THE MENORA AS A MEDITATION TO ATTAIN UNITY
Behaalosecha - Chanukah
“Do you not know what these are?” These were the words of Hashem to the prophet Zecharia in this week’s haftorah. Hashem showed Zecharia a vision of a Menora made of pure gold and told him “this Menora is the word of Hashem to Zerubavel, the Jewish people”.
This haftorah was selected because it is similar to the description of the Menora from the Mishkan in the Parsha.
The Menora represented the collective unit of the Jewish people. This unity is alluded to by the use of the name Zerubavel in the prophecy.
Zerubavel is a combination of the words Zeru - sowing seed and Bavel - a mixture. This mixture of ‘seed’ in the Jewish people is described in a prophesy of Yirmiyahu that “I shall sow the House of Yehuda, the seed of man and the seed of animals”.
Our nation comprises great spiritual giants, holy people and scholars - “the seed of man”. We also have those who are on more lowly spiritual level, who, like the beasts, devote themselves to the pursuit of physicality and worldly pleasures - “the seed of animals”. Yet these souls, these two ‘seeds’, are Bavel, mixed together to create the collective Jewish people as represented by the Menora.
(In an earlier Maamar, the Alter Rebbe explains how the seven individual branches of the Menora represent seven general types of Neshamos and their different approaches in the service of Hashem. The Menora had to be made from one single block of gold, representing how the different types of Neshamos remain one and united).
At the beginning of the Parsha, the Torah tells us how the Menora was made;
“This is the making of the Menora, hammered out of gold, from its base (יריכה) until its flower(פרחה) it is hammered out”.
The flower, situated at the top of the Menora, represents the lofty Tzaddikim who fly upwards (פרחה לעילא) with the ‘wings’ of love and fear in their service of Hashem in Torah study and prayer. The lowly base of the Menora represents the spiritually lowly Jews.
Yet, both are part of the same Menora. Every Jew, be they a base or a flower, is a pure-gold element of the Menora that makes up our people.
The Alter Rebbe states that this Achdus (unity) is absolutely imperative. The way we achieve this Achdus is by not seeing or focusing on the negativity and shortcomings of others.
How is the more elevated flower able to ignore the obvious shortcomings of the base? By reflecting on the message of the Menora and how it was fashioned;מקשה - hammered into shape.
When making the Menora, the force of the hammer would direct and move the malleable gold. Through this, the gold that was initially higher would be pushed downwards and the gold that was situated lower would be pushed upwards.
Using this analogy, the Alter Rebbe teaches us a profound meditative thought that will help us to not see negative in others and thereby achieve true unity.
All of the Jewish people are responsible for one another כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה. The word ערבים can also mean mixed; that all of the Jewish people are blended together to create a whole and each of us can be influenced spiritually by the actions of one another.
This influence is like the gold that is shifted up and down when hammered. Sometimes the negativity from ‘above’ - from a more spiritually elevated individual - is pushed ‘down’ and manifests itself in the lowly sinful person. Conversely, sometimes the Mitzvos and merits of the lowly person are elevated upwards and influence the more lofty ones.
When it comes to our own deficiencies, we must take ownership and attribute them to ourselves. But when we see negativity in someone else, we should see it as being our own and not theirs. When we see our own merits and positive qualities, we should consider that perhaps they really came to us from those who we saw as being spiritually lower.
With this approach of seeing only the positive in others and leaving the fault-finding for ourselves, each person will see themselves as the ‘base’ and the other as the ‘flower’. Then we can create a Menora of unity which is all of pure gold, from top to bottom.
Once we achieve this unity to become a fitting Menora, Aharon, who represents the infinite Chessed from Above, will kindle all of our seven branches, to lift up and ignite each soul with the fiery love of Hashem. And with this light, we will illuminate and eradicate the darkness of the world and bring about the restoration of the Menora in the Holy Temple.
Based on Likutei Torah Parshas Behaalosecha
This haftorah was selected because it is similar to the description of the Menora from the Mishkan in the Parsha.
The Menora represented the collective unit of the Jewish people. This unity is alluded to by the use of the name Zerubavel in the prophecy.
Zerubavel is a combination of the words Zeru - sowing seed and Bavel - a mixture. This mixture of ‘seed’ in the Jewish people is described in a prophesy of Yirmiyahu that “I shall sow the House of Yehuda, the seed of man and the seed of animals”.
Our nation comprises great spiritual giants, holy people and scholars - “the seed of man”. We also have those who are on more lowly spiritual level, who, like the beasts, devote themselves to the pursuit of physicality and worldly pleasures - “the seed of animals”. Yet these souls, these two ‘seeds’, are Bavel, mixed together to create the collective Jewish people as represented by the Menora.
(In an earlier Maamar, the Alter Rebbe explains how the seven individual branches of the Menora represent seven general types of Neshamos and their different approaches in the service of Hashem. The Menora had to be made from one single block of gold, representing how the different types of Neshamos remain one and united).
At the beginning of the Parsha, the Torah tells us how the Menora was made;
“This is the making of the Menora, hammered out of gold, from its base (יריכה) until its flower(פרחה) it is hammered out”.
The flower, situated at the top of the Menora, represents the lofty Tzaddikim who fly upwards (פרחה לעילא) with the ‘wings’ of love and fear in their service of Hashem in Torah study and prayer. The lowly base of the Menora represents the spiritually lowly Jews.
Yet, both are part of the same Menora. Every Jew, be they a base or a flower, is a pure-gold element of the Menora that makes up our people.
The Alter Rebbe states that this Achdus (unity) is absolutely imperative. The way we achieve this Achdus is by not seeing or focusing on the negativity and shortcomings of others.
How is the more elevated flower able to ignore the obvious shortcomings of the base? By reflecting on the message of the Menora and how it was fashioned;מקשה - hammered into shape.
When making the Menora, the force of the hammer would direct and move the malleable gold. Through this, the gold that was initially higher would be pushed downwards and the gold that was situated lower would be pushed upwards.
Using this analogy, the Alter Rebbe teaches us a profound meditative thought that will help us to not see negative in others and thereby achieve true unity.
All of the Jewish people are responsible for one another כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה. The word ערבים can also mean mixed; that all of the Jewish people are blended together to create a whole and each of us can be influenced spiritually by the actions of one another.
This influence is like the gold that is shifted up and down when hammered. Sometimes the negativity from ‘above’ - from a more spiritually elevated individual - is pushed ‘down’ and manifests itself in the lowly sinful person. Conversely, sometimes the Mitzvos and merits of the lowly person are elevated upwards and influence the more lofty ones.
When it comes to our own deficiencies, we must take ownership and attribute them to ourselves. But when we see negativity in someone else, we should see it as being our own and not theirs. When we see our own merits and positive qualities, we should consider that perhaps they really came to us from those who we saw as being spiritually lower.
With this approach of seeing only the positive in others and leaving the fault-finding for ourselves, each person will see themselves as the ‘base’ and the other as the ‘flower’. Then we can create a Menora of unity which is all of pure gold, from top to bottom.
Once we achieve this unity to become a fitting Menora, Aharon, who represents the infinite Chessed from Above, will kindle all of our seven branches, to lift up and ignite each soul with the fiery love of Hashem. And with this light, we will illuminate and eradicate the darkness of the world and bring about the restoration of the Menora in the Holy Temple.
Based on Likutei Torah Parshas Behaalosecha