The Perfect Menorah vs. The Imperfect Chandelier
The Imperfect Chandelier
Shalom,
This week’s Torah portion “Be’haalotkha” starts with the description of lighting up the Menorah – the sacred candelabrum with seven branches used in the Temple.
וְזֶה מַעֲשֵׂה הַמְּנֹרָה מִקְשָׁה זָהָב, עַד-יְרֵכָהּ עַד-פִּרְחָהּ מִקְשָׁה הִוא
כַּמַּרְאֶה, אֲשֶׁר הֶרְאָה יְהוָה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה–כֵּן עָשָׂה, אֶת-הַמְּנֹרָה
This was the form of the menorah: hammered work of gold, from its base to its flower it was hammered work; according to the form that the Lord had shown Moses, so did he construct the menorah.(8:4)
“Hammered work of gold,” means that the menorah was to be made of a single piece of gold, beaten or pounded with a hammer and other tools, until it assumed the proper shape.
The Torah demands that the menorah be made out of one piece of gold, just as the all people of Israel are actually one entity.
Every person is incomplete by himself, without the rest of the people, just as in the human body, the foot needs the head to function no less than the head requires the foot for mobility.
The base of the menorah symbolizes the lowest level of people; the flowers, those on the highest spiritual plane.
Likewise, a person who desires to transform himself into a “menorah,” to kindle his Godly spark and be illuminated with the light of Torah, should also do the same to himself – working on his character until he assumes the desired proper form.
In contrast with the Menorah, we would now like to let you get acquainted with a story by R. Nachman of Braslav:
מנורת החסרונות
The Imperfect Chandelier
There was once a young man who left his family and country for many years to become an apprentice. When he returned home, he boasted to his father that he had mastered the art of chandelier-making.
He told his father to summon all the craftsmen of this art and he would display for them a piece of his work.
The father gathered all the chandelier craftsmen to witness his son’s expertise. The son took out a chandelier that he had made, but they all found it atrocious.
The father went to each of them and asked for the truth, so they could not avoid telling him that, in truth, it was atrocious.
But the son boasted, “Did you see my expertise in this craft?”
His father told him that none of the others thought it was nice. “On the contrary!” said the son. “That proves my expertise!
I have displayed the incompetence of each of them.
The specific incompetence of each of the craftsmen is embodied in this chandelier.
Don’t you see? In one’s opinion, this part of it is ugly, while another part of it is very beautiful.
In another’s opinion it is just the opposite -what was dreadful in the first one’s opinion is wondrously beautiful in his opinion, whereas the other part is awful in his opinion.
And the same is true of all of them: what is ugly in one’s opinion is beautiful in another’s, and vice versa.
I intentionally made this chandelier solely from incompetence, to show them all how incompetent they are, each one in a different way.
For this reason, what one sees as beautiful is incompetence to the other one.”
If one knows the deficiencies and imperfections of something, one knows its very nature, even if one has never seen it.
Please let us know what you think of this story by responding to this post.
And now a little bit of Modern Hebrew:
- Chandelier, lamp – מנורה (MENORAH)
- Bulb – נורה (NURAH)
- Gold – זהב (ZAHAV)
- Orange (n) – תפוח זהב (TAPUAH ZAHAV),
or in short תפוז (TAPUZ) - Elderly (age) – גיל הזהב – (GIL HA’ZAHAV)
- Great guy – בחור זהב – (BAKHUR ZAHAV)
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Wishing all of you a peaceful and healthy weekend.
Shabbat Shalom,
Yoel & Orly
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Tag:braslav, Behaalotkha, menorah
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