Lamplighters

A Chassid once asked the Rebbe Rashab: “What is a Chassid?” The Rebbe Rashab answered: “A Chassid is a lamplighter.” Asked the Chassid, “What if the lamp is in a desert?” The Rebbe responded: “He must go and kindle the lamp, so that the person will see that he is in a desert.” “And what if the lamp is at sea?” “In that case, he must remove his garments and jump into the sea to light the lamp.”

A person may be living in a ‘desert’ – he may be so devoid of any spiritual quality, that it is hard to find in him any trace of humanity… Nevertheless, if you kindle his G-dly soul, he will realize the truth of his situation and begin to grow and develop until the ‘desert’ disappears, and ultimately, as the verse states: “He will transform the desert into a Garden of Eden.”

“Water symbolizes Torah” – Suppose someone is ‘a sea,’ he is filled with Torah – yet he lacks the basic fear of G-d. If you try to approach him with your ‘garments’ – Mitzvos or Torahexplanations – you will not affect him. But when you ‘go out of yourself,’ and you ‘jump into the sea’ – when you go with self-sacrifice, then the essence of your soul bonds to the essence of his soul, and even the ‘lamp in the sea’ becomes lit.