When you draw up the lampwicks

Towards the front of the lampstand

let the seven lampwicks give light.

(Bemidbar 8:2)

When you draw up the lampwicks

– 'For you shall light my lamp' (Psalm 18) –

Said the Children of Israel before the Holy One, Blessed Be He: Master

of the Universe, you say that we shall light up before you, but you are the

lamp of the world and light dwells with you! It is written (Daniel 2): "He reveals deep and hidden

things, knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him." Yet you

say

"Towards the front of the lampstand

let the seven lampwicks give

light" How then "For you shall light my lamp"! Replied the Holy

One, Blessed Be He: It is not that I need it, but you light for me as I lit

for you. Why? To elevate you before the nations, for they say: See how Israel

lights up for He who gives light to all! To what may this be compared? To a man

with sight and a blind man who walk together on the way, etc. (Above Seder Tetzaveh, Section 4), and the Holy

one led them and lit their way, as is written (Shemot

13) "And the Lord goes before them during the day, etc." – Once

the Tabernacle was erected, God called to Moshe and said to him that they

should light up before Me, as is written "Speak to Aharon and say to him

when you light up" – Said Israel to the Holy One: 'For you light my lamp'

and you tell us to light up before you?!' Replied the Holy One to Israel:

In order to draw you up did I tell you to light up for Me as I light up

for you on the way, therefore it says "when you draw up".

(Tanhuma, Behaalotcha, 4)

When you draw up the lampwicks

towards the front of the lampstand let the seven lampwicks give light. Our Sages

taught (Shabbat 22b): This is the western

lamp from which he would begin to light and with it he would finish. And the

Tosafot wrote that he would first light from the western lamp and then would

later light the western lamp from all the other lamps. The Menorah is an representation

of Torah, as is written (Proverbs 6:23) "For

the commandment is a lamp, and Torah is a light", and the central lamp

hints at the teacher who teaches others, and the lamps flanking on the two

sides are the disciples on his right and his left, and R' Eliezer (Taanit 7a) said "Much have I learnt from

my teachers, etc., and mostly from my students". First the teacher learns

with his pupils and enlightens them, until they increase his wisdom and he learns

from them. Thus he sets out to teach and ends up being taught. This is as I

explained 'He who learns in order to teach, will be granted adequate means to

learn and to teach' (Avot 4:6) – he

learns from his students as he teaches them. He lights the lamps from within

himself and enlightens the students; and with it he would finish, meaning that

afterwards they – the students – would enlighten him from their own light, and

this is the correct interpretation.

                                                (Rabbi

Avraham Shmuel Benyamin Sofer: Ktav Sofer, Bemidbar, ibid., ibid.)

Symbol of independence

Shafer Stollman

On 11^th

of Shevat, 5709, the Provisional Council of State determined that the Menorah,

flanked by olive branches, be the official symbol of the State of Israel. The

inspiration for this choice was the quote from the Book of Zecharia:

And I saw, and

behold a menorah entirely of gold… its seven candles attached … upon it two

olives" (Zecharia 4:2)

The Menorah

itself is based upon the sculpture on the Titus Gate in Rome.

The purpose of

the Menorah in the Tabernacle, and subsequently in the Temple,

became a subject of a theological argument in the Talmud: Does God need our

light in the Temple,

and does he need the sacrifices which we offer? These discussions appear in

Tractate Menachot (86b) as a homiletic

explication of the passage "Command the Children of Israel and let them

take unto you pure olive oil" (Vayikra 24):

Rabbi Shmuel

bar Nachmani said: 'Unto you – not unto me, I have no need of its          light.' The table in the north and the

menorah in the south, said Rab Zerika in the    name

of Rabi Elazar: I need it not for eating nor do I need its light."

Similar – but

stylistically different – questions appear in the Bavli (Shabbat 22b), voiced by the renowned blind

sage:

Asked Rav

Sheshet: 'It shall be set out outside the curtain of the Covenant' (Vayikra 24), Does He need its light? Forty

years the Children of Israel traveled in the desert following only His light;

but it serves as testimony to all who come that the Divine Presence rests in Israel."

These

midrashim reflect the opinion that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, has no need for

acts performed in the Temple.

Their purpose is to provide the Jewish people with more opportunities for mitzvoth:

"The Holy One, as it were, said to the Moshe: Tell Israel that it is not because I

need your light that. I order you to light the candle, but in order to accrue

you [with mitzvoth], and so it is written "The Lord desires His

(Isaiah 42:21)

In this

context the windows of Solomon's temple prove that He has no need of light: "And

he made for the House, clear and opaque" (I

Kings 6:4). It has been taught: Clear [from within] and opaque {from outside],

I do not need its light…" (Ibid)

The purpose of the Temple

and its service fills no divine need, be it the light of the candles or the sacrifices

offered upon the altar:

…Know you,

come and see that when a man builds a house and he makes windows inside his

house, and he desires that light enter, he constructs the window so that it be

narrow inside and wide outside, so that the light enter from outside and light

up the interior. But when Solomon built the Temple he did not make the windows so,

but rather narrow within and wide outside so that the light shine outward from

the Temple, lighting up outside, as is written 'And he made the for the house

windows, clear and opaque, in order to teach you that He is total light and

does not need your light… (Midrash Tanhuma

(Buber), Parashat Behaalotcha, 2).

At the

beginning of Parashat Behaalotcha Rashi quotes the midrash telling how

Aharon the Priest, he who was appointed to oversee the Tabernacle service and

who was permitted once a year to enter the Holy of Holies, was offended that neither

he nor others from his tribe participated with the chieftains in the Tabernacle

dedication:

…You find

above that eleven tribes brought offerings…with the exception of the chieftain

of [the tribe of] Levi and who was the chieftain of Levi? Aharon! As is written

"and write the name of Aharon on the staff of Levi (Bemidbar 17:18),

Aharon did not

offer with the chieftains, and was wont to say, Woe unto me, perhaps because of

me the Holy One does not accept the tribe of Levi…

Said the Holy

One to Moshe: Go and tell Aharon not to fear. You have been chosen for greater

things. Therefore is it written, speak to Aharon and tell him 'When you light

up the lamps'; the sacrifices are to be brought only as long as the Temple

exists, but the candles will forever face the menorah.- and all the blessings

with   which I commanded you to bless my

children will never be abolished. (Midrash

Tanchuma (Buber) Ibid. 5-6)

Ramban

queries, "It is a known fact that when the Temple does not exist and the sacrifices are

abolished because of the destruction, the candles, too, are abolished!" (Ramban Bemidbar 8). This being so, what does

the midrash intend to teach us? God's promise to Aharon refers not to

the regular Temple

candles, but to the Hanukkah candles. Ramban explains that many years after

Moshe and Aharon, in the days of the Hashmonaim, it became clear that the

lighting of the candles by Aharon was more important in the eyes of God than

the offerings brought by the chieftains. The importance of the Menorah derived

from the fact that the obligation to light it was to exist even after the

cessation of sacrificial offerings. The yearly lighting of the Chanukah candles

is the perpetual reminder of the original candle lighting "which is in

force even after the destruction, in our exile." Aharon was relieved when

he understood that the rededication of the Temple in Hasmonean times would be performed

by his progeny, and that the holiday of Chanukah would be ascribed to the

Priests.

Here, then, is

the principle that the Menorah lighting is the choice service because it is

eternal. Only in retrospect, over a thousand years after Aharon "lit its

candles as God commanded Moshe", could the sages of the midrash

recognize in the Menorah purified by the Hashmonaim, that event of which God

spoke to Moshe in Parashat Haalotcha. But could the generation of the

Tabernacle have foreseen the significance of God's words to Aharon and their

ramifications for the future? I doubt it. Therefore, it may be that for us that

which was then promised to Aharon was not exclusively aimed at the Hashmonean

period; it may yet –and probably will—materialize.

Our generation

which recovered from the unimaginable, and, after two thousand years of exile,

was privileged to have a state, is the generation which witnesses up close the

vision of the realization of the Israeli independence, even without the return

of the Temple. Regarding

this, the Sages of the midrash said that "sacrifices are to be offered

only as long as there is the Bet Hamikdash, but the candles are for all time!"

(Midrash Tanchuma, ibid.) How

appropriate, then, is it that the Menorah, which symbolizes the eternality of

the holy service, is also the symbol of our political independence.

Rabbi

Shafer Stollman, holder of an M.A. degree in Education, engaged in

spokesmanship and information for the Jewish Agency

Love disregards the rules

"And so did

Aharon do" – this is said in praise of Aharon,

for not deviating [from the Lord's instructions].                                                                               (Rashi, Bemidbar 8:3)

Rebbi Baruch of Medzibosh

(grandson of the Besht, one of the great Hassidic leaders) was asked: When God

instructed Aharon through Moshe how to light the lamps, the Torah says 'And so

Aharon did". Rashi explains that this phrase is said in praise of Aharon; "to

proclaim the praise of Aharon, that he made no changes." How are to

understand this? Is it not unthinkable that Aharon, sanctified of God, should

deviate from His commandment, to the extent that he should be praised for not

deviating?!

Replied the Rebbi:… It has been

told of one who was a beadle [shamash] in the synagogue, that when he

would arrange the lamps and pour oil into the Menorah – from excess of

enthusiasm he was unable to do so properly and oil was spilt outside the

vessel. Therefore was it was said in praise of Aharon, that despite his total

devotion to his maker, he prepared the lamps and lit them properly.

(Mordecai Buber, Ohr Haganuz)

In order to execute a task,

necessary.

(From Avraham Stahl: Shabbat B'Shabbato, Chap.2, P. 183)

Take the

Officials Require Purification

The high standing

of Man uplifts his heart in the ways of God – but one must be careful that this

merit add no obstacles, such as pride and desecration of the Name; whoever is

greater than his fellow, his inclination is also greater – and so the closeness

to holiness can lead to impurity, just as in the case of Korach and his Levite

followers – their greatness led to their downfall. Those who rise up to the

holy service are in need extra caution lest they stumble… therefore the

admonishment that after their service in the Tent of Appointment, they must be

scrupulous in preserving their purity – each according to his value. And so we

have already learned that all this holds true for the study of Torah. One who

accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah lifts his heart up to the paths of the

Lord, but he must be careful that this not become a impediment. When he has

merited success with Torah, and has studied with the necessary caution, this is

reason for elevation of intelligence to the love of God. But all this is

accomplished only if he consciously intends by this to attain love of God. Without

such awareness, this benefit will be lost, leaving only the mitzvah of Torah

study. Torah, too, is a high and exalted matter, but only if it has not turned

into an obstacle, as Chazal pointed out (Yoma 65): "If he has not merited, it [the

Torah] becomes potion of death."

(Haamek Davar, Bemidbar 8:15)

…We must remember

that the above was written by the head of the Volozhin Yeshiva, who knew

intimately the world of those who devote their lives exclusively to the study

of Torah, and he was well aware of the danger facing them and all generations,

lest they dare perceive themselves as "Gedolei Torah" – Torah giants.

(Leibowitz: Seven

Years of Discussion on the Weekly Parasha, p. 649)

…This is to say

that Aharon did all that he was commanded not as one who acts with enthusiasm

and wonder, but as one who directs his consciousness and awareness to the daily

service of God. The great significance of the service of God lies not in man's

giving release to his religious enthusiasm – indeed it is doubtful whether such

behavior is pure, uninterested, service of God. Perhaps it is but satisfaction

of man's psychological needs.

 (Y.

Leibowitz: Seven Years of

Discussion on the Weekly Parasha, p. 648)

If

there is one among your friends whose obedience to God is greater than yours,

whose actions for His sake are purer, and his efforts to draw near to Him

stronger, instinct will make you hate him, saying, "All the effort this

man shows in obedience to God constitutes a clear failure on your part! Were it

not for him, God, as well as man, would think you the most pious of your

generation. Therefore you should offend him, be jealous of him and angry with

him! Look for his faults and failures! Watch for his stumbling! Observe

where he is negligent, publicize it as much as you can, and revile him for it.

If it is possible to slander him for nothing, just to dishonor him in people's

eyes, go ahead and do it!" Your answer to him should be the following:

"How can I scorn somebody God loves and revile somebody he favors?"

(R. Bahya Ibn Pakuda's Hovot Ha-Levavot, Sha'ar Yihud Ha-Ma'aseh 8. Pp. 300-1 in Mansoor's translation)

READERS RESPOND

Reactions

to "Jerusalem

Day of Hope", Bemidbar 5771

As a rule I almost always agree

with Pinchas Leiser's words of wisdom and reason.

This time I find it necessary to

take exception to one sentence, not so much because of Pinchas, but because of

many Jews who, in my opinion, slip up in a matter of great significance. Re his

words on Yom Yerusalayim, he writes: "There is a tangible wall between the

Old City

and the New City…"

Many Jews mistakenly relate to Jerusalem as

though it were composed of two parts, the Old

City and the New City. Therefore, the idea of dividing the

city fills them trepidation, if not disgust.

Actually Jerusalem

has three components: The Eastern City, the Western

City, and the Old City.

Very few Jews enter the Eastern City.

Even few really are familiar with it. It is in every sense an Arab city. I

happen to have some acquaintance with it because I am often invited to speak

before groups of Christian pilgrims residing in local hotels. It is rare to

find a Jewish taxi driver from Western Jerusalem

familiar with these hotels.

In my opinion this fact is

politically significant: If and when a Palestinian state is established, Eastern Jerusalem can serve as its capital city. This

should not interfere with Western Jerusalem (which we term "the New City") continuing

to function as the capital of the Jewish and democratic State of Israel. A

solution for the Old City

acceptable to both sides must be found, perhaps a form of joint rule. I know

that different possibilities have been suggested. Certainly free access to holy

sites of the three religions must be guaranteed. And if I should be required to

show a passport in order to enter Eastern Jerusalem,

I will do so willingly.

Debbie Weissman – Jerusalem

Pinchas Leiser responds

I thank Debbie Weissman for her

remarks. True, it is possible to distinguish between the different parts of Jerusalem. In my article I

related to the wall – the tangible and the metaphorical wall – which separates

between sections and people, and I expressed the hope that Jerusalem

become a City of Peace.

The concepts "Old" and "New" relate perhaps to dimensions

of past and present. In this framework I did not relate to the various

political proposals for truly uniting the city because Shabbat Shalom

does not deal with these aspects. It is, however, clear to me that unity and

peace between the city's different residents will be achieved when the city's

elders and community leaders understand that the needs and aspirations of all

inhabitants must be taken into account.

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