Rekindling Our Eternal Lights—Evan Traylor
Growing up in the Jewish community of Oklahoma City, I loved spending time in the sanctuary of my Reform temple. Even though I haven’t lived there in almost 10 years, I can still picture the orange brick walls, the high sloping ceiling, and the enormous brown and yellow ark right at the front. And above the ark, I can still picture the ner tamid, the “eternal light” shining brightly. There were only a few moments that I was in our sanctuary with the lights off, and yet, I love thinking about that light structure on top of the bimah continuing to shine.
Many synagogues in the United States and around the world have a ner tamid, a light at the front of sanctuaries that continuously shines. This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Tetzaveh, contains the first mention of a ner tamid. After constructing the Tabernacle, the physical dwelling place for G-d, Moses is commanded:
“You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly. Aaron and his sons shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is over [the Ark of] the Pact, [to burn] from evening to morning before Adonai. It shall be a due from the Israelites for all time, throughout the ages.” - Exodus 27:20-21 (The Torah: A Women’s Commentary CCAR Press)
From this translation, we understand that the ner tamid was constructed so that even at night, when the Israelites would be the most vulnerable or frightened during their time in the wilderness, that they would feel G-d’s presence among them. That in the unknown of the nighttime, this eternal light would serve as a small ounce of certainty.
We can also see in this translation that the ner tamid was not originally a continuously burning light; it had to be lit every night in order to shine until morning. In some ways, I took it for granted that the ner tamid from my home synagogue would keep burning. But there’s also something beautiful about the Israelites ritualizing the lighting of this holy light every single night. It can remind us that in order to confront the uncertainty and fear that exists all around us right now, we have to rekindle our own eternal lights. We must seek out the people and things that bring us joy, meaning, love, and purpose so that in rekindling our lights, we will shine out for another glorious day.
Evan Traylor is a JOC Member at Ammud: The Jews of Color Torah Academy
