When you ignite the lamps. (Beha’alotcha 8:2)
In this week’s Torah reading, when the Torah mentions igniting the lamps of the menorah, the term used for “when you ignite” is “beha’alotcha,” which literally means, “when you cause to ascend.”
From this, the Sages understood that there was a step in front of the menorah, which the kohen ascended while preparing the lamps. (Rashi)
The kindling of the menorah is also a metaphor for kindling the G-dly flame in the soul of man - “the lamp of G-d is the soul of man” (Mishlei 20:27) - i.e., to cause the soul to shine brightly with the light of Torah and mitzvot. (see also Mishlei 6:23)
We Both Gain
Accordingly, the step that stood before the menorah teaches us that when a person ignites the G-dly spark in his fellow Jew, the igniter himself also has an “ascension”. Like the kohen who would ascend a step in order to prepare the lamps of the menorah, a person who takes upon himself to kindle the soul of his fellow Jew is elevated spiritually in every aspect of his life.
And from his elevated state, he will certainly succeed in his mission to ignite the lamps of the spiritual menorah.
from the teachings of the Rebbe, Sefer HaSichot 5748, vol. 2, pp. 486-487
