Reignite the Flame - Rabbi Jacob Bernstein

in the beginning of this week's parachute the torah tells us that then chairman's the purest of olive oils is brought to the mishkan la los near tamid to light the menorah with an eternal light a constant light but the truth is the menorah was not always on it's not like it was a light switch and it was on and it never went out it's not like the naruto that we might find in the front of our shul that always seems to be on ever glowing the menorah at times would go on and at times would go out and then would be reignited the next day the menorah represents in many ways hashem that at times can feel disconnected at times it can feel extinguished we're going to be on a high yesterday and today we're on a low even a minute by minute we could feel like connected right now and then we feel disconnected again the minority teaches us that it is not about the nare being on all the time it's about la hallos being on all the time in other words it's not like the shulchan where the upon him had to always be on the shulkron last week's pirate shirt says it needs to be left i mean it's always the same word beyond the shulhan the gemara in minneapolis tells us that there were two groups of quran and one group to replace and one group to remove him upon him to make sure there was no gap in between as one was pointed taking out the other one was putting on the next upon him there the talmud refers to the constant presence of allah when it came to menorah no one expected that the menorah was going to be lit at all times what was expected what was the eternal tamid the consistency that was necessary it's it's to make sure that we are constantly going back to re-ignite the flame that might have gone out again in our lives we might feel like there are disconnections that that flame of inspiration has been extinguished or is dwindling our voda is not the feel necessarily like we've let aqua spartaku down in that moment because our voda is like the menorah to make sure that we are reigniting that flame our vote at that time is not to worry about the flame that's gone out but making sure that we are putting a new flame in its place that we are reigniting constantly even if we feel like we have fallen we're connecting back to kadesh and the avodah of the is that even in the smallest actions in our lives when we're eating the bread when we're sleeping when we're exercising those two can be part of a constant approach to hashem they too can be part of our way of serving god and that can be constant in a different fashion if we are constantly aware of god's presence in our lives even if we're not on fire even if we're not inspired that's the avodah of the shokhan and the of the menorah is not to get down on ourselves when we feel like the flame has gone out but to rather make sure that we are allowed those ourselves to reignite ourselves just like the menorah needs to be reignited re-ignition needs to be consistent not the flame we hope and dream and and and daven that our flames should last longer the flame of connecticut who should be brighter and warmer in our souls but we are acknowledging that as human beings there are times when that flame goes out and instead of getting down about that we recognize that the avodah of the mishkan yeah of the menorah specifically is to reignite that flame consistently that it's the ignition the reignition the searching for more the rekindling of a flame that needs to be consistent even if the flame has gone out