We Need More Fuel!
Every person is a candle.
The wick is the body.
The fire is the Divine presence.
The oil is the good deed that connects the fire to the wick.
- The Holy Zohar
In the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe, the founder of the Chabad movement, asks why do we need good deeds to serve as the fuel that connects the Divine fire to the body? Why can't the soul, with its intense love and yearning for G-d, serve as the fuel?
In order for fire to exist in this world something has to be transformed. The fuel must let go of its current form. It must be consumed in order for the flame to be grasped by the wick. The soul, therefore, cannot serve as fuel for the Divine fire. For the soul which loves G-d still retains its identity and ego. In the language of the Tanya, it is a “Yesh”, an independent existence, which loves G-d.
A good deed however, is the fuel that is consumed.
The energy it takes to perform the good deed is spent and devoted for someone else. The energy invested in the good deed is an act of submission, where the personal ego is consumed for the sake of another.
This devotion is where the magic happens. The act of helping another, is where the self is suspended, the ego consumed, creating space, producing fuel for the Divine light.
When we encounter darkness, we must remember that we are each a candle that creates Divine light. We must increase G-dly light in the world by increasing acts of goodness and kindness. We must increase the light by adding fuel.
(Adapted from Tanya chapter 35)