Awakening the hidden fire within

במד' מו"ח ביד לשון.

In the Midrash: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Mishlei 18:21).

The Sefas Emes begins with this pasuk, which the Midrash on the parsha expounds, to teach the power of speech to either awaken or extinguish the hidden life within things.

גחלת נפח בה ביערה רקק בה כיבה.

A coal — if one blows upon it, it bursts into flame; if one spits upon it, he extinguishes it.

The Midrash's parable: the same hidden ember responds opposite ways — breath (ruach) fans it to fire, while spittle (a mere bodily emission, devoid of inner ruach) puts it out.

ככר עד שלא עישרו כו' עישרו חיים כו' ע"ש.

A loaf — before one has tithed it [it is forbidden]; once he has tithed it, it is "life," as is stated there.

The Midrash continues with a second image: untithed produce (tevel) is forbidden, but once ma'aser is separated, the food becomes permitted and life-giving — see the Midrash there.

כי בוודאי יש חיות הש"י בכל דבר שבעולם כי באורייתא ברא קוב"ה עלמא.

For certainly there is the life-force of Hashem in every thing in the world, since "with the Torah the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world."

The Zohar teaches that Hashem created the world by means of the Torah; therefore the chiyus of Hashem, and a spark of Torah, is embedded in every created thing.

ותורה נק' אש ויש כח אש התורה בכל דבר.

And Torah is called "fire," and there is the power of the fire of the Torah within every thing.

Since the Torah is described as eish (fire), and the world was made through Torah, a latent fire of Torah burns within every object.

רק שמכוסה וקשורה בגחלת.

Only that it is covered and bound up within a coal.

This inner fire is not openly visible; like a glowing coal, it is concealed beneath an outer crust and must be drawn forth.

וצריכין לחפש ולמצוא הארת התורה שיש בכ"ד.

And one must search for and find the illumination of Torah that is within every thing.

Our avodah is to seek out and reveal the hidden ohr (light) of Torah present in everything we encounter.

ותלי' בלשון כמשמעי כי עיקר חיות האדם הרוח שבו כדכתיב ויפח באפיו כו' [*וכתיב] רוח חיים.

And this depends on the tongue, quite literally, for the essence of a person's vitality is the spirit within him, as it is written, "and He breathed into his nostrils..." [and it is written] "a living spirit (ruach chayim)."

The power to fan the coal lies in speech, because man's core vitality is the ruach Hashem breathed into him at creation; that same living breath, expressed through speech, can ignite the inner fire of other things.

ולזאת צריכין לשמור להיות כל דבר בכח החיות שבאדם.

Therefore one must take care that every thing be [done] with the power of the vitality within man.

One must ensure that all his deeds and words flow from that inner living breath — engaging the world with the ruach Hashem within, not mere lifeless action.

שעי"ז נתעורר ונתגלה החיות שבכל דבר.

For through this the vitality within every thing is awakened and revealed.

When a person acts with his inner ruach, he "blows on the coal" — awakening and uncovering the concealed chiyus latent in the object.

ובגשמיות היינו רקק בה שבלי רוח רק מגוף הפה מכבה הפנימיות כנ"ל.

And the physical [counterpart] is "he spat upon it" — that without spirit, [acting] merely from the body of the mouth extinguishes the inner essence, as above.

Spittle represents action done coarsely and physically, from the body alone without inner ruach; such empty engagement smothers the penimiyus instead of kindling it.

וכן ככר טבל ע"י המעשר שמפריש הראשית להש"י ונתברר לו כי כל החיות מהש"י שהמעשר נותן חיות לכל השאר.

So too the loaf of tevel: through the tithe — by separating the "first" portion for Hashem — it becomes clarified to him that all vitality is from Hashem, for the ma'aser gives life to all the rest.

Setting aside ma'aser, the reishis (first part) given to Hashem, is an act of recognition: by dedicating the first to Hashem one declares that all the chiyus comes from Him, and this acknowledgment permits and enlivens the remainder.

על ידי זה מביא חיים מחיות הפנימי כנ"ל.

Through this one brings forth life from the inner vitality, as above.

By tithing — recognizing the Source — one releases and draws out the inner chiyus, turning forbidden tevel into life-giving food.

ובלי עישרו דבוק בה קליפה שמבחוץ ולא נתעורר בו כח החיים כנ"ל:

But without tithing, an outer klipah (husk) clings to it, and the power of life is not awakened within it, as above.

Untithed, the food remains encased in an outer klipah (husk/shell); because the Source was never acknowledged, its inner life-force stays dormant and inaccessible.

Summary: Because Hashem created the world through the Torah, a hidden fire of Torah and Divine vitality lies within every thing, concealed like a glowing coal. Man's task is to awaken it — through the living ruach that Hashem breathed into him, expressed in speech and deeds infused with inner vitality, rather than coarse, soulless action that extinguishes it. Tithing teaches the same lesson: dedicating the first portion to Hashem reveals that all chiyus comes from Him, releasing the inner life of the food, whereas untithed produce stays trapped in its outer husk.