B"H
TORAH BRIEF
The general belief in the Messianic Age is that Moshiach will wave a “magic wand” and change the world while we sit back and passively absorb a new reality coming from on High.
While, Moshiach’s coming, according to the Talmud will occur with our participation or without it, the preferred manner in which Moshiach will come requires that we prepare for it by allowing the flame within us to rise on its own.
This, the Rebbe taught, is what the Torah means when it says, “When you raise up the lights [of the Menorah]” instead of “When you kindle the lights [of the Menorah].” Rashi, citing the Talmud, explains that this means that the flames should rise on their own, without the need to constantly reignite them.
We too, have to take the flame that Moshiach ignites in us and, with our own G‑d given abilities cause it to illuminate our lives and the world around us..
RISING UP!
Kindling or Elevating?
When the Torah describes the command given to Aaron, Moses’ brother, to kindle the Menorah, it uses an unusual expression. Instead of saying, “when you kindle the lamps,” it says, “when you raise up the lamps.”
Various explanations have been given for this choice of language.
Rashi offers two explanations:
First, it points to the way the flame must rise upwards and thus one must kindle the flame so that it goes up on its own.
Second, it alludes to the stairs that the Kohain would need to alight (no pun intended) to light the Menorah.
Both explanations point to the need for a measure of elevation; either the flames must rise or the Kohain who kindles those flames must rise.
Lighting the Menorah for Our Sake
There is a third explanation in the Midrash, which states that G‑d does not need the light in the Sanctuary. Rather the Menorah was kindled in order to illuminate and elevate the entire Jewish people. Thus, the Torah uses the expression “when you raise up” to indicate that the purpose of the lighting of the Menorah was to raise the level of the Jewish people.
To buttress this point, the Midrash cites a verse from Isaiah: “G‑d desired for the sake of his [Israel’s] righteousness that the Torah be made great and glorious.” G‑d gave us the great and glorious Torah for our sake; to refine and elevate us.
The fact that the Midrash cites Isaiah describing the Torah and compares it to the lighting of the Menorah shows us that the Menorah’s light represents the light of Torah.
The connection between the Menorah and Torah is also mentioned in the Talmud (Bava Basra 25b): “Whoever wants to be wise should face the south because the Menorah was in the south [of the Bais Hamikdash].”
The Seven Books of Moses?
The fact that the Menorah had seven branches suggests that Torah may likewise be divided into seven parts.
While we are familiar with the division of the Torah into five books, it is interesting to note that there is also a division of the Torah into seven books. This is based on a tradition that two verses in this week’s parsha actually constitute an entire book. These two verses [which are recited whenever we take the Torah out of the Ark] are:
“When the Ark would journey, Moses said, ‘Arise, G‑d, and let Your foes be scattered, let those who hate you flee from You.’ And when it rested, he would say, ‘Reside tranquilly, O, G‑d, among the myriad thousands of Israel.’”
The verses up to this paragraph are a continuation of the fourth book, Bamidbar (Numbers). These two verses form the fifth book, and the rest of the book of Bamidbar and the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) are the sixth and seventh books, respectively.
The Rebbe (Sefer Hasichos 5751) explains the significance of the division of the Torah into seven books as opposed to its division into five by referring to two dimensions of Torah.
There is Torah in its spiritual pristine state and Torah as it relates to and engages the world in which we live; one which is filled with all sorts of moral and spiritual challenges.
The division of the Torah into seven is significant because seven traits form the emotional template of every person, reflecting the seven emotional attributes of G‑d vested in His creation.
It follows from the Rebbe’s words that Torah, which is associated with and divided into seven, contains and relates to the seven human emotions, which are responsible for our behavior and interaction with the world at large. The following is an analysis of the Torah’s seven characteristics that parallel the seven emotional traits.
Torah: Kindness, Fire and Beauty
The Torah is often called Toras Chesed, a Torah of kindness. Our Sages teach that the Torah begins with G‑d’s kindness, when He clothed Adam and Eve, and ends with His kindness when He buried Moses.
In addition, the Torah’s many commands never direct us to do anything harmful. In the words of Proverbs (3:17): “Its ways are pleasant ways and all its paths are peace.”
Torah’s association with chesed is also hinted at in the verse where the Torah describes it as having come “From His right hand…” The Zohar interprets the right hand as a symbol of kindness because it [the stronger hand] is the one which extends itself to help others.
Yet in that same verse the Torah is likened to fire, which stands for the attribute of Gevurah-judgment. This is so because the Torah doubles as a code of discipline that tells us how to behave.
The Torah is also explicitly identified with the third essential trait, Tiferes, which means beauty, harmony, synthesis and balance (See Berachos 58a). Torah is the ultimate piece of Divine art with all of its beautiful celestial hues and colors. Torah provides us with balance and is the ultimate synthesizing agent between heaven and earth.
Eternal, Ethereal and Intimate
Torah is also associated with the fourth trait, Neztach, which means both victory and eternal. Maimonides writes in his formulation of the 13 Principles of Faith, that the Torah is Divine in its entirety and therefore never subject to change.
The fifth trait is called Hod, which translates as concession, gratitude, and beauty. As much as the teachings of the Torah were made accessible to the human mind by G‑d, we must concede that the Torah is Divine and transcends the limits of our intellect. This captures the true beauty of the Torah, that goes way beyond the surface beauty evident in its poetry, philosophy and logic.
We recognize this aspect when we recite the blessing before learning Torah, in which we acknowledge, and express gratitude to, G‑d for giving us the Torah.
Yesod, is the attribute associated with an inner and powerful attachment to the Other. In terms of Torah, it suggests the intimate relationship we have with Torah, which is akin to the intimacy of marriage. It is in this context that our Sages quote the verse, “The Torah that Moses commanded us, is the heritage of the Congregation of Jacob.” The word morasha (“heritage” in Hebrew), can also be read m’orasa which means betrothed. The Torah is betrothed to each and every Jew, and enjoys an intimate relationship which distinguishes it.
This is particularly true of the mystical teachings of the Torah which were kept under wraps for many generations to underscore the private and intimate nature of these teachings.
The Power of Torah
Malchus is the final attribute, denoting royalty and power. Our Sages connect this to the power Torah has to control nature. Torah study has the capacity to alter the nature of the world as well as our own human nature.
This is the basis for the Rebbe’s call for us to study the Torah’s teachings on the subject of Moshiach and Redemption. Our doing so has the capacity to alter the way we think about everything. It empowers us to change our myopic, clouded, pessimistic, confused, depressed and indifferent Galus-exile mindset into one of clarity, optimism and joy.