Watch your step, but don't be afraid to look up!

Friday June 13, 2025/17 Sivan 5785/Parashat Beha'alotekha

דַּבֵּר֙ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֵלָ֑יו בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֔ת אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמְּנוֹרָ֔ה יָאִ֖ירוּ שִׁבְעַ֥ת הַנֵּרֽוֹת׃

Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you mount the lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand.” (Num.8:2)

Hevre/Friends,

From the wording above in the opening verse of this week's parashah, Beha'alotekha, "When you mount the lamps", the Sages determined that there was a step that the Kohen Gadol had to ascend when lighting the menorah. Why did the menorah need to be elevated? This was the question I pondered on our second day of hiking in the Picos de Europa, a gorgeous mountain range in northern Spain spanning the regions of Asturias, Cantabria and Castile and León. Sure, placing the menorah on a pedestal of some kind might have been a show of honour for this central ritual vessel. But maybe needing to step up to light the menorah was also similar to needing to hike up Sinai to receive the Torah.

Things that require effort become more valuable. Effort helps us to focus, to clarify what we're doing and why. But effort also suggests some risk. We might make mistakes. We might fail. Our success is not assured. After all, even a small step could lead to a big fall. Trekking up Sinai taught Moses - and taught us - that to imbue our lives with holiness and meaning requires navigating many slippery slopes. Lighting the menorah and illuminating the world with wisdom, love, and hope requires similar, sometimes risky, moves.

The ongoing barrage of headlines screaming of crises on just about every front of our lives as North Americans and as Jews deepens our sense of despair and fear. But for many, especially for young people, it deepens the morass of moral and spiritual confusion. Especially now, being able to hold multiple, often competing, values without losing coherence requires taking tentative, sometimes shaky steps. Resisting the urge to escape into either/or extremes demands carefully plotted words and actions. Finding and sharing the light today is an increasingly arduous task.

Maybe that's what the step in front of the menorah was trying to tell us: generating light in the world is not a simple move. Tread mindfully in the pursuit of truth. Be aware of who and what you might step on when declaring your beliefs. Careful not to trip over your own convictions when they become obstacles, rather than pathways, to enlightenment.

The step also brought the Kohen's gaze upward, teaching us that while we have to watch where we place our "feet" - our anchors of body and soul - we have look beyond ourselves, too. We have to remain alert and responsive to others even as we follow the dictates of our own hearts. Whether hiking up Sinai searching for Torah or the Picos de Europa seeking nature's beauty, we have to balance keeping our eyes on the trail with making time to behold the world around us.

The bottom line: Watch your step, but don't forget to look up.

With continued prayers for our ability to bring home all the hostages, protect the soldiers, heal the injured, comfort the bereaved, and build a lasting peace in Israel and around the world, and with blessings for a Shabbat Shalom,

Dini