This week’s d’var torah is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Mayer Steinmetz, Meir ben Menachem Dov, z’l, who knew better than anyone that nothing comes without effort.

Parashat Beha’alot’cha

This week’s Sidra is a whirlwind of ideas and activities.
It starts with the illuminating instructions to Aaron concerning the lighting of the menorah. The Ramban writes that this section of the Torah is a hint for Hanuka, which continues to light up the world during the darkest times of the exile.

We learned back in parashat Terumah (Ex. 25:40) that the menorah was intricately formed from one solid block of gold with an elusive method that, according to the tradition, was beyond the abilities of Moshe.
Moshe is then commanded to create two musical instruments, two chatzatzrot (trumpets), in the same fashion, drawn and hammered out of a single block of silver. The only other time we learn about this method of manufacture is for the two k’ruvim (cherubs) that define the resting place of the Shechina, the physical manifestation of G-d on Earth, on top of the holy aron (ark). Spiritual ground zero….

Is there a connection between the unique construction of these three kailim (holy vessels), the expansion outward from a dense core?
The Hebrew term for this process is m’ksha, which also means “with difficulty”.

The trumpets were to be blown when Bnai Yisrael were to break camp, and were used to lead them into battle.
Each sound needed to be produced separately, and with an intense physical effort. The trumpets were not blown on a whim, but rather at the display of a sign from G-d.
The Menorah was lighted once each day, requiring another type of effort, that of commitment to a regular routine.

These two vessels are reminiscent of the revelation itself, as we learned in parashat Yitro:
“All the people saw the sounds, the flames, the sound of the shofar, and the mountain emitting smoke. The people saw [all this] and they trembled, and stood far off.” (Ex. 20:15)

And the people responded, “Na’aseh v’Nishma“, we will do, and we will listen.
But this initial inspiration cannot be sustained without effort, and the flames will die out if not well attended, and the k’ruvim, the cherubs facing inward towards the Shechina itself, will turn their faces away.

In the middle of our parasha we have a most unusual occurrence, two verses surrounded by two backward letter “nuns“, as they appear written in the Torah.

“Whenever the Ark departed Moshe would say: “Rise, Ad-noy, and may your enemies disperse, and those who hate You flee before You. When it rested, he would say: “Come to rest, Ad-noy, among the myriads and thousands of Israel.” (Num. 10:35-36)
The letter nun is also the symbol for the number 50. The revelation took place “on the fiftieth day“.

Perhaps the two inverted nuns are reminding us that even in the midst of the height of our exalted status as a nation, being led by the clouds of glory, we cannot lose sight of the effort required to maintain the inspiration, the hard work involved in fulfilling our promise in accepting the covenant, “Naaseh v’Nishma“, pronounced with two nuns. The tide quickly turns, and the next sections of the Torah show us what happens when we cannot maintain our level of inspiration, with disastrous consequences.
Yes, it is m’ksha, it is quite difficult.
But, by combining the music of mankind, the creative effort as symbolized by the trumpets, with the light of Torah, spilling out from the Menorah, we can restore the wayward nuns to their upright position, and merit the return of the Shechina to her home, between the k’ruvim.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Greg

When a person of a higher soul suffers a loss of faith in the power of his own identity, then he will walk about gloomy, he will be desolate, and the lustre of the whole world will be diminished for him.

But on turning back in a higher penitence, and regaining the glory of his faith in his higher powers, which stir in him always, his spirit will revive and be brightened, and all the worlds that reflect his disposition will be filled with splendor and light.

Rav Kook

Orot Hakodesh Vol I, pg. 175