The Secret of the Blazing Fire from Torah Study

Lesson No. 77 | Thursday Night, Parashas Vayigash, Eve of the 10th of Teves 5757 - Yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) Seudah (festive meal) of Moharnat at the Yeshiva (Continued in 78)

When a person learns Torah in holiness, in purity, and with a settled mind, a literal spiritual fire emerges from his mouth, exactly as it was at the revelation at Mount Sinai. Through the stories of Ben Azzai and Elisha ben Avuya, it is revealed how the simple study of Chumash (the Five Books of Moses) and Navi (Prophets) can illuminate the world, and how it is never too late to start anew.

Blessings and mitzvos chase after a person. When a person listens to the voice of Hashem, walks in His ways, and fulfills the commandments with simplicity—such as honoring one's father and mother—he merits tremendous blessings. A person who supports and honors his parents becomes like King David of Israel, and he merits to save the entire Jewish nation from wars and holocausts over which humanity has no control, as it is stated:

"No weapon formed against you shall succeed, and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Hashem, and their righteousness is from Me, says Hashem."

The Fire Emerging from Simple Words

From the simplest of the Ten Commandments—"I am Hashem your God," "Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it," "Honor your father and your mother," "You shall not murder"—fire emerged. From all the simplest words of the Torah, fire emerges, and if a person learns in holiness and purity, a literal fire emerges from him.

A person must accustom himself to always walk with a book in his hand. Whether it is a beautifully vowelized 'Tanna D'Vei Eliyahu', Likutey Halachos, or Likutey Moharan. Even when he is traveling on the roads or even collecting charity, he can complete entire books. When a person sits and learns properly, with a settled mind, he merits tremendous Siyata Dishmaya (Heavenly assistance). Success in life does not depend on excessive physical effort; a person can work long hours and earn nothing, or work just a few minutes and achieve massive success—everything depends on the Heavenly assistance that comes from Torah study.

Ben Azzai and the Blazing Fire Around Him

The Midrash on Shir HaShirim (page 11b) expounds upon the verse:

"Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels."

Those who would string together words of Torah from the Chumash to the Prophets and to the Writings, fire would emerge from them, and the mountain would burn with fire up to the heart of the heavens. It is told of the Tanna Ben Azzai, the companion of Rabbi Akiva, that he would sit and expound, and fire would blaze all around him. They said to Rabbi Akiva, "Look at Ben Azzai, sitting and expounding with fire all around him!" Rabbi Akiva approached him and asked, "What is going on with you? What are you learning? I heard that you were expounding and fire was blazing around you. Were you learning the hidden aspects of Torah? The secrets of the Torah? Perhaps you were engaged in the chambers of the Divine Chariot (deep Kabbalistic mysteries)?"

Ben Azzai answered him: "No! I was not learning the hidden aspects of Torah, nor the chambers of the Divine Chariot. I was learning simple Chumash. I learned Parashas Vayigash calmly and with a settled mind, verse by verse, and fire emerged." Ben Azzai explained that he simply strung together the words of Torah from Chumash to Prophets, and from Prophets to Writings. The words were as joyful and sweet to him as when they were given at Mount Sinai. After all, the Torah was given in fire, and when one learns it with joy and calmness, without pressure or coercion, that same fire of the revelation at Mount Sinai illuminates once again.

The Heavenly Proclamation of the Onset of Shabbos

We find a similar phenomenon with the Amora Rabbi Avahu, around whom fire also blazed when he would expound. When a person learns Torah in holiness, every letter that emerges from his mouth burns with fire. So it was with Avuya, the father of Elisha ben Avuya. He saw Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua learning, and he asked them, "How is fire emerging from between you?" They answered him simply, "We are learning 'I am Hashem your God,' 'Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it.'"

Regarding the matter of Shabbos, the holy Zohar (in Parashas Acharei Mos) reveals a tremendous secret. Just as down below a siren is sounded to announce the onset of Shabbos, so too up above there is the blowing of a shofar. The moment they proclaim the onset of Shabbos in Heaven, the ministering angels—Michael and Gavriel, together with six hundred thousand camps of angels—accompany the person walking to the synagogue. From every single letter a person learns, angels are created, and if we were worthy, we would see with our own eyes angels of fire accompanying us.

Within the Question Lies the Answer: The Secret of Rabbi Akiva

Let us return to Avuya. When he saw the fire descending from Heaven and surrounding the Sages who were learning Chumash, Prophets, and Writings, he was astounded and said, "If the power of Torah is so great, I vow that I will dedicate my son to the study of Torah!"

Days later, when Elisha ben Avuya left the path of Torah (became an apostate), he explained the reason for his spiritual downfall to his student, Rabbi Meir. He claimed that the root of his flaw was that his father did not intend to send him to learn Torah for the sake of Heaven from the very beginning of his formation, but only on the day of his Bris (circumcision), following that fire he had witnessed. Elisha argued, "My beginning was not good and pure, and therefore I cannot do teshuvah (repentance)."

But Rabbi Meir did not accept his words. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches a tremendous principle: "Within the question itself is found the answer." Elisha tried to bring a proof from Rabbi Akiva, but Rabbi Akiva is precisely the ultimate proof to the contrary! Rabbi Akiva was not born in special holiness and purity, and until the age of forty, he was an ignoramus who hated Torah scholars and said, "Who will give me a Torah scholar so that I may bite him like a donkey."

Despite his difficult beginning, Rabbi Akiva did such tremendous teshuvah (repentance) that he surpassed everyone in his spiritual attainments—both Ben Azzai and Elisha ben Avuya. From here we learn that one must never despair, and even if the beginning was not perfect, it is always possible to rectify and merit the great light.

Removing the Coin from the Eyes

When a person learns Torah in truth, fire comes out of his mouth. Moharnat (Reb Noson) related that when Rebbe Nachman delivered Lesson 24, he literally saw sparks of fire coming out of his mouth. There is infinite light in the Torah, lights that are above Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah (levels of the soul).

This world is filled with wondrous lights, the lights of tzaddikim whose purpose is to illuminate the path for us. However, Rebbe Nachman says that sometimes "there is a small coin that blocks the eyes." A person places a small coin of the desires of this world over his eyes, and because of it, he misses all the immense light that surrounds him.

When Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac, who was a money changer, saw the Rebbe passing by, he immediately understood the truth. He closed his stand, left all the business of this world, and started running after the Rebbe into the great light.

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