Parashat HaShavua - Emor

In what way did the menorah that is described in Emor, our parasha this week, need to be pure in order to illuminate the mishkan, the Tabernacle? After Moshe is told to instruct Bnei Yisrael to provide the oil, we learn that Aharon will set up the ner tamid, continuous light, “outside the dividing curtain of the testimony in the Tent of Meeting / מִחוּץ֩ לְפָרֹ֨כֶת הָֽעֵדֻ֜ת בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֗ד.” (Lev. 24:3) Then, “upon the pure menorah, he shall set up the lights, before the Lord, continually / עַ֚ל הַמְּנֹרָ֣ה הַטְּהֹרָ֔ה יַֽעֲרֹ֖ךְ אֶת־הַנֵּר֑וֹת לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה תָּמִֽיד.” (Lev. 24:4)

The different understandings of purity that are offered in the commentaries, and how the presence or absence of purity can impact the worthiness of the menorah to illuminate the mishkan, provide insight into our own potential for purity and for sharing our light with others. The first understanding offered by Rashi (France 1040-1105) is the most daunting: the menorah “was pure gold / זָהָב טָהוֹר,” and according to Ibn Ezra constructed by Betzalel. This perfection, brought to us by a man possessing “the spirit of God / ר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Ex. 35:31), seems well beyond our reach.

Thankfully, Rashi and others also offer understandings of what is meant here that are more within our reach and helpful in setting standards for ourselves. Rashi’s second explanation is to read “on the pure menorah” as “on the purity of the menorah / עַל טָהֳרָהּ שֶׁל מְנוֹרָה,” meaning that it “must first be cleaned and the ashes removed / שֶׁמְּטַהֲרָהּ וּמְדַשְּׁנָהּ תְּחִלָּה מִן הָאֵפֶר” before the candles are placed there. This is obviously a far cry from the perfection demanded by the first interpretation, so far that it might even seem too simplistic and concrete to learn from. However, this can serve as an important reminder that care and concern – even the most basic level of conscientiousness – is elevating, and should not be taken for granted.

Rabbeinu Bahya (Spain 1255-1340) quotes the Sifra to deepen the significance of cleanliness, to say that “‘on the purity of the menorah’ means there cannot be any container or wrap with them / עַל טָהֳרָהּ שֶׁלַּמְּנוֹרָה – שֶׁלֹּא יִסְמְכֶם בְּקֵיסָמִים וּבִצְרוֹרוֹת.” As the Malbim (Ukraine 1809-1879) explains, “the lights were set up directly on the menorah itself without anything between them and the menorah,” because without a barrier “it is necessary to be mindful of their purity / שעריכת הנרות יהיה על המנורה עצמה, ולא יהיה דבר מפסיק בין הנרות להמנורה… מקבלים טומאה ולכתחילה צריך לזהר בטהרתם.” Here I think the lesson can be that to provide one’s light, a holy light akin to that which illuminated the mishkan, one must strive for integrity, for directness and honesty. 

Perhaps the most complex treatment of this passage is by the Netziv (Russia/Poland 1816-1893) in his commentary Ha’Emek Davar. He starts by pointing out that not only Aharon was able to set up the menorah; “in truth it was kosher even when a regular person did so / ובאמת כשר גם בהדיוט,” as we learn from parashat Tetzave when Moshe is instructed to command all of Bnei Yisrael “to raise the light continuously / לְהַֽעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד.” (Ex. 27:20) Moreover, the notion of purity is not mentioned there. The Netziv continues: “The reason that Aharon is described as setting up this menorah here is “only because Aharon is delving into the holidays [as discussed in the previous chapter], and the ability to teach halacha (Jewish law) to Bnei Yisrael was placed on him / רק לצורך הענין המדובר בו שיתעסק בזה אהרן במועדים כדי שיחול גם עליו שפע הלכות להורות לב״י.” The menorah, it seems, is being treated as a metaphor for halacha. However, warns the Netziv, one had to be careful that “the spiritual power of the menorah was not compromised by an impure generation / לא נתקלקל כח רוחני שבה בטומאת הדור.” For if it was, “the menorah couldn’t help with the proper application of halacha, and it was necessary to further exhaust oneself to stand by the truth and seek a true path / ובזמן שאין הדור טהור אין המנורה מסייע לחידוש הלכה וההכרח להתייגע יותר לעמוד על האמת ולמצוא דרך האמת.”

This teaching by the Netziv can, I think, be extended from the context of halacha to the many different ways we might live our lives and share our ideas – our own light – with others. Whatever the context, maintaining the appropriate frame of mind is essential. And if the time comes when that  light is at risk of being compromised, we cannot let it be extinguished, but rather must redouble our efforts to see that it endures.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head
Rabbinic Advisor