#186: Machshavah

Earlier this week, we noted the custom during Havdalah of holding one’s fingernails up to the flame, bending them toward the palm. More than just a way to check the light, this act carries a deeper symbolism in the world of Chassidut. Fingernails often collect dirt beneath them, and this serves as a metaphor for how our engagement with the physical world can sometimes lower our spiritual level and tarnish the soul. Our hands, tools for interacting with the material, can become stained by it. By looking at our fingernails in the light of the Havdalah flame, we symbolically confront this truth — recognizing the ways the physical can pull us down, while also using the fire to inspire a rededication to elevating our actions.

The flame, infused with the spiritual essence of Shabbat, becomes a beacon reminding us that the physical and spiritual are not meant to be separate. Rather, we are called to sanctify our mundane efforts — to lift them up through intention, awareness, and the lingering light of Shabbat. As we conclude this sacred day, let us carry its warmth and clarity into the week ahead. May the fire of spirituality ignite our daily routines, and may the holiness of Shabbat inspire us to elevate even the simplest acts into moments of divine connection.

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Dedicated by Fran Broder as a zechus for the hostages to be released safely to their families and may everlasting peace come to Eretz Yisrael in the merit of learning Hilchos Shabbos.