Reply #10: The Rekindled Fire [View All]

[Bad Thoughts]

There's an early Hasidic story that I read about twenty years ago, but I can't find a proper source for it. It was probably mentioned in a book by Martin Buber, but I couldn't find it. I'll try to replicate the narrative as best I can.

The story is about a camp fire that is rekindled as travelers stumble upon it. The first traveler is highly learned, knowing not just the correct blessing for the fire, but the correct way of intoning it. However, the travelers who follow have less learning, and consequently can't be as proper as the first. One traveler does not know the correct blessing, but knows a blessing, and says that instead. Another knows the words that are used in blessings and says them in no particular order. Another knows only the letters of the alphabet, and offers them as a blessing. The last knows nothing: all he can offer is his will to bless the fire. In the end, all these blessings are equal.