<b>And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light (Exod. 27:20).</b> The Israelites declared: Master of the Universe, it is stated: <i>By Thy light shall we see light</i>, yet You commanded us to kindle lights before You. R. Isaac related an anecdote about a house filled with lighted torches. The master of the house told his servant: “Light some lamps for us in the courtyard.” “But the house is fully lighted,” he replied, “why do you bid me to light lamps in the courtyard?” He answered: “Do it so that the servants will have light.”
It states: <i>The seven lamps shall give light in front of the candlestick</i> (Num. 8:2). It was for that reason that the Holy One, blessed be He, declared: It is not because I require the light lit by man that I warn you concerning the lamps, but that you may know how dear you are to Me. For example, though it is written: <i>And Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the Lord abode therein, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle</i> (Exod. 40:35), yet Scripture states: <i>They should light lamps before Him</i>. Obviously, I have commanded this because you are dear to me.
<i>That they bring unto thee</i>. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: They should bring it to you, Moses, not because I need a light, but in order that you may see how to enter and how to leave. This may be compared to a blind man traveling on a road together with a person who could see. The seeing man led the blind man during the day. That evening the man who could see said to the blind man: “Go, light a lamp for us.” The other replied: “All day long, you led me through darkness, because I could not see even myself, and now you tell me to light the lamp.” The seeing man symbolizes the Holy One, blessed be He, concerning whom it is written: <i>Which are the eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth</i> (Zech. 4:10), and the blind man symbolizes Israel, about whom it is said: <i>We grope for the wall like the blind, yea, as they have no eyes do we grope; we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; we are in dark places like the dead</i> (Isa. 59:10).
How important He is to us, David tells us in the verse: <i>The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?</i> (Ps. 27:1). When did David utter this verse? While fighting against the Amalekite bands. He fought against them at night and slew them, as it is said: <i>And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening</i> (I Sam. 30:17). Who indeed lit the shooting stars and sent the lightning for them? R. Eleazar the son of Pedat was of the opinion that this verse refers to the war waged against the Egyptians after they pursued the Israelites. Observe what is written there: <i>And there was the cloud and the darkness here, yet it gave light by night there</i> (Exod. 14:20). R. Oshaya declared: When the Israelites saw the light they cried out: <i>The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?</i> The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: If you light lamps before Me, I will illumine the world in your behalf with a great light, as it is said: <i>But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory</i> (Isa. 16:19).