Photo courtesy of Chabad.org
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT BY RABBI MORDY
This week’s Parsha is a special one because… it’s my Bar Mitzvah Parsha! “Beha’aloscha Es haneiros…” I practiced it for about a year and a half and much of it still comes to mind even though it was just a few years ago (29 but who’s counting?)! In commemoration of that and as a thought for the week, I’ll share what I shared then. Beha’aloscha literally means “to raise up,” a curious term in referencing Aaron the High Priest as he lights the candles of the Menorah in the Temple. Seemingly he was kindling these lights; why this use of the term? The reason is a profound one. According to our sages, “The candle of G-d is the soul of man.” Each soul is a flame. Our job, all of our jobs as members or leaders of the community as Aaron was, is not just to kindle or to ignite the soul of another, but to truly raise it up. To inspire someone else to lead and to affect others, to pay it forward.
There is obviously much talk of kindling flames within Judaism because fire is the one physical object that has an immensely spiritual quality. Every physical object that we give to another means that we have less in our possession than we did before. Not so with fire. We can use our candle to ignite the soul of the next person and our flame has not been diminished in the slightest. This is why the soul is referred to as a flame. Because it is here in this physical world with spiritual capabilities. All these soul qualities we have—kindness, sensitivity, compassion—we can share without lessening ourselves. In fact, sharing only strengthens these qualities within us. Especially now, as Israel faces renewed threats from enemies committed to its destruction, let us renew our commitment to goodness and kindness. Let us impact others for the better and “raise up” the entire world; who knows, we might just merit the Redemption G-d promised! Good Shabbos!