“In the beginning there was complete darkness. And God said let there be light.”
Have you ever wondered about the intensity or the magnitude of the light? One might think the entire field of darkness was completely disrupted by the initial act. Or one could say that even a small light source would have altered the universe. A candle’s worth of power changes an entire room. A weak flashlight reassures a lost camper. Even a spark renders the void less intimidating. Just as the act of creation of light is instructive, so, too is the method of its being created. God creates light by using words. Speech is the greatest of all capacities for speech conveys will and intent to interact with the world.
In this current political and social climate we experience multiple forms of darkness; darkness of the spirit brought about by the refusal to appreciate those who are different than we; darkness of the imagination by closing ourselves off to creativity, darkness of the mind by refusing to consider different options and darkness of the heart by succumbing to fear of people who are viewed as ‘other’.
When we offer words which are constructive such as “let there be light” we join God as partners in creation. Only a few words of uplift transform a life and brighten a spirit just as only a few words of cruelty are sufficient to darken the world and to destroy a spirit.
This week’s Parshah of Vayakhel-Pekude concludes Exodus. We read the detailed description of the sacred furnishings which adorn the Tabernacle including the Ark, two altars and a table displaying challah.
The Ark is of a specific size (1.5 cubits x 2.5 x 1.5). The small altar is 1 x 1 x 2, the large altar is 5 x 5 x 3 and the challah table is 1 x 2 x 1.5. All of the dimensions are painstakingly enumerated in the Torah. Surprisingly, though, the Menorah bears no dimensions. No furnishing of the Tent of Meeting is more present in our mind than the Menorah and no element of Jewish symbolism is more familiar. It could be a few inches or 7 feet high; large or small. Its only characteristic is the well-known detail of 7 branches. The light which came forth could be grand or subtle. Strikingly, what truly matters is not size of the light source or the intensity of the flame but the fact of its existence. Light, no matter the size, matters.
May this Shabbat be a time of our bringing our own light into the world, emulating God by constructive speech. When each of us, followed by one neighbor and then another, initiates light through constructive words imagine how much our darkened world will be illuminated.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Steve Silberman
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