Beh'a'alotcha: Zemer of The Week
Parshat Beh'a'alotcha
“Light Up the Night” (Yaakov Shwekey)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ewsEcNEwm0
Light up the night
Shine your light so bright
One spark can change the world
(excerpt from the lyrics)
Parshat Beha'alotcha opens with the command: “בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת הַנֵּרֹת” – "When you raise the lamps..."
Rashi explains that Aharon was to hold the flame to the wick until the flame could rise on its own and become self-sustaining.
“Light Up the Night” is not simply about receiving light; it is about becoming a source of light. One person's spark can influence another person, who can then illuminate others in turn.
As we wrote in this week's WoW: The flame that rises on its own eventually becomes a flame that can light others. Our greatest impact often comes not from the light we produce ourselves, but from the light we help kindle in others.
If you want a more-traditional zemer:
The zemer for this week: ידיד נפש
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AEXcQEt4gQ
This zemer was written by R’ Eliezer Azikri (1533-1600), author of Sefer Charedim. His parents had been expelled from Spain and had settled in Tzefat, where he was born, lived, and is buried. The central theme of the zemer is the intense love a Jew must feel for Hashem.
Central elements of this parsha include the next food crisis in the desert, the mahn, Miryam’s affliction, and the lighting of the menorah.
Some of the zemer’s connections to the parsha:
· Title and first two words:
“ידיד נפש” (“Beloved of the soul”) – Chazal say that “yedid” (ידיד) signifies walking hand (“יד”) in hand (“יד”) with a beloved. The parsha describes how – after Moshe questioned whether enough food could be provided for Bnei Yisroel – Hashem asked, “Is My hand (‘ה יד) too short?” to take care of them (Bamidbar 11:23).
o 1st line of 4th stanza:
“חביבי” (“My beloved”) – In Bamidbar 8:19, Rashi states that “Bnei Yisroel” is stated 5 times in this pasuk (instead of using a pronoun) to make known how beloved they are to Hashem.
o One of Yitro’s other names was Chovav. which Rashi says is the same root as חביב.
· Last line of 1st stanza:
“מנופת צוף וכל טעם” (“The drippings of the honeycomb and any taste”) – Rashi highlights how the mahn could take on any taste or texture (Bamidbar 11:8).
o Also, the Degal Machaneh Ephraim says that צוף/“tzuf” refers to prophecy. The parsha features a wide range of prophets and prophetic issues, from the controversy over Eldad and Meidad prophesizing in the camp (Bamidbar 11:26) to Miryam’s complaints about Moshe’s actions as a prophet (Bamidbar 12:1-2).
o The Radak says that this phrase in the zemer also refers to our aspiration for our relationship with Hashem, which faces multiple challenges in this parsha.
· 3rd line of 2nd stanza:
“א־ל נא רפא נא לה.” (“Please, Hashem, heal her now”) – This was Moshe’s tefillah to Hashem to heal Miryam (Bamidbar 12:13).
· 2nd line of 4th stanza:
“תאיר ארץ מכבודך” (“Illuminate the world with Your glory”) – The parsha opens with the directive to light (יאירו/“Ya’iru”) the candles of the menorah (Bamidbar 8:2).