Remarkable Radiance
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
While Parshat Terumah instructs Bnei Yisroel in the construction of the Mishkan and its vessels, and most of Parshat Tetzaveh describes the bigdei kehunah'priestly vestments, the Parshah actually begins with the command to light the menorah: "And now you shall command... to kindle the ner tamid/lamp continually... from evening until morning, before Hashem, an eternal decree for their generations..." How is the command to light the menorah and keep an eternal flame burning a bridge between the edifice and its vessels, and the priestly vestments, asks Rabbi Scheinerman?
First, it is important to understand that tamid can mean either constant or eternal. While Rashi says the menorah was lit every day, including Shabbat, Ramban says that the western flame of the menorah was never extinguished, was eternal.
The Torah records that at the inauguration of the Mishkan, when the tribal chiefs all brought sacrifices to the Mishkan, Aharon and the kohanim were excluded. Hashem then told Aharon that while the tribal offerings were one time offerings for this special occasions, Aharon's lighting of the menorah would be eternal. How could this be possible, since after the destruction of the Temple we no longer have the menorah? The Midrash Tanchuma explains that the Menorah was buried with the Araon, which also needs explanation. Finally, how does this command serve as a bridge between the two parshiot?
Rabbi Scheinerman, citing the Baalei Tosfos, offers an explanation that is beautiful in its simplicity. When building a house, before anyone can enter, one must provide light. Before Hashem's presence could "move in" to the Mishkan, the light had to be turned on. That was the final step in completing the Mishkan. As Rabbi Dovid Cohen says, the actual mitzvah of lighting the Menorah is recorded later in Parshat Emor. Here, the candle is lit to provide light. Now you can invite Hashem in, and the priests can begin their service.
In Feasts of the Heart, Rabbi Wolfson zt”l, citing the Chasam Sofer zt”l, notes that there are two aspects to the Menorah. The first aspect was functional, and if even one part was missing, the service would be incomplete. But the second aspect of the menorah was symbolic. It represented the light of Torah. That aspect of the menorah remains eternal. In this aspect, we are not limited to the light of the menorah. All our mitzvoth are meant to be observed continually, illuminated from within, inviting Hashem in. As the Sifsei Daas writes, our igniting the fire on earth brings down the heavenly fire from above. But our mitzvoth must have that fire, that passion for connection. Like a bride receiving beautiful flowers from her chosson who searches for the card with a loving message, Hashem wants the heart within the mitzvah, explains Rabbi Garfinkle.
The purpose of the Mishkan was to unite heaven and earth. Interpreting different verses, Hashem symbolically used one hand to create heaven and His other hand to create earth, but He used two hands to establish the Mishkan. As such, although the Mishkan existed on earth, it contained heavenly elements [For example, the Aron, while a physical entity, took up no physical space in the dimensions of the Mishkan; the crowded courtyard miraculously expanded to allow all worshipers to prostrate comfortably. CKS] The purpose of the Mishkan was to bring Hashem's presence down to earth.
The Mishkan was completed on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. According to some opinions, creation also began on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. [A complementary opinion holds that Hashem thought of creating the world in Nissan and actualized the thought in Tishrei. The Torah commands us to celebrate in the seventh month, in Tishrei. CKS] In this sense, the Mishkan is a process of recreating the world, writes Rabbi Gedalyah Schorr zt”l. As Hashem created the world with ten utterances, so there were ten continuous miracles in the Beit Hamikdosh. [Pirkei Avot 5:7] In essence, Adam Harishon was the first Kohein Gadol, and Hashem clothed him in the priestly garments. Hashem wants a partnership with us, so He gave us the mission of building the Mishkan on earth to complete that partnership. Every mitzvah is a ner, and Torah is the light. The menorah is all spiritual and represents our connection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. The menorah represents the nexus between construction of the Mishkan and the service within it.
Our neshamah is also called a candle. My life is about igniting the candle of my soul by doing the mitzvoth with passion. We read these parshiot before Purim, writes the Tosher Rebbe zt”l, to help us prepare to fight the Amalek within ourselves, to wake up our souls. Haman, in presenting his plan for our annihilation to Achashverosh said "Yeshno am echad, there is one nation..." But our Sages read it with different vocalization, "Yoshnu am echad..., there is a nation that is asleep [in their mitzvah observance and their connection to their God]." As Rabbi Schwab zt”l notes, we had the mitzvoth; we even observed them. But our observance was without light, without joy sleepily. We had extinguished the eternal light of of connection to Hashem through the mitzvoth. Our mitzvah observance should be not so much about the quantity of the mitzvoth we observe as about their quality, how filled with light they are. even a little light can fill the entire room, writes Rabbi Eisenberger in Mesillot Bilvovom.
When we read through all the laws regarding offerings to Hashem, we may get the impression that Hashem needs our sacrifices. The truth is that the offerings are not for Hashem, but for our own benefit, writes Rabbi Yosef Salant zt”l. Hashem gave us these mitzvoth to connect to Him in ways we do not understand. Certainly, lighting the menorah is not for His benefit; Hashem led us through the desert with His light. We light the menorah for us to "see the light."
Rabbi Frand quoting the Mussar masters sheds a different light on this mitzvah. In the desert, with Hashem providing us with light for forty years, we might feel depressed by our indebtedness to Him. In His benevolence toward us, Hashem gave us a way to symbolically return the favor and light the menorah for Him. We can learn from Hashem's example. When we do someone a favor, we should try to find something he can do for us in return so that he not feel indebted to us.
Further, as Rabbi Rabinowitz says in Tiv Hatorah, that light should be constant within us, to help us feel Hashem's presence constantly beside us.
The purpose of the Mishkan was also to give testimony that Hashem resided among Bnei Yisroel. The most powerful evidence of this was in the luchot habrit, in the Tablets within the Aron Kodesh behind the parochet in the Kodesh kodoshim. As such, it was hidden from view. But the menorah was in the open. As such, the everlasting light, the candle that was never extinguished, served as constant testimony to Hashem's presence and relationship with Bnei Yisroel, writes Rabbi Bernstein in Dimensions in Chumash. While all the cups of the menorah were filled with the same amount of oil, only one fire kept burning through the night, never needing more oil.
Although we no longer have the physical menorah, we still retain the point of the menorah, writes Rabbi Hofstedter. When we recognize Hashem's hand in our lives, in our history and we disseminate this knowledge and observation, we become a living menorah, spreading its light now and forever with the message that Hashem is with us. As Rabbi Wolbe zt”l teaches us, we have constant opportunities in our personal lives, in hearing current events, to acknowledge that everything comes from Hashem. Internalize the message of the menorah, and recognize Hashem's constant presence in our lives.
The first thing Hashem created was light. But that light was too powerful for the world, so Hashem concealed it. Yet we have glimmers of that light in the Torah and in the blessed light of Shabbat, and, obviously, in the menorah. This is the reverberations of the menorah light which is hidden on Har Habayit, which is a light that cannot be destroyed, and our access to that light is the fuel that keeps us going spiritually writes the Slonimer Rebbe in Netivot Shalom. The light of Godliness is always there, but we have to look for it. See the light as we bless the Shabbat candles; carry that light and take note of it in the Havdalah candle; Carry that light with you through the week. It is Hashem's gift to us.