Question

What role does fire play in Judaism?

Answer

I could share with you one example that is dear to me!

The name of my organization, Aish HaTorah, literally "Fire of Torah," was inspired by the Talmudic story of Rebbe Akiva, a 40-year-old shepherd who could not even read the Aleph-Bet. One day, he came across a stone that had been holed out by a constant drip of water. He concluded: If something as soft as water can carve a hole in solid rock, how much more so can Torah -- which is fire -- make an indelible impression on my heart.

Rebbe Akiva committed himself to Torah study, and went on to become the greatest sage of his generation, with 24,000 students learning under him at one time.

"Aish" means "fire" in the positive sense of inspiration and passion. The name was chosen because we believe that each human being, if given the chance, could achieve similar results. All it takes is a passionate study of Torah, borne out of an appreciation of how precious one's involvement can be in repairing the world.

As Elie Wiesel once said: "Aish HaTorah means to me the passion of teaching, the passion of learning. The study of Torah, the source of Jewish values, is the way to Jewish survival."