TORAH PORTION 1

Symbol Of Sovereignty,
Learning And Light

RABBI RICHARD C. HERTZ

Special to The Jewish News

0

ur Sidrah opens with
careful instructions
for making the
menorah in the ancient taber-
nacle from which the
synagogue originated. Aaron
and the Levites were assign-
ed this task and given the
honor of tending the wicks.
They were bidden to arrange
the wicks in such a way that
they would give but one com-
bined blaze of light. "When
thou lightest the lamps, the
seven lamps shall all give
light in front of the
candlestick."
The lamps of the menorah
were said to have burned from
evening to morning. They

Shabbat
Baha'alotecha:
Numbers 8:1-12:16,
Zachariah 2:14-4:7

were to lit at dusk and trimm-
ed in the the morning by the
high priest.
Ever since, the menorah
has been a sacred symbol in
Judaism.
The question arose: Why
should the Sanctuary of God
need lights as religious sym-
bols? Does God need light to
magnify His greatness? Our
sages answered with a ques-
tion. Israel asks of God, "Art
Thou not the light of the
world with whom light
dwelleth?" And God replied:
"Not that I need your light!
But you may perpetuate the
light which I conferred upon
you to be an example to the
nations of the world." The
people of Israel were to
become the agency of light to
the nations.
There have been many in-
terpretations of the seven
branches of the menorah.
Some say they were to be
symbols of the creation story
with the world being created
in seven days. The kabbalists
thought of the seven branches
as symbols of the sefriot, the
glory of God's emanation
from the lights. Still others
thought the menorah
represented the seven days of
the week, with the seventh
day the sacred Shabbat.
Another mystical intrepreta-
tion was that the menorah
represented the sun, moon
and the five planets.
At one dark time in Jewish

Dr. Richard C. Hertz is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth El.

history, the menorah became
the very banner of freedom.
When the Maccabees return-
ed to the Temple in
Jerusalem, after it was
desecrated by the Syrians,
they rekindled the lamps of
the menorah.
Synagogues ever since have
contained a menorah as a
religious symbol. Sometimes
on wall paintings, sometimes
on windows, mosaics,
sculpture, symbolic of the fer-
vor of Jewish worship.
At the turn of the century,
Henry Hurwitz, a student at
Harvard, sought to pursue
the study of humanistic
values in Judaism and
develop a positive intelectual
relationship to Jewish tradi-
tion. He organized the
Menorah Society.
By the time of World War I,
the Menorah Association had
been established and
ultimately reached 80 dif-
ferent campuses. The associa-
tion was succeeded by the
B'nai B'rith Hillel
Foundations.
In Rome stands the ancient
Arch of Titus, erected by that
victorious, ruthless Roman
emperror as a permanent
record of his power to conquer
and subject weak peoples of
the ancient world.
One panel depicts the
destruction of the Temple in
Jerusalem. The sacred
menorah is shown as a prize
conquest.
I remember viewing the
arch and musing about the
irony of history. The Roman
conquerors have all since
vanished, but the menorah
still stands and shines bright-
ly in every Jewish synagogue
wherever the Jewish people
live and fight for freedom. It
symbolizes the revival of
Jewish sovereignty and the
survival of the Jewish people.
It is good to recall the
menorah's significance as a
symbol of all that is sacred
and holy in Judaism. We
point to it with pride. But lest
we be carried away by our
own enthusiasm, it is well
that we can recall the haf-
tarah words spoken by
Zachariah, "Not by might,
and not by power, but by my
spirit, saith the Lord shall
man prevail."

Head Re-elected

New York — Theodore
Ellenoff was re-elected na-
tional president of the
American Jewish Committee
at the human relations
organization's 82nd annual
meeting.

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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