What’s Really Perplexing Moshe

A midrash portrays Moshe as being perplexed by the construction of the menorah[1], with the great sage only being able to understand its unique shape after G-d shows him a fiery image of the candelabra.

It seems quite odd that Moshe would have trouble wrapping his mind around the full design of the menorah. Moshe understood all of the rest of the Torah, which contains not only a gigantic amount of law but complex mathematical equations and intricate building plans.

Rather, I think this midrash is highlighting two different styles of thinking. These styles are subtle in difference, but have profound ramifications for our loves.

In this midrash, the menorah and its flame relate to hod, Aharon’s middah (concept/quality), while Moshe is highlighting his middah, netzach. The word hod connotes the expression of inner light, and, in our context, relates to the bringing out of inner messages or qualities within information or people. Moshe’s netzach relates to the analytic apprehension of factual information.

One can analyze the information that has been gathered in a scientific study, but forget to relate it fully to the human participants. One can be very good at asking questions on and finding contradictions within the stories and metaphors of a midrash, but miss its deeper message or lesson[2]. In interpersonal relationships, when someone turns to you and asks you a question, often they are making an emotional bid for your attention, not simply asking you for a bit of information.

It is very important to hone our analytic skills. However, it is also important to find deeper significance in our text-based religion and deeper unique qualities within our fellow man.

[to learn more about hod and netzach and dealing with people, order The Seven Ways -including eBook formats]

  –IB   [1] Menachos 29a. [2] I do not at all mean to disparage Moshe and his abilities; rather, I simply see this Midrash as animating the intellect-based mechanism of netzach in the form of the person Moshe. Moshe did not necessarily lack in hod abilities, but the mechanism of netzach does.