In Exodus 25 God commanded Moses to build the Menorah as part of the Tabernacle. But why is the Menorah mentioned in Numbers 8?
In this article I will look at mentions of the Menorah in the Bible. That will lead to an exploration of some of the symbolism of the Menorah.
The Menorah in the Bible
The Hebrew word “menorah” appears 42 times in the Bible. Most times the word refers to the Menorah built by Moses or the Menorot (plural of Menorah) built by King Solomon.
In this article I will not quote every verse that contains the word “menorah.” The above image will direct you to all of them if you want to read them in context.
The Menorah in the Tabernacle
God commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle and its furnishings in Exodus.
The command to build the Menorah is in Exodus 25. Those verses include a detailed description of the Menorah. Even so, we really don’t know what the Menorah looked like.
For example, the Menorah has a central shaft. Connected to the shaft are 6 branches, 3 to its left and 3 to its right. We’re not sure if these branches were straight or curved.
In other sections of Exodus Moses is told where to place the Menorah in the Tabernacle, how to anoint it, and who would build it.
The Book of Exodus ends with Moses setting up the completed Tabernacle and all of its furnishings.
Moving the Menorah
The Tabernacle was meant to be moved from place to place while the Jewish people were in the wilderness.
In Numbers 3:31 and 4:9 we learn that the tribe of Kehat was responsible for carrying the Menorah and all of its tools.
Menorah in the Tabernacle Service
Here are the first 4 verses of Numbers 8:
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2. Speak to Aaron, and say to him, When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the Menorah.
3. And Aaron did so; he lighted its lamps to give light in front of the Menorah, as the Lord commanded Moses.
4. And the workmanship of the Menorah was of hammered gold, from its base to its flowers, was hammered work; according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the Menorah.
The command to provide pure olive oil for the lamps was given in Exodus 27:20-21. Those verses also talk about lighting the lamps every evening. It is clear that those verses are about the Menorah, but for some reason the word “menorah” is not used.
Lighting the Menorah with pure olive oil every evening is also commanded in Leviticus 24:1-4. The Menorah is mentioned by name in verse 4.
Then what is purpose of these verses in Numbers 8?
According to Rabbi Steinsaltz, Numbers 8:1-4 states a new commandment not made clear before. Here Aaron was told that the wicks for each lamp were to be facing toward the middle branch of the Menorah.
There is another opinion, cited by R. Steinsaltz, that the command was that the wicks should all point toward the front of the Menorah.
Rabbi Steinsaltz is offering a practical reason for these verses.
Rashi offers a deeper explanation.
Rashi writes that Aaron was disappointed that he and his tribe did not participate in bringing the dedication offerings like the other tribes (Numbers 7:1-88). Immediately, God consoled him and said, “Your part is greater than theirs: you kindle and prepare the lamps.”
Each prince brought an offering but it was a one time offering. Aaron and his offspring had the privilege to light the lamps of the Menorah every day.
Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 15:6 points out that animal offerings can only be brought when there is a Temple. Then it adds, “But the lamps are forever.” This is a hint to the lights of Chanukah that the Jewish people light year after year. Ramban makes this point explicitly in his commentary on Numbers 8:2.
The Menorah in the Temple
King David wanted to build the Temple but God did not give him permission to build it.
David then dedicated himself to planning and preparing for the Temple. This is clear in 1 Chronicles 28.
King Solomon built the Temple as recorded in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. We learn in 1 Kings 7:49 that he built 10 golden Menorot for the Temple.
The Baal HaTurim notices a hint to these 10 Menorot in Numbers 8:4 which ends with the phrase “so he made the Menorah.”
The word “so” is the translation of “ken” spelled in Hebrew kaf-nun.
When each Hebrew letter is replaced by its numerical value (called gematria), we have the sum 20 + 50 = 70. This hints at the 7 lamps on 10 Menorot equals 70 lamps.
But, wait, there’s more! The words “he made” are the translation of the Hebrew “asah” spelled ayin-sin-hey. The numerical value of these letters is 70 + 300 + 5 = 375.
This is also the numerical value of Solomon / Shlomo (Hebrew shin-lamed-mem-hey) 300 + 30 + 40 + 5 = 375. So the phrase is hinting at the idea that King Solomon will eventually make 70 lamps on 10 Menorot.
The Menorah Taken Away
The destruction of the First Temple is recorded in 2 Kings 24-25 and Jeremiah 52.
The Menorot are not specifically mentioned in 2 Kings, but Jeremiah does record that they were carried away to Babylon.
Zechariah’s Vision
As God promised via His prophets, the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple was not the end of the Jewish people.
After many years in exile, the remnant of the Jewish people were granted permission to return to the Land of Israel and rebuild the Temple.
Zechariah, one of the last prophets, was given a vision of a Menorah at that time.
2. And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I have looked, and behold a menorah all of gold, with a bowl upon its top, and seven lamps on it, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon its top.
3. And there are two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon its left side.
4. And I began and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5. Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
6. Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
Dr. Mendel Hirsch, a son of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, comments on these verses:
He [Zechariah] is shown the seven-armed Candelabrum of the Temple [the Menorah], shown how it is the bearer of a rich source of oil, and how each of its lights is fed with the oil through seven separate tubes. And it also has the trees on which the oil-yielding olives grow and ripen. It is a candelabrum which, on its own, has and maintains everything that is required for kindling light.
Zerubbabel was embarking on a project to complete the building of the second Temple in Jerusalem. He needed to know that success did not depend on physical strength but on God’s spirit. When this mindset is fully adopted by the Jewish people, then God the Lord of hosts will direct all of creation to help them.
Symbolic Meaning of the Menorah
As Zechariah’s vision illustrates, the Menorah has symbolic significance. I’ve come across many suggestions of what the Menorah symbolizes. I will share a few of them here.
Midrash Tadshe
Midrash Tadshe is a rather short set of midrashim many about the Tabernacle and its furnishings. It is attributed to Pinchas ben Yair, a student of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai.
Heavenly Objects
The entire Tabernacle was made corresponding to the Creation of the world. The midrash enumerates what each object corresponds to and states that the Menorah corresponds to the sun and the moon.
Also, the 7 lamps on the Menorah correspond to the 7 planets. These planets influence events on earth day and night. So, too, the 7 lamps are lit before God continuously day and night.
This is a concept that Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto) mentions in Derech HaShem, translated as The Way of God.
It was for this purpose that the stars and their planets were created. Through their cycles, all phenomena rooted in the spiritual realm are transmitted and reflected to their physical counterparts.
The 10 Commandments
In the Temple, King Solomon built 10 Menorot (plural of Menorah). They correspond to the 10 Commandments. Each Menorah had 7 lamps for a total of 70 lamps that correspond to the 70 nations of the world.
When those 70 lamps were lit, then the nations of the world subdued. but when they were extinguished, then the nations of the world strengthened.
There is a related concept that the Menorah symbolizes that the 70 nations of the world are expected to observe the 7 Commandments of the children of Noach (Hebrew: shivat mitzvot bnei Noach).
Torah
The Menorah is analogous to the Torah. There are many verses that compare the Torah to light.
The World to Come
The Menorah was placed on the south side of the Tabernacle which corresponds to the World to Come. In this world there is eating and drinking. In the World to Come there is no eating and drinking, rather the righteous ones enjoy the light of God’s presence. The light of God’s presence is symbolized by the light of the Menorah.
I think the idea with this symbolism is that the Menorah is a contrast to the Table.
The Table held the Show Bread, 12 loaves that were placed on the Table every Shabbat. The Table represents the material wealth and sustenance that flows into our world. It was placed on the north side of the Tabernacle.
The Menorah is placed opposite of the Table to represent the World to Come.
Rabbi Hirsch Explains
Rabbi Hirsch explains the symbolism of the Menorah in several places in his collected writings (Volume 2 pages 259-260 and Volume 3 starting on page 209).
I will share two of his insights here.
The Solid Menorah
He points out that the Menorah was the only object in the Tabernacle that was made entirely of metal.
Thus, by virtue of the substance from which it ought to be made, the candlestick was intended to symbolize firmness, constancy and permanence, its appearance representing a process of unfolding and development.
He contrasts this to the Table which was made mostly of wood. The Table represents the material parts of life that are subject to constant change.
The Menorah is a Tree
Even though the Menorah was made of solid gold, it also has the form of a tree.
He writes:
…its flower-shaft base, its shaft and its branches with their alomond-shaped flower cups, knobs and blossoms recall to us a tree growing in a straight, upward direction from its root stock to become a bearer of the light.
He develops this thought further in an essay about Chanukah and Zechariah’s vision.
From the very beginning Israel was told that its spiritual salvation would grow and unfold like a tree. The lamp that shone in the Temple opposite the table was borne by a tree…
The tree of light, the Menorah, that had been shown to Zechariah carried the source of its oil upon its own self. [See Zechariah 4:3] …
Thus Zechariah beheld Israel, that tree which developed, with ever-increasing purity, to be the bearer of the light of the Divine Spirit, flourishing and blossoming wherever it might go in its wanderings, indestructible and independent of its environment.
Rabbi Hirsch goes on to make a vital comparison between the Jewish people and a tree.
He writes that animal life is easy to destroy. All that is necessary is to inflict enough damage on one vital organ and the animal will die.
That is not the case with a tree. Many parts of a tree are capable of growth that can regenerate what appears to be a dead tree.
So it is with the Jewish people as Ezekiel saw in the vision of the valley of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14).