Tetzave תרל”ב
תרל”ב
ואתה תצוה כו’ פירש במדרש כי לא לאורה צריך רק שתאירו לי כו’. כי בודאי הרצון מבני ישראל אשר ימשכו כל הנבראים אחר שורשם בשמים. ועי”ז יאירו בעולם כי יש נקודה חיות מאירה בכל נברא. להעלות נר תמיד. פי’ תמיד הוא בכל דבר ובכל עשיה יהי’ רק כדי להיות עלי’ להשי”ת. מה רב טובך אשר צפנת כו’. פי’ הפשוט אור הצפון הוא תוך מעשה בראשית שנגנז ונסתר בעוה”ז כנ”ל. ושמעתי מאא”ז מו”ר ז”ל כי בשבת מתגלה מאור הנגנז כנ”ל. כי בשבת קודש יש עלי’ לכל מעשה בראשית. ובמדרש תנחומא ראשך כו’ ככרמל הרש כו’ והדל שבישראל כאלי’ כו’ מלך אסור ברהטים בזכות רץ אברהם כו’ משה ויהי בישורון מלך גזר עליהם ויעשו כו’ ע”ש. והלא כ’ ראשך. אך זה הפי’ ע”י רישות ודלות שיודעין שהכל רק מהשי”ת. עי”ז נדבקין בראשית שהוא שורש החיות מהשי”ת. וזה עיקר הרצון בשמים כנ”ל. וזהו כתית למאור ע”י בחי’ הביטול להשי”ת כנ”ל. וגם ע”י התלהבות שלא בהדרגה. וזהו אסור ברהטים. רץ אברהם. וניתן הכח למרע”ה שהוא כלל הדעת שבישראל. שכשבטלין בנ”י אל שורשם יוכלו לקיים אשר יוגזר עליהם. וזה ואתה תצוה כו’. ומפרש המדרש איך יכולין בנ”י ליתן אור להשי”ת מכל הנבראים. ואמר שהוא ע”י ב’ בחי’ הנ”ל הביטול והנדיבות למסור נפשם להשי”ת:
And you shall command… The Midrash explains that the reason why the Menorah was lit was not for the sake of the light it would give Hashem; rather, it was for the benefit of elevating Bnei Yisrael, that they were, so to speak, illuminating for Hashem. The idea here is that clearly the desire of Bnei Yisrael is that all of creation will follow and be attached to their source and root in Heaven. The source is the part from where the life force flows for each being. Therefore, to illuminate Tamid – literally always – can also mean to illuminate everything and every action. In whatever every person does, the desire is that it should be elevated and done so that it can be elevated for the sake of Heaven.
Furthermore, the pasuk states, ‘How great is Your good that You have hidden for those that fear You’. The simple explanation is that this is referring to the hidden light in creation that is hidden in this world. The Chidushei Harim explains that this light is revealed on Shabbos. This is because on Shabbos everything is elevated to a higher level, and therefore the light is more revealed. The Midrash Tanchuma (Tetzave 6) explains how even our lowly actions have huge impacts in Heaven. The idea here is that it is through one’s humility when one acknowledges that everything is from Hashem; then, one is able to connect to the beginning – Bereshis, the source of life force which comes from Hashem. This is indeed the primary desire of Hashem. This too is the idea of pure oil for the lighting of the Menorah. The purity here is the concept of nullification of one’s own desires to Hashem.
Furthermore, the Midrash above explains that through Avraham’s running to invite his guests and running to get them food, Hashem’s response to that is that He is, so to speak, bound in debt to Avraham. The idea here is that when one does something with extra excitement, that is more than what would normally be expended, one merits to this level, just as Avraham ran, which was beyond reason. This energy was given to Moshe, who represented the da’as, the inner understanding of Bnei Yisrael. Therefore, when Bnei Yisrael nullify to their source, they are able to fulfill whatever is commanded to them. This therefore explains the idea of the word Tetzave – you shall command, which is essentially saying that by nullifying themselves to the source they will be able to fulfill this command. Therefore, the Midrash that we quoted in the beginning which asks How can Bnei Yisrael actually give light to Hashem, the idea is that it is through the two elements: nullification and generosity where they demonstrate their self-sacrifice to Hashem, by doing so they merit to uplift everything to its source, and by doing so illuminate the entire world for the sake of Hashem.
Summary:
The idea of lighting the menorah is to elevate everything to its source, its life force in Heaven, for everything contains within it a spiritual energy hidden inside that sustains it. This is especially auspicious on Shabbos when everything is elevated.
This is true even for the simplest of actions, which have a huge impact. Therefore, the commandment of lighting the menorah is to bring about the latent power in Bnei Yisrael to completely nullify their own desires to the will of Hashem, and by combining this with their trait of generosity, they are able to elevate and illuminate everything to connect it to its source.
במדרש שנמשלו בנ”י לזית מה שמן אינו מתערב כו’ צף למעלה כו’. וע”ז נאמר ויקחו אליך שמן זית כו’. שזה המבוקש מבני ישראל לשמור חיות הפנימי. חלק אלקי שיש בכל איש ישראל שלא יתערב בגשמיות. ויהי’ צף למעלה:
The Midrash, when discussing the pure oil, compares Bnei Yisrael to oil that does not mix with other liquids and always floats to the top. This is the idea of ‘They Shall take to you’, that Hashem wants us to always guard and protect the pnimius, the internal Godly part that is contained in each and every one of Bnei Yisrael, should be protected from being contaminated with physicality. It should always float to the top.
