Ari Goldwag - Behaaloscha - Lighting Hashem's Flame

you're listening to the weekly paraa podcast recorded with hashem's never ending assistance in ra Israel 5776 2016 this week's paraa outside of Israel is bahala and before we get to the paraa I want to just give you the update on where we're up to in our goal towards $10,000 we have now raised $93.7 I'm really grateful to all those who have contributed and I encourage all those who would like to contribute and are thinking about contributing to indeed do so you can go on to my weite arold wag.com go on to the contact page at the very top there's a donate Button as I mentioned previously this is the money that's needed in order to print the book and to begin the advertising campaign for the book and I'm really grateful to all those who have been involved and who will be involved now I'd like to share with you in this week's para so the Torah tells us like this it's the very beginning of the God speaks to Moses and says speak to Aaron and tell him when you cause the candles to be lit to light up they are to face the six outer candles are to face towards the inner Center candle and all seven of these candles will be a light there are a number of different MIM here on this PK on this verse and at first glance the idea that the midashim are trying to bring forth doesn't seem very clear but as we read them we start to get a picture we start to see that there's a theme that's running through the concept of the manora of these this calabra which was inside of the temple inside of the mishkon the Tabernacle what is the idea of the manora so the first idea that we see in the in the m is like this this is what the verse ISS it's a verse in Isaiah 42: 21 it says that God desires that a person be right he causes the Torah to be very great what is the idea of that of the fact that God wants a person to be righteous and how is that connected to the man IM says like this God says to mes the reason that I gave you this exhortation this commandment to light these candles is not because I need your light Hashem is the one who creates all of light God himself is the source of all light so why is it that God gives us a command to light these candles inside of the Tabernacle it's in order to purify the Jewish people sh the verse says the verse tells us that light is there with God it's a verse in Daniel 2:22 we found another verse Darkness there's no Darkness for God for God night and day are the same night is just as light as day light and darkness there's no difference for God it's always light so the me says why did God give us his command it's in order to purify you that's why the verse says very interestingly doesn't say you're going to light the Naros it says you're going to raise up the flame of these candles so why is the verse written in this language you're going to raise up because it actually means you are going to rise up as a result of lighting these candles this is the idea of the verse when it says that hem wants you to be righteous that the purpose of The Commandments is to cause a person to become righteous by doing the Mitzvah by lighting these candles when we do a midst when we fulfill a commandment so it lights us up we become greater We rise up so the question that I have here when we read this part of the Mish is that why is the manur singled out as something which causes person to be raised up the me seems to be saying that the purpose of the manora is to raise us up it's to light us up not for us to light up for Hashem so much as for us to be lit up by hashem's light why is it specifically in the MIT of manora we we could say or would seem to be true that anytime I perform a Mitzvah anytime I fulfill a commandment anytime I do a spiritual act it makes me greater why is this specifically a teaching in regards to the manura now the way of the Mish is that it will take a PK will take a verse and it will give a number of different explanations a number of pieces and through them all it will give an explanation or a number of explanations on the verse that it's speaking about so over here we have 10 different pieces that speak about this verse and give us different ideas that seem to be distinct and even it could be said that they seem to argue but we'll see that they all come down to the same idea now in section number four of the magish it says like this when it came to creating the the vessels of the of the Tabernacle moshin was the one that was in charge of it and he was actively involved and actually fashioning them when it came to creating the manora the Candelabra this was something that mosha had a very hard time with until hasem pointed at it as it were he showed him clearly this is precisely how you are to do it since it was still too difficult God says to Moses take a a chunk of gold and throw it into the fire then take it out it's going to be made on its own took Moses took this chunk of gold he threw it into the fire Moses said said Master the world I thrown this piece of gold Into the Fire do as you wish immediately The Manor came out and it was made properly exactly the way it was supposed to be so it wasn't made by Moses it was made by God himself that's why the verse says the thing that hasem showed to Moses that's how it was made doesn't say doesn't say this is how Moses made it it just says this is how it was made so who was the one that made it it was God himself therefore God said to Moses his if you exort them to light these candles in front of me I protect your souls from all things that are evil why how is that very interesting part of the mes listen carefully to this that the souls are compared to a candle sh says the candle of God the flame of God is the soul of a person and the verse says you shall raise up the candles so the M says two things one is that this was something that Moshe couldn't do Hashem had to do it himself to make this manora and by fulfilling this commandment as we seem to have said before when a person does that it it raises up his soul and as this med says it protects his soul when he does this the question I want to ask at this point in the medish is what is the idea the concept of the clearly there's a connection between the soul and the idea of a candle what is the idea of that connection why is there that connection why does it lift up my soul when I light the manura now listen to this 10th section of the medish which has a similar theme to it but ends in different way and seems to be a contradiction but perhaps we could say it's not says like this says a vision of a pure candal Abra came down from the heavens that God said to Moses you should make a man of pure gold the conversation went like this how should I make this asked Moses needs to be one solid block despite the fact that hm gave him the instructions he had a hard time he came down he forgot the instructions he came back up and he asked God he said how how can I make it needs to be one solid block he gave him all the instructions nevertheless Mo had a hard time he came down he forgot he came up and he said I forgot again he showed him he forgot again at that point showed him what to do he showed him he gave him a vision he took a manur that was made out of fire he showed him how it was to be done he gave him a visual picture of what it's supposed to look like despite that Vision that he had he wasn't able to do it said to him go to he is the one who's going to make it soos told to do so immediately he made it he started off M was just bewildered God showed me a few times I couldn't do it you didn't even see the vision that God gave and you just did it on your own Moses was just blown away B and he said to him what is your name your name is you were standing in the shade of God when God was showing it to me you were behind the scenes so to speak you must have seen so in this version of the Mish it wasn't Hashem who finishes off the action of creating the manura but rather the action is given over to Balo and he finishes it off he's the one who makes it now the question I want to ask here is how come in the first Mish it's that Hashem himself self finishes it off but here it's p is there a way that we could possibly reconcile these toim or they argue and there's no way to reconcile them there's an argument between the sages of the medish second question on this medish is what is the idea that Bal is able to do it on his Zone how come mosha has to go through all this instruction and then after the instruction is completed he just forgets it he's unable to do it and then B is just unbelievable he has the talent it's just inborn it's how is he able to do that he didn't even get the instructions he didn't even have that Vision he didn't have that visual aid how is he able to create the man precisely as a KES as God intended it and what does it mean that he stands in the shade of God God doesn't have any shade God is all light so to speak God is a spiritual being he's beyond anything physical so what does it mean that Bal stands in the shade of God so I'd like to share with you two more pieces in the medish and then we'll start to understand we'll start to get a a picture of what's going on in the concept of the meas says like this the verse tells us that there were six outer candles and there was one Center candle and that the three on either side pointed towards the center the mag explains why was it situated in this way why was it constructed in this way the reason that it was pointed in this way don't think your shouldn't tell you evil inclination shouldn't convince you that God needs your light God doesn't need the light to light up his Tabernacle and that's why the candles were not facing outwards they were facing inwards toward the center in another example of this the mes continues and speaks about the fact that usually when a person makes windows he wants to bring the light in from outside so it'll be a little bit thinner on the outside and then opening up into the inside but the construction when it came to the temple the way that the windows were structured was that they were smaller on the inside and they widened as they came through the wall to the outside so that it would allow the light to come from inside to outside the purpose of the manur wasn't in order to light up the inner area of the mishon but rather it was in order to light up the world outside so to speak so we see here as well that the light of the manora was not for God God doesn't need that light heaven forbid god is perfect he doesn't need anything but rather it was for us in a certain sense the M continues with another example a few examples of the idea that God doesn't really need our light the priest of Thea of rebi said as follows when you see a lightning flash told us it's a result of the fire of Heaven it causes the entire world to be lit up the verse says the verse speaks about the way that the angels look that they look like fire they're burning in such a way that they look like lightning bolts and from the fire comes out a lightning bolt and it lights up the entire world do I need says God your light do I really need your light so why did I tell you to light this manora inside the temple inside of the Tabernacle it's coming to raise you up is another thing God says the eyes that you have they have white and they have dark in them there's a black pupil and there's a white area around it how are you able to see not through the white the white is not the part of the eye that's able to see but rather it's the black part of the eye if I find we can make a we can create a logical derivation that if I find that when it comes to your eye which part of the eye do you see with the black part and not the white you only see the black part God he is completely light does God need your light another example of this verse tells us that the candles were facing inward a human being when he wants to light a candle he has to take from another candle is it possible for a person to light a candle from Darkness we find the verse says we find that that's not true when it comes to God that it speaks to the fact that the world was covered in darkness what does it say afterwards God said let there be light God when he wants to create light he takes light out of Darkness do I need your light is asking the reason that I told you to bring this light is to raise you up now I find it really interesting as we read this Mish there are three examples of light that the way Hashem functions so to speak the way that Hashem creates the world is that light comes into existence from Darkness the first example of that is the lightning bolt a lightning bolt if we think about it comes when there's a storm it's dark outside and all of a sudden the lightning bolt comes and lights up the darkness so there's light that's coming from Darkness even the fact that the eye which sees it sees light where does it see light it sees light in the dark part of the eye even that is indicative of the fact that Hashem creates light from within the darkness and the third example of it is during creation the world was dark and despite the fact that the world was dark Hashem created light from the darkness what is the idea of the fact that Hashem creates light from Darkness what is the significance of that in the context of the concept of the manora so finally I'd like to share with you one more piece in the magician I think that this is the foundation for all of the questions that we've asked for really what's going on with the whole the whole concept of the manura the meure says finally like this I'm is the Jewish people said send your light and your truth they will guide me it's a verse in in Psalms 43:3 the light of God is great the Sun and the Moon provide light for the world where does the light come come from they grab Sparks of light or light rays from above is a verse in 3:1 they go with your light rays they go by the the shine or the glow of your lightning bolts so we see that the light which exists in this world is really an extension of God's light and that's true of the sun it's true of the Moon continues and tells us how great is the light of above the light of that Heavenly light the light of God not everyone has access to that light only one in 100 it's a verse in Daniel 2:22 refers to those who know despite the darkness and it's unusual for them to know so since that's the case do you want access to light do you want access to something higher you're going to have to access it for the time being through the Sun and the Moon that they're going to light things up for you Shar as the verse says in Genesis 1 verse 17 God placed the celestial bodies in the heavens in order to give light but as we said that light is not their own that light is really God's light but it's a light that we can't handle it's too great for us only one in 100 people has the capacity to withstand or to receive that light and therefore hasem sends the light through a lower being a lower form in order that the light should be which should be possible for us to be able to handle the light and now the Mish makes one final point that the candles face inwards as we said Omar David King David said it's actually a verse in mishle which was written by King Solon which we need to understand as well but the verse says in Proverbs 16:15 when a king's face is shining so it gives life that's the meaning of this verse what does it mean for us joy was taken away or prevented from reaching those who are evil and it was given to the people of Israel that God needed to sit with human beings because of this flame because of the flame of the manora that God instructed them to light these Flames light these candles and as a result so the face of God as it were would light up and give life to the Jewish people so the last question that I want to ask is what is the idea that that when God's countenance as it were is lit up when the king's countenance is lit up so then it provides life how is that connected to the concept of sim of Joy which is taken away from those who are evil and given to the people of Israel what does that mean why is it taken away from those who are evil and why is it indeed given to the people of Israel and how does that Connect into the concept of the manura of lighting the candles and the Tabernacle and I believe that the concept is it's not a coincidence that this idea which ends off this piece is within the same piece as concept of the Sun and the Moon that are an extension or bringing down the light this the spiritual light of above kind of limiting that light and allowing it to come into the world because I believe that the concept that the magish is trying to bring across in all of these different points and all these different ideas is that the light that we shine the light that we bring into the world is not our light the light is God's light just like the Sun and the Moon don't shine their own light even though it seems like that it's clear the the moon doesn't shine its own light but even the sun is really reflecting a higher light as well in the same way the manura the concept of the manura is that we don't shine our own light the light that we shine is really God's light the light is really not for God but rather it's for us and to the extent that we understand that to the extent that we realize that it's not about me it's not about how I think God wants me to shine my light into the world but it's really just about letting God shine his light through me to the extent that I understand that I'm going to be sitting with God when I'm shining that light when I'm shining God's light so then Hashem is shining into the world he's sitting with me because I'm lighting this that Joy is something that's the most ecstatic Joy the greatest joy is just being who I'm meant to be just shining the light that God wants me to shine in the world not what I think but what God really does want a Russ person who is evil he's busy doing what he wants to do in the world he's not interested in God's light he's not interested in reflecting God's light into the world he doesn't have any joy that Joy is specifically given to the people of Israel who are interested in in bringing God's will down into the world now we ask that there were two different men russan one of them said that Hashem himself God himself made the manur the other meure said that no it was Bal who made the manora and I would like to suggest that actually it's not a contradiction that the whole essence of who bsal was was that he wasn't thinking about it Moshe kept going back and forth back and forth trying to understand how do I do this what's the right way to do this but Sal he was the one who had to make the manora because he was someone who stood in the shadow of God which meant God doesn't have a Shadow but it means that just like when I move my hand my shadow moves along with it bsal was somebody who God as it were moved his hand and B just moved along with it God had a will had a desire B just expressed it manifested it with no ego with no calculations it had to be a BAL who is personally going to make the manura because the manura represents this idea that the light that I'm shining is God's light and it it looks like a little light but it's really the light of God so we can suggest that when it says that God himself made the manura it's not a contradiction to the fact that Bal made the manora because God was manifesting through bsal and bal's complete lack of ego complete not even thinking about how it should be done but just working with his pure spiritual intuition resulted in him just being an extension of God as it were and when the M teaches us that God's light appears out of Darkness the dark part of the eye is that which sees the lightning bolt is created out of Darkness within the darkness and all of a sudden you see what is that teaching us it's teaching us that when it comes to Shining hashem's Light in the world there's something that's counterintuitive light doesn't come from light light comes from dark even the fact that the sun doesn't have its own light but really it's reflecting a higher light that's a very novel idea in fact it's counterintuitive and the idea here is that if I want to serve Hashem properly I need to work against my first way of thinking I need to recognize that if I want to shine hashem's light into the world I need to do it hashem's way and not the way I automatically think with my mind with my intellectual mind that Hashem wants me to serve him you know the medish keeps asking does Hashem need your light does Hashem need your light does Hashem need your light and I believe that the the understanding of it is is that I always need to question am I adding something of my own here or am I really looking for hashem's will am I adding my own version of hashem's will or is this the simple Flame the simple instruction that Hashem gives me it's not a coincidence that Aron Aaron the priest is the one who raises that flame because he's the one who has the aspect of Hod he's the one who knows how to not try to control others but rather to just give let things be as they are to in a certain sense allow that flame which is inside of a person to light on its own just like Bal was able to allow that manur bring that manora into reality without too much effort because he was just in a true place of reflecting hashem's light or betel he was standing in the shade of God he was just moving the way God was guiding him so we asked at the very beginning why is this concept of the fact that the Torah and the Mitzvah Raise Me Up why is that being taught in the context of the manur and I believe that the answer is because the concept of the manur is that the light that I shine needs to be pure it needs to be simple it needs to be God's little flame needs to be Balo like Balo it needs to beel it needs to be with God moving you see me as a shadow of God when I'm not trying to add more to the flame than is there so then what happens is that raises me up that's where I indeed I am raised up by my Mitzvah observance by fulfilling the commands of God it's not by doing it my way it's by doing it simply in the way prescribed by God final point is that we're speaking about the N the candle the the light which represents the soul why does it represent the soul because the soul is the essence of who I am it's the aspect of myself which is beyond my intellect it's beyond my thinking of the way things should be it's the essence of who I am and how I'm meant to manifest Hashem in the world so when we speak about this Flame the flame also stands above the candle just like my soul is transcended above my body and beyond my intellect and so the flame itself represents when I light that flame that I am doing things the way Hashem wants me to do it beyond my simple understanding my simple intellect but rather doing it I'm manifesting my soul the essence of who I am the core of who I am and who I'm supposed to be in the world may Hashem bless you and hasm bless me that we should all be Z we should all Merit to have the humility to recognize to try to light the flame of a simple flame to do hashem's will to be who we really are to see that Soul allow that soul to reflect down into us just like the moon and even like the sun is a reflection of hashem's transcendent spiritual light thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shabas this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcasts like this please pleas visit www.wag.com or search on iTunes Ari goldwag [Music]