וּרְאֵה וַעֲשֵׂה בְּתַבְנִיתָם אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּה מָרְאֶה בָּהָר

Note well, and follow the patterns for them(the vessels of the Tabernacle) that are being shown to you on the mountain. (25:40)

Rashi cites a Medrash that even after being instructed by Hashem how to construct the Menorah (the Candelabra that was to be lit in the Tabernacle), Moshe could still not figure out in his mind how to construct it. Hashem therefore showed him the Menorah in a fiery form with all it’s details.

Of all the vessels of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) why was the Menorah the one that Moshe found so difficult to comprehend? And what was the point of showing him the Menorah in a fiery form?

Moshe understood that the construction of the vessels of the Mishkan did not entail only the formation of its physical features but also its spiritual features.Every vessel of the Mishkan represented multiple concepts.For example, the Aron (the Ark) represented Torah. The Shulchan (the Table) represented livelihood. The Menorah represented the eternity of the Jewish people. We see this from commentaries that cite the Midrash that tells of how the Greeks in the time leading up to the Chanukah miracle specifically targeted the Menorah because they knew that without the lighting of the Menorah in the Temple the Jewish people could not survive.

Therefore Moshe was also instructed in how to imbue the Menorah with the power to be the conduit for the Heavenly blessing of eternity to the Jewish people. It was regarding this that Moshe had difficulty. As a prophet Moshe was aware of what the future could bring upon the Jewish people and he had the same problem historians have faced for years. How can such a tiny nation driven from its homeland and scattered around the world still survive? How can these people that have faced so much persecution and devastation, both physical and spiritual, continue to exist?

The Menorah of fire that Hashem showed him was meant to reassure Moshe that although engulfed in fire, the eternity of the Jewish people is guaranteed.

The Talmud points out that the name ישראל, Yisrael (Israel) contains Hashem’s name of א-ל, El. The Talmud compares this to a king who stored his treasures in a room that only had one key to it. Concerned that it might get lost, he attached it to a chain that he attached to himself. In that way the key was safe.

So too, Hashem put his name El in the name of the Jewish people, Yisrael, so that we stay eternally connected to the source of all existence. This guarantee manifests itself in the Jewish nation as a whole. And it also manifests itself in individuals.

Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, rabbi of Khal Bais Yitzchok, depicts this in the following story. Rabbi Goldwasser was invited to teach Torah to Jews in Poland by the Lauder Foundation. During those five days of non-stop teaching, a young teenage girl would attend classes but as soon as the class ended she left and never remained to ask questions as others did.

As he was about to leave for the airport to return home, this young girl approached him and asked if she could privately speak with him. She told him that she had a grandmother that she and her mother loved very much who had recently passed away. When the death certificate arrived at their home the girl decided to open the letter before her mother would see it to protect her from becoming upset. As she read the certificate she saw that the name on it read Miriam Lefkowitz. It was the wrong name. She brought the letter to her mother and showed her that they had the wrong person on her grandmother’s death certificate.

Her mother put her arms around her daughter and hugged her. She told her that it was no mistake. That was her real name. “We never told you,” said the mother. “But your grandmother was Jewish. And I am Jewish and you are Jewish.”

The girl couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was brought up as a devout Catholic. In fact, she told Rabbi Goldwasser, that she has a brother who is an anti-semite! She became so upset that she ran out of the house and just wandered around confused and distraught.

Then she noticed a group of teenagers gathered together and waiting. When she asked what they were waiting for they responded that they were Jewish and they were going to a retreat where they would study Judaism. ”Are you Jewish?” they asked. She wouldn’t respond. They began pleading with her to join them. One of the girls took out a piece of paper, wrote down her name and number and told her that if she changes her mind she should call her and she will make all the arrangements for her to stay at the retreat. Eventually she relented and came to the retreat.

“So tell me Rabbi,” she said. “Am I Jewish or not?”

Rabbi Goldwasser said to her that the death certificate that landed up in her hands was a letter from her grandmother telling her that the Judaism of their family will only survive through her. They were then interrupted by the driver who was very anxious to get to the airport. They continued talking until they arrived at the airport where they parted ways.

A short while later this fifteen year old Polish teenager arrived in America to receive a Torah education.

Am Yisrael chai! The Jewish people are eternal!

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak