This Parshat B’ha’alotcha, I celebrate 36 years since my Bar Mitzva.

Date: June 8, 1974.

Location: B’nai Avraham Synagogue, Winnipeg, Canada.

Between swallows of rum torte and cheesecake, I graciously receive yet another envelope.

Even Eighteen dollars is a lot to a young teenager in 1974. Unaware of the halacha proscribing handling money on Shabbat and Yom Tov, I ponder the swelling figures in my new bank account.

A generation later, I’d like you join me as I revisit the Torah portion chanted on that fateful day.

Come On, Aharon, Light That Fire

The parsha opens with G-d’s instruction to Aharon, the Kohen Gadol, to light the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash. Our sages note that the Torah uses the term b’ha’alotcha in reference to lighting.

Question: What does this term denote?