Shabbat Tetzaveh-Zachor
Torah: Exodus 27:20 -
30:10
Haftarah: Ezekiel
43:10 - 43:27
“Lighting the Lamp
of Peace”
Dear Friends,
I just returned from a week in Israel with our
eighth grade students on the Ta’am Yisrael – Taste of Israel program, sponsored
by the JUF and the Community Foundation for Jewish Education.
Did you know that the candles that we light each
and every Shabbat have a connection with lighting the Menorah referred in this week’s
Torah portion? The Sages teach us that the Temple in Jerusalem served as a
place of unity and peace not only among Jews, but for all of humanity as well.
Thus, the lighting of the Menorah there represents the light of peace spreading
around the world. Today, Shabbat candles serve a similar role. When the candles
have been lit we wish those around us, “Shabbat Shalom—Have a peaceful
Shabbat”—because light represents the source of peace in the world.
When the time came to choose a symbol for the
fledgling Jewish state in 1948, the Knesset chose the Menorah. Two olive branches were added running up the
sides of it in order to express the Jewish state’s desire for peace.
The kindling of light—from the Menorah in the
Tabernacle, to the Friday night candles, to the symbol of the state of
Israel—has long represented Israel’s and the Jewish people’s desire to live in
peace and harmony. Israel now has treaties with Egypt and with Jordan. One
day—hopefully soon —peace will come with the Palestinians. Until that time, we
will continue to support creative solutions that might one day bring peaceful
coexistence to citizens of Israel and their Arab neighbors.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Purim,
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
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