A well-lighted place?

This week's Torah portion contains another reminder that we're supposed to work for six days and then, fer crying out loud already people, take the seventh day off. No work on Shabbat! You're not even allowed to light a fire! Sorry for the yelling. It's not me, really, it's the repetition of the point.

So why no fire? Letting your fires go out is not a good thing when it took a bit more than striking a match or turning on the burner to get the flames a-jumping again. Part of it, according to the Rabbanim, is that lighting a fire is part of the 39 melachot, the professions and actions involved in creating the Beit HaMikdash; there's more to it, too, I'm certain.

Coincidentally, I was looking up another Shabbat no-no today, that we don't lay tefillin on Shabbat. Why no tefillin on Shabbat? In the Talmud, we're told in the name of Rabbi Akiva that since laying tefillin is a sign of the people's relationship with God and since Shabbat itself is a sign of that same relationship, well, we don't need to double-up our signs. In short, we don't lay tefillin on Shabbat because the day itself reminds us of the relationship we have with God.

So back to the fire--why no fire on Shabbat? I think it's because we already have a fire with us on Shabbat: our own, internal Aish Tamid, an eternal flame, the Divine Spark...our souls. That's right, in my view, we don't light a fire on Shabbat because we already have a fire going. On Shabbat, we should tend our own fires, our souls, and look to them for heat, warmth, and comfort. Six days for the other fires in our lives (make your own pun, please), and only the internal fire on Shabbat.