A major concern for any educator or parent is to protect
ourselves, our children and students from negative external influences. The lighting of the 7 lamps of
the Menorah by Aaron which appears at the beginning of our parasha provides the
guidance and insight needed to deal with outside influences.
Sefer Bamidbar, the book of Numbers deals with the journey of
the nation in the desert as a camp. In the center of the camp was the
sanctuary- Mishkan where the Divine Presence – shechina resided amongst them. The nation, participated in the inauguration
of the Mishkan and the Altar through the voluntary sacrifices and donations brought by the tribal leaders. Aaron was not inspired to bring offerings and donations, so
he and the tribe of Levi did not participate in the dedication of the Altar and
sanctuary חנוכת המזבח- . When Aaron saw that the offerings of the tribal leaders were
accepted by God, it was too late to join in, as the donation of the leader of
the tribe of Ephraim was counted as the 12th tribe. Aaron was grieved
and despondent that he and his tribe did not participate in the inauguration ceremony in expressing the
nation's joy and appreciation of the sanctuary. God comforted Aaron and said that he will be given the mitzvah of dedicating
the Menorah and preparing, arranging and kindling the lamps of the Menorah. This mitzvah was greater than the dedication of the Altar by the tribal leaders and their donations and offerings. The
nation would also participate by bringing the oil for the lamps
and so Aaron would be their representative in lighting the Menorah. Unlike the
sacrifices of the tribal leaders, the lighting of the Menorah had an element of
eternity and was thus greater than the dedication offerings. Aaron would have
plenty of opportunities to be the representative of holiness and God's emissary
in the service in the Sanctuary, but only the kindling of the Menorah in the
inauguration service of the sanctuary חנוכת
המשכן would provide Aaron the
opportunity to represent the nation.
God instructs Moses to tell Aaron that when he lights the lamps
of the Menorah, the 3 wicks on each side of the menorah's central shaft should
be inclined towards the center light and not towards the outside - Numbers 8:2 .דַּבֵּר אֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת
הַנֵּרֹת אֶל מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת: The reason was that the divine presence – shechinah
lit up the sanctuary, so there was no need for the light of the Menorah. The
Menorah was there for man's benefit and elevation – בהעלתך
. The Midrash describes a blind man being
walked home by a friend. When they enter the blind's man home, the friend asks
the blind man to switch on the lights. The friend could have done it himself,
but he wanted to give the blind man an opportunity to reciprocate and express
gratitude. The Midrash says that the lighting of the Menorah was an expression
of man's gratitude for the light that God shines on our lives through his
Mishkan and Torah. It is an elevation for man, and for his merit that man
expresses his gratitude to God by engaging in the
learning of God's Torah and spreading God's light in the world. Aaron and the
priests are the teachers of the nation, who will become a ' light unto the
nations' and bring the world closer to God. מלאכי
ב:ז- (ז) כִּי שִׂפְתֵי כֹהֵן יִשְׁמְרוּ דַעַת וְתוֹרָה יְבַקְשׁוּ
מִפִּיהוּ The prophet Malachi
says of the priests , that ' the lips of the priest will preserve knowledge and
they will seek Torah from his mouth'. Another Midrash also talks about God not
needing the light of the Menorah and the mitzvah to light the lamps is for
our benefit.
' See: when a person builds
a house, he makes windows in the house, since he wants the light to
enter. So he makes the
windows narrow on the outside, and wide on the inside. Why? In order that the light will enter
from outside and illuminate inside. But
when King Solomon built the Temple,
he did not make the windows like this. Rather,
he made them narrow on the inside and wide on the outside, in order that the
light would emanate from the Temple and illuminate outwards. The light of
the sanctuary and the temple –מקדש depends on the participation of
the nation in the kindling of the Menorah lamps. The Light of the Menorah is
symbolic of God's wisdom and Torah. It is the nation through its teachers who
become the messengers of God, and it is through their actions, prayers and
learning that the temple maintains its sanctity and holiness and remains a
place for God's presence and a center for people to access God's holiness. The
purpose of the Menorah is to bring light to the world and not to light up the
sanctuary and temple.
The Netziv in his
commentary on the Torah – Emek Davar
Numbers 8:2 and Exodus 37:19 says
that the Menorah is symbolic of God's wisdom as expressed in creative and new
thoughts in Torah and its intricate discussions - chidushei and pil'lpulei ha'torah. The seven
shafts represent the ' 7 branches of
wisdom ' which are included in the oral law. One needs an appreciation of the '
7 branches of wisdom to get an understanding and appreciation of the Torah. The
Torah waters, enriches and gives context to wisdom and wisdom waters and
enriches knowledge and the intellect which enables one to know and understand
the complexity and fine points of God's word. שהתורה
משקה בחכמות. והחכמות משקים הדעת לדעת ולהבין דקדוקי דבר ה' The complexity of modern
halacha requires in many instances knowledge of science, medicine and the
social sciences etc.
We have discussed above how
the lighting of the Menorah lamps and the structure of the windows of the
temple were designed with the purpose of illuminating the outside world and
bringing the light of the Torah to others. The way we can protect ourselves and
children from outside influences is that we become people with a message,
people who can make an impact on others and influence the outside world rather
than being influenced. The second way we protect our children from external
influences is by providing them with a healthy attitude to ' wisdom', knowledge
and learning in general. We teach children to look at the world and any
learning whether formal or informal, scientific, religious or socio-moral
learning using the lenses of the Torah, in order to see the world through the
eyes of the Torah. The Mishnah tells us that a wise man is one who learns from
every one and all life experiences. We show how our general learning and life
experiences inform our Torah and how our Torah learning informs our general
learning and life experiences. In this way, we manage to integrate all learning
and life experiences into a Torah outlook that reflects also our personalities,
our chelek –part in the Torah and our unique way of looking at the world. A
well rounded and integrated personality is one who can impact on the world and
be learning all the time. If the role of the Jewish people is to be a light
unto the nations and help the world solve its problem using Torah principles
and values, we need people who are informed by both the wisdom of the Torah and
wisdom in general. In this way, we will see the realization of the eternal
message of the kindling of the Menorah lamps and the illumination of the world
with the light of the Torah.
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