Titzaveh
You shall further
instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting,
for kindling lamps regularly. Aaron and
his sons shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is
over the Ark of the Pact, to burn from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a due from the Israelites for all
time, throughout the ages.
27:20 – 21
What is the meaning of the text: “For the commandment is a lamp?” Man’s heart frequently prompts him to perform
a good deed, but the evil inclination inside him says: Why should you perform a good deed at the
expense of your pocket? Before you give
to others, give to your children. But
the good inclination says to him: Give
for a worthy cause. See what is
written! “For the
commandment is a lamp.” Just as the
light of a lamp remains undimmed, thought myriads of wicks and flames may be
lit from it, so he who gives for a worthy cause does not make a hole in his own
pocket…
(Shemot Rabbah)
Said the Holy One Blessed be He: In this world you need a lamp, but in time to
come “and nations shall walk by your light and kings by the brightness of your
rising.”
Midrash Tanchuma
The idea that light signals God’s presence goes back
to ancient days, without electricity, when a light that burned steadily through
the night bordered on the miraculous…Our Israelite forbears knew that God met
them but needed a ner tamid (eternal light) to announce where. By contrast, we have a ner tamid but have
forgotten that God meets us there. Even
for the people who sit on the bima, it is just one more light, virtually
undifferentiated from other electricity all around us.
What is the ultimate religious purpose of life? We can find an answer to this question in the
beginning of the Shulhan Arukh where Rabbi Moses Isserles…tells us that the
purpose of life is to establish a relationship with God…The light is a symbol,
linked to God and we must literally see it in order to activate our minds…The
commandment of the light is established now and for all generations…even though
the Temple has been destroyed and the candlesticks have disappeared, there are
synagogues and houses of study in which we light candles, and they are each
called a miniature Temple…(Midrash Hagadol)
Michael Rascoe (Contemporary)
What Moses was called upon to do, at the beginning of
our parsha is thus substantially different from all the other things he was
asked to perform in the context of the Tabernacle…unlike all the other
commandments associated with the Tabernacle, this particular one remained
intact during the period of exile….”it was an everlasting statute throughout
your generations…” for future generations it was “a statute” without reason, a
decree of the Almighty.
Nechama Leibovitz (20th Century)
This term for kindling lights is used only in
connection with the care of the Menorah.
It precisely describes the task of the keeper of the flame, i.e. to hold
the kindling flame against the wick to be kindled until the wick “continues
burning on its own.” The task of the
Torah teacher is to render his services unnecessary. His task is not to keep the “laity” forever
dependent upon him. This is meant as an
admonition to both teachers and students that they should be patient and
persevering.
Samson Raphael Hirsch (19th Century)