Daily counsels to ignite the inner spark

וביער עליה הכהן עצים כו'.

"And the kohen shall burn wood upon it" (Vayikra 6:5).

The Sefas Emes takes the daily mitzvah of feeding wood to the altar fire as the springboard for his idea.

פירשו בספרים הקדושים לחפש בכל יום עצות שונות האיך לברר האמת אצלו.

The holy seforim explained: to seek each day various eitzos (counsels/strategies) for how to clarify the truth within oneself.

"Etzim" (wood) is read as "eitzos" (counsels): each day a person must search out fresh strategies to clarify the truth of Hashem within himself.

וזה עצים בבוקר בבוקר.

And this is "wood, morning by morning."

The fire must be fed "morning by morning" — daily renewal of these inner counsels.

כי ביקור הוא בירור כנ"ל.

For "bikkur" (examination) is "birur" (clarification), as above.

Morning ("boker") shares the root of examining and clarifying — the daily avodah of sifting truth from falsehood.

וכתב רש"י אע"פ שאש יורד משמים מצוה להביא מהדיוט.

And Rashi wrote: even though a fire descends from Heaven, there is a mitzvah to bring fire from an ordinary person.

Although a heavenly fire rested on the altar, the Torah still commands man to kindle his own — human effort is required even where Heaven provides.

כי באמת נמצא בלב איש ישראל נקודה אש מצד חלק התורה שיש לכל נפש מישראל.

For in truth there is found in the heart of a Yid a "nekudah aish" (point of fire), from the portion of Torah that every Jewish soul possesses.

Every Yid has an inner point of fire — a spark from his personal share in Torah — corresponding to the heavenly fire on the altar.

אך להתפשט זאת הנקודה בכל האדם צריך עצות וג"כ להיות הרצון באמת לבטל כל הרצונות והמחשבות רק לעשות רצונו ית'.

But for this point to spread through the whole person, counsels are needed, and also that the will be truly to nullify all desires and thoughts, only to do His will, may He be blessed.

The inner spark spreads through the whole self only with daily eitzos and with bittul — sincerely setting aside all other desires and thoughts to do solely the ratzon Hashem.

וז"ש תראוני שאני שחרחורת כו'.

And this is the meaning of "Do not look upon me, that I am blackish …" (Shir HaShirim 1:6).

Knesses Yisrael appears "darkened" on the outside, yet the inner point of holiness remains — the work is to let that hidden point shine outward.

ולכן הטהרה ע"י פרה שג"כ נעשית מבחוץ.

And therefore the purification is by means of the parah (red heifer), which likewise is performed outside.

The parah adumah is prepared outside the camp — purification too comes by working on the external, drawing the inner fire out into the outer self.

ולכן האומות שהחטא דבוק בנפשותם תמהים על טהרת פרה:

And therefore the nations, in whose souls sin is fused, are astonished at the purity of the parah.

The umos ha'olam, whose very souls are bound to sin and have no such inner untouched point, cannot grasp how the parah purifies — for they lack the hidden spark that the external avodah serves to reveal.

Summary: Feeding "wood" to the altar fire each morning means seeking daily eitzos to clarify Hashem's truth within. Though a heavenly fire descends, man must still kindle his own — for every Yid bears an inner point of fire from his share in Torah, which spreads through the whole person only by bittul of all other desires. Like the parah adumah performed outside the camp, the avodah works on the external to reveal the inner spark — something the nations, whose souls are fused with sin, cannot fathom.