For Whom the Menorah Shines?  

I am often surprised about the care God takes in describing in the very details of the vestments of the Kohen in the Mishkan and the building materials and dimensions of the Mishkan.  In the very place where the kohen alone is allowed to “meet” God, there is seemingly undue concern about the clothing he wears and whether we use gold or silver for the Keruvim and why each part of the Mishkan was necessary. We have discussed this in previous blogs1, but I still find a certain fascination with God’s interest in these details.

It was nice to find the following idea put forth by Rabbi Norman Lamm about how we relate to the Menorah. Chazal note a word which is seemingly superfluous in a passuk very similar to the beginning of this week’s parsha. Command the people and let them “take for you” extra-virgin olive oil.2 For whom else would they be taking the oil, Chazal ask. The Gemara explains that God is telling Moshe that this whole procedure is for your benefit.3 I do not need the light, God says. It is for you. The beauty of the Mishkan is for the people to behold and appreciate. It is not for God’s sake but rather for ours. We do the mitzvot for our own benefit not as a favor to God. “The true Jew realizes that God does not need our gifts; that a religious life is not a question of spiritual trade and religious commercialization… (for if one does believe so, then) when such a person suffers reverses, his question is always, “Didn’t I do my duty?” Why did I deserve this?”4 The person has decided that the answer to his situation lies from without. He views these reverses not as a challenge but as a nuisance.

"Man should not ask what the meaning of his life is,

but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked"

Frankl

This reminds me of the concept of Dr. Viktor Frankl who writes that one should not ask of life why something happens to us. “As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve, the question of the meaning of life may actually be reversed. Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked.”5 We are challenged to answer the question of how we related to the above-mentioned reverses. How we use that light of the menorah when there is darkness in our lives becomes an empowering question that can help guide us.

The Menorah, then, can give us this message: It is for us accept responsibility for how we respond to life and its challenges. How we choose to react says much about us and how we are ready to take the reins of our lives. 

So, to paraphrase John Donne: Send not to know

                                              For whom the menorah shines?

                                              It shines for thee.

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay

Footnotes

  1. Logoparsha - https://bit.ly/tetzaveh78
  2. Vayikra 24:2
  3. Menachot 86b
  4. https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/1090160
  5. Frankl, Viktor E.. Man's Search for Meaning (p. 109). Beacon Press. Kindle Edition.
  6. https://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=2118

 

Have A Great Shabbat!laughing

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