"We didn't start the fire

It was always burning

Since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No we didn't light it

But we tried to fight it."

-Billy Joel

 

               In this week's Torah reading, the Hebrew bible once again emphasizes the importance of the Shabbat and its observance. However, a new prohibition is specified: "You shall not kindle a fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day." (Exodus 35: 3). The manner in which the Torah words this prohibition allows the rabbis to declare that only fire kindled on the Sabbath is forbidden; fire created before the Sabbath is permitted.

               Still, why is kindling a flame not permitted on Shabbat? Some have suggested that this law was established because of how hard it was to make fire long ago. Shabbat was to be a day of rest and making a fire required a lot of work. I don't know about that. Seeing the Revenant last week, Leonardo DiCaprio didn't seem to have much problem starting one as the badly injured frontiersman Hugh Glass and in the coldest of locations. Even I learned how easy it was to build a fire as a cub scout. 

               One scholar notes that there is a Ugaritic text that briefly mentions that fire was to "burn for six days and cease on the seventh" in order to help erect a sanctuary for Baal. Was this law therefore a "borrowed" tradition from another ancient civilization? Possibly. But even this scholar says that while rituals in every tradition have pagan origins, connecting this particular prohibition to some cultic practice is a bit of a stretch. There doesn't seem to be a strong connection between the two.

               Especially when there is probably a much better answer.

               Why not kindle a flame on the Sabbath?

               Ask the Piano Man.

               Or Prometheus.

               Fire represents the dawn of technology, of human creativity, of the harnessing of nature.

               Fire marked the turning point in the cultural aspect of human evolution that allowed humans to cook food and obtain warmth and protection. Making fire also allowed the expansion of human activity into the dark and colder hours of the night, and provided protection from predators and insects.

               Shorter version: it gave humanity a kind of independence from the gods.

               Shabbat declares the opposite: we are very much dependent on G-d.

 

                Shabbat is a day to remind ourselves that there is a Universe builder and a Universal friend in our world. It teaches us to let go of our desire for independence and embrace our dependence on G-d and our interdependence with each other.

               Shabbat reminds us that to do more is not necessarily to be more and to control more space and matter is not as important as taking time and making it holy. We do that by ceasing to be creators and looking with wonder at the Creator.

               Fire was humanity's first step in placing our unique footprint on the world. To refrain from kindling a fire is to take a step back each week and declare that a Divine hand moves throughout the cosmos. Not us.

               Shabbat is a weekly reminder that despite all we create and harness, we didn't start the fire.

               It was always burning. 

               Since the world's been turning.

               G-d provides the ultimate warmth and constant light.