Parshas B'halotcha
When You Rise
The parsha begins with the word b’halotcha which is the verb that precedes
the object of the sentence, the candles and lights of the candelabra in
the Tabernacle and Temple. Thus the verse in its simple meaning refers to
having the flame rise when lighting the candelabra. But the verb
b’halotcha literally means “When you rise.” And I think that this idea
contains an important lesson for all of us. The candelabra in the Temple
represents the light of the Torah, of God’s presence, so to speak in the
world. The object of the kohein, the priest of Israel in lighting the
candelabra is to spread this divine light throughout Israel and the world
and thereby to dispel the darkness of evil and contentiousness that so
pervades the world.
However, the lighting of the candelabra was not meant to be merely a
mechanical, robotic act. The kohein who performed this task of lighting
the candelabra had himself to be first uplifted morally and spiritually.
Thus the Torah wrote the verb b’halotcha- when you raise yourself – then
you are entitled to light the candelabra for others. A person who is not
of high moral character is unlikely to be an effective preacher of
morality to others. Those who possess divine light within themselves are
capable of producing divine light for others. Judaism is very strict in
its view of these matters. A candelabra lit by someone who is unworthy of
the task is doomed to flicker and eventually be snuffed out. The
candelabra in the Temple had an eternal flame – ner maaravi – associated
with it. As such, the achievement of eternity requires the uplifting of
one’s self on a consistent and permanent basis.
The Talmud goes to great lengths to confirm this basic principle of Jewish
thought. The rabbis there stated: “Bedeck yourself first before you
attempt to bedeck others.” Otherwise, the rabbis warned, when one attempts
to tell someone to remove a splinter from one’s self, the reply invariably
will be to remove the large beam from your own eye. Hypocrisy is the great
enemy of true faith and morality. One cannot lecture others about
splinters while carrying one’s own beams around. The rabbis of the Talmud
noted that even in their times those who could effectively reprimand
others for poor behavior were rare and scarce.What shall we say therefore
about our times? The Mussar movement of nineteenth century Lithuania
attempted to raise the moral caliber of Jewish society by emphasizing this
very message of b’halotcha. The key to influencing others lay in self-
improvement. Leading by example, by soft words and goodness was seen as
the correct method for lighting the candelabra and spreading the light of
holiness throughout society.
I think that, if ever, now is the time here in our Jewish world to mount
such a renewed effort at self-improvement in order to influence our entire
world positively. We may not yet possess the Temple and its great
candelabra but the idea and lesson that they represented are certainly
present here and now as well. Our task is to implement this symbolic
lighting of the divine candelabra.
Shabat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
Rabbi Berel Wein- Jewish historian, author and international lecturer offers a complete selection of CDs, audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, and books on Jewish history at www.rabbiwein.com
Text Copyright © 2006 by Rabbi Berel Wein and Torah.org
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