Continuing the Legacy of Rabbi Dovid Winiarz of blessed memory
“...so too for the six branches that come out of the Menorah.” (Shmos 25:33)
The Menorah’s specific designs and forms were to be beaten and cut from a single block of gold rather than from different pieces assembled or soldered together. It seems unusual, then, that the Posuk should tell us that the branches should extend from “the Menorah.” Wasn’t it all “the Menorah?”
Indeed, as we look at the verses, the various parts of this golden candelabrum had different names and are described individually as descending or extending from “the Menorah,” as though the Menorah was something else, perhaps a reference to the central core of the candelabrum.
Since the parts came “out” of the Menorah, but we know they were all from the same piece of gold, we can suggest that the word Menorah here refers to the core from which each part was hammered.
Taking this idea further, the Menorah doesn’t just refer to the physical lampstand, but rather to the source, the essence of the Menorah, from which it expanded and became the vessel as Hashem commanded. The Menorah referred to was not the finished product, but rather the basic material and intent to create what Hashem wanted.
Rashi quotes the Midrash that Moshe was unable to fathom the crafting of the Menorah, so Hashem told him to throw the chunk of gold in the fire and the Menorah was formed by Hashem. This perhaps fits with the idea that the Menorah in the description of it refers to the potential that was there all along, as well as the desire to create it.
The Alshich describes in detail how the Menorah represents Man, and how each part represents a limb or desire to be mastered. It is through the Torah that we are able to refine and purify ourselves and become completely holy and pure as was the Menorah.
With our previous understanding of the reference to Menorah as the essence of the mitzvah and what was used to create it, we can infer more about ourselves and how to emulate the Menorah. Our limbs are not “us.” Who we are is a deeper, central existence that cannot be confined to any one body part or attribute. It is our essence.
And, just as we explained that the Menorah refers to the basic starting material and the desire to bring about a development and change to it, so does Man’s journey from being a clump of earth to becoming greater than an angel require not only the material, being the living person, but the desire to transform that person into something greater.
We were created to become more than we are. We must have this vision and seek Hashem’s help in creating the finished product He knows we can become. Through that we can light up the world with our existence.
The Copper Pegs of the Mishkan
The very last line of the parsha discusses the copper pegs of the Mishkan which were used to hold down the sides of the covering. At first, Rashi states that he is unsure whether the pegs were staked into the ground, or whether they were merely tied to the flaps of the Mishkan’s fabric and held them down against the wind by virtue of their own weight.
From this question, R’ Moshe Feinstein z”l learns an important lesson about life and how to prepare ourselves to be proper Jews.
A person, he says, must be strong enough in his own Torah, faith, and knowledge to withstand the wild winds of popular opinion and trends which threaten to push people away from where they should be. This is represented by the thought that the pegs would simply hold down the flaps by their sheer weight.
On the other hand, the idea that the pegs might have been staked into the ground, teaches us that at the beginning, when a person is not that strong yet, he must endeavor to surround himself with teachers and friends who will be a support system for him and reinforce the ideals and principles for which he stands.
This will enable him to remain strong in the face of the fiercest winds until he has reached the point where he can stand on his own.
