אַאַמוּ"ר אָמַר: צְוִוישׁעֶן קעֶלט אוּן כְּפִירָה אִיז גאָר אַ דִינעֶ מְחִיצָה. עֶס שְׁטעֶהט כִּי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ אֵשׁ אוֹכְלָה הוּא, אֱלֹקוּת אִיז פְלאַם פַייעֶר, לעֶרנעֶן אוּן דאַוועֶנעֶן בֶּעדאַרף מעֶן מִיט הִתְלַהֲבוּת הַלֵּב, אַז כָּל עַצְמוֹתַי תֹּאמַרְנָה דִי דִּבְרֵי ה' אִין תּוֹרָה וּתְפִלָּה.

My revered father, the Rebbe [Rashab], once said:1 “Only a very fine line separates spiritual frigidity from an actual denial of G‑d.2 It is written,3 ‘G‑d your L‑rd is a consuming fire.’ Divinity is a flaming fire. One’s Torah study and prayer ought to be fired by an ardent heart, so that ‘all of my limbs4 will proclaim’ the words of G‑d in Torah study and in prayer.”

A Pearl to Cherish

The Baal Shem Tov taught his disciples that everything they saw or heard should serve as a lesson in serving G‑d. One day, on their way home after hearing this teaching, they saw a gentile carving a cross out of the ice on the river. They were astonished: What could this teach them in their Divine service?

They were so disturbed that they had to return to the Baal Shem Tov for an explanation. He told them: “Water is an analogy for the Torah.5 When the Torah is warm and studied with energy and vitality, its water is a source of life. But when it is cold and devoid of enthusiasm, it can turn into the direct opposite of G‑d’s Will.”