When Hashem instructed Moshe Rabbeinu to make the menorah, Moshe seemed to have a hard time figuring out how to make it. Only after showing him an image of a menorah in fire did he understand how to make it. What was so difficult about the menorah that the brilliant and great leader Moshe couldn’t figure out? Was there no expert in Klal Yisroel that could have helped him? What’s really going on here?
The menorah represents a testimony that Hashem’s presence rests amongst the Jewish people. Just as a candle is the bridge between the physicality of the fuel or oil to the more spiritual concept of a flame, the menorah was the bridge between the upper, spiritual worlds and the lower physical world. The menorah therefore represents the Jewish mission to create a dira b’tachnonim, a dwelling place in the lower world, for Hashem.
Hashem had to show this to Moshe Rabbeinu directly because conventional wisdom would suggest that we are ‘down low’ and G-d is ‘up above.’ Moshe did not understand how lowly, mortal man could connect with the most exalted ruchnius in the universe, the Ribono Shel Olam Himself. Hashem had to show Moshe a “menorah of fire” to explain how this is possible. The menorah teaches us that Hashem is amongst us, and not merely ‘up there.’ The 7 branches of the menorah correspond to the 7 primary components of our head – our 2 ears, 2 eyes, 2 nostrils and our mouth. They remind us to use these seven gifts as entry points through which we welcome the Shechinah into ourselves.
Our ears welcome Hashem by listening to words of holiness and Torah, and spiritual music. We can listen out for Hashem and find His presence in every sound we hear. On the other hand, our ears ‘close us off’ from being an entry point for the Shechinah if we use them to listen to lashon hara or to music that wasn’t created by a G-d-fearing person.
We can use our eyes to see holy sights, and we can choose to find and see the G-dliness within everything that we look at. Our eyes have the ability to see past the externalities and identify the pnimius, the light of Hashem within everything we see. Then our two eyes become windows through which the Shechinah enters into us. If our eyes get stuck in the externalities of what they see, and fail to see the presence of Hashem, or if they are used to looking at forbidden sights, we are ‘closing that window’ to the Shechinah.
Our nose and two nostrils give us our sense of smell, which is considered to be the most spiritual of all our senses. This represents our ability to truly feel and experience a heartfelt connection to Hashem, and to commit our hearts to Him.
The most direct way we can invite the Shechinah into ourselves is by calling out to—by using our mouth to directly communicate with—our Father in Heaven. We can speak words of mitzvos: encouraging our fellow Jew, learning Torah, davening, saying brachos, or by eating with holy intention, and so on. These are all ways to use our mouth as the gateway to our soul, to warmly welcome Hashem into our dira b’tochtonim.
The menorah serves as a reminder that Hashem invites us to open ourselves to His presence. He desires to dwell among us, and in giving us the seven branches of the menorah, He provides us with these 7 ways to host Him, among many other ways. All He asks is that we not “close the window.”
Take It To Go:
Next time you look at or listen to something holy, think about how you are using your eyes and ears to welcome the shechina into you. If you use your faculties to find Hashem’s presence in a space you had not noticed Him, envision yourself opening a window and inviting Hashem inside your soul.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 26.