TO RAISE UP. To light a spiritual flame
“And you light up my life, You give me hope to carry on, You light up my days and fill my nights with song.”
We all want someone or something to light up our lives, something to connect to. We all need connection, to ourselves, to one another and to Gd. In Beha-alotecha, we learn that we can bring our own light and create those connections.
At the start of the Torah Portion, Aaron is charged with the responsibility of lighting the Menorah in the Tabernacle. Each day he lights the 7 wicks and he tends to them with such care that they do not go out, each branch making the light brighter. His intention is to create a relationship that brings G-d into the presence of man. His act of creating light from a place love is akin to striking a spiritual spark. As a leader, his example tacitly gives all of us permission to do the same.
We can elevate ourselves to a greater spiritual level, become closer to Gd by igniting and tending to our inner fire. Each of us has that capability. We all hold the spark of creation- ours and the world’s. Literally, in each of us are atoms from the Big Bang. Each of us has the power to fan that glow into a flame that reaches beyond ourselves. We can create a universe!
So you might ask, how can I live my life so that I can light up the world? It starts with the breathe. Fire needs oxygen to burn. With each inhale we nourish our fire. Through our practice we can learn how to deepen our breath and keep it even, letting our fire grow consistently more intense without burning out. With each exhale we can choose our words and manifest our thoughts. Through a voice of compassion and loving kindness we can shine our light on others and create the connections we all crave.
And in the dark moments each of us has, when the light seems dim, our breath will remind us that the fire never goes out. We don’t even have to think about it, it happens unconsciously, that we are breathed by G-d. The potential for connection is always there.
Debbie Boone must have understood the power of the breath as she belted out those words, lighting up my world with song.