When a street lamp is erected, all those seeking light gather around, for light attracts.
HaYom Yom, 13 Teves
I was reminded of this saying from Hayom Yom this past Sunday, when I traveled to New York to comfort my father and his siblings on the passing of my grandfather.
As we sat together and talked about our father/grandfather, I took a broad look around the room. There were cousins that I had barely ever met. Maybe a couple I had never met before. Aunts and uncles, friends, and strangers. And, they all came together to pay respects and to comfort the bereaved.
There is a lot to say about my grandfather, who stood strong as a Shabbat-observant Jew despite the challenges in the 1940s and 1950s. He raised a large family with 7 children. He loved to travel. He was disciplined to the degree it made us crazy. And, he spent so much time with his family.
But, at that moment, it dawned on me what his greatest contribution really was. He brought people together.
Most importantly, he brought his family together. Seeing my father – the only Chabad Chassid – together with his siblings in that room was a remarkable testament to my grandfather and grandmother. They raised a united family. There was no sibling missing. No fights. Not because we had no differences. No, not at all.
So, what was it?
In this week’s parsha Bamidbar, we read about the way the Jewish people traveled and camped for 40 years in the wilderness. The Torah goes through great detail to describe the locations of each tribe’s encampment.
The Levites formed a ring around the Mishkan (Sanctuary). To the east were Judah (pop. 74,600), Issachar (54,400) and Zebulun (57,400); to the south, Reuben (46,500), Simeon (59,300) and Gad (45,650); to the west, Ephraim (40,500), Manasseh (32,200) and Benjamin (35,400); and to the north, Dan (62,700), Asher (41,500) and Naphtali (53,400). This formation was kept also while traveling.
Why is the location of each tribe important? And, why did they surround the Mishkan – while they camped and while they traveled.
The above quote from HaYom Yom says it all. The center of Jewish life was the Mishkan. It illuminated G-d’s presence to the world. And, it attracted everyone around it. There is no other place to be when the light is abounding.
My grandfather’s light is what continues to draw his family together.
As we prepare for Shavuot, the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, let’s remember that the Torah is our light.
And, we must be the light that brings others together.