And you, you shall command the children of Israel to bring you pure olive oil, crushed to be a luminary, to rise as an everlasting flame…from evening until morning… (Exodus 27:20-21)
“Command” in Hebrew is tzivah, which also means “connect.”
Moses was told to connect his people.
Connect them to the infinite light of G‑d.
Connect them to one another to become a single people.
Connect them at an essential soul-level, where they hold a pure source of light.
How do you connect them?
By bringing them to discover that pure, luminescent oil within themselves.
Then they will rise and shine.
They will shine at night, in a darkness that crushes their bodies and souls, only to bring out a yet finer oil.
And they will shine even in the day, crushed to discover that a world of comfort and luxury cannot satisfy their yearnings.
When they shine both in the night and in the day, then we know they have the purest of oils, and their flame is an eternal flame.
Because when they are connected from their inner soul, they are not only connected to the light. They are connected to the Luminary, the Source of All Light. The light can rise and flicker, but the Source of Light is beyond change.
This is the task of every representative of Moses in every generation: To guide each soul to discover its connection-point with the essence of G‑d and with every other holy soul.
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