Beha’alotcha – The Beauty in Daily life

Rabbi Ezra Friedman

Human beings are always searching for new and exciting things. In all areas of life, many people feel the need for a change as they become disappointed and burdened by the same routine. This tendency becomes intense for a religious Jew, as the Jewish religion is replete with routine – the same prayers, the same holidays and the same laws all year long. Even though the Jewish calendar has many different holidays and occasions, they never change. Many Jews, at some point or another, are challenged by unenthusiastic feelings of serving Hashem through what might seem as a mundane routine. How do we, as Jews, make our religious practice exciting and how do we continue to be inspired by the Torah we learn and the Mitzvot we perform? The answer can be found in this week’s Parsha.

From this week’s reading, our Sages bring one of the most interesting and famous Midrashim found in Chumash. The Parasha begins with the commandment of the daily lighting of the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash. Last week’s Torah portion finished with the sacrifices of the chieftains of all 12 tribes. These sacrifices were a monumental event in Jewish history, Am Yisrael had a built a home for Hashem, a tabernacle, and in order to inaugurate its sanctity, each chieftain gave a sacrifice that included gold, silver, and numerous animals.

Our Sages ask why these two episodes are adjacent to each other in the Torah. The answer is that the episode of the inauguration of the Tabernacle didn’t finish with the sacrifices. While the Chieftains were giving their sacrifices and the celebration was going on, someone on the sidelines was watching in misery. Aharon Hakohen saw the celebration and was devastated. Aharon was the Kohen Hagadol, the one in charge of the holiest service to Hashem, such as sacrifices and anything else related to the Tabernacle. Yet as important as a role that Aharon had, when the great opportunity came to inaugurate a home for Hashem, the first and only time in history when such an inauguration would occur, Aharon sat on the side and could not participate. Hashem saw Aharon‘s pain and sorrow and then immediately afterward presented the commandment of lighting the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash. Our Sages say that Hashem told Aharon that his, the Kohen‘s Mitzvah of lighting the candles daily, was greater that all of the sacrifices given by the Cheiftains. When Aharon heard that, he was comforted.

The Ramban is perplexed by this Midrash and in his commentary asks two powerful questions that seem almost unanswerable. First, the Ramban claims that Aharon‘s reaction seems illogical. As the Kohen Hagadol, Aharon performed many sacrifices for Am Yisrael daily. He himself brought the Ketoret (Incense) and on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, he performed the entire service in the Beit Hamikdash and entered the Holiest of Holies (Kodesh Hakodashim). How could Aharon have been depressed by the Chieftain’s service if he himself was to serve Hashem in such a huge capacity in the future? The second question is how was Aharon relieved when Hashem tried to comfort him with the commandment of lighting the Menorah? Why was lighting the Menorah more holy than the bringing of the Ketoret or entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur?

If we look into the depth of what Hashem was telling Aharon, perhaps we can answer the Ramban’s question. The lighting of the Menorah seems like a very mundane and relatively insignificant Mitzvah in the service at the Beit Hamikdash. However, that is exactly the point. As mundane as it may seem, in order to be able to bring the Ketoret, one must light the Menorah. Hashem was trying to tell Aharon that even though the Chieftains had the merit of inaugurating the Tabernacle, real servitude to Hashem comes from daily simple actions, like lighting the Menorah. Hashem was explaining to Aharon that even if the inauguration of the Mishkan might be a very emotional highlight, the fact was that lighting the Menorah permitted the giving of  another sacrifice shows how our daily service to Hashem has much more potential. Aharon was relieved because he could see that singular and random emotion is not the ideal in Hashem‘s eyes. When one only focuses on his sudden emotional excitement, then he will never be satisfied. He will always look for new experiences and never grasp the spiritual power of a daily religious schedule.

This lesson is so important for our generation. In a time where materialism is so rampant, the western world is always looking for more exciting outlets. In Judaism, we must appreciate and find the renewing and emotional glory in our daily lives, making every Tefilla meaningful, making every Shabbat unique. The true power of Judaism is finding the spiritual energy in every aspect of life even if repeats itself repeatedly.

Since we have just celebrated Shavuot, it is worthwhile to mention that Rav Kook mentions a similar idea regarding Torah study. An essential part of Torah study is reviewing the Torah we learn. Rabbis throughout the generations exclaimed time and time again that learning without reviewing is a basic and shallow level of Torah learning. Rav Kook stated that even though any type of Torah learning is holy and positive, when we review what we learn with intensity and dedication, we have reached a much higher spiritual level. Rav Kook explains that the normal inclination of any human being is to look for the new. The same is true with Torah.  It is much more enjoyable to learn new things. However when we review over and over again,  we show that we are not just learning for the enjoyment, but rather we learn so we can absorb and bathe in the unique spirituality of that specific piece of Torah. May we and all Jews be blessed by realizing and appreciating every aspect of our beautiful Torah.