Focus of the Seven Lamps

And God spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and say to him: when you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light towards the body of the menorah.”   

                                          Numbers 8:1-2

          “The body of the menorah” is the central branch [Rashi, verse 2], and therefore Kli Yakar posits that the verse should have stated “the six lamps shall give light towards the body of the menorah,” since the verse teaches that the wicks of the six lights are turned toward the light of the central branch of the menorah.

       My father suggested that the verse teaches that even the central light, which represents the light of Torah, must be turned, as it were, internally, that Torah is to be studied for its own sake.

          The six branches of the menorah represent “wisdoms” other than Torah, and this concept provides an additional answer to Kli Yakar’s question: it is only when all seven lights shine together, with Torah at the center, that the other “wisdoms” can be of real value.