וְזֶ֨ה מַעֲשֵׂ֤ה הַמְּנֹרָה֙ מִקְשָׁ֣ה זָהָ֔ב עַד־יְרֵכָ֥הּ עַד־פִּרְחָ֖הּ מִקְשָׁ֣ה הִ֑וא כַּמַּרְאֶ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֶרְאָ֤ה יְהוָה֙ אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֵּ֥ן עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הַמְּנֹרָֽה׃ (פ)
Quant à la confection du candélabre, il était tout d’une pièce, en or; jusqu’à sa base, jusqu’à ses fleurs, c’était une seule pièce. D’après la forme que l’Éternel avait indiquée à Moïse, ainsi avait-on fabriqué le candélabre.
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 2,49 , “but do not count the tribe of Levi as an integral part of the Children of Israel.” The Torah consists of 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments which between them represent a variety of lights, whereas the Tabernacle represents spiritual lights condensed within it so that they do not harm human beings by blinding them. The Israelites are also each considered as a light seeing that each represents one of the letters in the Torah. We have a rule that whenever 613 physical lights are present they must be matched by an equal number of spiritual lights so that they can combine in the service of the Lord. These latter “lights” are called אברים הרוחניים, “the 248 spiritualized limbs and 365 spiritualized tendons.” When the Creator dispenses of His largesse, He does so via these spiritualized limbs and tendons.
Some human beings can become only passive recipients of spiritualized light, whereas others are able to “see” how the largesse from G’d progresses from the spiritual domain to the physical domain. These latter people are called prophets. The prophet Samuel I 9,9, describes this process when he wrote: לפנים בישראל כה אמר האיש בלכתו לדרוש אלוקים לכו ונלכה עד הרואה כי לנביא היום יקרא לפנים הרואה, “formerly, in Israel, when a man wanted to seek out the word of G’d, he would say: ‘come let us go to the Seer, for the prophet of today was formerly known as “Seer.’”
We also find an allusion to this in Numbers 8,4 where the Torah writes: וזה מעשה המנורה.....כמראה אשר הראה ה' את משה כן עשה את המנורה, “and this is how the menorah was made:…….according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses so he constructed the menorah.” When the Torah wrote in detail about the construction of the menorah in Exodus chapter 25 and chapter 37, no mention was made of G’d having shown Moses a pattern of this lampstand although the Torah provided extensive descriptions of this lampstand in both of these chapters. In both those chapters the menorah was treated as an integral part of the Tabernacle, and the Tabernacle dealt with abstract spiritual concepts. The menorah per se symbolizes a visual impact of the largesse transferred by G’d from His celestial treasure house to the terrestrial part of the universe. This largesse is in constant motion between the celestial and the terrestrial domains of the universe. The Torah bears witness to the fact that G’d showed this to Moses while he had been on Mount Sinai.
Moses was not to count the Levites together with the other Israelites, as the 12 tribes (Israelites) symbolize the abstract spiritual dimension of celestial light, whereas the Levites symbolize transfer of G’d’s largesse from the most high celestial regions to what we have described as the “abstract spiritual” dimension represented by the 12 tribes of Israel.
This is also why, when speaking of the process of purifying the Levites the Torah (Numbers 8,7) the Torah speaks of והעבירו תער על כל בשרם, “they have to shave off all the hair on their flesh with a razor,” the reason being that “hair” symbolizes clothing, and clothing is something that separates between one’s essence and contact with something from the outside. The Levites were to be as receptive to the emanations from the highest celestial regions as possible [as had been Adam and Eve before they had been provided with clothing, as a result of the barrier their sin had created between them and G’d. Ed.]
Some human beings can become only passive recipients of spiritualized light, whereas others are able to “see” how the largesse from G’d progresses from the spiritual domain to the physical domain. These latter people are called prophets. The prophet Samuel I 9,9, describes this process when he wrote: לפנים בישראל כה אמר האיש בלכתו לדרוש אלוקים לכו ונלכה עד הרואה כי לנביא היום יקרא לפנים הרואה, “formerly, in Israel, when a man wanted to seek out the word of G’d, he would say: ‘come let us go to the Seer, for the prophet of today was formerly known as “Seer.’”
We also find an allusion to this in Numbers 8,4 where the Torah writes: וזה מעשה המנורה.....כמראה אשר הראה ה' את משה כן עשה את המנורה, “and this is how the menorah was made:…….according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses so he constructed the menorah.” When the Torah wrote in detail about the construction of the menorah in Exodus chapter 25 and chapter 37, no mention was made of G’d having shown Moses a pattern of this lampstand although the Torah provided extensive descriptions of this lampstand in both of these chapters. In both those chapters the menorah was treated as an integral part of the Tabernacle, and the Tabernacle dealt with abstract spiritual concepts. The menorah per se symbolizes a visual impact of the largesse transferred by G’d from His celestial treasure house to the terrestrial part of the universe. This largesse is in constant motion between the celestial and the terrestrial domains of the universe. The Torah bears witness to the fact that G’d showed this to Moses while he had been on Mount Sinai.
Moses was not to count the Levites together with the other Israelites, as the 12 tribes (Israelites) symbolize the abstract spiritual dimension of celestial light, whereas the Levites symbolize transfer of G’d’s largesse from the most high celestial regions to what we have described as the “abstract spiritual” dimension represented by the 12 tribes of Israel.
This is also why, when speaking of the process of purifying the Levites the Torah (Numbers 8,7) the Torah speaks of והעבירו תער על כל בשרם, “they have to shave off all the hair on their flesh with a razor,” the reason being that “hair” symbolizes clothing, and clothing is something that separates between one’s essence and contact with something from the outside. The Levites were to be as receptive to the emanations from the highest celestial regions as possible [as had been Adam and Eve before they had been provided with clothing, as a result of the barrier their sin had created between them and G’d. Ed.]
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 8:4 “and this is how the lampstand (candlestick) was made, etc.” [I have not figured out, why our author suddenly quotes a verse from Numbers 8,4, instead of using a verse from our portion. Ed.]
We have a rule that there are three types of “love” in the universe, (objects of love). 1) The most common object of love are tangible phenomena. The Torah warns not to “love” certain tangible phenomena. 2) There are some tangible phenomena, which at first glance appear as permissible objects to be loved, but which on closer examination are only symbols of what is permitted to love, i.e. not the object itself but the concepts which the object represent. Therefore, the third type of love is our love for the essence behind the external symbols, the mitzvoth, in this instance, i.e. our love for Hashem.
When we love G’d in this manner, we succeed in helping the “sparks” to return to their original habitat as part of the Sh’chinah, (as explained in our translation on pages 21-23.)
It is not permissible for us to ever claim that there exist phenomena in our universe that are totally apart from their origin, from their holy roots. It is up to us to try and find behind phenomena that appear totally divorced from their holy roots, the point of contact through which such a thread, however slender, still exists. According to our author, the פנימיות, inner essence, of any phenomenon, is a reflection of this “love.” In order to serve the Lord properly, the worshipper must get hold of this “love” and use it as the vehicle with which he relates to his Creator. He considers that other מדות, attributes, virtues, must be used in a similar manner. He claims that there are a total of seven such מדות, virtues, and that the seven arms of the lampstand, or candlestick in the Tabernacle, symbolized these seven virtues. He considers Numbers 8,2 as the key phrase in the Torah referring to this concept, when the Torah writes: בהעלותך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות, “when you elevate the lights of the lampstand they shall be focused on the center shaft so that all seven lamps will be providing light.” The “centre shaft” symbolizes the Sh’chinah, presence of G’d.
At that point the Torah continues with the words: וזה מעשה המנורה מקשה, “and this is the essential ingredient of this lampstand, it is hammered out of a single piece (of gold)”. This verse teaches that true Judaism when it is practiced with all the required virtues, will result in a completely unified, harmonious personality of the worshipper. It is our task in this multifaceted material universe, to reflect the unity of the Creator by emulating His virtues to the best of our knowledge and ability.
The Torah underlines this by adding: עד ירכה, “to its physical foundation;” this is an allusion to physically permitted love when it serves duly married couples to engage in marital intercourse for the purpose of “uniting” their input through bringing into this universe a child that combines the parents’ best qualities in a single body. [Some of these words are mine, but I trust they reflect the author’s meaning. Ed.]
When the Torah relates how G’d set about creating the first human being, (Genesis 1,26) נעשה אדם בצלמנו, “let Us make man in our image, etc.” the words בצלמנו כדמותנו, “in our image, similar to Our likeness,” are parallel to the description of the candlestick being out of one chunk of gold, עד ירכה עד פרחה, colloquially speaking “from head to toe,” i.e. all of it. Although the human being contains parts difficult to associate with sanctity and holiness, as their function is to turn excess food into excrement, for instance, in the final analysis even dung is connected and remains connected to its Creator in heaven. We are asked to relate with love to that aspect of the phenomenon even if its exterior disgusts us. The word פרחה in Numbers 8,4 whose numerical value is 288, clearly is a hidden reference to the 288 sparks of which we wrote on pages 21-23. The words מקשה היא are an allusion to the ultimate unity of the Sh’chinah, when all of these sparks have returned to its holy origin.
We have a rule that there are three types of “love” in the universe, (objects of love). 1) The most common object of love are tangible phenomena. The Torah warns not to “love” certain tangible phenomena. 2) There are some tangible phenomena, which at first glance appear as permissible objects to be loved, but which on closer examination are only symbols of what is permitted to love, i.e. not the object itself but the concepts which the object represent. Therefore, the third type of love is our love for the essence behind the external symbols, the mitzvoth, in this instance, i.e. our love for Hashem.
When we love G’d in this manner, we succeed in helping the “sparks” to return to their original habitat as part of the Sh’chinah, (as explained in our translation on pages 21-23.)
It is not permissible for us to ever claim that there exist phenomena in our universe that are totally apart from their origin, from their holy roots. It is up to us to try and find behind phenomena that appear totally divorced from their holy roots, the point of contact through which such a thread, however slender, still exists. According to our author, the פנימיות, inner essence, of any phenomenon, is a reflection of this “love.” In order to serve the Lord properly, the worshipper must get hold of this “love” and use it as the vehicle with which he relates to his Creator. He considers that other מדות, attributes, virtues, must be used in a similar manner. He claims that there are a total of seven such מדות, virtues, and that the seven arms of the lampstand, or candlestick in the Tabernacle, symbolized these seven virtues. He considers Numbers 8,2 as the key phrase in the Torah referring to this concept, when the Torah writes: בהעלותך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות, “when you elevate the lights of the lampstand they shall be focused on the center shaft so that all seven lamps will be providing light.” The “centre shaft” symbolizes the Sh’chinah, presence of G’d.
At that point the Torah continues with the words: וזה מעשה המנורה מקשה, “and this is the essential ingredient of this lampstand, it is hammered out of a single piece (of gold)”. This verse teaches that true Judaism when it is practiced with all the required virtues, will result in a completely unified, harmonious personality of the worshipper. It is our task in this multifaceted material universe, to reflect the unity of the Creator by emulating His virtues to the best of our knowledge and ability.
The Torah underlines this by adding: עד ירכה, “to its physical foundation;” this is an allusion to physically permitted love when it serves duly married couples to engage in marital intercourse for the purpose of “uniting” their input through bringing into this universe a child that combines the parents’ best qualities in a single body. [Some of these words are mine, but I trust they reflect the author’s meaning. Ed.]
When the Torah relates how G’d set about creating the first human being, (Genesis 1,26) נעשה אדם בצלמנו, “let Us make man in our image, etc.” the words בצלמנו כדמותנו, “in our image, similar to Our likeness,” are parallel to the description of the candlestick being out of one chunk of gold, עד ירכה עד פרחה, colloquially speaking “from head to toe,” i.e. all of it. Although the human being contains parts difficult to associate with sanctity and holiness, as their function is to turn excess food into excrement, for instance, in the final analysis even dung is connected and remains connected to its Creator in heaven. We are asked to relate with love to that aspect of the phenomenon even if its exterior disgusts us. The word פרחה in Numbers 8,4 whose numerical value is 288, clearly is a hidden reference to the 288 sparks of which we wrote on pages 21-23. The words מקשה היא are an allusion to the ultimate unity of the Sh’chinah, when all of these sparks have returned to its holy origin.