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Parasha Behaalotecha: Raising the Menorah, the Light of Purity

Golden-Menorah

This week's Scripture portion is named Behaalotecha, which means when you step up. It is called this because it begins with instructions as to how the Menorah (lampstand) is to be set up in the Tabernacle. A related word is aliyah (עליה) — the Hebrew word for immigrating to the Land of Israel. It can also be defined as the act of going up.

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Emor: Sanctifying His Name With Holy Lives

Torah-scroll

In this week’s Torah reading, Emor, which means say, God gives Moses instructions regarding rules of purity for the priests (כֹּהֲנִים, Kohanim), who are held to a stricter standard than the general population. For instance, the priests are not to make themselves ceremonially unclean through contact with a person who had died, unless that person was a very close relative such as a father or mother, or son, or daughter.

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Parasha Shemini (Eighth): The Ordination of Aaron

red heifer, parah adumah, Kohen, Temple

For seven days, Aaron and his sons stayed at the Tent of Meeting as part of their ordination process. On the eighth day, Moses called for them to begin presenting the offerings (קָרְבֳּנוֹת, korbanot) to the Lord. These offerings were given as a kind of “welcoming ceremony” to greet the arrival of God’s Shekhinah (Glory or Divine Presence).

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Tetzaveh (You Command): The Beauty of Holiness

A fresco of King David dancing before the Ark by Johann Baptist Wenzel Bergl (Photo by Wolfgang Sauber)

Everything God creates in His physical world helps us understand His spiritual world. The use of physical gems on the breastplate of the Kohen Gadol is no different. Since these stones represent the 12 tribes, and the breastplate is connected with discovering the will of God, the stones represent how precious Israel is to the Lord and His desire to lead them into His will.

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Ki Tetze: The Tree, the Curse, and Holiness

Women's section at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

This Torah portion is a very practical compilation of teachings on most real-life situations: from inheritance rights of the firstborn to how to deal with stubborn, rebellious children; from returning lost objects to their owner to building safety fences around the roof of a home in order to prevent loss of life; from protection of the living to how to treat the body of the deceased.

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Eikev: The Rewards of Faith in Action

Sefer Torah-yad

The title of this week’s Parasha, Eikev, means because. It is used in this Parasha as a conjunction to create a relationship between experiencing God’s blessings and obedience to His Torah. In connection with this, the Haftarah portion this week contains an important prophecy that provides us with added insight into how to walk in the blessings of Adonai—through faith and obedience.

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Parasha Behaalotecha: The Light of the Menorah and the Power of the Holy Spirit

Reading the Torah scroll at the Western (Wailing) Wall

Parasha Behaalotecha opens with the kindling of the Menorah. This lampstand is a symbol of the light of revelation and truth. The fire in the lampstand represents the fire of the Divine Light spreading throughout the entire world, beginning with Israel. God commanded Moses to make it out of gold according to the pattern shown him on Mount Sinai. Why gold and not bronze or silver? Gold symbolizes something precious—of great value. Gold is a metaphor for purity in the Bible.

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Parasha Shemini (Eighth): The Shekhinah and New Beginnings

A child sits at her father's feet as he prays at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem. (Israel Tourism photo by VuTheara Kham)

For seven days, Aaron and his sons stayed at the Tent of Meeting as part of their ordination process. On the eighth day, Moses called for them to begin presenting the offerings (קָרְבֳּנוֹת, korbanot) to the Lord. These offerings were given as a kind of “welcoming ceremony” to greet the arrival of God’s Shekinah (Glory or Divine Presence): “Then Moses said, ‘This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.’” (Leviticus 9:6)

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