Parashat Tetzaveh
When the Temple Isn’t Yet Rebuilt How Can We Still Ignite the Perpetual Light?
Who Was the First Lightworker in the World?
If you are connected to any new-age online community centering around spirituality and expansion of consciousness, you’ve probably come across the term ‘lightworker.’ It is increasingly used, also among the spiritual Torah community. The simplest way to describe lightworkers would be as those who feel an immense pull towards helping others, by volunteering to act as a beacon for the Earth and committing to serving humanity. The term lightworker was first coined by author and teacher Michael Mirdad in the early 80s. Later, in 1997, Doreen Virtue released the book The Lightworkers Way. In the Torah world, there are no greater lightworkers than those who sense a spiritual calling to spread Hashem’s light to the world and ignite others with a clear purpose of why we are here. Without knowing our purpose, we are like those sitting in a dark cave or even in our home during a power failure. As soon as we light a candle, we can find our way and renew our purpose. I’m so grateful to be able to share the light of Torah of the Land of Israel, walking in Avraham Avinu’s footsteps. Avraham was the very first lightworker in the world, and the Jewish people are called upon to continue to walk on his path to be a light to the nations, as stated by our prophets (Yesha’yahu 49:6). “Avraham can be compared to a friend of the king who saw the king in a dark alleyway. The friend looked and started to light for him through the window. The king told him, ‘Since you are already lighting for me through the window, come and light before me.’ Thus, Hashem said to Avraham, ‘Since you are already lighting for Me from Mesopotamia and its vicinities, come and light for me in the land of Israel’” (Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 30:10). Today we experience similar darkness as during Avraham’s time when people were entrenched in mistaken intellectual perceptionsand lack of emunah. Thus, just as Avraham ignited the light of emunah, so must we strengthen our own emunah and share it with the world during these trying times, when grotesque lies are greedily gobbled up like the crispest junk food.
Sharing the Light With Others Will Never Diminish Your Own Flame
ספר שמות פרק כז פסוק כ
וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד:
“You shall further instruct the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure olive oil, beating for lighting, to kindle the candle perpetually” (Shemot 27:20).
Rashi explains that the Hebrew word לְהַעֲלֹת/le’ha’alot, literally means to cause ‘to rise.’ The kohen shall light the candles until the flame rises by itself (Rashi ibid. based on Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21a). Sharing truth and Torah in the world is like igniting a candle until it no longer needs our light to continue to shine for it to spread its own light. The nature of the spiritual metaphor of light is that whereas a physical substance diminishes when shared, spirituality when spread, expands, and grows. The more money you spend, the less you have; the more food you eat, the more you need to restock your pantry. Yet spiritual things increase with use. Therefore, we don’t have to worry that we may stretch ourselves too thin when it comes to matters of spirit. We will never run out of goodness! The more goodness we spread the more goodness we have. When you give a spiritual gift, the recipient gains, and you lose nothing. By having another child, you open a new corridor of love in your heart that your other children benefit from too. You become more loving by sharing your love with another. The candle metaphor illustrates this principle the best. When you use one candle to light another, the original candle remains bright. Its light is not diminished by being shared; on the contrary, the two candles together enhance each other’s brightness and increase light. If you use your wisdom to teach, the student learns, while your wisdom increases (Rabbi Aron Moss, Chabad Virtual Library). I’m grateful for having experienced over the decades so many of my students becoming teachers and lightworkers of their own. I’m proud of all the B’erot alumnae who have become Torah performing artists, teachers, mentors, and artists who continually increase Hashem’s light in the world. Although I may miss them, I know I have done my work well when their flames rise by themselves, and they no longer need my light.
Does Hashem Need Our Light?
Whatever a person does in this world is for others except Torah and mitzvot, which is for himself. Therefore, it states, “Take for yourself.” This alludes to the fact that Hashem doesn’t need light as He is the light of the world. When He commanded us about candles, it was for the benefit of Israel to perfect and purify themselves through spiritual benefit. (Tzror Hamor, Shemot 27:20).
Considering that Hashem doesn’t need our light, why does He instruct us to light the Menorah? The Midrash explains – just as Hashem makes light for us, so too must we make light for Him. The Midrash gives the following analogy: A sighted person and a blind person were walking together. The sighted person said, “Come and I will be your guide;” which enabled the blind person to walk. When they entered the house, the sighted person said to the blind person, “Go and light the candle for me, and provide me with light, so that you should no longer feel obliged to me for all that I have done for you. Therefore, I said to you to light [the candle]” (Midrash Shemot Rabbah 36:1). The sighted person gave the blind person an opportunity to retain his dignity by allowing him to do a favor for him in return for all the help he had received. When you do a favor for another person, the recipient feels a debt of gratitude. To leave them with that debt is not ideal. Hashem enabled His people to ‘give back’ by instructing us to ignite the menorah perpetually. Sometimes, the kindest thing to do is to give others the opportunity to repay you with kindness. Accepting a gift in return for kindness can itself be a great kindness. Yet, it goes even deeper than this. “Know that before the emanations emanated, and the creation was created, there was a supreme simple light that filled all existence… To create the world Hashem contracted Himself and His Infinite Light…and then there remained a vacant place with air and empty space around the middle point” (Arizal, Etz Chayim 1:2). Since Hashem contracted His light, our world is called עולם/olam, which means ‘hidden’ because the Divine is now hidden in the world. To refill the ‘empty space’ Hashem charged us with returning the light into the world and thereby revealing Hashem in the world. Candle lighting is a way to return part of the original Divine light into creation. Engaging in Torah and mitzvot is considering the main ways of re-igniting this light: “For the mitzvah is a candle and the Torah light, and the way to life is reproofs of instruction” (Mishlei 6:23).
Becoming Hashem’s Candles
All the mitzvot are eternal. Now that we don’t yet have the Temple in which to ignite the menorah how do we fulfill the mitzvah to kindle an eternal light? The Chasidic master –Sefat Emet explains that the Jewish people illuminate the world through fulfilling the mitzvot. The power of the mitzvot can abolish even the deepest darkness caused by the negative impulse and the Other Side. The supreme Divine light is also considered darkness for us because it is beyond our reach. Yet, through the light of the mitzvot we can illuminate this darkness and merit to draw down Divine light upon our souls. The meaning of “You shall command…” is to enter the mitzvah into the souls of the children of Israel, so that we, ourselves become the mitzvot. For in truth, our 248 limbs correspond to the [248 positive] mitzvot. “You shall make them” (Devarim 29:8) has two interpretations. 1. When we fulfill a mitzvah, the Almighty considers it as if we made the mitzvah ourselves (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 99b) 2. Hashem considers it as if we made ourselves. These two interpretations are one because we become rectified through dedicating ourselves to Hashem by fulfilling the mitzvot. For we are sent into the world only for the sake of fulfilling the will of our Creator. Thus, we are the mitzvah. [Through performing the mitzvot we become Hashem’s mitzvah lights in the world] (Sefat Emet, Parashat Tetzaveh, Year 7632).
We are the candles that Hashem ignites to bring light into the world. It’s our job to bring light, for we are G-d’s candles, as it states, “The candle of G-d is the soul of a human being” (Mishlei 20:27). There’s a ner tamid (eternal light) in every synagogue sanctuary, but the point of that lamp isn’t just to be a lamp, it’s there to remind us that it’s our job to be sources of light in the darkness. The darkness of grief, the darkness of cruelty, the darkness of fear. We can dispel those with our light. The Sefat Emet reads the word תְּצַוֶּה/tetzaveh, “you shall command” – creatively to mean, “you shall bring mitzvot into the souls of the children of Israel so that they, themselves become mitzvot.” When we bring mitzvot into our souls, we, ourselves will become mitzvot – holy acts, connected at our root to the Source of all goodness. That’s what it means to be a light in the world. Keep lighting your candles. There is an endless supply of light in your soul!
Gratitude Focus for the Week of Parashat Teruma –
Tips for How to Plug in Your Light to Become Hashem’s Candle
If you have chosen to serve Hashem, to be a bright light in the world, you are a lightworker. In the wake of the current war, humanity is being polarized into those who walk in darkness or those who choose to spread light. If you feel called toward spreading the light, it’s time for you to step out in the light and make a difference. As each one of us shares our gifts, it creates a ripple effect. By the nature of you shining your unique light, you set others in motion on a life-changing spiritual path too. Lightwork taps into our creative zeal. It awakens our senses and makes us long for brushes and paint, piano and guitar, an open door, and an imaginative mind. This practice is about expressing a new Light source for the world to find healing. Your channel for serving can come in many forms. Perhaps it is a garden you nurture and bring forth fruits and vegetables to nourish yourself and your loved ones. Perhaps you write lyrics and sing these words out with love. Perhaps it is in pie making! Whatever way you express it, just do it!
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