CBI Blogs

This week’s Torah portion, Tetzaveh, begins with instructions to raise up a ner tamid, an eternal light in the Tabernacle that the Israelites are building in the desert.

Leviticus Rabbah, a collection of Midrashim on the book of Leviticus, questions why the menorah, the eternal light, was necessary in the Tabernacle. It says:

Humans light lamps from fire that is already kindled.  But God creates light out of darkness.  If out of darkness God created light, why does God need our light?  Because kindling fire raises us as eternal lights

To the midrashist, the priests were not lighting a light so that God could see better or know that we are there. The ner tamid is a constant reminder that we are God’s lights. The priestly garb helps us raise up the priests, but we are to be a kingdom of priests, and a light to other nations.

As children we may have been taught that the Eternal Light represents God’s eternal presence. This remains true as a symbol that we raise up in our sanctuaries, and as a reminder of God’s eternal presence in our lives. But we might not always need that reminder. What we do need to remember is that we are God’s light in the world. We are all God’s light. Implanted within us is the Divine Spark, and if we keep it to ourselves, we will be fine. We will be able to survive and maybe even be good people. But when we raise our light up as an eternal light, when we kindle the fire of our Divine spirit and the action it inspires, that is when we truly become a light to the nations.