Shalom.
This week's Torah portion is parashat Be'halotcha, the third Torah portion in the book of
Bamidbar, Numbers, beginning with verse one of chapter 8.
There are many amazing and deep lessons in this Torah portion.
Now that the Miskhan, the
tabernacle has been dedicated, and the nation, in formation around the tabernacle and with
the
Shechina, the Divine Presence in their midst – the nation is now ready to move at G-d's
command
and begin their journey to the Land of the covenant, we can think of parashat B'halotcha,
with all its
varied features, as a true cross-cut view of life in the desert.
But it's not only the saga of the life of
that generation in the desert, at that particular time and place; as always, the Torah's eternal
life
lessons are directed at us, because it's all about our unfolding lives, the challenges
we face, the
obstacles and difficulties – many of them self-made and self-perpetuating – that we
can and must
rise above.
And above all, the vision, the promise, the possibility that we actually can live on a
level
of raised consciousness, higher awareness, of attachment to G-d in this world and with
G-d on our
side, with G-d as our focus.
That would be a living life on a different level of reality altogether.
See
this parasha is all about everyday reality.
Take for example the camp of Israel as they traveled – the
cloud covering the tabernacle in the daytime, and the fire at night, and whenever that cloud
was
lifted, the children of Israel would journey, would follow, and in the place where the cloud
would rest,
there the children of Israel would encamp.
Thus, literally, the Torah tells us that 'by the bidding of
Hashem would the children of Israel journey…and according to the word of Hashem would they
encamp.
All the days that the cloud would rest upon the tabernacle they would encamp.
By the
bidding of Hashem, the children of Israel traveled, and by the bidding of Hashem, they
encamped.
As long as the cloud hovered above the Mishkan, they encamped.
Sometimes, the cloud remained for several days above the Mishkan...sometimes the cloud
remained
from evening until morning, and when the cloud departed in the morning, they traveled.
Or, the cloud
remained for a day and a night, and when the cloud departed, they traveled.
Whether it was for two
days, a month or a year, that the cloud lingered to hover over the Mishkan, the children of
Israel
would encamp and not travel, and when it departed, they traveled.
Must that not have been something?
To know where you have to be in this world, in the desert that
we have to traverse to reach our goal, and to know for how long, because G-d is literally
there giving
you a sign, showing you, leading, guiding you?
The truth is that although we translated here by the
bidding of Hashem, in Hebrew the expression here is 'al pi Hashem', literally, by
Hashem's mouth.
What is that, the mouth of Hashem?
Later on in Deuteronomy 8:3 we are going to learn, that eating
the manna in the desert was to teach us that not by bread alone does man live, but rather
by
everything that emanates from the mouth of Hashem.
The bread feeds the body and the mouth of
Hashem feeds the soul.
And everything that we do is guided by Hashem's bidding, by His mouth, by
the breath that He breathed into us.
Hashem's constant presence in our lives, guiding us and urging
us when to move, may not be manifest directly by cloud and fire, but nonetheless, in every
step,
journey, challenge, test, decision that each one of us must take, the signs are there,
emanating from
the mouth of Hashem.
How do we see them is the question… that we will get back to.
You know that one of the life lessons that we learn here in parashat Behalotcha is never
to give up
or become stuck, because ordinary people can change reality.
That's the lesson of the Second
Passover.
The children of Israel kept the Passover at its appointed time, but there were those who
had been impure at that time and were not able to bring the offering.
They had a tremendous,
overwhelming, all-consuming deep yearning to serve Hashem, they so much wanted to do
the
Passover – open up your hearts in the deepest way, imagining wanting something that is good
and
right, so badly, and what is it – it's do something for Hashem.
Not like some other people in this
parasha we meet who wanted something really badly, they wanted to complain.
Took to cultivating a
craving.
For some people nothing's good enough.
Give them cavier, they'll only want goose liver
…but these people who missed the Pesach offering, they craved to serve Hashem.
So they asked
Moshe for a solution.
G-d told Moshe, what a great idea.
Tell them to do it a month later.
And not
only that.
G-d said from now on, it goes like this.
Whoever was in this situation and couldn't do the
Pesach on time can do it the following month.
The Second Passover.
So before their very eyes, and
because of them – reality changed.
Hashem brought about a new creation.
Because of their burning
desire for Hashem and their sheer will, G-d Himself changed reality and made a new creation….
Nothing is impossible or difficult for Hashem and we are entrusted to change reality.
Why is this in
this week's Torah portion?
So a person can complain that he's sick and tired of the manna that Hashem is feeding
him, you can
tread water in one place, or you can see to it that today is totally different from yesterday,
and that
the moment that just passed or the day that just passed will never ever repeat itself.
Because the
cloud is moving, I'm moving on to a new place, and everything is new.
You know the parasha opens with the light of the menorah.
"Hashem spoke to Moshe saying, 'Speak to Aaron, and say to him: When you kindle
the lamps,
toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast light.
Aaron did so, toward the face of the
Menorah he kindled its lamps, as Hashem had commanded Moshe'."
So now open up your heart in the deepest way.
The natural or 'logical' place in the Torah of all the aspects of the service of
the Tabernacle, is in the
previous book – of Vayikra.
Because that is the Book of the Divine Service.
And there we find the
instructions for the service.
So – of all the details of the Divine service – whose natural place should
be there – why does the Torah now mention the lighting of the Menorah.
And why does it appear
immediately following the conclusion of the offerings of all the princes of the tribes
of Israel at the
dedication of the Tabernacle, following which we read – last verse – 'When Moshe arrived
at the
Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from atop the cover
that was
upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two Cherubim, and HE spoke to him.'
The Shechina
is in the Temple, the Tabernacle.
And now – 'When you kindle the lamps'…what is this all about.
The portion begins with the lighting of the menorah because that is the first thing we
have to know,
its the beginning of everything, and its light is the key to everything and the secret of
our lives.
Earlier we said, in every journey that each one of us must take, the signs are there.
How do we see
them is the question…
Our sages ask, why is there a candelabrum in the Holy Temple?
G-d doesn't need to see by its light.
Fire is the source of energy and power.
Fire changes things.
Lighting the fire of the menorah
expresses the energy, the life force, the power and drive, that Hashem imbues in the
world.
It's
everywhere, we all generate energy, but to create light – it needs to be directed.
Light, in the Torah's
parlance, expresses wisdom and understanding.
…, 'for the mitzvah is the candle and Torah, the
light.'
Proverbs 6:23 There is a G-dly process of creation going on in this world and the spiritual
root
of that process, revealed by the wisdom of Torah, is what illuminates life.
The light of the menorah is a constant in our lives.
The Torah is teaching us the secret of how to
renew our energy and use it to illuminate.
The daily kindling of the menorah is the secret of our
renewal and our preparedness to be a vessel for Divine light.
The seven lights of the menorah are
the seven orifices of a human being.
In the morning when a Jewish man puts on his tefillin, which is
an act of great attachment to G-d, because it allows Divine light to shine on a person,
so in the
accompanying prayer we ask G-d to 'pour out fine oil on the seven branches of the
menorah to give
your goodness to your creations, and in this context the seven branches of the menorah
refer to a
person's seven lights.
What we do with that light and how brightly we allow it to shine is another
matter.
The menorah has to be kindled anew daily.
A person can't be on automatic.
We must never
become monotonous or fixed.
One push or wind-up is not enough; ….the energy has to be
increased, one's motivation has to be rekindled each day, with fire that will bring us to
act, to do and
to illuminate.
Our sages teach that the western flame was always lit and from it the other flames
were kindled.
There has to always be a constant inner motivation to live and to create, to fix, to
illuminate.
And from that inner flame that must never be allowed to be extinguished, that
inextinguishable spark of holiness, by the mouth of Hashem - a person draws strength
to renew life
each day
That's why the Menorah is lit in the Holy Temple each day.
Because we need to renew our lives
each day and renew our efforts to reflect Hashem's light….
You know there is a very famous question that many of our great sages ponder on the verse,
'and
Aaron did so, facing opposite the face of the menorah, he caused the candles to rise
as Hashem
commanded Moshe.'
Ostensibly, what does this verse come to teach us or add?
Would we ever
think that Aaron would not fulfill Hashem's command?
It's like the whole verse is here to tell us that
Aaron did as he was commanded.
Rashi, in his explanation of the verse, seems to make things even more complicated.
He writes that
according to Midrash, this verse 'comes to praise Aaron, that he did not change.'
OK.
He didn't make
any changes, didn't deviate from the instructions but did what he was told.
But this makes our
question even greater, would we ever think that Aaron would make a change from what Hashem
commanded, so that now a verse is especially designated as praise of him for not changing???
Well
open up your heart in the deepest way.
The answer is, this verse is telling us and Rashi is
explaining, that Aaron lit the menorah every single day – and he never changed – he
lit it every
single day with the same enthusiasm and energy and excitement and sensitivity with which
he lit the
menorah the very first time, and that's what it means, he didn't change it.
This is exactly what our avoda is, each of us, our Divine service of lighting up our
menorah so that in
the words of our sages, 'each day should be new in your eyes,' that no day should
be like its
predecessor, every day we rekindle and draw strength from everything that emanates from
the
mouth of Hashem, drawing power and direction for all our actions, so that we can shine
forth, each one of us, with the
light of the Menorah.
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