And you shall keep and fulfill [the laws of the Torah]; for that is your wisdom and your understanding before the eyes of the nations that will hear all these statutes and will say: 'what a wise and understanding nation is this people.' (Devarim 4:6)
"Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the orphan, plead for the widow. Come let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah, chapter 1, verses 16-18)
Korah foments a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, and is depicted in Jewish history as an arch-villain and trouble-maker. The Pirkei Avot describes Korah's rebellion as having been conducted "shelo leshem shamayim", not for the sake of Heaven. Like many demagogues, Korah appeals to the masses and tries to turn them against the existing leadership. Korah argues: all the congregation is holy--why should power reside only in Moses and Aaron?
When Aaron the high priest is commanded to light the Menorah, the Torah uses the word "beha'aloteha"--when you kindle. The literal meaning of the word is: when you raise up (the lights). A homiletical meaning may be: when you light the Menorah, you yourself will be raised, you will feel better about yourself--stronger and happier. Aaron is being told that by kindling the lights of the Menorah, he not only brings light to the sanctuary and inspiration to the public: he actually improves himself.
"When a man or a woman shall commit any sin, to commit a trespass against the Lord..." (Bemidbar 5:6)
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. During this period, the old generation who had been slaves in Egypt died out, and a new generation grew up. The wilderness was the training ground for developing a confident and free Israelite nation.
"And you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." (Vayikra 25:10)
"And I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you to go upright." (Vayikra 26:13)
"And you shall not profane My holy name, and I shall be hallowed among the children of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord" (Vayikra 22:32-3)
As we prepare to celebrate Yom Ha-Atsmaut next Tuesday night and Wednesday, we rejoice at the wonderful successes of the State of Israel. Our joy, though, is dampened by the ongoing perfidious slanders and threats lodged against Israel and the Jewish People from so many different quarters. It is vital that we stay focused on the remarkable renaissance of the Jews as manifested in the re-establishment of a sovereign Jewish State after so many centuries of exile. We thank the Almighty for having granted us the privilege of living at this special time in Jewish history.