Behalotcha
By Nate Fein

At the beginning of this week’s parsha, Rashi quotes a Midrash which asks why Parshat B’haalotcha is placed right after the ceremonial korbanot offered by the leaders of each tribe from last week’s parsha. The Midrash goes on to explain that Aharon was saddened that his tribe was not among those selected to take part in this expression of joy. In order to appease Aharon, the command to build and take care of the menora on a daily basis was given right afterwards.

The Ramban comments that Aharon should have been content with all the other parts of the daily occurrences, yet he was not. Why does the lighting of the menora specifically satisfy him? The Ramban goes on to to suggest that Aharon knows that even in galut we would still light the menorah (a foreshadowing of Chanukah) and therefore the lighting of the menorah will have longer lasting impact than the bringing of these korbanot.

The Shem MiShmuel quotes his illustrious father the Avnei Nezer who reminds us that the Kohanim work in a different sphere than we do, they are heavenly agents, while the Leviim and the rest of Am Yisrael focus not from above but from below. This, says the Shem MiShmuel, explains why Aharon was missing something in his service because there was nothing, as of yet, for him to do on an earthy plane.

This also explains why lighting the menorah is something that we can do today, even in galut. The menorah works on our level not on a Godly level and, therefore, it is as if the menorah was givento us to practice our avodah in galut.

As we end this year of learning at Shvilei Hatorah, we are forced to figure out what we can take with us as we leave the Yeshiva. We can take the imagery of the menorah; a single body with multiple candles all pointing at the center – reminding us where our focus should be as we travel outside of the Yeshiva walls and into galut.

Shabbat Shalom