The 13 Principles of Jewish Faith - Principle #8: Torah - Feeling the Fire - Rabbi Akiva Fox

[Music] the tour which is the illogic guide for the Ashkenazi Jews but obviously world universally accepted as the illogic directions for the Jewish people says that when we make the bra in the morning when you make the blessing in the morning thanking and blessing Hashem for the Torah that he gave us Baraka Tosh I'm no saint or blessed are You Hashem the giver of the Torah he says we should specifically remember the fact that the Torah was given and there was a fire surrounding the Torah and fire on Mount Sinai on our sea night we should specifically remember that the Torah was given through fire this is something perplexing we need to understand that what is so important about the element of fire and the Torah now again the Torah is compared in the Midrash him in the Gemara to H the Asia tour but what is it that we're trying to connect to when we say that the Torah is symbolized or we're trying to remember specifically the Torah and the fire of Torah another question is that we say Bar Hitoshi I'm no sane at or you you the giver of torah meaning constant even presently giving torah now technically the torah was given way back thousands of years ago but we say no sandwiches in present terms as if he's constantly giving so what does that mean the element of fire this farm tell us something very interesting and this is something we've spoken about before the element of fire when you look at a candle it looks like one solitary flame just standing there until it burns out but in truth it's not in truth that flame is continuously one goes away and another one is ignited in its place constantly because with each drop of oil or wax or whatever it is comes a new flame one flame goes out and another one meaning it's constantly if you look at it from far away it looks like it's flickering that's because thousands perhaps millions of flames are constantly being reignited in what seems like one solitary flame that is why fire is always moving around shaking because there's so many millions of flames being ignited again and again and again the Torah in essence is the same thing yes it would it was given thousands of years ago but it is constantly being given and given and given and commanded and commanded again and again and again in each generation and to each person Rashi tells us were supposed to say Asha an ice cream it's avocado yom that hashem says that I commanded you hi yom today Rashi says but all young bee I'm you beignet lucky Kardashian every day should be in your eyes like new what does that mean that means that every day and every second God commanded and commands again not just in general to the Jewish people but to you and I specifically he is commanding standing over us and commanding us now presently Atta in this moment he is doing it again the Torah was not given back then but is constantly being given again this is symbolized by the element of fire because just like fire it was ignited but continuously reignited with every new flame so to the Torah was given but it is constantly being we given Andrey commanded every day the whole young the young every day she you bein Akaka hashem like new the no Emily Melek and that settle cut on the famous Rabelais Melek of lijinsky he says this that a person should before he does and the positive commandment for example putting on tefillin hurts it says he should think as if somebody a God is standing over him and commanding him now you I want you to put on tefillin now I want you to put on citrus now so this is a unbelievable revelation into the personal relationship that we have with God because it's not just something that God commanded way back left a little book and says here guys read this do this I'm Addie I'm going on vacation no this is a constantly constantly command that it constantly in be go-between between our seminars and every time you or I does a mitzvah or follows those Commandments in essence what happening is a sham is standing over us and saying I want you to do this now the unbelievable reality that Hashem is with us constantly and a Shem is pointing to you and saying you I want you to do this now I want you to put on your tefillin now I want you to put on your titties now I want you to eat this kosher food I want you to make this bra our understanding of this should not be one of living something a historical document there's something that we just follow the rules because that's how it is no this is God talking to you and me right now a boy asked me he's going back to America they were in Israel now he's going back to America and he wanted to know which Mitzvah should he do that could help him retain all that he has gained in Israel a very difficult question I wasn't happy with the question so much I told him I think you should do all 613 I don't think there's anyone that you should focus on more than the other and he said no please somebody told me to ask this question okay whatever so I told him you know what I want you to do I want you to tie your left shoe before you write you cuz that's what the halacha says tie your left shoe before you write you and I told him there's two reasons I want him to do that number one because there was a bunch of rabbis once sitting around talking theoretically if somebody would come and tell you that you are not a Jew it's a mistake your mother she was not Jewish she'd never got to Britain me law it's all a mistake what would be the first thing you do what would your B reaction be so no one of the rabbi said I would tie my right shoe before my left shoe meaning what you think I would change my life now that I found that I'm not Jewish I'm happy with my life I'm content with the way I chose to live just because somebody gave me a piece of information that says I happen not to be Jewish doesn't mean I'm gonna change anything so what would I change okay I'll time I write you first I'm not gonna go out need a cheeseburger I'm not gonna do all as if I was waiting my whole life to be able to do something but I was IIIi was not allowed I was prevented no this is the way I would choose no matter what you want to know what I would do different okay I'll tie my right you I said that's one lesson I want you to remember but the other rest of that message I want you to remember is that even when you're tying your shoe God is with you even the small act of tying your shoe God is standing over you and saying that do what you left you first so imagine that's how close God is to us because God commands us at every second anew not just something in the past but presently and in the future every second that we can and should do a mitzvah God is right next to us in His divine presence and saying I want you to do this I want you to do this now and that goes to every aspect of our life it's not just putting on tefillin it's what we think it's not just wearing tzitzit but it's how we see things every single second God is with us talking to us relating to us whatever your name is Moshe Israel Chaya Devorah I'm talking to you now as Shem says and I want you to do this I want you to do that this is the essence of Torah and fire it is given over to the Jewish people and it is something that is constantly being renewed and it is God's present with us at every second of the day talking to us relating to us connecting to us the word mitzvah this farm tell us is from the word civis our service' means a companion somebody that is with you somebody that accompanies because every Mitzvah that we do we are accompanied we have a companion God is with us every time that we talk and learning we speak words of Torah that we follow a concept that we believe that we think something from the Torah it's God talking to us and us relating Tasha God is with us at every second and the Torah and the fire of Torah tells us that it is a constant and will always be renewed that befall young them every day every second should be to us like a new possibility for God to relate to us [Music]