Bnei Yisrael as vessels of divine light

במדרש ה' חפץ למען צדקו כו' כי מביהמ"ק האור יוצא לכל העולם וכן אור תורה כמ"ש מציון תצא תורה ולכן צריכים בנ"י להכין הנרות לקבל האור היוצא להמשיך אורה לכל המקומות.

In the Midrash: "Hashem desired, for the sake of His righteousness…" (Yeshayahu 42:21) — for from the Bais Hamikdash the light goes forth to the entire world, and likewise the light of Torah, as it is written, "From Tzion shall go forth Torah" (Yeshayahu 2:3); therefore Bnei Yisrael must prepare the lamps to receive the light that goes forth and to draw illumination to all places.

The Bais Hamikdash is the conduit through which divine light radiates to the whole world; Bnei Yisrael, by kindling the Menorah, become the vessels that gather that light and channel it everywhere.

וכן בשבת קודש יוצא אור ותורה לכל הימים.

And likewise on the holy Shabbos, light and Torah go forth to all the days of the week.

Shabbos is the "source-day" from which spiritual light and Torah flow into the entire week.

לכן מצות נר שבת ג"כ.

This is why there is also the mitzvah of the Shabbos lamp.

Just as the Menorah draws down light in the Mikdash, lighting the Shabbos candles draws the radiance of Shabbos into the home and the week ahead.

והכל בחי' צדיק דכתיב אור זרוע לצדיק כי מדת הצדיק המשכות והתפשטות השפע והאור כמ"ש וצדיק חונן ונותן.

And all of this is the aspect of the tzaddik, as it is written, "Light is sown for the tzaddik" (Tehillim 97:11), for the trait of the tzaddik is the drawing down and spreading of shefa (divine flow) and light, as it is written, "and the tzaddik is gracious and gives" (Tehillim 37:21).

The defining quality of a tzaddik is to receive divine light and pour it onward to others — he is a giver, never a hoarder, of spiritual abundance.

וזהו למען צדקו.

And this is the meaning of "for the sake of His righteousness."

Hashem's "desire" is that His light flow outward through the channel of tzidkus — the giving, radiating quality of the tzaddik.

וכן בנפש בפרט ברית מילה שנק' צדיק משם יוצא אור לכל הנפש.

So too within the soul, specifically the bris milah, which is called "tzaddik" — from there light goes forth to the entire soul.

The bris (called by the kabbalah the sefirah of "tzaddik/yesod") is the inner point in a person from which holy light spreads to the whole nefesh.

ובכלל עמך כולם צדיקים.

And collectively, "Your people are all righteous" (Yeshayahu 60:21).

On the national level, all of Bnei Yisrael share in this quality of the tzaddik — each is a vessel of holy light.

והם מאירים לכל הנפשות והכל רמז במ"ש מציון תצא תורה.

And they illuminate all the souls, and all of this is hinted at in the verse "From Tzion shall go forth Torah."

Bnei Yisrael radiate light to all souls, mirroring how Torah streams out from Tzion to the world.

כמ"ש במ"א כי ציון גי' יוסף.

As written elsewhere, that "Tzion" has the same gematria as "Yosef."

Tzion and Yosef share a numerical value, linking the holy place of Tzion to Yosef, the archetype of the tzaddik who sustains and gives to others.

ז"ש במדרש לזכותם שיאמרו בני ישראל מאירין למי שמאיר לכל העולם.

This is what the Midrash means by their merit — that people would say, "Bnei Yisrael give light to the One who gives light to the whole world."

The Menorah expresses Yisrael's merit: we "illuminate" before Hashem, as it were, not because He needs our light, but to show that we serve as His vessels for spreading His light to all.

פי' שהם כלים לקבל האור ולהמשיכו לכל העולם כנ"ל:

The meaning is that they are vessels to receive the light and to draw it forth to the entire world, as above.

Bnei Yisrael's role is to be receptacles for divine light and conduits that carry it onward to the whole world.

Summary: From the Bais Hamikdash, from Shabbos, and from the bris within each soul, holy light streams outward — this is the quality of the tzaddik, who receives light and gives it onward. Bnei Yisrael, "all righteous," are the vessels who kindle the Menorah and channel Hashem's light to the entire world.