“צַו אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד: מִחוּץ לְפָרֹכֶת הָעֵדֻת בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד יַעֲרֹךְ אֹתוֹ אַהֲרֹן מֵעֶרֶב עַד בֹּקֶר לִפְנֵי ה’ תָּמִיד חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם:” לפרוכת העדות – שלפני הארון, שהוא קרוי עדות. ורבותינו דרשו על נר מערבי, שהוא עדות לכל באי עולם שהשכינה שורה בישראל, שנותן בה שמן כמידת חברותיה וממנה היה מתחיל ובה היה מסיים.” (רש”י ויקרא כ”ד ב’ – ג’)
Rashi: “To the paroches of the eidus – that was before the aron, which is called ‘eidus’ (testimony). And our sages taught that it (the word ‘eidus’) refers to the western candle, which served as a testimony to all the inhabitants of the world that the Shechina rests upon Yisroel, as he would fill it with as much oil as the other candles and light it first, yet it was the last candle that he would clean out (because it remained lit until the following night, whereas the other candles would burn only until the morning).
Why this miracle?
Any supernatural phenomenon that would have taken place in the Beis Hamikdash, day after day, would have been evidence of Hashem’s presence and involvement in that holy place. But there is more to a miracle than simply being wondrous and unexplainable; otherwise Hakadosh Baruch Hu could also have made the menorah float in midair, or any another miracle. In truth every miracle is in itself an expression of an idea or a message. In this instance, the ceaseless burning of the western candle symbolizes the concept that the Shechina rests upon Yisroel. How?
The menorah and aron both represent wisdom
It is well known that the menorah represents wisdom, as indicated by the words of our Sages, “הרוצה שיחכים ידרים ושיעשיר יצפין וסימניך שלחן בצפון ומנורה בדרום” – He who desires wisdom should turn (in prayer) to the south, and he who desires wealth should turn to the north, and the sign is that the table was found in the north and the menorah in the south (Bava Basra 25b). Let us examine this idea more carefully. The olive oil of the menorah represents wisdom, but more specifically, just as the oil is the part of the olive which is extracted, so too it represents wisdom which is expressed. The aron, which held the luchos, also represents wisdom, but it represents a wisdom that is closed off and above us. Thus, the luchos are enclosed within the aron, behind the paroches.
The uniqueness of שמן זית זך
The menorah was lit exclusively with שמן זית זך – pure olive oil. Rashi explains that this was the first oil taken from the olive. The superiority of this oil lies in that it corresponds completely to that which is within the olive. The oil that is extracted afterwards becomes tainted upon leaving the olive and entering the world. But the first oil taken from the olive remains pure and untainted, like the olive itself.
Thus, the menorah represents wisdom that is expressed, yet remains completely true and representative of its source.
The western candle
The aron represents the wisdom of the Torah at its source, transcendent but inaccessible. We are unable to grasp that wisdom, but in a way, we are able to connect with it. If wisdom as it is expressed to Klal Yisroel, symbolized by the menorah, remains true to its source, then in truth we are connected to the wisdom of the aron as well.
This is our hope, our aspiration, that the wisdom we learn should correspond to its source. And this hope was confirmed by the miracle of the western candle. Human wisdom is limited: at times it grows, at others it wanes. And sometimes it exhausts itself completely, as it cannot exceed the abilities of the person himself. But a wisdom that originates from a higher reality will continue even then. Thus, the western candle, closest to the aron, burned always, as a vivid representation that the wisdom expressed in Klal Yisroel is one with its source and will therefore never be extinguished.
The Shechina rests upon Yisroel
The western candle testified that “the Shechina rests upon Yisroel”. True, we experience Hakadosh Baruch Hu only as He reveals Himself to us, in our world, but still, that which we do experience is the same as that which is above us. The Vilna Gaon famously said that even the smallest amount of truth in Torah is inconceivably valuable. We have to appreciate that, to be astonished by it: we are touching something which is far, far, far above us, something from a different world.
There is no end to Torah and Avodah
This idea should not only make us feel good and important, but obligate us as well. If the wisdom we learn is one with its source, then it truly has no end. We are never finished with it; there is always more to learn, and more work to do.