Fire in the Mind

There is an interesting Pasuk in this week's Parsha (31:23), "Whatever was used over fire must be brought over fire and purged, and then purified…." This is one of the laws that Moshe taught Bnei Yisrael after the killing of the Midyanites on how to sanctify the loot (vessels) that they took. While the simple level is that that which is absorbed in the vessels while owned and used by these idolatrous nations must be purged via a process which reverses the method of absorption, Rebbe Nachman understands this on a deeper level: these vessels resemble human beings who, after being consumed by the fire of lust, yearn for the fire of purity. The Torah tells us that the way to reach this cleansing is through an intensely excited burning desire for Hashem; for a heart which was aflame for lust can only be cleansed through a fervently mad longing for G-d.
How does one attain this holy fire? Through movement. We see in the world that when a man is running his body generates heat and sweat. We must know that Rebbe Nachman teaches that real movement is not in the body so much as it is in thought. Such that when one flows through the streams of consciousness about the greatness of G-d, this consciousness ignites his heart into a passionate flame of attachment to G-d. Thus the way to reach the fire of purity is through holy, G-d-absorbed thinking. May we all merit internalizing and living this lesson with all of our hearts and souls, good Shabbos.