A Reflection on Symbols, Service, and the Future of Am Yisrael

A D’var Torah for Parashat Beha’alotekha

By Rabbi Anat Katzir

Parashat Beha’alotekha opens with the image of one of the most enduring symbols of the Jewish people:

דַּבֵּר֙ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֵלָ֑יו בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֔ת אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמְּנוֹרָ֔ה יָאִ֖ירוּ שִׁבְעַ֥ת הַנֵּרֽוֹת׃

“Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you raise up the lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the menorah.” (Numbers 8:2)

The menorah becomes more than a ritual object. It is a symbol of continuity, responsibility, and resilience of Am Yisrael. Throughout Jewish history, the menorah has represented the spiritual light of the Jewish people. Today, it is also the emblem of the modern State of Israel, reminding us that Jewish sovereignty must be rooted not only in power, but in moral purpose.

The menorah symbolizes a Judaism that radiates outward. The light was never meant to remain hidden within the Mishkan. The Talmud asks in the name of God:

“וְאִם תֹּאמַר: לְאוֹרָה אֲנִי צָרִיךְ”?

“Do I need its light?” (Menahot 86b)

The answer is no. The menorah exists not for God’s benefit, but for ours. It symbolizes the calling of the Jewish people to bring light into the world.

That symbolism becomes especially powerful in modern Israel. The official emblem of the State of Israel is the menorah surrounded by olive branches. Israel’s sovereignty is not simply political independence. It is the continuation of Jewish history into modern self-governance.

The rebirth of Israel transformed Jewish history from exile into agency. The modern Jewish state symbolizes that Jews are once again responsible for defending Jewish life as well as non-Jewish life under its sovereignty, shaping Jewish society while answering the needs of all of its inhabitants, and creating Jewish moral culture that dignifies and makes room for other faiths and cultures within it. This, according to Israel’s founding documents and leadership, is Israel’s goal. While Israel is still far from fulfilling it, it’s meant to be the light that guides the path of its growth. These ideals of Israel, which make it a symbol for Am Yisrael, must be held up as a mirror in front of Israel’s leaders and policy makers.

The menorah also reminds us that Jewish power must always be connected to our ethics. Light is not domination. Light is responsibility.

The menorah, even in its biblical beginnings, as a symbol of dedication of the Mishkan, had its challenges when it came to the balance relationship with God and community, as well as the responsibilities of all Israelites to each other.

The rabbis in Midrash Rabbah teach that Aaron was distressed because the tribal leaders each brought offerings for the dedication of the Mishkan, while neither he nor the tribe of Levi participated in those sacrifices. God responds by reassuring Aaron that his role is greater:

“…לִגְדוֹלָה מִזּוֹ אַתָּה מְתֻקָּן. לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: דַּבֵּר אֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת הַנֵּרֹת…”

“…Yours is greater than theirs, for you kindle and prepare the lamps…” (Bemidbar Rabbah 15:6)

Aaron’s service was not through public offerings or dramatic displays. His service was through sustaining light.

This Midrash teaches an essential truth about Jewish life: there are many modes of service. Some lead publicly. Some protect physically. Some teach Torah. Some build community. Some sustain moral vision. Every generation must determine how different forms of service work together for the sake of the Jewish people. It is our responsibility to keep that conversation going and establish different paths of service.

Parashat Beha’alotekha describes the Levites being set apart for sacred service:

“וָאֶקַּ֖ח אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֑ם תַּ֥חַת כׇּל־בְּכ֖וֹר בִּבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל”

“I hereby take the Levites from among the Israelites in place of all the first-born.” (Numbers 8:18)

Originally, every firstborn Israelite was meant to serve God after the Exodus from Egypt. But after the sin of the Golden Calf, the Levites became the tribe designated for communal service.

The Levites become a symbol of responsibility to the community. Their role was not privilege for its own sake. Their role was obligation.

In modern Israel, many Israelis see military service through a similar lens. The Israel Defense Forces are not merely an army. The IDF represents Jewish sovereignty, independence, self-governance, and collective responsibility.

For many Jews, especially Israelis, the IDF symbolizes the historic transformation of Jews from vulnerable minorities into a people capable of defending themselves.

Yet the IDF also strives to embody Jewish moral values. Israel’s military ethic, often described as Tohar HaNeshek — purity of arms — reflects the belief that even in war, Jewish power must remain accountable to morality and human dignity.

Jewish strength has never been measured solely through force. It is measured through restraint, ethics, and responsibility.

The IDF also functions as one of the great melting pots of Israeli society. Jews from different ethnic backgrounds, political beliefs, religious identities, and economic classes serve together.

Military service becomes a shared language of citizenship and a symbol of devotion to Israel’s independence and continued survival in the hostile environment in which it exists.

Shared responsibility creates shared destiny.

At the same time, Israeli society struggles profoundly with the question of equality in service.  The struggle of what constitutes as alternative forms of service of the country has become more complicated as the question of enlistment of Ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox Jews has become a political pawn mixing in with large financial demands from Orthodox parties for their constituents who do not enlist for active national, social or military service.

With Israel being in active war for over two years, this divide between the serving and non-service Jewish communities appears to be deepening with each passing day, as the burden of service and compounding grief falls increasingly upon those in active service and their families.

Many secular and non-Orthodox Israelis feel that military or national service is a civic obligation that should apply equally to all citizens. Many Haredi Jews argue that full-time Torah study itself protects the Jewish people spiritually and represents their form of national service.

This debate echoes the tensions already present in our parashah.

The Levites served through action — carrying, guarding, singing, maintaining sacred space. But Aaron served differently, by kindling light. Torah itself is repeatedly compared to light:

״כִּ֤י נֵ֣ר מִ֭צְוָה וְת֣וֹרָה א֑וֹר וְדֶ֥רֶךְ חַ֝יִּ֗ים תּוֹכְח֥וֹת מוּסָֽר׃״

For the commandment is a lamp, The teaching is a light, And the way to life is the rebuke that disciplines. (Proverbs 6:23)

For many Orthodox Jews, Torah study is understood not as avoidance of service, but as a sacred contribution to Jewish survival.

And yet, the parashah reminds us that service cannot become detached from communal responsibility. The Levites served on behalf of the people. Their sacred role still involved public obligation, visible contribution, and shared burden.

The challenge for the Jewish people today is not simply deciding who is right. The challenge is learning how different forms of service can coexist without destroying Jewish unity.

The debates within Israeli society about military service, Torah study, equality, and religious obligation are not merely political arguments. They are arguments about what kind of Jewish society Israel should become.

But the Torah warns us that disagreement can either elevate or destroy a people.

Aaron’s greatness was not simply that he lit the menorah. Aaron was known as:

״…הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה: ״

“…Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah.” (Pirkei Avot 1:12)

The way we engage disagreement matters as much as the disagreement itself.

This may be the deepest message of Beha’alotekha.

Our actions become symbols.

The menorah symbolizes spiritual responsibility. The Levites symbolize communal obligation. The IDF symbolizes sovereignty, sacrifice, and shared destiny. Torah study symbolizes devotion to Jewish continuity.

But symbols derive meaning not only from what we do, but from how we frame what we do and how our actions affect others.

An action performed without empathy can create resentment. A conviction expressed without humility can create division. A claim of righteousness without concern for the broader community can fracture Am Yisrael.

The Torah asks us not only to serve, but to remain accountable to one another while serving.

Parashat Beha’alotekha teaches that Jewish life depends upon many forms of sacred contribution.

Some Jews protect the people physically. Some preserve Torah spiritually. Some build institutions. Some sustain community. Some bring moral vision into public life.

No single group possesses the entirety of Jewish truth.

The menorah itself teaches this lesson. It contains multiple branches, but all are connected to one source of light.

The future of the Jewish people depends not on eliminating disagreement, but on learning how to transform disagreement into covenantal conversation.

If we can hold onto the dignity of one another’s service, if we can recognize the humanity beneath ideological conflict, then our disagreements can truly become mahloket l’shem shamayim — arguments for the sake of Heaven.

And then, like Aaron, raising and mounting the lamps onto the menorah, we too may help bring light to the entire house of Israel.