Parashat Emor – 5785

A D’var Torah for Parashat Emor

By Rabbi Gerry L. Ginsburg

There is a paradox in the commandment to light the Menorah in the mishkan, the portable sanctuary in the wilderness which appears in Parashat Emor. The flames of the Menorah were not there to give off light.

The mishkan was fully constructed and operational, the first korbanot, sacrifices, were already completed favorably, when the commandment comes to tell the Levites, specifically Aaron, to light the Menorah daily. The light of the Menorah will emanate from pure, clear olive oil, unlike that used for any other function.

God talked to Moses about lighting the Menorah and specifically directed Aaron to supervise.

צַ֞ו אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד׃

Command the Israelite people to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly. (Lev. 24:2)

But this oil was not for any candelabrum, it was specifically for the Menorah crafted out of one piece of pure gold for use in the mishkan.

עַ֚ל הַמְּנֹרָ֣ה הַטְּהֹרָ֔ה יַעֲרֹ֖ךְ אֶת־הַנֵּר֑וֹת לִפְנֵ֥י ה’ תָּמִֽיד׃

He (Aaron) shall set up the lamps on the pure lampstand before יהוה [to burn] regularly. (Lev. 24:4)

The question arises as to why the light of the Menorah is needed.  Certainly, God does not need that light. We get illumination on this topic from Midrash Tanhuma:

This text is related (to Ps. 18:29), “For You light up my lamp.” Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, are You saying that we should give light before You? [But] You are the light of the world and the light [dwells] with You, as it is written (in Dan. 2:22), ‘He reveals the deep and secret things, He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells within Him.’ (Midrash Tanhuma, Beha’alotkha, Siman 4)

The midrash continues, again refuting God’s need for light, and shining the spotlight elsewhere. “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, “It is not because I need [your light]. Rather it is so that you may give light to Me just as I have given light to you in order to exalt you in the presence of all the nations”

According to Midrash Tanhuma, states Rabbi Yoni Mozeson, “God made the Menorah because Moshe could not figure out how to fashion it from one solid block of gold. Perhaps the message is that God is willing to make us ambassadors to spread light in this world. However, we should never lose sight of the fact that it’s God’s light we are spreading, not ours. Furthermore, we need God’s assistance to fulfill our mission.”

The need for God’s light is also expressed in Psalms:

כִּֽי־עִ֭מְּךָ מְק֣וֹר חַיִּ֑ים בְּ֝אוֹרְךָ֗ נִרְאֶה־אֽוֹר׃

With You is the fountain of life; by Your light do we see light. (Ps. 36:10)

Why does the Torah discuss lighting the menorah in the middle of Parashat Emor? Medieval commentator Hayyim Ibn Attar, in his Ohr HaHayyim commentary offered this rationale, since the portion had just summarized the festival days. “Perhaps the fact that the Torah here deals with commandments whose common denominator is the number seven, i.e. 7 days of Passover, 7 days of Tabernacles, the New Year and Day of Atonement which occur in the 7th month, prompted the Torah to add laws about the 7-armed Candlestick.”

He added “The number seven is always considered as completing a cycle. You also had the legislation of the Omer in this portion; that commandment also involved the counting of seven times seven days, i.e. seven weeks. You have a reference to the commandment of the Sabbath, another commandment which features the number seven. We may therefore assume that the Torah was interested in mentioning all the commandments featuring the number seven in one portion.”

The specially pressed olive oil used for the Menorah is also paradoxical. The finest oil must be used for the Menorah, while a slightly lower grade oil is used for korbanot, sacrifices, which will be eaten.

Rabbi Bernie Fox stated that “only the purest olive oil can be used in the Menorah. The Mishna in Tractate Menachot describes the production of this oil. The olives are hand crushed. The crushed olives are placed in the basket. The oil that drains from these olives is extremely pure. This is the only oil used in the Menorah.”

But for the minha offering a less superior oil can be used. “The Torah, in describing this oil, mentions the same grade as required for the Menorah. However, our Sages explain that the Mincha offering does not require this highest grade of oil. Even inferior grades are suitable,” Rabbi Fox stated.

In fact, the sages of the Talmud said “Rather, the Torah requires the use of refined pounded oil only for the Candelabrum, due to the sparing [haḥisakhon] of money, as the highest-quality oil is very expensive.” (Menachot 86b)

The mishkan, and following it, The Temple, used only the very highest grade of olive oil possible for the Menorah, the light which shone on the Jewish people. But the minha offering used a very high, but somewhat lower quality olive oil. The point, I surmise, is that the minha olive oil was still highly superior to the oil used in everyday food preparation at the time and was still a major upgrade.

The reference to light also abounds in our poetry and liturgy.  Possibly the best known is from Psalm 97:

א֭וֹר זָרֻ֣עַ לַצַּדִּ֑יק וּֽלְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב שִׂמְחָֽה׃

“Light is sown for the righteous, radiance for the upright.”

And the radiance coming from the Menorah is that light.

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Rabbi Gerry L. Ginsburg (AJR ’19) is associate rabbi of Temple Beth El, Stamford, CT (Conservative). His work includes pastoral counseling, adult education, synagogue outreach, life cycle events, Divrei Torah and worship services.