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Zohar, parashat BeHalotecha, p.151a; translation by Simcha Triester
The Menorah and all the lights on its branches [that
represent the sefirot], lit everything up through the work of Aaron....
Aaron the Cohen was appointed to light the seven wicks of
the Menorah, all in the manner of [the spiritual world] above.  | | " Together they represent the drawing down of the higher levels of consciousness in unity...." | | |
The oil in the Menorah represents the sefira of
chochma. As we see in a diagram of the sefirot, the first of
the seven "emotional" sefirot to receive the light of wisdom is chesed.
Aaron represents chesed, the sefira immediately below chochma.
He loved peace and loving kindness, and pursued them, making sure disputes were
settled amicably. It was therefore proper to appoint him to light the oil
(representing wisdom) and meditate on it, imbuing all of the seven "lights" of
human emotion, represented by the seven sefirot of chesed,
gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod and
malchut. In the world "above", these sefirot are called Zeir Anpin.
The holy Ari explains that the incense connected all the ten sefirot of
Zeir Anpin through the consciousness of bina / Imma. The oil
in the Menorah represented the consciousness of chochma/ Abba. This
was the reason for lighting the incense at the same time as the Menorah, since
together they represent the drawing down of the higher levels of consciousness
in unity. | | " The existence of the Menorah was itself a miracle...." | | |
The existence of the Menorah was itself a miracle, and it
was formed miraculously, as has been explained [in parashat Terumah].
The Menorah was made miraculously when Moses to threw a kikar
(measure) of gold into the furnace and prayed to G-d to fashion it. It
immediately emerged fully formed. This further connects the Menorah to the
sefira of chochma, which is like a gift bestowed upon a person worthy
to receive it. | | " Oil and incense rejoice the heart...." | | |
And the inner altar and the Menorah stood together to give
joy to all, as is written: "Oil and incense rejoice the heart." (Proverbs 27:9)
The Tabernacle and, later, the Temples, had an inner courtyard
where the Menorah and Incense Altar stood and an external courtyard where the
Outer Altar was placed. Oil represents wisdom that is always understood when
words are spoken quietly and in a calm manner; this is reflected in physical
reality, where oil sooths and smoothes. Incense represents bina, as is
hinted at by its Hebrew and Aramaic name, "ketoret"; in Aramaic, the
letter "t" often stands for the letter "s" in Hebrew; thus "ketoret" can
be read as "keshoret", meaning to "combine"; bina combines
all the lower sefirot to perform the chosen function in reality. These
two "hidden" sefirot of chochma and bina were therefore
represented in the inner courtyard, or "brain" of the Temple, while the outer
courtyard was where the sefira of malchut was represented. The
sefira of malchut is called "the heart" because it receives all the
sustenance from the other sefirot/organs. A person is truly happy when he
sees reality suffused with the understanding of the wisdom and glory of the
Divine.
And we have already explained that there were two altars.
One altar inside that stood to cause rejoicing and one outside on which to bring
sacrifices. The inside [altar] issued forth [its influence] to the outside
[altar].
From the inner altar (bina) that is represented by the
name Havayah, issued forth divine blessing and abundance to the outer
altar (malchut) represented by the name Ado-nai.
And one who looks and meditates [on this] will realize the
higher wisdom that is the secret of the name Ado-nai Elo-him. | | " The incense sacrifice was only offered at the time when the oil of the Menorah was lit...." | | |
Throughout the whole of the Tanach, wherever these two names
appear, they are pronounced, as written above. The name
Elo-him is
associated with the sefira of bina, and the punctuation
appropriate to that name is used to show how the four-letter name of G-d is to
be spoken. It thereby associates bina with malchut.
And because of this, the incense sacrifice was only offered
at the time when the oil of the Menorah was lit.
This ensures that there is unity between the intellectual
spheres of chochma, bina, and malchut.
Now we can understand the inner reason for saying the "korbanot"
as part of the morning service. The incense and Menorah are mentioned first and
then the individual types of sacrifices. This connects chochma and
bina to malchut, as we have explained, and rectifies the world of
Asiya.
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Visitor Comments: 1
Anonymous, 2/3/2006
Pray tell, where is the holy K
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