Countdown To Chanukah 19 – Fueled By Energized Mitzvot

“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel ascended; and they saw the God of Israel: under His feet there was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity (Exodus 24:8-9 – sefaria.org)”

We saw in “Fueled By Tears,” how Rashi understood the makeup of the sapphire brickwork.

The Sefat Emet (Tetzaveh 5663), based on the Zohar (Volume 2, 66b), understands the essence of our Neshama Yetaira as pure Illumination emanating from the Torah we have turned into action. “Our Torah and Mitzvot fuel the Candle of our Soul.”

We approach Chanukah with our preparation for the Mitzvah and our Torah study, as in this series of Countdowns. We use that preparation to Light the First Chanukah Candle. We then fuel the increasing candles each night with our Chanukah Mitzvot – Menorah – energized by the joy of our Hallel, enforced and expanded by our Chanukah Torah study.

We can begin storing this spiritual fuel as we prepare our Shabbat candles with joy and insight.

Shabbat Shalom