The Seven Candles

Enthusiasm of the heart for serving Hashem depends on the holiness of the brain, which means protecting the seven accesses to the soul which is housed in the brain. The more one guards these "seven candles" (called so because they illuminate the brain), the more he merits Divine abundance. Divine abundance leads to enthusiasm of the heart in serving Hashem; the fires of holy enthusiasm in turn purify a person's heart.

King David said in Psalm 51, "The Lord created a pure heart for me." Rebbe Nachman elaborates (see Likutei Moharan I:156) that the words a person speaks from the heart to Hashem are tantamount to prophesy, for everything the heart says in holiness are the words of Hashem.

A person must be ingenious and persevering in asking Hashem for a pure heart. A heart that yearns for Hashem and that is enthusiastic about every single mitzva and word of prayer or Torah is a heart that will surely be purified by the fires of holiness. A heart that is aglow for Hashem is the heart of a truly happy individual. But as in everything else in the material and spiritual world, there is a corresponding side. A heart that burns for sexual lust is a heart that is contaminated, severed from Hashem. A person with such a heart will never be happy or fulfilled. Indeed, the fires of lust that blaze in his heart will eventually consume him, both body and soul. Whereas a heart that burns in enthusiasm for Hashem burns away all evil and purifies a person in his entirety, a heart that burns in lust does the exact opposite, Heaven forbid.

The reward for a pure heart, among other wonderful things, is that a person merits to speak words of personal prayer to Hashem that are on the spiritual level of prophesy, a holy spirit.

A person who is "religious", casually or otherwise, yet fails to serve Hashem with enthusiasm, will see that he can learn Torah or pray for years, yet his heart remains clogged. That's because the spirits of lust and impurity are still in his heart. Lacking the holy flame of enthusiasm in his heart, he never burned away the impurities that are lodged in his heart. As long as a person continues to love his body habits and pursue his lusts, he won't purify his heart.

The first step to purification of the heart is to guard the "seven candles" to prevent any unwholesomeness from accessing the brain by way of the seven entrances – mouth, 2 nostrils, 2 eyes and 2 ears. Once he guards the "seven candles", he can begin to serve Hashem with enthusiasm. Serving Hashem with enthusiam purifies the heart.

Be aware – whatever reaches the brain by way of the "seven candles" is embedded there forever. There should therefore be a "No Entrance" sign at each portal of the brain to exclude anything that is not pure and wholesome.

Ears – whatever a person hears is recorded in his mind. He must therefore be extremely cautious in what he hears and listens to. He should avoid listening to slander, lies and heresy. He should try to maintain control over what he hears. Therefore, he shouldn't listen to news broadcasts, especially when the newscasters are not people with emuna. Newscasters and commentators frequently express opinions which are diametrically opposed to Torah outlook and therefore are detrimental to a person's emuna. Our sages say that listening to one lie or nonsensical utterance can neutralize one-hundred truths. Unfortunately, people hear things from seemingly authoritative sources ("but I heard it on the 7 o'clock news!"), and end up internalizing ideas that negate Hashem's Divine providence, Heaven forbid.

The ears are meant to hear words of wisdom, the advice of our sages, words of Torah and melodies that express love of Hashem. All these things gladden the heart.

Eyes – everything a person sees is not only recorded on the brain, but becomes part of the brain. A person who has images of filth and pornography on his brain, is a person with a filthy mind. And, as we've learned, a person is what his mind is.

The eyes are meant to marvel at Hashem's creations, like King David does in Psalm 104, triggering praise of Hashem like when we do personal prayer on a beautiful beach, all alone during a crimson sunset. The eyes should fill themselves with images of tzaddikim and words of Torah. One who guards his eyes will be able to purify his brain, sanctify himself and cling to Hashem.

Nostrils – guarding one's nostrils entails avoiding the smell of women's perfume, idolatrous incense or unkosher food and the like. Intrinsically, guarding one's nostrils also means avoiding anger and doing our best to be patient and forgiving, for anger manifests itself in the flaring of one's nostrils. Rebbe Nachman explains that when Moshiach comes, he'll be able to smell piety. Therefore, piety and fear of Hashem are also spiritual purifications of the nostrils.

Mouth – whatever a person utters is recorded in the brain. One's speech profoundly affects one's behavior, for King Solomon warned in Ecclesiastes, "Don't let your mouth incriminate your flesh." One's speech is a reflection of one's brain content, for better and for worse. The holy Sefer Hayetzira says that the covenant of the tongue corresponds to the covenant of the flesh. In other words, wholesome speech is an indication of personal holiness whereas vulgar speech is a sign of blemished personal holiness.

Lies, tomfoolery, flattery, slander, epithets and expressions of heresy are the types of speech that defile and destroy upright character, directly damaging the soul. And what's worse, such speech does damage to those who hear it as well. The gates of teshuva are locked to those who cause others to sin. A person should substitute these forbidden types of speech for words of encouragement and emuna, words of Torah, words of prayer and especially personal prayer.

Sanctifying the "seven candles", our personal menorah and the access to our brain and soul, is tantamount to lighting the holy Menorah in the Holy Temple, may it be rebuilt soon, amen. The flames of holiness that flicker from our own "seven candles" will bring us to serve Hashem with enthusiasm and invoke Divine abundance, purifying both mind and heart. Purification of mind and heart enables a person to truly cling to Hashem and know Him, the ultimate objective of our mission on this earth.