Living with the Parshah
Positive Light

The sun was shining as Ben and David walked home from school one hot Thursday afternoon.

"How was your Sedra (weekly Torah reading) class?" Ben asked. "Did you have Mr. Benson today?"

Mr. Benson was the school Sedra teacher and every week he would teach each class all about that week's Sedra.

"Well," David said, "it's funny you ask; he actually wasn't there today. We had this substitute instead."

"So what was funny about that?" Ben asked.

"I dunno," David said. "It was just funny, because it still felt like Mr. Benson was teaching the class. If you would ask me who taught the Sedra this week, I would say Mr. Benson, even though he wasn't there."

"That is strange," Ben said. "Wasn't the substitute's lesson different; like his voice must have sounded different?"

"Yes, but he did lots of things just like Mr. Benson." David said as he scratched his head. "It's a bit like the menorah, the Tabernacle's candelabra, in this week's Sedra."

"Right," Ben said "I remember. Aaron would light the menorah every day in the Sanctuary."

"Yes," David said. "But the interesting thing is that the Sages tell us that technically it didn't have to be Aaron."

"What do you mean," Ben said "wasn't he the High Priest?"

"He was," David said "but the law is that any Kohen (priest) can prepare the menorah's oil and wicks for lighting, and any Jew is allowed to light it."

"So why does the Torah speak about Aaron lighting it if he doesn't have to do so?" Ben asked, all confused.

"It means that whoever is lighting it has to be doing it because Aaron arranged for him to do it. Aaron is still in charge, even if someone else is lighting it."

"So you mean, Mr. Benson is still in charge of the lesson, even if someone else is giving it?"

"Yes. But it also means something in a spiritual sense," David said, taking off his glasses to help him think. "We all light our own 'mini menorah' inside ourselves. We light ourselves with positive thoughts and being keen to do good things. And we also light up the people around us. They each are like a flame of the menorah as well. We try to light them up with encouragement, helping them grow."

"Sounds good," said Ben. "So where does Aaron come in?"

"Well, the power to be able to do that comes from Aaron the High Priest. He's like the teacher, or the rabbi, encouraging everyone to go forward."

"Good old Mr. Benson," said Ben. "When we're older we'll be proud to say we had him teaching us the Sedra!"