The meaning of the name of today’s Sidra is when you bring up. It comes from the well-known Hebrew root ALH, which means ‘going up’. Aaron was instructed by Moses to light the Menorah in a particular order. This is what Moses told him: When you raise the flame of the seven lights of the menorah, you must direct them so that they will shine towards the central light. This interpretation presupposes that the name Menorah was used for the entire candelabrum as well as for the central stem in it. The difficulty with this interpretation is that the verse should read six lights and not seven lights. There is a second interpretation for the name of the Sidra. According to that interpretation, the name derives from the fact that the priest had to go up on the step in front of the Menorah in order to light and position the oil and the wicks every morning.
Our rabbis were surprised that this commandment with respect to the Menorah follows immediately after the Portion of the Princes, in the previous Sidra, which narrates the gifts that the 12 Princess brought on the occasion of the consecration of the altar. Their difficulty was that the mitzvah of lighting the Menorah in the Tabernacle is mentioned previously in the Torah, in a more suitable context. The simple reason for this repetition seems to be that it is a fitting conclusion to the account of the erection and consecration of the Tabernacle. On the other hand, The Masoretes, the authorities who divided the Torah into separate portions, decided that this mitzvah should be accorded the special honour of opening a new section. At a deeper level, the rabbis of the Midrash offer another interpretation for the repetition of the mitzvah in this context. They tell us that when Aaron watched the Princes offering their gifts at the consecration of the altar, he was disappointed that he wasn’t allowed to take part. The Almighty said to him: “I swear to you, by your life, that your honour is greater than theirs, because you will have the task of preparing and lighting the menorah every day morning and evening, whilst for the Princes this will have been a unique occasion. The meaning of this Midrash is that genuine religious impact does not lie in a one-off ceremony, important though it may be. Real impact can only be achieved through a continual mitzvah which is repeated on a regular basis, every single day. The performance of it might be a more modest event, but its impact is far greater, and the one who performs it has a greater merit.
The Sidra continues with a description of the ceremony of the purification and dedication of the Levites. The purification was done by sprinkling the Levites with water which contained the ashes of the Red Heifer, the famous statute of the Torah, which is mentioned in chapter 19 of the Book of Numbers. They also had to shave their hair throughout the bodies and wash all their clothes. The Torah says that at the end of the ceremony of their dedication the Levites were designated by being a wave offering to God. How was this offering done? There are three opinions. One: The Levites were raised in a special platform. The second interpretation is that they had to parade in order in front of the altar. The third interpretation is that they were separated from the rest of the assembly and were declared to be a special gift to the Lord.
At the end of chapter 8 we are told that the Levites began their service in the Tabernacle at the age of 25. This seems to contradict the information given earlier in the book that they began their work at the age of 30. We must, therefore, assume that, for the first five years, they either had to undergo intensive training or that, in those initial years, they served as guards and assisted senior Levites, who had reached the age of 50 and who also served only as guards.
This Sidra continues with the account of the celebration of Pesach in the Sinai desert in the second year after the Exodus. The Rabbis had a tradition that this was the only time that the Israelites observed Pesach during the journey. In, therefore, became known as Pesach Midbar, ‘The Desert Pesach’. This tradition is based on the fact that, in the Book of Exodus, it says quite specifically that the Israelites were to observe Pesach again only when they entered the land. This event gave rise to some difficulty because a number of people were not able to take part in the offering, because they were impure. They were upset because they felt that, without offering the Pascal lamb, they would be considered alienated from the nation. So they asked Moses what they should do. Moses did not know the answer and asked them to be patient, until he would ask God for further instructions. The rabbis praised Moses for his humility. They also remarked as follows: Happy is the human being who is able to communicate with the divine presence, whenever it feels the need to do so. They also praised the people who came to Moses with the question. They said that because of their righteousness, they deserved to have a new law enacted in their honour. The new law was that Israelites, who were unable to celebrate the Paschal lamb at the proper time, were to be able to celebrate the Pesach in the second month. This Festival is still commemorated today on the 14th of Iyyar, and is known as Pesach Sheni, the second Pesach. It is marked by the omission of a prayer of Tachanun (the sad prayer) in the morning and afternoon services. Otherwise, it has no importance whatsoever. When the Temple will be restored in the Paschal lamb offered again, this special day would be reinstated. In the meantime, it symbolises for us the fact that Almighty is always prepared to give us a second chance, when the miss the first opportunity to do the right thing. It’s a great lesson. We should never give up hope of doing better.