Maghen Abraham - Thoughts From Mayer Sasson

“And this is the workmanship of the Candelabrum…." (8,4)

The difficulty

Rabbi Shaul Yedidya, the Grand Rabbi of Modzhitz says: Our Sages tell us that when G-d commanded Moshe to make the Menorah it was hard for Moshe Rabenu and even though G-d showed him with His Finger how the candelabrum should be made, as it says, "this is the workmanship of the candelabrum", Moshe was not able to do it until G-d told him: Throw the block of gold into the fire – and the Menorah was formed on its own!

These words of our Sages seem hard to understand. If G-d Himself was the Rabbi and Moshe, the chosen person was the disciple, how could it have been hard for Moshe Rabenu to understand how to make the Menorah?

The Grand Rabbi of Modzhitz explains: The Menorah was made "beaten out from one piece of gold" in order to symbolize the unity and wholesomeness of all parts of the Jewish Nation. "Its root stock"- symbolizes the simple people in the nation that are at the bottom of the class scale and "its blossom" symbolizes the great and important people in the nation – and Moshe Rabeinu had the difficult assignment of unifying all parts of the nation into "one block", like the Menorah.

It was therefore difficult even for Moshe, the best person in the nation, until he merited Heavenly Assistance, and the Menorah was formed on its own.

We too, the Grand Rabbi says, can reach unity in Israel if we pray, ask and beg the Creator to bless us with a spirit from Heaven to help us cancel out the evil inclination within us to split into groups so that we unify into one mass.

SHABBAT SHALOM!!