Parshas B'haaloscha - Individuality Yields Unity
Parshas B’haaloscha begins with the commandment to Aharon to light the Menorah. On the surface, this simply refers to the Menorah in the Mikdash. When we dig a bit deeper though, we uncover a beautiful insight. A burning flame is an allusion to a human soul. As Shlomo says in Mishlei, “נֵ֣ר ה נִשְׁמַ֣ת אָדָ֑ם”, "The soul of a person is the light of Hashem". Aharon, as the representative of Shevet Levi, is commanded to ignite seven lights, directed towards the center of the Menorah, meaning he must ignite the people's souls, and direct their spiritual lights, to the center of the Menorah.
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch explains the role of Shevet Levi is to direct the nation’s diverse spiritual energy to Hashem and His Torah. We are a people of many unique individuals, with different spiritual natures and aspirations, and that is beautiful so long as we are all directed towards Hashem. The job of Shevet Levi is to tend the lights so that the diversity of each individual's nature is united, not through similarity, but because they are all focused in one central direction, towards Hashem and His Torah. This is a primary job for Aharon and for each of us responsible for nurturing human souls.
It’s crucially important for mothers and educators to remember that our children are individuals with their own spiritual natures and sensitivities. We aren’t supposed to merge everyone together and direct them to serve Hashem identically. We must nurture each individual according to their nature, but always oriented towards Hashem. Surprisingly, this is the pathway to unity. Through each person serving Hashem in their uniquely beautiful way, we achieve unity, albeit without conformity.
Different children have different natures, and they need different educational and social opportunities to develop their individuality. Our goal is not to make sure our kids all come out looking the same, but rather, like Aharon HaKohen, to direct each one’s unique flaming soul towards the central base of Hashem and Torah. When each individual nature is directed towards the same goal, our family is united - there is love, respect, and unity, even as we encourage differences.
A mother in her home serves the role of a kohein in the Mishkan, and it is our job to make sure each of our children's unique natures are ignited and inspired towards Hashem. Each person has their own inner flame, yet our differences don't drive us apart - we're united in our common focus. “El mul pnei hamenorah” “towards the center of the Menorah - seven individual flames that the Kohein unites by directing each one towards the center.
Photo by Levi Grossbaum on Unsplash
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