There were two types of olive oil used in the Beis Hamikdash and the Mishkan. There was pure olive oil (shemen zayis zach) that was produced solely from the first drop pressed out of each olive, which was used to light the menorah. And then there was lower-grade oil that was produced by crushing the olives after that first drop was extracted, which was used for the menachos offerings.
The passuk stresses that the pure oil is to be kasis l’maor—crushed for lighting. The Beis Yisrael of Ger comments that this shows us that even when we feel that it’s justified to “crush” someone, either by rebuking them or teaching them something they’re unaware of, we need to ensure that the result will be “l’maor,” that the outcome will be to light up that person. The goal of any criticism must be to inspire someone to greater heights, not to depress or humiliate them.
Criticizing another person is easy; making the criticism genuinely constructive is far more difficult. For criticism to be productive, it’s not enough for the behavior under scrutiny to be genuinely wrong, or for the comments to be valid. Words spoken cannot be retracted; therefore, before we open our mouths, we need to be confident that what we are about to say will not only not crush that other person but actually help them achieve their full potential. We need to know when and how to speak, and to take all likely outcomes into account, before going ahead with our comments.
