Thoughts on parashat Tetzaveh.
La Yehudim haita orah ve’simcha ve’sason v’ikar – The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, happiness and honor. (Esther 8:16) – these are the words of Megilia that we read on Purim that has just passed. We recite these words at the end of every Havdalah prior to which we also look at the reflections of lights in our fingernails. Light is a fundamental element/principle of the world, both physically and spiritually. Light is probably the most “positive” force in the universe – understood as the source of all life and is universally associated with growth, good, wisdom and truth.
Our Torah Portion for this week starts with the instruction how to permanently keep the menorah being lit:
You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly. Aaron and his sons shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is over [the Ark of] the Pact, [to burn] from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a due from the Israelites for all time, throughout the ages. (Ex 27:20-21)
In our synagogues we no longer have continuous burning menoras; instead, every synagogue has an Eternal Light – ner tamid – that hangs above the ark. Traditionally ner tamid is seen as representing God’s presence. This Divine presence has many facets and can be felt in different ways. For me, His presence has always been inextricably linked with a feeling of inner peace and spiritual stability. What do I mean by spiritual stability? In an effort to describe this phenomenon in a language that does not refer to internal, momentary feelings and thoughts what I mean by spiritual stability is a strong sense of objective values that give meaning to human life, along with the ability to accept all sorts of unpleasant and negative experiences (from bad language, contempt etc, through love disappointments, physical and psychological suffering, to judgments of fate, matters of life and death and tragic events) and in them find a meaning to reach the final stage of acceptance.
This spiritual stability provides an immunity to the ebb and flow of the challenges that life inevitably offers because it affords us the emotional strength needed to cope with these difficult life challenges without compromising mental and/or physical health, and in fact, contributing to overall health. This stability is a healing spirit and is shared with those near you. As you embody spiritual stability, through your behavior and reactions, you will naturally share and support others in your family and community, who lack this stability. It is not always an easy task but doable, the necessary conditions being openness, ability to listen, as well as enough time and attention.
Morality, law and ritual are essential in building our spiritual stability. To make our spirits shine continuously, like ner tamid, we need to constantly provide them with fresh, clear oil, which for us is the lessons of morality and wisdom that have been distilled into our tradition throughout centuries and we need to kindle our spirits regularly by engaging in our religious ritual.
Spiritual stability offers us the ultimate power to deal with various life challenges and it comes through kindling our spirits with the words of the Holy One everyday, when we get up and when we lie down. Our spirits are like oil lamps, without a regular supply of oil and without the effort of lighting them, we will be in darkness. As we do on the Eve of Shabbat, when we light two candles, we should always light our souls with a double amount of Divine fuel: love, wisdom and peace.
Shabbat shalom!
