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Daily Chizuk #1556
Weekly Parasha
Door to Salvation: Forgiveness as a Segula
Parashat Titzaveh: The Light That Sustains Us
At the beginning of this week's parasha, Titzaveh, Bneh Yisrael were commanded to bring שמן זית זך—pure olive oil—to light the menorah. Only the very first droplets from each olive were permitted for this purpose. Chazal tell us that although only 12 hours' worth of oil was placed in the lamps, the flames miraculously burned for a full 24 hours—demonstrating Hashem's presence among the Jewish people.
The menorah represented the light of Torah. The Gemara states that whoever wishes to attain wisdom in Torah should face slightly southward while reciting the Amida, because the menorah, which symbolizes Torah wisdom, stood in the southern part of the Beit HaMikdash.
The power of Torah is far beyond our comprehension. The Midrash tells us that Shlomo HaMelech constructed ten menorot for the Beit HaMikdash, each with seven lamps, totaling 70 flames—corresponding to the 70 facets of Torah.
Chazal further teach that as long as those flames were burning, the 70 nations of the world remained subservient to Am Yisrael. But from the day those flames were extinguished, those nations gained power over us. All of our strength comes from Torah.
All of our great rabbanim who had the power to give berachot drew that strength from their Torah learning and purity of character. We must treasure the Torah we have and use our time wisely to learn it in depth. It provides us with the spiritual energy we need to succeed in this world.
Shabbat Shalom!
At the beginning of this week's parasha, Titzaveh, Bneh Yisrael were commanded to bring שמן זית זך—pure olive oil—to light the menorah. Only the very first droplets from each olive were permitted for this purpose. Chazal tell us that although only 12 hours' worth of oil was placed in the lamps, the flames miraculously burned for a full 24 hours—demonstrating Hashem's presence among the Jewish people.
The menorah represented the light of Torah. The Gemara states that whoever wishes to attain wisdom in Torah should face slightly southward while reciting the Amida, because the menorah, which symbolizes Torah wisdom, stood in the southern part of the Beit HaMikdash.
The power of Torah is far beyond our comprehension. The Midrash tells us that Shlomo HaMelech constructed ten menorot for the Beit HaMikdash, each with seven lamps, totaling 70 flames—corresponding to the 70 facets of Torah.
Chazal further teach that as long as those flames were burning, the 70 nations of the world remained subservient to Am Yisrael. But from the day those flames were extinguished, those nations gained power over us. All of our strength comes from Torah.
All of our great rabbanim who had the power to give berachot drew that strength from their Torah learning and purity of character. We must treasure the Torah we have and use our time wisely to learn it in depth. It provides us with the spiritual energy we need to succeed in this world.
Shabbat Shalom!
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