Beha'aloscha: A Little Light...
8:1-2
God spoke to Moses, to say: Speak to Aharon and say to him:
"When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the menorah."
Rashi 8:2
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 raise up [the candles…]: Why is the parsha of the Menorah’s [lighting] juxtaposed to that of the [donations of] the Princes? Because when Aharon saw the dedications of the Princes [for the Tabernacle] his mind went weak, that he was not among them in the dedication, not him nor his tribe. So the Almighty said to him (through Moshe) “By your life, yours is greater than theirs, for you light and set up the candles. בהעלתך: על שם שהלהב עולה, כתוב בהדלקתן לשון עליה, שצריך להדליק עד שתהא שלהבת עולה מאליה.
When you raise up [the candles…]:[The words “when you raise up are chosen] are written as an expression of elevation, as the flame goes up, for he must light them until the flame goes up independently.
It is significant (to me at least) that Rashi does not term his second comment a “davar acheir,” meaning a new interpretation. The portion of Aharon being greater is somehow linked to this that the flame must be cared for until it shines brightly on its own.
But why is Aharon's portion greater?
What is the symbolism of "the light going on it's own?"
Let’s hear from the Ramban. After he quotes Rashi (who is really just quoting Midrash), Ramban makes the following comment:
It’s not clear to me what the condolence is with the lighting of the candles, and he wasn’t instead comforted by the burning of the incense morning and evening, which the verse praises [the Kohanim with] (Devarim 33:10) “They place incense in Your Presence,”
or with all of the offerings and the baked flour offerings, and the service of Yom Kippur which is only kosher with him, and [during which] he enters inside the holy of holies, and that he [Aharon] is sanctified as holy to God, standing in his Palace, to serve Him and the bless in His Name, and his tribe, all of them servants of God.
Furthermore, for what reason does he have this weakness of mind anyway?
Behold, his offering is greater than that of the Princes, that he offered during those days of the Tabernacles inauguration all those many offerings…
Rather the idea behind this story is to learn a hint from the parsha about the re-consecration of the Second Temple through the hands of Aharon and his children [the priests], by whom I mean to say the Chamonai Kohain Gadol and his sons (the Hasmoneans, I.e. The Chaunkah story).
So we find it in the hidden scroll of Rabainu Nissim, who records this Aggadah… “The Holy One said to Moshe, speak to Aharon and tell him, there is another dedication [of the Temple] which will be accomplished through lighting of the candles, and I will work through that [lighting] miracles and salvation for Israel through your children, and the dedication [of the Temple] will be called on their name, and this is the Chanukah of the sons of the Chashmonaim.
Ok - that was a long quote. Let’s try and appreciate it!
All of the services, of which some are so mystical and elevated that they only happen once a year, to one man, and the fate of the nation rests on it.
But all of this was the normal functioning of the High Priest, this was not something that dedicated the Presence of God among Israel, but rather was the normal responsibilities and duties of Aharon, as Ramban himself explains in a part I left out!
Aharon also wanted a hand in the dedication - the founding of the building itself, either him or his tribe (he’s not egotistical, after all, just wanting to contribute!).
And so God told him through his brother that indeed his tribe would do a greater dedication of the Temple - that of the Chanukah story.
But it’s difficult to understand, really, when we compare the two dedications, at least as “events.”
Let’s get the camera’s rolling:
Scene one: The desert. Approximately 3 million men, women and children watch as the 12 Princes of the Tribes bring their elaborate gifts, all enumerated in extensive detail at the end of Parshas Nasso.
Aharon in the distance, looking on pensively. Wanting to give, do something, be a part of the dedication. And yet no command from the Almighty! What is he to do?!
So the Almighty sends a prophecy to Moshe Rabainu to soothe his poor brother’s concerns. Not to worry, brother, you’re tribe will indeed accomplish a greater dedication than this one.
Ok - now we take poetic license, as it were. Perhaps Aharon may have asked, what pray tell is this great dedication?
Scene two: A destroyed and defiled Temple, finally wrested from the rampages of the idolatrous Greeks by the self sacrifice, courage and determination of the Kohanim, and those who fought with them. A ragtag army of guerrilla fighting rebels, led by generals from the offspring of Aharon, the Kohanic family of the Mattisyahu and his sons, the Chashmonaim.
There is more drama in the second case, sure - but a greater dedication of the Temple?
That for me is hard to understand.
What is the purpose of the Temple after all but to have the Divine Presence, the Shechina, dwell among us?
And at which scene was the Divine Presence more apparent, in the Tabernacle of the Desert, designed by Betzalel, constructed by Moshe Rabainu himself, adorned with offerings from the Princes of each tribe, and finally consecrated by Moshe Rabainu himself, or the half-destroyed building that was a shell of it’s former glory, just recently cleaned from the pig carcass that had been offered to Zeus, now lit with the light of the Menorah, and enough oil for one day?
Ok - there’s a bit of a miracle and the oil lasts for eight days, until they can get a new pure supply.
But still, compared to the Cloud of Glory that rested on the Tabernacle?
Well, apparently to God, the second dedication is greater. And it teaches us something very important about our times, and what it “takes to bring Moshiach” in our generation, when much greater generations than ours could not.
When there is much light, one more candle does little. As the Gemara says, a candle in daylight, who needs it?
But in a time of darkness, when people do the worst evils to each other and we are at a loss as to explain why, in times such as these, every act of kindness, every word of love, every little candle that we light to take back the night is like a nuclear explosion of revelation to this world, whether we are aware of that or not.
There truly is a cosmic battle going on, it’s not all Star Wars and Harry Potter. We love those fictions because we know in our hearts they are based on truth. Only the “dark side” lives in the heart of man, not a disembodied voice (unless you need medication, and pronto).
When the Chashmonaim stood up to take back what was theirs by law, by history, and by Divine right, they not only lit a Candelabra but also re-ignited the souls of Israel.
To do so in their generation took great self sacrifice, not all of the Chashmonaim survived the battle.
To light the candles today, not just on Chanukah, but every day with a conscious effort to do as many mitzvos as we can find, we are bringing the Moshiach must faster than perhaps we imagine.
God spoke to Moses, to say: Speak to Aharon and say to him:
"When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the menorah."
Rashi 8:2
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 raise up [the candles…]: Why is the parsha of the Menorah’s [lighting] juxtaposed to that of the [donations of] the Princes? Because when Aharon saw the dedications of the Princes [for the Tabernacle] his mind went weak, that he was not among them in the dedication, not him nor his tribe. So the Almighty said to him (through Moshe) “By your life, yours is greater than theirs, for you light and set up the candles. בהעלתך: על שם שהלהב עולה, כתוב בהדלקתן לשון עליה, שצריך להדליק עד שתהא שלהבת עולה מאליה.
When you raise up [the candles…]:[The words “when you raise up are chosen] are written as an expression of elevation, as the flame goes up, for he must light them until the flame goes up independently.
It is significant (to me at least) that Rashi does not term his second comment a “davar acheir,” meaning a new interpretation. The portion of Aharon being greater is somehow linked to this that the flame must be cared for until it shines brightly on its own.
But why is Aharon's portion greater?
What is the symbolism of "the light going on it's own?"
Let’s hear from the Ramban. After he quotes Rashi (who is really just quoting Midrash), Ramban makes the following comment:
It’s not clear to me what the condolence is with the lighting of the candles, and he wasn’t instead comforted by the burning of the incense morning and evening, which the verse praises [the Kohanim with] (Devarim 33:10) “They place incense in Your Presence,”
or with all of the offerings and the baked flour offerings, and the service of Yom Kippur which is only kosher with him, and [during which] he enters inside the holy of holies, and that he [Aharon] is sanctified as holy to God, standing in his Palace, to serve Him and the bless in His Name, and his tribe, all of them servants of God.
Furthermore, for what reason does he have this weakness of mind anyway?
Behold, his offering is greater than that of the Princes, that he offered during those days of the Tabernacles inauguration all those many offerings…
Rather the idea behind this story is to learn a hint from the parsha about the re-consecration of the Second Temple through the hands of Aharon and his children [the priests], by whom I mean to say the Chamonai Kohain Gadol and his sons (the Hasmoneans, I.e. The Chaunkah story).
So we find it in the hidden scroll of Rabainu Nissim, who records this Aggadah… “The Holy One said to Moshe, speak to Aharon and tell him, there is another dedication [of the Temple] which will be accomplished through lighting of the candles, and I will work through that [lighting] miracles and salvation for Israel through your children, and the dedication [of the Temple] will be called on their name, and this is the Chanukah of the sons of the Chashmonaim.
Ok - that was a long quote. Let’s try and appreciate it!
All of the services, of which some are so mystical and elevated that they only happen once a year, to one man, and the fate of the nation rests on it.
But all of this was the normal functioning of the High Priest, this was not something that dedicated the Presence of God among Israel, but rather was the normal responsibilities and duties of Aharon, as Ramban himself explains in a part I left out!
Aharon also wanted a hand in the dedication - the founding of the building itself, either him or his tribe (he’s not egotistical, after all, just wanting to contribute!).
And so God told him through his brother that indeed his tribe would do a greater dedication of the Temple - that of the Chanukah story.
But it’s difficult to understand, really, when we compare the two dedications, at least as “events.”
Let’s get the camera’s rolling:
Scene one: The desert. Approximately 3 million men, women and children watch as the 12 Princes of the Tribes bring their elaborate gifts, all enumerated in extensive detail at the end of Parshas Nasso.
Aharon in the distance, looking on pensively. Wanting to give, do something, be a part of the dedication. And yet no command from the Almighty! What is he to do?!
So the Almighty sends a prophecy to Moshe Rabainu to soothe his poor brother’s concerns. Not to worry, brother, you’re tribe will indeed accomplish a greater dedication than this one.
Ok - now we take poetic license, as it were. Perhaps Aharon may have asked, what pray tell is this great dedication?
Scene two: A destroyed and defiled Temple, finally wrested from the rampages of the idolatrous Greeks by the self sacrifice, courage and determination of the Kohanim, and those who fought with them. A ragtag army of guerrilla fighting rebels, led by generals from the offspring of Aharon, the Kohanic family of the Mattisyahu and his sons, the Chashmonaim.
There is more drama in the second case, sure - but a greater dedication of the Temple?
That for me is hard to understand.
What is the purpose of the Temple after all but to have the Divine Presence, the Shechina, dwell among us?
And at which scene was the Divine Presence more apparent, in the Tabernacle of the Desert, designed by Betzalel, constructed by Moshe Rabainu himself, adorned with offerings from the Princes of each tribe, and finally consecrated by Moshe Rabainu himself, or the half-destroyed building that was a shell of it’s former glory, just recently cleaned from the pig carcass that had been offered to Zeus, now lit with the light of the Menorah, and enough oil for one day?
Ok - there’s a bit of a miracle and the oil lasts for eight days, until they can get a new pure supply.
But still, compared to the Cloud of Glory that rested on the Tabernacle?
Well, apparently to God, the second dedication is greater. And it teaches us something very important about our times, and what it “takes to bring Moshiach” in our generation, when much greater generations than ours could not.
When there is much light, one more candle does little. As the Gemara says, a candle in daylight, who needs it?
But in a time of darkness, when people do the worst evils to each other and we are at a loss as to explain why, in times such as these, every act of kindness, every word of love, every little candle that we light to take back the night is like a nuclear explosion of revelation to this world, whether we are aware of that or not.
There truly is a cosmic battle going on, it’s not all Star Wars and Harry Potter. We love those fictions because we know in our hearts they are based on truth. Only the “dark side” lives in the heart of man, not a disembodied voice (unless you need medication, and pronto).
When the Chashmonaim stood up to take back what was theirs by law, by history, and by Divine right, they not only lit a Candelabra but also re-ignited the souls of Israel.
To do so in their generation took great self sacrifice, not all of the Chashmonaim survived the battle.
To light the candles today, not just on Chanukah, but every day with a conscious effort to do as many mitzvos as we can find, we are bringing the Moshiach must faster than perhaps we imagine.