BS”D
MENORAH’S
MYSTERY: PARSHAT TERUMAH
Shira
Smiles shiur 2018/5778
Adapted
by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Parshat Terumah begins the instructions for building the Mishkan/Tabernacle
and its vessels. The instructions are quite detailed, yet Moshe and the
artisans Bezalel and Oholiav have everything under control. Everything, except
the construction of the golden menorah. True, the design was quite complex, and
it was to be formed completely from one solid piece of gold. No cups were to be
screwed in or legs soldered onto a base. Moshe was perplexed as to how to
create the Menorah. According to the Medrash, the angel Gavriel appeared to
Moshe and demonstrated how to construct the Menorah. Perhaps Moshe tried to
follow those instructions, but in the end, Hashem told Moshe to just throw the
gold into the fire and the Menorah would miraculously emerge. What was so
unique about the Menorah that it defied Moshe’s ability to create it, and
Hashem Himself fashioned it?
First, the Menorah is so central to Jewish identity that Titus had it carved
onto the Arch of Triumph he erected after he destroyed the Temple and exiled
Bnei Yisroel. Titus thought, writes Rabbi Munk z”tl, that he had extinguished
for all time the light that sustains us, the light of Torah. In modern times,
the Menorah became the official symbol of the Jewish State.
Kabbalah offers much more symbolism for the Mishkan and all its
vessels, continues Rabbi Munk z”tl. The Mishkan itself represents the
world in microcosm, and each vessel represents a different day of creation. For
example, God’s presence hovered over the Ark in the Holy of Holies, just as His
spirit hovered over the face of the void at the onset of creation In the
Mishkan, the parochet/curtain separated that spiritual sphere from the
more physical elements of the Mishkan, just as there is a separation
between the upper spiritual realm and the physical world in which our bodies
live. The lights of the firmament are represented by the Menorah which brings
the light of Torah and mitzvoth into man’s life. The completion of the Mishkan
sanctifies space, while Shabbat sanctifies time. The Mishkan was then
consecrated for eight days, symbolizing the supernatural world that elevates
the physical world, completed in seven days, to the spiritual.
Rav Benzion Zaks z”tl goes into further detail along these lines. He writes how
all the vessels are meant to teach us to elevate our physical surroundings. The
lights represent Torah study, while our own shulchan/table can be
elevated by placing a Torah or seforim upon it to study, or by
sanctifying the bread we put upon it with blessings and inviting guests. The
menorah exhorts us to recognize our uniqueness and bring light to the world of
darkness. The menorah stands higher than the other vessels, for Bnei Yisroel
rises above the other nations to bring that light and clarity to the world. The
oil that lights the menorah is pressed from olives, as Bnei Yisroel will be
oppressed by the nations who want to snuff out our light, so they can live as
freely as they want, without a conscience or guilt.
However, one can view the problem from perspectives other than practical or
historical. Rather, Letitcha Elyon writes, Moshe’s problem is
philosophical. If the Mishkan here on earth is mirrored by the Mishkan
in heaven, and when the priest lights the menorah here, the angels light the
menorah in heaven, there will be times when the Jewish presence will be almost
snuffed out here below. How then will the menorah on high, representing
eternity, be lit by the angels? Hashem answered Moshe by telling him to throw
the gold into the fire and the menorah will be formed on its own. In the time
of greatest destruction, our light will shine the brightest. In those times,
Bnei Yisroel will hold most tightly to the fire of Torah. That fire gives us
rebirth and creativity. It makes us greater and stronger for eternity. It is
our task to keep lighting the menorah, particularly b’ikvisa d’Meshicha/when
we hear the footsteps of the Messiah.
As Rabbi Scheinerman writes, just as
the menorah emerged from the fire directly from Hashem, so will the final
redemption also come directly from Hashem.
Moshe had trouble reconciling the physical world with the spiritual world, the
world of science with the world of Torah. But, writes Rabbi Nissian Alpert
zt”l, Hashem showed Moshe the menorah of seven individual branches. But they
were all unified from the single source. All knowledge, all wisdom, every
discipline is derived from Torah, the source of all. The more physical material
that is added to the fire, the more we find that wisdom in Torah, the larger
the flame becomes. The fire purifies the material as well as the individual who
feeds the fire.
Rabbi Goldstein in Shaarei Chaim explains that Hashem sent a similar
message when He gave us the Torah on Har Sinai. He brought down the lofty,
spiritual Torah and gave it to us on a lowly mountain on earth. Spirituality
can and should be infused in everything. Therefore, we must be careful what we
allow to enter our senses lest we corrupt their sensitivity to the spiritual.
Moshe was further concerned how Torah study could reveal new insights in the
Torah since Torah already contains everything. To this, Hashem responded by
telling Moshe to throw the gold into the fire, for the menorah is already fully
contained within the gold, as all new insight were already contained in the
Torah although still hidden, but Hashem revealed both as a gift, writes Rabbi
Sorotskin. [I am reminded that Michelangelo already envisioned within a slab of
marble the final sculpture he would produce, lehavdil.c.k.s]
Rabbi Belsky zt’l expands on this idea. Just as the menorah came in three
stages, so too does the acquisition of Torah come in three stages. The
revelation at Sinai parallels Hashem showing Moshe the image of the menorah.
Then the Angel Gavriel showed Moshe how to construct the menorah, representing
the learning and transmission of Torah from one generation to the next.
Finally, just as the menorah came down from heaven as a gift in complete form,
so too is the attainment of Torah knowledge a gift from Heaven.
The menorah also represents the fire and passion one feels for the desire for
learning Torah. And since desire and passion cannot be measured and can
continue to grow, the Torah provides no measurements to limit the size of the
menorah, writes Rabbi Pincus z”tl. Further, unlike the other vessels whose
effect took place in a limited space, the light from the menorah filled the
entire sanctuary. So, must we too attempt to fill our homes completely with the
light of Torah. While Torah is ultimately given as a gift, we must still put in
our own effort and strive upward, as the flame strives to reach ever higher.
However, if you’ve honestly tried your hardest and are still unsuccessful, you
carry no blame, writes Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz. Our challenge is that we think
we have to do it all. We do our part, in learning or in constructing holy
vessels, but it is Hashem Who gives us a gift of success. Moshe tried to
construct the menorah. Even Moshe had to ask for help as he threw the gold into
the fire. If we fail to recognize that Hashem creates our success, we will fall
into the trap of believing it was all the result of “My strength and the power
of my hand.”
We are required to put in total effort to study Torah and observe mitzvoth. But
we are not required to go beyond our capability, for in the final analysis, our
accomplishment is a gift from Hashem. All we can do, writes Rabbi Brazile, is
give our desire, and Hashem will bring it to fruition. If we sincerely ask for
the tools to do mitzvoth so that we can serve Hashem fully, whether greater
intelligence to learn Torah or financial ability to support Torah institutions,
or skills to help others, Hashem will give us the tools we need. Our ratzon/desire
creates the tzinor/conduit for Hashem’s
blessings to flow down to us. It depends on our will rather than on God’s, so
before you blame God for your inability to perform a mitzvah, writes Rabbi
Wolbe z”tl, ask yourself if you were truly completely committed. There is
reciprocity, adds Rabbi Reiss. When we throw ourselves completely into the fire
of passion, Hashem will respond and let it happen.
What is interesting is that Moshe had a similar problem with the half shekel
that each member of Bnei Yisroel was commanded to donate for the census. Here
too the Medrash tells us that Hashem showed Moshe a fiery coin as an example of
the half shekel. What was Moshe’s problem with the half shekel?
Rabbi Dunner z’l, the Mikdash Halevi, explains what was troubling Moshe
and presents a resolution. Like the menorah, the half shekel was also meant to
be a spiritual symbol in physical form. How could something so representative
of the physical and mundane as gold or silver also contain spirituality? How
could a half shekel be the atonement for sin? In the case of the menorah, fire
can definitely be destructive. But it is also constructive as a source of light
and warmth. Money intrinsically also contains two opposing powers. The pursuit
of wealth can lead someone further and further into an abyss of physicality, or
it can serve as a vehicle for the pursuit of mitzvoth, from enhancing Shabbat
to funding Jewish organizations to helping the poor. Everything in creation has
this duality within it, and it is our choice whether to use it for positive
purposes or negative ones. When we use the physical materials of earth for the
performance of mitzvoth, we elevate them and ourselves from a mundane, physical
existence to a spiritual realm.
Yes, we live in a physical world. But everything can be a tool to be used for
spiritual means, writes Rabbi Svei z”tl. If we view the shoes we wear, for
example, as enabling us to attend shiurim, or to go about caring for our
children as an act of chesed, we elevate those pieces of leather. We have the
ability to infuse the physical world with holy energy or to drain it of
holiness. That is the message of both the menorah and the half shekel. We must
strive to bring light to the world through Torah and mitzvoth. We bring the
fire of our passion to live a Jewish, spiritual life, and Hashem gives us the
gifts that enable us to be a light to the nations, to our families and to
ourselves.