Rashi explains the juxtaposition of the command to Aharon to light the Menorah upon the previous parsha, which discussed the dedication offerings brought by the nesiim to dedicate the Mizbayach. Aharon was depressed and concerned that neither he nor any member of his tribe had a role in the dedication of the Mizbayach. He felt that this comprised retribution for his part in the sin of the Golden Calf. Hashem assuaged his feelings by telling him that his role, of lighting the Menorah, holds greater importance. The Mizbayach serves its purpose only as long as there is a Mikdash, while the lights of the Menorah continue on. What is the deeper meaning of this statement?
We suggest that the Menorah and the Mizbayach represent for the Kohen two variegated relationships with his community. The Mizbayach was there primarily to provide a vehicle to expiate sin. Man offered korbanos which served various objectives, all of which endeared the people to Hashem. In contrast, the Menorah’s main objective was preventative in nature. It represented the light of Torah. As the primary teacher, the Kohen reached out to the masses via the light of Torah which illuminated lives as it kindled spirits.
Both the Mizbayach and the Menorah enhanced man’s relationship with Hashem. The focus of the Mizbayach, however, remained stationary, for the people had to go to the Mikdash in order to confess their sins and expiate their guilt. The Menorah was the symbol of outreach. Not constricted by the periphery of the Mikdash, its light shined and reached out in the distance. Furthermore, the Mizbayach served its function after man had failed. The Menorah’s function was to see to it that man would not fail. While the phenomenon of the Mizbayach has been replaced by our tefillos, prayers, the objective remains the same: man reaching out to Hashem in repentance and hope. The message is conciliatory and concessionary. The Menorah’s function, in contrast, has been supplanted by those who devote themselves to perpetuating Judaism through the teaching of Torah, a more positive approach. Teaching focuses on man’s ability to grow and develop his spiritual self, so that his communion with Hashem will be of a more progressive nature. Thus, Aharon understood the prominence of his role as disseminator of Torah to Klal Yisrael.
