First Reading: Our Bodies, Our Souls, and the Menorah
What makes the golden Menorah of the Temple such a well-known and beloved Jewish symbol? First, the Menorah truly is beautiful. Its design, described in detail in the Torah and embellished with decorations such as cups, knobs, and flowers, emphasizes its aesthetic appeal. The Torah dedicates special attention to the Menorah, particularly in the opening verses of our parashah. Additionally, the prophecy of Zechariah features the Menorah prominently.
Your Role is Greater Than Theirs
The Midrash recounts that after the dedication of the kings of the Tribes, Aaron the High Priest felt disheartened for not participating. God reassured him, stating, “Your role is greater than theirs, for you will light and prepare the candles [of the Menorah].”
The Ramban interprets this as an allusion to Chanukah, when the Menorah’s candles miraculously burned beyond the limits of time. The Chanukah candles perpetuate the Menorah’s light, in every place and in every era. The Menorah symbolizes the “eternal light of Israel” and hence is a distinctly Jewish symbol.
Let us examine the verses in the first reading of our parashah: “When you light the candles, the seven candles shall cast their light toward the face of the Menorah...This was the making of the Menorah: a hammered work of gold... according to the form that God had shown Moses, so did he construct the Menorah.” These verses include four topics: 1) The actual elevation/lighting of the candles. 2) The positioning of the candles so that they face the front of the Menorah, meaning that they point toward the Menorah’s central shaft (according to Rashi). 3) The Menorah is made of hammered work (i.e., it is hammered out of a single chunk of gold and not pieced together). 4) The Menorah was made after the vision that God showed Moses.
Body and Soul
Let us start with the body of the Menorah, “This was the making of the Menorah: a hammered work of gold.” The entire Menorah was fashioned out of a single chunk of gold serving as a common source out of which all the parts of the Menorah were cast as one body. The parts were never detached but were hammered or sculpted out of that one original chunk. Likewise, the people of Israel share a single, fundamental common source, referred to as the Jewish body. We are used to talking about the Jewish soul, but the inner dimension of the Torah teaches that God chooses the body of the Jew, although seemingly there is no difference between the body of a Jew and that of a non-Jew.
The sages say that Moses found the making of the Menorah difficult—the words for “difficult” (התקשה) and “one piece” (מקשה) are cognate to one another—until God showed him the vision of a “Menorah of fire.” Likewise, seeing the special virtue of the Jewish body is indeed difficult—only God can show this. One might say that the special virtue of the Jewish “body” can be identified as also related to the word that means “one piece” (מקשה), i.e., to the hardness, stubbornness, and hard-headedness in its belief in God.
Thus, “the making of the Menorah” illustrates the unity of Israel. We are all (stubborn) Jews—another good reason to choose the Menorah as a symbol. This explanation of the symbol of the Menorah corresponds to the lower World of Action and the lower hei of God’s essential Name, Havayah.
From the body we move to the candles, the dynamic part of the Menorah. The seven candles correspond to the souls of Israel, which can be primarily divided into seven types, corresponding to the seven emotional attributes of the soul. Every soul has its unique luminance, as described in various sources: there are souls that belong to loving-kindness, others that belong to might, etc. In contradistinction, the body of the Jewish people is one, equally shared by all.
Aaron the High Priest lights the candles, which the Torah describes as “elevating the candles.” Likewise, the tzaddik helps each person find his special color and light. From the Torah’s choice of wording that the candles should be “elevated,” we learn that the candles must be lit “until the flame rises by itself.” The tzaddik indeed assists and directs, but each person must do his own personal work himself. The seven candles demonstrate the unity of Israel, but this time a unity in which many shades are seen. This explanation of the Menorah corresponds to the World of Formation, where there is diversity and different directions (and to the vav of God’s essential Name, Havayah).
One Purpose and a Spark of Moses
All the candles’ flames point in the same direction, “toward the face of the Menorah.” Since the seven candles are all types of souls of Israel, each with its unique mode of service, then the fact that they all face the same direction shows that in the end we all have one common goal—to illuminate the world with the light of Torah and holiness, until we become “a light unto the nations.” This is another level of unity. Not just “we are all Jews” (one piece), not just different styles united, but one common goal. This explanation of the Menorah corresponds to the intellectual World of Creation, the sefirah of understanding, and the first hei in God’s essential Name, Havayah.
Finally, the Menorah was fashioned according to “the vision that God showed Moses”—a Menorah of fire. So far, we have pursued higher and higher meanings surrounding the Menorah—meanings that we can fathom and relate to by increasing our comprehension. But there is a level of understanding of the making of the Menorah that comes entirely from above. The Torah relates that Moses sees reality through his unique level of prophecy, described by the sages as looking “through a transparent pane.” The Alter Rebbe explains that this means that Moses sees reality from God’s point of view.
Still, in every Jew there is a spark of Moses, and thus each of us sees a piece of the Menorah of fire, and thus we all unite at our root with God. This explanation corresponds to the World of Emanation–where there is only Divine consciousness–and to the yud in God’s essential Name, Havayah.
