Beha'alotcha: Spreading Light

Dedicated in the memory of Rachel bat Avraham z"l, grandmother of George Hanz, upon her Shloshim.

This week's portion starts out by describing the procedure in which Aaron, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) would light the menorah. It is worth taking a second to explore the first couple of lines of the portion, along with Rashi's interpretation. Hopefully, this will help us get a slight glimpse into the depth of the text:

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:		א. וַיְדַבֵּר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
2. Speak to Aaron and say to him: "When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the menorah." Rashi:		ב. דַּבֵּר אֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת הַנֵּרֹת אֶל מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת:
When you light: Why is the portion dealing with the menorah juxtaposed to the portion dealing with the chieftains? For when Aaron saw the dedication [offerings] of the chieftains, he felt distressed over not joining them in this dedication-neither he nor his tribe. So God said to him, “By your life, yours is greater than theirs, for you will light and prepare the lamps.” - [Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 3]		בהעלתך: למה נסמכה פרשת המנורה לפרשת הנשיאים, לפי שכשראה אהרן חנוכת הנשיאים חלשה דעתו, שלא היה עמהם בחנוכה, לא הוא ולא שבטו, אמר לו הקב"ה חייך, שלך גדולה משלהם, שאתה מדליק ומטיב את הנרות:
When you light: Heb. בְּהַעֲלֹתְ, lit., when you cause to ascend. Since the flame rises, Scripture describes kindling in terms of ascending. He is required to kindle the lamp until the flame rises by itself (Shab. 21a). Our Sages further expounded from here that there was a step in front of the menorah, on which the kohen stood to prepare [the lamps]. — [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 3]		בהעלתך: על שם שהלהב עולה, כתוב בהדלקתן לשון עליה, שצריך להדליק עד שתהא שלהבת עולה מאליה. ועוד דרשו רבותינו, מכאן שמעלה היתה לפני המנורה שעליה הכהן עומד ומטיב:

(You can read the rest of the text here.)


The text immediately raises a few questions: 1) Why is it important that the text mention each of the seven lamps of the Menorah? 2) How can lighting the Menorah be equivalent to a Prince bringing a sacrifice on behalf of himself and his tribe? 3) What message is there in the explanation that to "ascend" in this context means to kindle each lamp so that it can rise on its own? 4) Why does the High Priest require a step in order to prepare and kindle the Menorah? The Menorah was not that high - if the Kohen Gadol (interestingly, Rashi just says "Kohen") lifted his hand he would be able to reach it without a problem.

The answers to these questions are each entire essays by themselves, but here is a brief attempt at an explanation, based on the words of our sages. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that each of the seven lamps of the Menorah corresponds to the seven types of Jews, paralleling the seven sfirot (Divine and human attributes, as explained previously). When the High Priest lights these lamps, he is lighting the soul of each kind of Jew. This, in turn, is parallel to the sacrifice brought the Prince of each tribe, since the Prince, like a king, is completely bound to each of his tribesmen in his very essence. The same is expected of High Priest - he is the representative of all Levites and of all Jews, and helps connect their souls to God.

Based on this, one could fall into the trap of thinking that one does not need to do much on one's own, since the Prince and/or High Priest of the generation is "taking care of him" spiritually, so to speak. Rashi explains that no, the High Priest must light each candle so that it can rise on its own. Each individual must have the ability to stand on his/her own, have his/her own direct relationship with God, and light other candles as well. The Kohen Gadol and the Prince, after all, are human beings, given their special status because of their dedication to Hashem and the Jewish people. The reason why the Kohen Gadol needed to use steps to reach the Menorah was because he is not allowed by Jewish Law to raise his hands above the diadem that was placed on his head, which read: "Holy unto Hashem." He must always remember that, first and foremost he is a humble servant of God, simply a "Kohen," as Rashi states.

Rabbi Yossi Jacobson explains that the Lubavitcher Rebbe did not create followers. That's not what he wanted. He created leaders. He kindled lamps that became lamp-lighters and who's ultimate goal is to make everyone else a teacher and a lamp-lighter as well.