Parshas Beha’alosechah
The seven stems of the Menorah in the Mishkan symbolize the seven wisdoms of the world. They all emanate from the central wisdom of the divine Torah and they have purpose only when they too contribute to the Torah. Whatever G-d-given talents a person is gifted with, they have meaning only if they are used in the service of the Torah.
When Ben Bag Bag says, “Turn the pages of the Torah and you will find everything in it” (Avos 5:22), he does not necessarily mean that the Torah contains all mathematical, medical, scientific answers for everything. What he means is that these wisdoms, when applied for the sake of the Torah, become part of Torah. So we need mathematicians to figure out the Jewish calendar, doctors to save lives, architects to build the Beis Hamikdash, and each one of us with his own talents contributes to the light of the Torah enabling it to shine and survive perpetually. That is why the six stems representing secular wisdom all faced toward the central stem of Torah. The way for us to ensure that Torah survives perpetually in our lives and becomes an eternal light, a ner tamid (Shemos 27:20), is by harnessing all of the knowledge and skills gained from the secular world and contributing them to the guiding light of the Torah.
Furthermore, the six stems of the Menorah were not independently fashioned and then soldered on to the central stem. Rather they were part of and beaten out of one solid piece of gold. This means that any seeming contradiction between secular wisdom and Torah wisdom is really no contradiction at all, or if it is, its solution is the solution that the Torah dictates, because all wisdom is subservient to the Torah.
Moshe asks Yisro to join the nation of Israel on its trek to the land of Israel. Yisro refuses and prefers to go back to his own country and convert his countrymen to Judaism, (Bamidbar 10:28-32.). Moshe entreats him and says, “Do not abandon us, after all you are familiar with the places where we are going to camp in the desert and you can be our guide.” The Hebrew words used for “after all” are “al kein.” Rashi explains that what Moshe meant is that Yisro had witnessed the miracles that G–d performed for the Jews in the desert and that therefore it was his fate to remain with them and not return to his own land.
Rashi also points out several other places in the Torah where the words “al kein” are used. These words are used to show that experiences people have in life are not random, but are meant to guide their destiny. For example, when the three angels happen upon the tent of Avraham and he urges them to stay, he tells them, “It is for this purpose, (al kein) that you passed by my tent.” The purposes, of course, were to bring the good tidings to Sarah that she would have a child and to destroy Sedom. The purpose behind Yisro’s happening to join the Jews in the desert was to witness the miracles that occurred and draw the correct conclusion, namely that he should become part of the Jewish people in Israel. Unfortunately, Yisro, who gave the Jews many good ideas, did not draw the correct conclusion for himself and eventually left to go back to his own country.
The Jews began their trek to Israel by leaving the mountain of G-d (Bamidbar 33). They traveled for three days taking the Holy Ark with the Torah inside with them. We are told that the Holy Ark symbolizes us ourselves and that even when we travel, the Torah should be with us. Nevertheless, when it comes to describing the travels of the Jews with the Holy Ark, the Torah uses the word “Vayehi.” The word “vayehi” always presages something foreboding and negative. What is the Torah warning us about here?
It is warning Bnei Yisrael that they are beginning to embark on a different life. They are leaving the Har Hashem where they heard the word of G-d and they are leaving the life of the desert where all of their physical needs were taken care of, without any investment of time and effort on their part. That life gave them all the time in the world to study the Torah free from the worries of a livelihood. Now however, they were about to enter the real world, where the physical and spiritual juggle and compete for space.
“If a person ploughs his field when it is time to plow, sows his seeds when it is time to sow, reaps his produce when it is time to reap , thrashes his grain when it is time to thrash and winnows the grain when it is time to winnow, when will he have time to learn Torah?” (Berachos 35b). Clearly the studying of Torah is going to suffer once we enter the land of Israel and take over the responsibility of our own livelihood. Perhaps nobody phrased this dilemma better than King David who said that his only wish was to sit in the house of G-d all the days of his life and enjoy the beauty of the Torah. But alas, he too could not afford this luxury and had to find study time between leading the people and fighting wars. That is the meaning of “vayehi.”
However, there is always down time in life. “When it came to rest, he would say, ‘Return, Oh G-d’” (Bamidbar 10:36). The trick is to supplement the learning deficit forced upon us in times of stress with extra study in times of calm to make up the shortfall.
