Raising the Lights Eternal

D’var Torah for Parashat Behaalotekha

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

June 8, 2012

This week’s Torah portion, B’ha-a-lot’kha (Numbers 8:1-12:16) contains one of the most beautiful metaphors in the entire Torah.  The portion begins with instructions regarding the lighting of the Menorah—the gold candelabra that stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.  Aaron, the first High Priest, is commanded to kindle the Menorah’s lights in such a way that its radiance is directed forward, toward the People of Israel. Standing where it does, between the Israelites and the Holy of Holies with the Ark and God’s holy Presence inside it, the Menorah’s light symbolizes God’s holiness extending toward the People, toward the future.

B’ha-a-lot’kha literally means “when you kindle;” however, its implication is more along the line of “when you raise or elevate the lights.”

Immediately following this short paragraph, the portion continues with a passage describing the ordination of the Levites, a ritual meant to separate them from their brethren Israelites while giving them special chores and responsibilities in the upkeep of the Tent of Meeting and in attending the needs of Aaron and his fellow priests.

Next come rules regarding the rituals connected with celebrating Passover, the first holiday the Israelites are commanded to observe.  Shabbat, another holiday and one for which we were given explicit instruction prior to this passage, celebrates our entrance into a Covenant with God.  Passover represents our people’s emergence onto the stage of world history, an event that we celebrate every year at the Seder, as we retell the story of our Exodus from Egypt.  

What do these three passages have in common?

In each case, something is “elevated.”  In the first, it is light.  No simple matter, light.  It was, after all, the first gift of God to all existence, and it represents the highest values of all—life, warmth, acceptance, education and much more.  Understanding how “valuable” these values are to humanity is the meaning of “raising” them.  We elevate “light” when we infuse it with God’s presence and God’s purpose.

In the second case, it is the Levites who are “elevated.”  Here, however, the Torah does not propose a caste system.  Along with their social status come responsibilities—maintaining the Tabernacle and assisting the priests.  Yes, they get proper remuneration for their work, but the Levites are not exempt from giving their own dues to God or excused from offering their own sacrifices as prescribed for the entire nation.  The Levites’ true purpose, their reason for existence, is to serve God and the People.  Their distinction comes as the reward for their dedication and hard work toward a common and sacred goal.

In the third case, it is Time that is elevated.  We raise time to a higher standard when we make it important in our lives; when we mark it off and make its span—be it short or long—special.  We can elevate our whole lifetime if we dedicate it to Tikkun Olam, participating in God’s ongoing work of Creation.  When we understand that the time we are granted by God and Nature is not unlimited and that we must therefore make it special, we “elevate” it.  When we take time to remember our past, we dedicate ourselves to seeing beyond the past, into the present and future, too.  When we ritualize time by lighting candles and by saying prayers and blessings, we elevate Time and make it sacred.  God may be timeless and eternal, but we are not.  We celebrate our humanity not when we account ourselves unworthy due to our limitations, but rather when we understand the unique gift that—for all its limitations—Time is.  For Time is our portion of God, our share of God’s eternity.  It is, therefore, holy.

From its first humble appearance in this Torah portion, the metaphor of B’ha-a-lot’kha continues onward into our own lives, like the very light of the Menorah.  Emanating from the source of all life, it is like an energy flow that elevates each one of us, that flows through each of us to the children that we raise and teach, to the roof beams that we raise, to the standards and values that we hold up high.

May we all live in such a way that, after our time is up, it will be said of us, as the Torah says of Aaron when he first lit the Menorah:  “And Aaron did just so” (Num. 8:3).

©2012 by Boaz D. Heilman