MAINTAINING THE FLAMES OF LOVE - THE SMALL THINGS THAT COUNT
Tzav
Love is like a fire. The flames of passion burn with intensity.
But like fire, if love is not maintained, the flames die down and the fire will go out.
Winds of time and turbulent weather threaten the flames and the natural passing of time can see even the most loving relationship smoulder – unless it is maintained.
In this week’s Parsha, the Torah commands us that “a perpetual fire should burn on the Mizbeach and never be extinguished”.
The Torah gives us the responsibility to maintain the altar’s fires. And so, in the Holy Temple, two blocks of wood had to be placed onto the altar each day to fuel its fire and ensure that it continues to burn.
Even though a fireball would miraculously fall from Heaven onto the altar, it was still a Mitzvah to place wood on the Mizbeach each day to fuel the fire in a natural way, through earthly, human effort.
The same is true in maintaining the fire of love.
Our relationships have fireball moments; dates, getaways, anniversaries, special gifts etc.
But to keep our love burning, we can’t rely only on these fireball moments to do the trick. It’s about constantly feeding the fire, day-in and day-out.
Not with great fireballs or extravagant events, but with small, simple acts on a consistent, daily basis.
* A phone call or text message in the middle of the work day to say I’m thinking about you or just to check in
* A carefully placed post-it note message
* Flowers or a small gift on a regular night for no particular reason
* Compliments
* Small kindnesses – make them a tea or coffee
* Share time together each day
* Listen and take interest in what happened in their day
* Share with them what happened in your day
These may seem like small things, but when done on a daily basis, they feed the fires of closeness, connection and love.
The truth is, that without the small daily signs of love, the fireball moments won’t be enough.
In the Temple, it was the earthly fire which stimulated to Heavenly fireball. There had to be an earthly fire on which the Heavenly fire could fall and make its impact.
The fireball moments won’t be nearly as effective if the relationship has been neglected in the interim. But when a couple has made the effort to invest in their relationship on a daily basis, the fireball moments will be all the more potent.
With a little bit of daily input, your fire too will burn happily ever after.
But like fire, if love is not maintained, the flames die down and the fire will go out.
Winds of time and turbulent weather threaten the flames and the natural passing of time can see even the most loving relationship smoulder – unless it is maintained.
In this week’s Parsha, the Torah commands us that “a perpetual fire should burn on the Mizbeach and never be extinguished”.
The Torah gives us the responsibility to maintain the altar’s fires. And so, in the Holy Temple, two blocks of wood had to be placed onto the altar each day to fuel its fire and ensure that it continues to burn.
Even though a fireball would miraculously fall from Heaven onto the altar, it was still a Mitzvah to place wood on the Mizbeach each day to fuel the fire in a natural way, through earthly, human effort.
The same is true in maintaining the fire of love.
Our relationships have fireball moments; dates, getaways, anniversaries, special gifts etc.
But to keep our love burning, we can’t rely only on these fireball moments to do the trick. It’s about constantly feeding the fire, day-in and day-out.
Not with great fireballs or extravagant events, but with small, simple acts on a consistent, daily basis.
* A phone call or text message in the middle of the work day to say I’m thinking about you or just to check in
* A carefully placed post-it note message
* Flowers or a small gift on a regular night for no particular reason
* Compliments
* Small kindnesses – make them a tea or coffee
* Share time together each day
* Listen and take interest in what happened in their day
* Share with them what happened in your day
These may seem like small things, but when done on a daily basis, they feed the fires of closeness, connection and love.
The truth is, that without the small daily signs of love, the fireball moments won’t be enough.
In the Temple, it was the earthly fire which stimulated to Heavenly fireball. There had to be an earthly fire on which the Heavenly fire could fall and make its impact.
The fireball moments won’t be nearly as effective if the relationship has been neglected in the interim. But when a couple has made the effort to invest in their relationship on a daily basis, the fireball moments will be all the more potent.
With a little bit of daily input, your fire too will burn happily ever after.