A rarely discussed topic in this week’s parasha of Beha’alotcha is the topic of the silver trumpets. During the 40 years wandering in the desert, Moshe used two silver trumpets to signal when it was time to gather, time to travel, times of war, and on holy days. The trumpets had to be made “miksha,” beaten out of 1 piece of silver. Not an easy task.
Interestingly, there were two other objects that had to be made “miksha”—beaten out of 1 piece of metal. One was the menorah and the other were the keruvim, the images of child angels attached to the top of the aron kodesh.
What do these three objects, the trumpets, the menorah, and the keruvim, have in common that necessitates that they be fashioned in this unique way? The root or shoresh of the word “miksha” is kasheh meaning hard, firm, and unyielding. These three objects represent three aspects of life in which a person must possess firmness and conviction.
The trumpets represent leadership. A successful leader must be willing to do what is right, even when it is unpopular. A leader who changes direction every time someone complains is not leading—they’re just following the loudest person in the room. If Moshe had taken a poll every time the Jewish people had an opinion in the desert, they might still be there.
The menorah stands for Torah since both spread light and clarity. Our commitment to Torah must be firm and unyielding. We observe its laws whether easy or hard, convenient or not, day, nights, weekend or legal holiday.
The keruvim stand for raising children as they were in the form of children. Everyone knows that parenting is not for the faint of heart. Children don’t have the life experience to make the right choices all the time, nor have they developed full self-control. The adults in their lives must set limits to safeguard their children’s well being. Children will test those limits and need their parents to be consistent and enforce the limits.
May G-d grant us all the strength to lead, keep the Torah, and raise our children with the necessary commitment and perseverance to succeed at our mission.
Have a wonderful Shabbat and good luck with your kids over the summer.
Rabbi Avi Parsons
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