Exodus 25:31

And thou shalt make a Candelabrum; of pure beaten gold shalt thou make the candelabrum; its base and shaft, its cups and apples and lilies, shall be of the same.

'ועשית מנורת וגו, to illuminate the breads on the table as is mentioned in 26,35 where the position of this Menorah is specifically described as being opposite the table.

מקשה, he took a chunk of gold and peeled from its side arms, cup-shaped ornaments, flowers, etc., all with aid of a hammer.

ירכה, the wide base (legs) in touch with the floor, upon which the entire lamp stand was erected.

וקנה, a reference to the central shaft from which three subsidiary arms would branch out in either direction.

גביעיה כפתוריה ופרחיה ממנה יהיו, all of these would emanate from the center shaft. Wherever there was a knob, two relatively thin arms would branch out, one to the right and one to the left. All this is spelled out in verse 35.

ועשית מנורת זהב טהור. This commandment follows the establishment of “2 crowns,” the crown of Torah as represented by the Ark, and the crown of Royalty as represented by the Table. The Torah arranged the subject of the Menorah as something that it totally integrated, i.e. just as the Menorah was to be constructed of a single chunk of gold, not as a composite structure, so the seven lights were also to be arranged in such a way that the light from the lamps would converge in one above the light burning on top of the central shaft. This is the meaning of the words והאיר על עבר פניה, (verse 36) this means that the lights both on the right of the center shaft and those on the left should be arranged so that the respective flames would focus in the direction of the middle. Inasmuch as the lights symbolised spiritual “enlighten-ment,” the lesson is that in all our efforts at obtaining such enlightenment, and during all the digressions that the pursuit of such disciplines necessarily entails, we must never lose sight of the direction in which we are striving and keep this central idea of such enlightenment resulting in us becoming better servants of the Lord, constantly in front of our mental eye. The reason that there were lights on both the right side of the center shaft as well as on the left side, is that pursuit of enlightenment expresses itself both in gaining of theoretical knowledge, ethical imperatives, but no less so in the practical application of such lessons learned. Both must be placed in the service of the נר המערבי, the light from the center shaft, the one which faces the Shechinah directly. Only the focusing on our spiritual goal ensures that the six lights on the various arms will continue to burn without hindrance. The thought we just tried to portray is expressed in Numbers 8,2-4 בהעלותך את הנרות אל מול פני המנוה יאירו שבעת הנרות “when you kindle the lamps, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast light.” This is the symbolism contained in the words וזה מעשה המנורה מקשה, (Numbers 8,4) i.e. in spite of what appears to be a multiplicity of lights emanating from this Menorah, their function is singular, one of unification, just as the Menorah from which they emanate was cast out of a single chunk of gold, something unified.

תיעשה המנורה, “the lampstand shall be made;” the word: תיעשה is spelled here with the letter י, the only time in the Bible it is spelled in this manner, in order to serve as a reminder that Solomon placed ten such lampstands into the Temple that he built.

וירכה, “its base;” this is a reference to the base of the menorah;” its total height was eighteen handbreadths, of which the base with its three legs took up three handbreadths. We have a hint of its height in Numbers 8,4 where the subject of the menorah is introduced with the word: וזה, “and this was;” the numerical value of the letters in that word is 18.