29 May Israel and the Parsha – Menorah as a Symbol of the State of Israel
The Parsha details the daily lighting of the menorah in the Mishkan. This description of the Menorah is juxtaposed to the inauguration of the Mishkan in the previous parsha. This juxtaposition establishes the Menorah as an symbol which launches the period of the mishkan and potentially the Golden Era of Jewish history. Sadly we squandered this potential the debacle of the Meraglim/Spies. Had we actualized this potential we would have rapidly entered Israel , introduced monarchy and utopia.
Thousands of years later the very same icon would be selected to launch the Modern State of Israel. Much thought and deliberation were invested in considering over 450 options for the national emblem. Finally on 11 Shevat 1950 a Menorah, with two olive branches flocking either side, and the name Yisrael underneath was selected. A serious divide separated the religious and secular sectors of the new state but this symbol bridged between these differences.
The Menorah provided an obvious connection to our past national glory as well as a powerful religious icon. Additionally, the two olive branches were intended to cast image of peace – based upon the Torah’s description of a dove returning to Noach with an olive branch in its beak- effectively concluding the mayhem of the mabul. This symbol- which has become internationally associated with peace – was chosen to frame the menorah as a symbol of a renewed State in search of peace with the internationa community. Sadly this peace remains elusive.
Interestingly the menorah was fashioned based on the Menorah which appears on Titus’ arch in Rome and not the one recorded in the Torah. The primary difference between the two menorot lies in the representation of the base: the Torah describes three legs emerging from a pedestal whereas the Arch of Titus portrays a solid based Menorah. Titus had suppressed the great Jewish Rebellion against Rome in 70 AD and 12 years later an arch (currently situated in the Roman Pantheon) was dedicated in his memory by his bother- Emperor Domitian. The arch was engraved with an image of captured Jewish slaves hauling the Menorah to Rome.
For centuries the arch stood as a memorial of the fallen condition of the Jewish people and their debasement at the hands of the Roman conquerors. According to tradition Jews would avoid walking underneath the arch. In 1948 weeks after the Declaration of the State of Israel, Roman Jews spontaneously gathered near this arch and walked through it backwards – demonstrating that the degradation of Jews which this arch had symbolized was now being reversed. Two years later the arch served as a model for a menorah which would become the ultimate symbol of Jewish renewal!
Beyond a bridge to our past the menorah symbolizes a crucial aspect of our historical mission. On three occasions Yeshaya describes the Jewish people as a light onto other nations or an “Ohr La’Goyim” ( chapter 49 verse 6, chapter 42 verse 6 and chapter 60 verse 3) . For Yeshaya our “casting of this light” occurs when we return to Israel and to Statehood. It launches a Messianic era of universal peace and universal interest in the word of G-d. Even for secular Jews the image of “Ohr La’goyim” proves riveting. As Ben Gurion once wrote “History didn’t endow Jews with inordinate power, affluence or territorial expanse. Instead it granted us with extraordinary moral sensibilities and unusual intellectual capabilities. This condition ennobles us and warrants that we serve as Ohr La’Goyim.
Religious Jews seek to share not merely moral codes and intellectual abilities of which Ben Gurion wrote. We hope that our Menorah radiates with the word of Hashem.
Intriguingly, this function of Ohr La’Goyim can also be served in the diaspora . Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin wrote in the end of the 19th century that our stay in Gallut was extended so that we could properly fulfill this role of Ohr Lagoyim ( See comments to Breishit 47:28). For some it is specifically the conditions of gallut which enable this function; as we are scattered among nations we can more easily deliver our “light”. Some even argued against the Zionist enterprise and a return to a more narrow geographic location. Hermann Cohen, a 19th century Jewish-German philosopher, famously rejected the Zionist enterprise since it would exchange our grand historical mission of Ohr Lagoyim for frivolous flags and pointless parades (translation mine).
Obviously, we acknowledge that while in the diaspora we served and should continue to serve as a moral conscience for humanity in our attempt to challenge humanity to higher moral and theological ground. However now that we have returned to our homeland we can begin to radiate our light at a national level. Ideally, all of humanity should be inspired not just by what his particular Jewish acquaintance represents or how a community of Jews behaves. Ideally, people can be drawn to the overarching message of the State of the Jews.
As we have returned to our homeland we can begin to sense the emergence of this role. Unfortunately, our imperfect world still hasn’t enabled this condition and we remain, in many cases, marginalized and unable to illuminate for others. We fervently hope that we have at least begun this long process of marching toward our ultimate mission to inspire all of humanity while enhancing human prosperity. We pray that our symbol of Statehood will reflect the light we shine upon our entire world.
To religious Jews the Menorah carries an dadditional symbol of life in the Modern State and our renewed relationship with HAshem. The Midrash notes that the menorah had no practical function in the Mikdash . The mikdash as a house of Hashem requires no source of illumination as Hashem is the source of all light. It would be futile and disrespectful to provide light at a functional.
However the combination of olive branches and Menorah may also reflect a verse in Zecharya chapter 4 which records the dream-time appearance this configuration of a menorah. The apparition is meantto foreshadow the restoration of Jewish soveirnity driven by two systems of leadership- poltical leadership of Kings and religious leadership of Priests. With HAshem’s help we have merited the restoration of sovereignty and a replica of this menorah now stands in the compound of the kNesset in Yerushalayim. Though we have revived self-determination we still await the full restoration of these twin branches : Jewish Monarchy and a full Mikdash experience supervised by leagues of Kohanim.
Rabbi
Moshe Taragin