak directly to Sarah and me, reminding us, as Rebbe Nachman is
famously known to say: כִּי אֵין שׁוּם יִאוּשׁ בָּעוֹלָם כְּלָל – “There is no despair whatsoever in the world” (Likutei Moharan Mahadura
Batra 78). When the yetzer hara gets the better of us (G-d forbid), making
us feel that we can’t go on, reciting, אֵשׁ תָּמִיד
תּוּקַד עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לֹא תִכְבֶּה pulses renewed emunah into our spiritual
arteries, strengthening our determination and stamina to keep going – as the
old proverb says, “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!” (Joseph P.
Kennedy). The Maggid interprets the verse, “From My altar you shall take him to
die” (Shemot 21:14), to mean that by invoking this verse about the
eternal flame, we awaken the soul’s passion for holiness and dispel impurity –
let me add: the impurity of despair. (Avodat Yisrael, Parashat Mishpatim,
v’Chi Yazid Ish al Re’ehu l’hargo b’Ormah etc.). This teaches us that the
inner fire of the Jewish soul, sparked by Torah and mitzvot, is deeply
connected to the fire on the altar. The eternal
flame thus becomes a metaphor for our spiritual endurance – a fire that must be
safeguarded, fed, and kept alive.
Eretz Yisrael – The Only Home for the Eternal Mikdash
The eternal flame, though kindled through divine service everywhere,
reaches its full brilliance only in Eretz Yisrael. Although Parashat Tzav
takes place during the Israelites’ wilderness period, the mitzvot surrounding
the offerings and the constant fire are destined for ultimate fulfillment in
the final Beit Hamikdash (Temple). According to Ramban all the details
of the Mishkan are essentially a blueprint for the Temple in Jerusalem. Scripture
alludes to this when it says, “For I have not dwelt in a house from the day
that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, to this day, but have
walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all places wherein I have walked among
all the children of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel
whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying: ‘Why do you not build
for Me a house of cedar?’” (II Shemuel 7:6–7; see Ramban on Bamidbar
16:21). This reveals a deeper truth: the Mishkan was a temporary vessel for the
eternal Temple, which could only find permanence in the Land of Israel. The
Shechinah accompanied Bnei Yisrael in the desert, but her true home is in the
land that Hashem chose. As it states, “For Hashem has chosen Tzion; He has
desired it for His dwelling place” (Tehillim 132:13). This makes Eretz
Yisrael not only our homeland but also the spiritual address for divine
presence, and for the fire that must never go out. Just as the offerings must
be brought only in the place that Hashem chooses, so too the ongoing spiritual
service of the Jewish people reaches its apex only in the Land of Israel.
The Fire of the Soul – Kindled in the Land
The spiritual air of the Land makes one wise (Babylonian Talmud, Baba
Batra 158b). It also deepens our connection to Hashem, heightens our
awareness of His presence, and attunes us to the inner fire. Parashat Tzav
reminds us that true divine service is not sporadic or seasonal – it is
constant. The eternal flame is not just on the altar but within us. The fire
that must never go out reflects the spark of divine connection that is meant to
burn constantly within the heart of every Jew. That flame finds its fullest
expression only in the place where it was divinely kindled – Eretz Yisrael. The
Zohar teaches: “A constant fire on the altar – this is the Torah, about
which it says: ‘Is not My word like fire?’” (Yirmiyahu 23:29; cited in Rav
Tzaddok of Lublin, Pri Tzaddik, Parashat Tzav 4). The eternal flame on the altar alludes to the
inner fire of the Jewish soul – a flame kindled through Torah and mitzvot. Each
act of divine service fuels that fire, like a new log placed on the altar of
the heart, keeping the inner fire alive and glowing, especially in the sacred
atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael. During the ongoing challenges of Israel’s current
war, we witness the holiness of the Jewish flame of endurance. It is only
through the eternal flame of emunah that our brave soldiers get their strength
to keep fighting for everlasting peace. The Shelah HaKadosh writes that
although the fire descends from heaven, it is still a mitzvah to bring fire
from below. This teaches us that our earthly effort to maintain a spiritual
flame invites divine response – our inner fire awakens the heavenly flame (The
Shelah Hakodesh, Mesechet Pesachim, Matzah Ashira). Shelah’s message
comes to life in the way the IDF and world Jewry are aroused to keep the flame
of emunah burning – drawing down the Divine response of protection and miracles
as never before.
Returning to the Place of the Flame
Just as the altar’s fire in the Mishkan was a continuation of the fire from
Sinai – where the mountain burned with divine presence – so too did this fire
descend from heaven and rest specifically on the altar of the Holy Temple in
Jerusalem. No other place was worthy of it. In our days, as we continue to
yearn for the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash, we must remember that the
foundation of that eternal house is built by our daily commitment to keep our
inner altars alive. Living in Eretz Yisrael, learning her Torah, loving her
holiness, and praying for her redemption – these are our logs and oil. The
altar fire is not only a divine gift, but also a human calling. The
faithfulness of the Temple fire is an invitation: keep your own flame burning.
By nurturing the flame of emunah, we can overcome the temptations of despair
and despondency. Just as the altar must be stoked daily, so too must we
cultivate the fire of faith within us, until our inner flame becomes an
everlasting light. In a world that seeks to dim the Jewish flame, the Land of
Israel stands as the place where we can keep it burning – with faith, with
love, and with tenacity. Just as the fire of the Tabernacle altar was never
extinguished, and continued to burn upon the Temple altar, so too will it burn
eternally in the final Temple we await. May we soon see the fire return to its
rightful place – and may the holy flame within each of us rise up to meet it.
