Parshas Behaloskha opens with HaKadosh Baruch Hu instructing Aharon, the Cohen gadol how to light the menorah on the holy Temple. It's a simple instruction namely that seven candles should be lit. The Chumash duly records that Aaron faithfully performed this task and that it was a beautiful menorah properly constructed according to the instructions given to Moshe rabbeinu when he was on Mount Sinai.
Rashi comments on this, “Why is the portion dealing with the menorah juxtaposed to the portion dealing with the chieftains? It is because when Aaron saw the dedication offerings of the chieftains, he felt distressed over not joining them in this dedication -- neither he nor his tribe. Therefore God said to him, “By your life, your [portion] is greater than theirs, for you will light the candles and incline them to good.” - [Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 3].
Lighting a candle is a Biblical metaphor for education. The idea here is that however great the rendering of glory to the Temple is, Jewish education is even greater. After all what is the Temple about, if it is not about how to properly live in the world created according to the will of God.
There is a similar Rashi concerning the laws in the Torah that are detailed immediately after the giving of the Ten Commandments. It states, “The Holy One, blessed is He, said to Moses: Do not think of saying, “I will teach them the chapter or a law two or three times until they know it by rote. However I need not trouble myself to have them understand the reasons behind the issue and its implications. Therefore, it is said: “you shall set before them”, meaning like a set table which a person is prepared to eat from — [From Mechilta, Eruvin 54b].
Micha 4:1-7 discusses knowledge of Torah and its connection to peace and blessings. As it says: It shall be at the end of the days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall properly be the head of the mountains, and it will be lifted above the hills, and nations will stream to it. Many nations shall go there and they will say, "Come, let us go up to the Mountain of Hashem and to the house of the God of Jacob, and let Him teach us of His ways, and we will go in His paths," for out of Zion shall the Torah come forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples and reprove mighty nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall not lift the sword against nation; neither shall they learn war anymore. They shall dwell each man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them shake, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken. For all nations shall go, each one in the name of his power, but we will go in the name of Hashem, our Power, forever and ever. On that day, says Hashem: I will heal the one that limps, those that I pushed away I will gather, and those whom I harmed. I will make the one who limps into a living segment, and the weary one into a mighty nation, and Hashem shall reign over them on Mount Zion from now and forever.
The last Mishna in the Talmud, Uktzin 3:12, discusses the rewards of peace to the nation of Israel. As it says: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bequeath to each and every righteous person three hundred and ten worlds, as the verse says, (Proverbs 8:21), "To bequeath substance [literally: 'yesh,' the numerical value of which is three-hundred and ten] to My loved ones, and I shall fill their storerooms”. Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta said: The Holy One, blessed be He, found no vessel that can [sufficiently] hold the blessing for Israel, save for peace, as the verse says, (Psalms 29:11) "Hashem will give strength to His nation, Hashem will bless His nation with peace."
The point of all of this is that as great as honoring the temple is, learning and teaching Torah is far greater. The truth is that humanity has not even began to live. We are living in the days of prehistory. Man will start to live when the Jews have learned and kept the Torah so well that they can teach it to the entire world. Then there will be seventy gentiles hanging from corner of every Jew saying teach us the ways of the G-d of Jacob, for the Torah will come out of Zion and the word of G-d from Jerusalem. The first thing that they will be taught is that there is no need for them to kill each other when they have a dispute. Rather they can explain their difficulty to the holy rabbis in Jerusalem who will tell them how to peacefully deal with the situation. The second thing to be learned is the many, many worlds of delight that we cannot even imagine today.
The point of all of this is that as great as honoring the temple is, learning and teaching Torah is far greater. The truth is that humanity has not even began to live. We are living in the days of prehistory. Man will start to live when the Jews have learned and kept the Torah so well that they can teach it to the entire world. Then there will be seventy gentiles hanging from corner of every Jew saying teach us the ways of the G-d of Jacob, for the Torah will come out of Zion and the word of G-d from Jerusalem. The first thing that they will be taught is that there is no need for them to kill each other when they have a dispute. Rather they can explain their difficulty to the holy rabbis in Jerusalem who will tell them how to peacefully deal with the situation. The second thing to be learned is the many, many worlds of delight that we cannot even imagine today.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
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