How Do You Know When You've Touched A Soul? [Beha'aloscha]

Paras. This is the para that instructs us of or instructs Aaron of the lighting of the manora in the b mikdash. We had earlier discussed back in the book of vayikra in the book of Leviticus the construction of the minora of how it was built and now we discussed the actual lighting of the minora that had taken place. Rashi points out that the term used the phrase used in Hebrew is means when you okay we translate it as like okay you know translations are dangerous right [sighs] when you light the candles it literally means when you bring up the candles there's actual words in Hebrew to convey ignite Right. But it doesn't say when you ignite the candles. It says from the root word al or up to elevate when you elevate the candles. And Rashi tells us what that means is that Aron or whoever is lighting the minor has to take that uh flame and hold it by the wick until the flame becomes independent till it goes up on its own. It's not enough to create a flame and that the minora should pre be a source of light and divinity and and testify God's presence in this world through through fire and what it signifies. But that flame that inspiration has to be independent. Aharun's role of illuminating candles is seen not just as a ritual, but it's seen as a calling, really a calling to all of us because everything in the Torah is an instruction, not just a ritual. The the general rule is that the Torah is eternal. not historical. If the Torah was historical, it would be telling us what Aaron used to do. If the Torah is eternal, it's telling us through the lenses of history what we should be doing. Does that make sense? And the way we view Torah is that it's not historical, but it's or it's not just historical, it's eternal. And the reason why it's eternal is because it's the wisdom of God. And God is not a piece of history. God is eternal. And through the Torah, God is conveying his values. And the value he's conveying to us is that we have to illuminate a manora. What does that even mean? So let's think back to how the minora is structured for a moment. The minora is a solid piece of gold. a solid piece of gold that had somehow been welded into the shape as we know it, which that itself is a debate. But was it straight edge? Was it curved edge? The Rambam's view is that it was uh straight edge. And that was Rashi's view as well. Okay, but that's a side thing. The point is I remember teaching this at the labs a couple years ago by the way and I I'm not like a physics guy but I'm trying to teach like a spiritual lesson and it like erupted into this whole discussion about if it was curved could it actually hold itself or would it sag down depending on the weight of gold and if it was straight edge would it guys I I don't know man everybody's pulling out their pencils impressive. Okay, but the point is that you have this solid piece with a base with distinct shapes and it branches out into seven different shapes. And what that means is that each one of us is a light and there's seven different kinds of lights. There's seven different personalities. There's really more than seven personalities, but there's a combination of seven general personalities. Some people are kind. Some people are more gur. Some people are more disciplined. Some people are more balanced eras. Right? There's the seven spherus described in Cabala. The seven emotive traits that God chose to express himself with and those are seven traits that every soul has. And everybody accentuates at least one of those traits. Which means the manora is not just a way to illuminate. It's a way to illuminate in our individuality, our individual soul. As Jews, there is like this tension between our individuality and our collective identity. I mean, put simple, are are tongue twisted. Are all souls created equal? We look different on the outside. Are we all the same on the inside? The answer is yes and no. The soul has a personality to it and personalities are different. If somehow everybody watching this simultaneously got to share a part of their soul, you'd get to see everybody's uniqueness. But that's how the soul expresses itself. That those are the seven branches. What are the seven branches of one solid identity, one solid piece when you get to share a part of you that's unique, but that's true, that's real, that's deep. And I share a part of myself that's deep and true and real. They're going to connect somehow at the base. Otherwise, you didn't get deep enough. Those different lights are really part of the same. And I, by the way, I see this with couples all the time. They say, "Oh, we're so different. Opposites attract and now we realize we're different. We're clashing." And and they are clashing. But when they discover real depth, they're like on the same page. I mean they they it's one solid gold base. It's not the manura was not a bunch of parts that were assembled. One of and this is all illuminated through Aaron. Aaron is the co-enon is the man of love. We'll get to that in a second. We'll talk about how to illuminate a soul through love. But before we even get there, let's talk about what that means. It says that Aaron should light the candles or should elevate the candles should should ignite the candles. What is a candle? You know what a candle is? If you have a thing of wax and you have thread and it's even on a nice tray, is that actually a candle? Not necessarily. Not really till you light it. Till you light it, you might It's just a bunch of material. It's potentially a candle. I mean, from a marketing perspective, you're you're paying for a candle. Fine. Is it actually living its purpose as a candle until you light it? No. It's just a blob. We might have a wick and we have wax and we have the potential to shine as an individual soul to illuminate the world to express our relationship with God and each other. But if that potential remains potential, are we actually godly candles or are we just blobs? The way you take a blob of wax and thread and turn it into an actual candle is by lighting it, which means by it fulfilling its purpose for which it exists. The moment we have a deep connection to the purpose for which we exist is the moment we're not just taken up space. It's the moment we begin to thrive. And there is the purpose for which we exist um in a general sense to make this world more divine to make this space a place where God feels comfortable where our soul feels comfortable in such a way that even people feel comfortable I mean that's how you know it's really God and it's not just religion it's really God because people feel comfortable because that's what God wants he wants to be with people He created them. And when we actualize that, I mean, we're fulfilling our purpose. How we do that, I mean, that that's a question we all have to figure out. And that's our own individual purposes. And when we figure that out, we're on fire. We're living our purpose. We're not just a blob of wax. We're a real candle. Like it says in the book of Proverbs by King Solomon by Adam, the candle of the of Hashem, of God is the soul of man. When we discover our soul, we're an actual candle, not just a blob. I'll share with you one of my favorite stories. There was a Israeli politician. He was really like an adviser to the prime minister and and did something to something to do with Israeli politics. His name was Yehuda Aer. Yuda Aer had a very close relationship with the lab and in many respects considered himself aid of the even though that's not how he necessarily portrayed himself on the outside. That's not necessarily what you saw when you looked at him. You didn't necessarily see the that he was trying to dress the part, but he was being the part. He had kind of an inside view, not an observer's view. Oh, I like he he got it. He had one evening a very long a very long private meeting with the generally speaking the the Reb's meetings would begin at 10 p.m. and would when people would have private audiences and would go somewhere to like 4:00 a.m. or even even later. There was a lot of people. There was a line. There was advanced booking and you'd get a couple of minutes. Occasionally it'd go longer. And his meeting apparently went to like two in the morning. And apparently he had some sort of desire to engage more to engage himself more as a as aid to live more in the spirit of the spirit of of the Torah. We're talking about that that that connection that living your purpose and everything teaches. But he felt the hesitation and he the Reb asked him well what's your hesitation. He said my hesitation is what is this whole this whole idea of needing a reb makes me a little uncomfortable. Why don't I just connect to God? What do you like what do I need you for? He appreciated his connection with but like from a spiritual perspective what what is this? [snorts] And the Rebbit told him that you can open up your cabinet. You could see some wax with thread in it. And he says, "What would you call that?" He says, "I'd call that a candle." He says, "It's not yet a candle. It doesn't have the flame. Until you have the flame, it's just a blob. It's existing and taking up space. But the moment it it's not about taking up space, it's illuminating outside of itself. It's providing warmth. It's providing light. It's no longer a blob. It's doing its thing. It's a candle. My job is to take people that feel like they're taking up space and help them discover their fire, their flame. So, they're not just a blob, but they're they have a purpose. and he he appreciated the answer. Later, as he was about to exit the meeting, exit the Reb's office, he said facitiously or jokingly to the Reb, "Has the Reb yet illuminated my candle? Did you light my candle yet?" And the Reb told him, "No, and I'm not going to." I'm paraphrasing here, but I don't know exactly what he said, but I think it was in Yiddish. He said, "No, and I'm not going to. So, I'm just going to give you the match. I'm going to give you not inspiration, but I'm going to give you the ability to generate inspiration on your own. You choose to do it. Choose to do as you wish. But that's what it means to light a monora, to discover our purpose, to discover our soul, to figure out what we're here for. Think about a moment in life where you felt more connected to your soul. You felt more connected to your purpose. You felt less like am I just breathing air and taking up space to this is meaningful. This is eternal. This is godly. I mean, what's different about you at that moment? There's more sim. There's more joy. You radiate. You shine outside yourself. That's deep. If we're truly illuminating, we're going to notice that we may all illuminate in our distinct way, but it's seven branches of one manura. We're all part of the same base. The manura was not assembled from parts. It was one solid piece. Which by the way, the only way you could possibly be one solid piece. Anyone know how our s the Tal I think Rashi brings us. The Talman says that it was too difficult for Mosha to create the manura. Like can you think about this? Mosha is like the head of the Sanhedrin. He's like the rabbitical authority and leader. He's busy answering everybody's questions and like pause. Take this block of gold and get carving, man. Not carving, by the way. Banging. Supposed to bang it. Mha. [snorts] So, our sages tell us that it was too difficult for Moshe. So, God, just throw it in the fire and I'll deal with it. And God had to do it. That oneness we have is divine, is godly. And the only way to realize it is when we are we illuminate the manura or when we're our manura is truly illuminating. That's when we can realize we're really all part of one base. Moshe is told to take that solid block and yeare to separate them into branches. They should look distinct. They should look individualistic. They should look like it's its own thing, but yet not disconnected from tradition, not disconnected from heritage, not disconnected from truth, but personality that expresses truth. We're not saying to just do your whatever you want because that's you know your truth. There is a truth and there is your personality that expresses that truth and that drives with it and that celebrates it in your way. Afterwards in the para there's something which I found to be a little puzzling here. So Aaron is told to light the candles. All seven candles are, by the way, are point All seven candles are pointing toward the middle or pointing toward the base because when they illuminate, they all realize they're all part of one thing. And here's what the Torah then says. I'm going to read the Hebrew and I'll translate Arun did so toward the face of the of the manora. He brought up its candles. Arun did exactly as instructed. He lit the candles so they all face each other. Mosha just like God commanded Moshe. Aron did it just like God commanded Moshe. But take a look at what Rashi says. Rashi highlights the phrase. Aaron did so. Did as instructed. And what does Rashi say? This teaches us the praise of Aaron. He did not deviate. Aron did exactly as instructed without deviating. Why would you expect that Auran would have deviated? That's almost offensive like why why would you say that? [laughter] Why would you expect that he would have deviated? God told me to light this minora. This is significant. It's the Cohen God and there's a whole para dedicated to illuminating the candles that which represents illuminating the souls in a very specific way. Maybe I'll cut corners while nobody's looking. Like come on. What is Raji trying to tell us? Aron didn't deviate. Well, thanks. Didn't know that's what you thought about me. [gasps] Was Awin the type to deviate? Was Arwin the type to rebel and do his own thing? He's the Cohen Guzle. He's the high priest. What does the manora represent? Lighting souls up. And if you truly light a soul up, it feels like an individual, but it points toward the middle. It realizes that it's part of something bigger. Aharon witnessed firsthand the sin of the golden calf. He saw what happens when people get excited and when they get inspired. He saw what could happen from gold. He saw what you could do with gold. It could be a monora. It could be a golden calf. Aron saw what rebellion looks like in these Jewish people. You want me to light up these people? [snorts] You want me to illuminate these souls? I I I I get when you're when you talk about a soul at Sinai that was, you know, when you talk about the the version of us that was like, you know, you talk about the better parts of our story. Okay, I could I could illuminate that. But to this was real. He saw people that made big mistakes that sinned. He saw people that complained. He saw people that rebelled. Arun didn't deviate. Arun didn't say, "Ah, these people have no hope. They're going to abuse individuality, not use it as a form as a form of service to God. They're not going to get inspired. They're just going to do their own thing. No, Arwin didn't deviate. He was able to see their soul. He was able to illuminate their soul in a way where it pointed toward the middle base where they realized they were all one. Arun didn't deviate because he knew that he could inspire them. And how does Aaron inspire them? Well, if there's one trait that epitomizes what Aaron was, what his children, the kohanim are, it's incredible love. It's a the deep love that he sees for every Jew despite the mistakes that they have made, despite the deviations they've had, despite their past, but to be able to look at them and believe in them and say, "We're going to light up your soul, man, in a way that you feel good about it, in a way that you feel comfortable, in a way that it point. It's all pointing in the same direction because we're all one." Aron believed in that. He didn't deviate. There are times where we may find it difficult to believe in people. Sometimes what it's actually difficult to believe in is the expectations we've created for those people. [snorts] And it's like, okay, no wonder you can't believe in them. You've created an expectation that's not nothing to do with them. That's you. But sometimes believing in them, not just in your version of them or your vision for them, but believing in them could actually and the difference is very subtle, but that could be very difficult. But then we also have within ourselves a aaron. The capacity to love the capacity to look at a person and say I know there's something deep in there that could shine that could illuminate and that could point toward the right direction. Aron didn't give up. And the Torah is telling us to put on those aaron lenses to look for that depth and to allow that manura to shine. Okay, that's my story and I'm sticking to