Parsha Beha'alotcha - Modesty and the Menorah

Parshas Beha'alotcha begins with the command to light the menorah. It ends with us being told that Moshe was the humblest man who ever lived.

What is the connection between the two?

In the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple, the windows were narrow on the inside and widened on the outside because the temple did not need the light of the menorah, the world needed that light.

So too a modest man is narrow on the inside and wide on the outside, making himself small so that his light shines forth. In contrast, an arrogant man is wide on the inside, convinced of his own genius, but narrow on the outside, so that little light from him reaches the rest of the world.

It was Moshe's humility, like the narrow windows of the temple that funnel the light of the Menorah to the world, that made him such an enduring influence. While modern society preaches self-esteem, Moshe's lack of it often caused leadership problems, yet made him shine so brightly that he had to wear a mask to hide his light. The light that shines brightest is not that of charisma or ego, but of faith.

Moshe did not lead because he was a great orator or a charismatic figure, but because of his faith. The same faith that took him from a prince of Egypt to a wanderer, a shepherd and a prophet, required a narrowness of self. Through self-effacement, Moshe brought light to a nation and to the world.

That is also the lesson of the menorah. And of the Jews. Through humility and a seeming diminution of horizons, a fragile lamp and an oppressed people light up the world.