Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

Every Friday night Jews around the world initiate the Sabbath with the lighting of the Shabbat Candles with the following blessing: “Barukh Ata Adonai …….Lehadlik ner shel Shabbat”. On Chanukah, we also light candles with a blessing — ……. “Lehadlik ner shel Chanukah”. In both blessings, the Hebrew word for “lighting” is “Lehadlik”. But in our Torah reading for his week, God uses a very different word to command Aaron to light the menorah in the holy sanctuary — Be-ha-alotecha. This does not escape the sharp eyes of the medieval commentator, Rashi.

Rashi notes that the Hebrew word for “lighting” in Be-ha-alotecha comes from the root ayin-lamed-heh, the same root that appears in the word aliyah. That root conveys the idea of rising or going up—whether ascending the bimah for a Torah blessing or making aliyah to the Land of Israel. From this, Rashi explains that Aaron was to light the Menorah in such a way that the flame would rise steadily on its own, without needing further adjustment.

The Malbim (b. 1809 Ukraine) extends this image to human spiritual development. The menorah in the sanctuary had to be lit every day at an appointed time. This could have become a chore, but Aaron approached it with the same enthusiasm each day that he had on the first day. Thus, writes the Malbim, a person should train himself or herself in the service of God through a steady, disciplined routine, repeated until it reaches the deepest level of character. When that practice becomes internalized, it no longer feels forced; like the Menorah’s flame, it begins to rise naturally on its own.

Shabbat Shalom

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