Testimony that the Shechina Rests in Israel

But it is a testimony to mankind that the Shechina  (Divine Presence) rests in Israel. What is the testimony? - Said Rav: This is the western branch (of the menora) in which the same quantity of oil was poured as into the rest, and yet he kindled (the others) from it and ended therewith.                                         Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 22b

          Our Sages teach that one of the apparent miracles of the Temple, the fact that the central branch of the menora (according to one of Rashi’s suggestions) was the first to be lit, yet the longest burning, proves that the Temple is a holy place and that the Shechina rests in Israel.

          Our Sages’ teaching seems rather curious: the menorah was within the Temple, and therefore could be seen only by Kohanim, not by ordinary Israelites, all the more so, not by gentiles. One who believes does not require proof, and one who does not believe presumably would not accept the proof.

          Perhaps our Sages’ intention is to use the menora as the symbol of the Divine light of Torah which guides the lives of the Children of Israel. It is because this light is the focus of Israel’s entire being, as symbolized by the fact that the lights of the remaining six branches are inclined towards the central branch, that Israel has survived against all odds. It was not necessary to enter the Temple to see the symbolic effect of the menora, anyone should be able to perceive it in through the way the Jewish people act and live.

          The historic reality of the Jewish experience should serve as “testimony to mankind that the Divine Presence rests in Israel,” for without the Shechina, we could not have survived.