Frozen pipes

Returning home on Monday I discovered that the pipes to our kitchen sink were frozen. I placed a space heater near the pipes and was able to melt the ice after about four hours. Thank G-d, the pipes did not burst from the pressure of the ice.

The symbolism of the frozen pipe is quite appropriate for this long stretch of time in between Chanukah and Purim. Can the enthusiasm we had during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur sustain itself throughout the cold winter without our constant efforts?

The frozen pipe tells us that it cannot.

My father-in-law once taught me to keep the kitchen faucet running just a tiny bit on a night that is going to be below freezing outside. Keeping the faucet running, even just slightly, will prevent the pipes from freezing since it is extremely difficult for ice to form on moving water.

This reminded me of teaching of the Baal Shem Tov on the subject of continual effort and perpetual motion. Vayikra 6:6 says, "Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out."

To this, the Baal Shem Tov commented:

"Our heart is the altar. In whatever you do let a spark of the holy fire burn within you, so that you may fan it into a flame."

There is no such thing as a random occurrence in this world. We can learn from everything we see.