And G-d spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you light the lamps [of the Menorah], the seven lamps should give light toward the face of
the Menorah.
Numbers 8:1-2
Our sages tell us that the physical universe is the last of a series of
worlds generated by the Creator, the final link in a "chain of
evolution" (seder hishtalshelut) from the abstract to the tactual
and from the spiritual to the material. In other words, everything we see or
experience in the physical world also exists in a higher, more spiritual form.
If the physical world contains objects such as water and stones, these are but
material incarnations of spiritual realities in the higher spheres of creation;
if the physical world consists of four "kingdoms" -- the mineral,
vegetable, animal and human -- these four gradations of vitality likewise exist
within the realm of the spirit; and if our physical selves inhabit the physical
phenomena of time and space, these are the product of a
"spiritual time"
and a "spiritual space" inhabited by our souls.
The ultimate physical representation of "spiritual space" was the Beit
HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem -- the place and edifice chosen by
G-d to serve as a meeting point of the supernal and the terrestrial. For while
all of physical space mirrors its metaphysical prototype, a veil of concealment
interposes between the material world and its spiritual source. A
"holy" place, however, is a place where this veil is less opaque,
where the spiritual soul of reality can be more readily glimpsed. The Holy
Temple was the holiest place in the world: the place where the veil was
most translucent and -- in its innermost and holiest chamber -- altogether
dissolved.1
So the physical dimensions of the Holy Temple are a model for the spiritual
landscape of the soul. The Holy Temple consisted of numerous domains, chambers
and "vessels", and scholars and mystics throughout the generations
have written on how each of these correspond to another element of the inner
life of man and illuminates its divine function and purpose (see, for example,
BeChayei on Exodus 25:9; Shaloh, Parshat Terumah, 324b; Torat HaOlah by Rabbi
Moshe Isserlis; et al) In a manuscript that recently came to light (Reshimat
Hamenorah, written in Paris in the year 1938 or 1939), the Lubavitcher Rebbe
explores the spiritual significance of one of the basic components of the Holy
Temple -- the Menorah -- and its position within the space of the Temple.
Alignment of the Lights
The four walls of the Holy Temple were aligned with the four points of the
compass, and the entire edifice implied a progression from east to west. One
entered the first of a series of courtyards -- the "Women's Court" --
from the east, and proceeded westward to the fifteen steps ascending to the
"Israelite Court." At the western end of the Israelite Court were the
steps leading to "Priestly Court,"
 |
| Floor plan (top) and model (below) of the Second Temples |
where the
Outdoor Altar
stood and much of the Temple service was performed. West of the altar were the
steps ascending to the Sanctuary. First one entered the "Hall" which
extended across the eastern face of the Sanctuary; west of the Hall was the
Sanctuary itself, an oblong structure measuring sixty cubits from east to west
and twenty cubits from north to south. The Sanctuary was divided into the
"Holy" which occupied its eastern two-thirds, and the "Holy of
Holies" which comprised the western third of the Sanctuary.
Each westward progression was an ascent to a higher level of holiness,
requiring a greater degree of sanctity for admittance. The Holy of Holies, the
most westerly and holiest part of the Sanctuary, was off limits to all except
for the Kohen Gadol ("High Priest"), and he, too, could enter
there only on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. In the words of our
sages, "The divine presence is in the west" (American and European
Jews face east in their prayers because the site of the Holy of Holies is east
of them. The Jews of Sefad, for example, face south when praying, while the Jews
of Yemen face north. Within the Temple, the direction faced was west).
The greater sanctity of the west was also reflected in the "western
lamp" (ner hamaaravi) of the Menorah, the seven-lamp candelabra that
stood in the Sanctuary and symbolized the Holy Temple's role as a source of
light for the world. The Menorah consisted of a central stem, from which six
arms extended -- three on each side -- to the full height of the Menorah. Each
of these were topped by a lamp, forming a row of seven lamps which were lit each
afternoon and which burned through the night. The "western lamp" was
unique in that though it contained the same amount of oil as the others, it
miraculously burned longer than the rest; often, it was still burning when the kohen
came to light the Menorah the next day. The western lamp was also the source of
light for the others: the other six lamps of the Menorah were lit from the
western lamp, while the western lamp was lit from the fire of the Outdoor Altar.
Which lamp was the "western lamp"? The question is more complicated
than it seems, since the Talmud (Menachot 98b) records two opinions regarding
the position of the Menorah in the Sanctuary. According to Rabbi Judah HaNassi,
the Menorah was positioned along the length of the Sanctuary, so that the seven
lamps were aligned from east to west. Rabbi Elazar is of the opinion that the
Menorah stood to the width of the Sanctuary, so that its lamps extended from
north to south.
But if the Menorah was aligned north to south, which was the "western
lamp"? Rabbi Elazar explains that the "western lamp" is in fact
the middle lamp -- the lamp atop the Menorah's central stem. The reason it is
called the "western lamp" is that its wick faced westward, toward the
Holy of Holies, while the other lamps were turned toward the "western
lamp" -- the three northern lamps facing southward and the three southern
lamps facing northward. (This explains the meaning of the words in the opening
verse of our Parshah, "the seven lamps should give light toward the face of
the Menorah," the "face of the Menorah" being the Menorah's
central stem.)
It would seem that according to Rabbi Judah, at least, identifying the
"western lamp" is a simple matter: if the lamps ran from east to west,
the "western lamp" would be the one at the Menorah's western extremity
-- the lamp furthest from the entrance to the Sanctuary and closest to the Holy
of Holies. Indeed, this is how Maimonides (Commentary on the Mishnah, Tamid 3:9)
understands the opinion of Rabbi Judah. Most of the other commentaries, however,
are of the opinion that the "western lamp" according to Rabbi Judah is
the second lamp from the east (sixth from the west), and derives its name from
the fact that it is to the west of the most easterly lamp (see Rashi on Talmud,
Shabbat 22b and Menachot 86b; Nachmanides, Ran and Me'iri (Shabbat, ibid.);
Rabbeinu Gershon (Menachot, ibid.); Raavad and Bartinura (Tamid, ibid.); Rashba
(vol. I, section 309)).
The Axis
The Talmud relates how, on one occasion, a heavenly voice made itself heard
regarding a difference of opinion among the sages in a matter of Torah law,
proclaiming: "These and these are both the words of the living G-d."
Since both opinions are based upon the divinely ordained methods of Torah
interpretation, and both have been arrived at by individuals utterly committed
to the divine truth, both are "the words of the living G-d." Both are
Torah, G-d's articulation of His wisdom and will via the human mind.
In actuality, only one viewpoint can be implemented. The Menorah in the Holy
Temple stood either to the length of the Sanctuary or its width -- it could not
have been aligned both ways at the same time. The Torah itself instructs what to
do when those empowered to interpret its laws disagree -- "follow the
majority" (Exodus 23:2). But if only one of two equally valid expressions
of the divine wisdom can be realized in the definitive realm of physical action,
this is not the case in the nebulous world of the soul. The heart can
simultaneously be attracted and repelled; the mind can simultaneously be aware
and forget. In the spiritual applications of Torah, the dictum, "These and
these are both the words of the living G-d," can be implemented most
literally.
What is the spiritual significance of the argument whether the Menorah stood
to the length or to the width of the Sanctuary? In spiritual space, a thing's
"length" is its extent --- how far it reaches, how low it descends.
The concept of a "chain of evolution" described above is a typical
example of spiritual length: a thing evolves from an abstract, ethereal state to
successively coarser and more mundane forms. The distance of its lowest
incarnation from its initial state is the measure of its "length."
Spiritual "width" is a thing's manifestation in numerous parallel
forms and expressions. As the term "width" implies, we are not
speaking of greater and lesser forms or of closer and more distant expressions,
but of parallel faces of a single truth, each as closely related to the
original as the others.
These definitions of spiritual "length" and "width" are
evident in the structure of the Holy Temple. The length of the Temple ran from
west to east, so that a thing's position in the longitude of the Holy Temple was
also the measure of its proximity to the Holy of Holies. In the Holy Temple,
more westerly is more holy. On the other hand, a thing's position in the width
of the Temple -- its southerness or northerliness -- did not imply its greater
or lesser holiness, but its particular place in the spectrum of expressions of a
particular level of holiness.
"The soul of man is a lamp of G-d" (Proverbs 20:27). If all
components and elements of the Holy Temple have their counterpart in the human
soul, the Menorah is the soul, the axis of the spiritual life of
man.2 What is this axis? What defines man? This is what lies at the
heart of the debate between Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Elazar. For the position of
the Menorah -- the question of whether its seven lamps were aligned with the
length of the Holy Temple or with its width -- turns on the question of what the
Menorah is: is it the "long" element or the "wide"
component of the human soul?
Intellectual Latitude
The human soul possesses many attributes and faculties, but there are two
that stand out as the definers of its personality: the intellect and the
emotions. Indeed, we commonly categorize people into two general types:
"intellectual" people, or those who predicate their lives upon their
reason and understanding; and "emotional" individuals who are
primarily motivated by their feelings, intuitions, cvonvictions and commitments.
In other words, the soul has both an intellectual and an emotional
"Menorah," as both the mind and the heart can serve as the
"guiding light" of a person's life. In certain individuals, the
intellectual Menorah dominates, while in others the Menorah of the heart is the
core of their spiritual personality.
Intellect, by definition, is the capacity to conceive a truth, hold it in
one's mind, focus upon it and apply it to one's experience. In this sense, an
"intellectual" is one who sets the objective truth as the basis for
everything in his life, to the utter disregard of all personal prejudice. In
terms of spiritual space, the intellect is a "wide" thing. Ultimately,
there are no greater or lesser truths: something is either true or it is not.
There are, of course, variant expressions of truth, as an objective reality is
perceived in many and various contexts; but this is a projection to the width
rather than to the length. No expression of a truth -- if it is truly an
expression of the truth -- is "further" from the abstract axiom than
any other. Rather, the many faces of truth are parallel to each other, being the
same quality of truth as expressed in different areas of reality.
The soul's tool for the attainment of truth is the Torah, in which G-d
revealed His wisdom and will to man. Thus, the Menorah of the mind consists of
seven lamps, corresponding to the "Written Torah" (the Pentateuch),
which is the essence of the divine communication to man, represented by the
central stem of the Menorah; and the six "orders" of the "Oral
Torah" -- the divinely empowered human endeavor to apply the Written Torah
to the six primary areas of human life -- represented by the Menorah's six arms.
(The six "orders" are: 1) Zera'im , "Seeds", which
deals with the laws of agriculture and food consumption; 2) Moed ,
"Times" -- the laws of Shabbat, the festivals and the Jewish calendar;
3) Nashim, "Women" -- marriage and divorce; 4) Nezikin,
"Damages" -- torts, business, civil and criminal law; 5) Kodashim,
"Sacred Things" -- laws of the Temple service; 6) Taharot,
"Purities" -- laws of ritual purity and impurity.)
The "intellectual" Menorah stands to the width of the Sanctuary.
Its seven lamps are all the same distance from the Holy of Holies, for all of
Torah law is in equal proximity to its divine source, regardless of which area
of life it governs. The law regarding "an ox who gored a cow" is no
"further" from the essence of the divine truth than "I am the
L-rd your G-d."
The "western lamp" in this Menorah is the center lamp, which
represents the Written Torah -- the "stem" from which the six branches
of the Oral Torah derive. It alone faces "the divine presence in the
west" -- the Holy of Holies containing the ark that held the Two Tablets of
the Covenant, upon which G-d Himself had inscribed the Ten Commandments, the
essence of the Written Torah. For the
Written Torah is the sole source of divine truth -- the other six lamps derive
their luminescence from its light. Nevertheless, the six lamps are spatially as
westerly as the "western lamp," for every expression of truth is as
true as the written "original."
Emotional Longitude
The seven lamps of the emotional Menorah are the
seven attributes or middot
of the heart: chessed, gevurah, tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod
and malchut -- love, restraint, harmony, competitiveness,
devotion, bonding and receptiveness.3
The emotional Menorah stands to the length of the Sanctuary. Unlike
the mind, the heart is subjective and equivocal; it includes lofty and coarser
emotions, sophisticated and simple feelings, purer and more biased sentiments.
Its seven lamps extend from west to east -- from potent, altruistic
"love" to pedestrian, malleable "receptiveness."
Yet the heart can yield a depth of commitment and drive that the most
"intellectual" life cannot equal. This is achieved when the sixth lamp
-- the heart's capacity for connection and bonding -- serves as the
"western lamp" and kindles the other emotions. When a person negates
all personal desires and aspirations to bind his soul to G-d, his
"subjective" heart will be illuminated with a divine light and guide
his life toward its ultimate fulfillment.4
"These and these are both the words of the living G-d." Rabbi
Elazar places the Menorah from north to south, seeing the mind and its capacity
to apprehend the divine truth revealed in the Torah as the gist of the spiritual
endeavor of man. Rabbi Judah HaNassi places it from west to east, expressing a
vision of the heart and its capacity for self-abnegating connection with G-d as
the primary activity of the soul. Both are valid conceptions of our mission in
life; both are to be realized in the life of every soul to the utmost of its
capacity, in accordance with its nature and its G-d-given potentials.
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