Dear Friends,
In the first verse of this week’s Torah portion, the Israelites are commanded by God to ignite, and then tend to a Ner Tamid - an eternal light. Today almost every synagogue in the world, Tifereth Israel Included, has some kind of light fixture, an eternal light, in front of their ark.
While this light has been interpreted in a variety of different ways, the light of Torah, the light of God, etc., what I have always been particularly intrigued by was the commandment for the priests to keep it burning always. When looking closely at the commandment in our Torah portion, the Midrash Hagadol, points out that we should have expected that when telling the priests to keep the light lit, the Torah would have said “
Tzav”
which means “you are commanded.” However, the Torah uses the word “
Tetzaveh
” meaning “you will be commanded” in the future. In context, it seems like a grammatical mishap, yet the Midrash tells us that commandment was made in the future to teach us a very important lesson. According to the Midrash, that is because the command to light the Ner Tamid was never intended to be a command to only one generation of Jews in the desert. The commandment to keep the light burning isn't even for us; it's for “
Dorot B’Atid
” for all of the generations in the future, to make sure that it stays lit.
Perhaps Peter Paul and Mary said it best when they wrote: “
Don’t let the light go out; it’s lasted for so many years. Don’t let the light go out; let it shine through our love and our tears.
” Whatever that light may be, whether it is the light of Torah, the light of God, the light of Jewish identity, or passion that burns bright in all of us, it is our job to ensure that the lights burn bright, not just for us today, but forever.
It’s not easy keeping a light burning forever; we need to pay attention to it. It takes intention, it takes hard work, it takes planning and collaboration. But together, we can and will work together to ensure that our Ner Tamid, will always be burning.
And let us say Amen.
