The Menorah and Israel's Unity

And this was the work of the menorah, made of a single piece of beaten gold. Everything from its base to its blossom consisted of a single piece of beaten metal. The menorah was thus made exactly according to the vision that God showed Moses.     Numbers 8:4

                We can ask why the Torah again describes the “work of the menorah” which has already been detailed in Parashat Terumah?

         Tzror haMor writes that it is possible to light the menorah (literally: to cause the light of the menorah to rise, a literal translation of verse 2) and cause it to shine for the Children of Israel only through the complete unity of the nation. The base of the menorah represents the ordinary Israelites while the blossom symbolizes the nation’s elite. The verse teaches that all Israel, from the simplest person to the greatest leader must be “made of a single piece.” The nation is not composed of disparate parts which have been combined, but is a single united entity, with no distinctions whatsoever.

         Beyond this, “the seven lamps shall illuminate the menorah” [8:2] stresses the unity of Israel and teaches that “all the lamps are inclined upwards in unity.” When Aaron (and subsequently, his descendants) lit the menorah, he had to do so with intent of the unity of Israel. Thus, in order to underscore the fact that the making of the menorah and its lighting are focused on the same concept, the Torah adds the description of making the menorah, despite its already having been stated. “The Torah teaches that what is now stated in connection with lighting the menorah corresponds exactly to the making of the menorah.”