June 20, 2019 / 17 Sivan, 5779 • Parshat Beha'alotecha
Issue 566
Dedicated in loving memory of Mrs. Miriam Friedman

[G-d told Moses,] "Speak to Aaron, telling him, 'When you kindle the lamps...."

Bamidbar 8:2


King Solomon says, "The lamp of G-d is the human soul." The flame of a candle constantly flickers upward, as if yearning to leave the wick behind and ascend heavenward. The soul shares this nature, constantly striving to reconnect with its spiritual source by breaking out of the boundaries of time and space imposed on it by the body and the physical world.

At times, however, this nature becomes dormant. The soul is so blinded by its surroundings that it forgets its natural thirst for Divinity. This is why every morning -- after every period of spiritual darkness -- our

soul-lamps must be re-kindled. They must be reminded of their innate desire to ascend. Whether it is our own soul or that of someone with whom we come in contact -- or even the soul of someone we have never met but have only heard about -- if we see that it is not aflame, it is our privilege and challenge to re-kindle it.

--From Daily

WisdomVolume 2