For the week of Friday, June 21, 2024

Our Torah portion begins with repeated instructions to the priests concerning the lighting of the seven-branched menorah, in the open-air sanctuary. Be’haalo’techa means “in the act of causing to ascend,” i.e. lighting the lamps. This word derives from the verb ‘ayin, lamed, hey,’which means to ascend. Thus we have the idea of causing the flames of the menorah to “ascend.”

This portion also contains instructions about making two silver trumpets, in Hebrew “hatzortzrot.” We learn about the various occasions and requirements for their sounding. The root of hatzortzrot comes from a word meaning “pain.” So the trumpets take us far from the idea of the redemptive sounds of the shofar. The sounding of the trumpets signals that the Israelites have to prepare for battle and stand against oppressive armies. So the world that the people face in the Sinai is filled with dangers and potential enemies. The shofar sounds remind us that the world is not yet redeemed. This emphasizes the teaching of Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav: “who is a whole person? He who has a broken heart.”

 Join us for Torah study this Shabbat morning.