Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד…
יַעֲרֹךְ אֹתוֹ אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו מֵעֶרֶב עַד בֹּקֶר לִפְנֵי ה'...
You shall command Benei Yisrael to take pure olive oil, crushed for the light, to light the ner tamid (the “tamid” lamp)...
Aharon and his sons shall set them up, from evening to morning before God…
Our פַּרְשָׁנִים (parshanim, commentators) wonder about the word תָּמִיד (tamid, always). It’s a little confusing because “always” can mean “regularly” (like, “the sun always rises in the east,” which is true, even though it only happens once a day.) Or it could mean “every moment” (like, “the earth is always going around the sun,” which is true every moment). What does it mean in our pasuk?
תָּמִיד – כָּל לַיְלָה וְלַיְלָה קָרוּי תָּמִיד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאַתָּה אוֹמֵר: עֹלַת תָּמִיד, וְאֵינָהּ אֶלָּא מִיּוֹם לְיוֹם.
Tamid – Lighting the candles every single night is called tamid. It’s like the korban tamid, the sacrifice that was offered every single day.
Rashi says the ner tamid was lit once a night, so tamid here means “regularly.” This is just like the קָרְבַּן תָּמִיד (korban tamid, daily sacrifice), which was offered regularly—every day—and that’s why both are called tamid.
The korban tamid also appears in this week’s Midrash.
- Can you find evidence from pasuk 21 to support Rashi’s interpretation?
The Sifrei understands tamid as meaning “every moment.”
לִפְנֵי ה' תָּמִיד (ויקרא כד:ג) - שֶׁיִּהְיֶה נֵר מַעֲרָבִי תָּדִיר שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ מַדְלִיק אֶת הַנֵּרֹת בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם:
Before God tamid (Vayikra 24:3) – The western light of the menorah always remained lit, and the kohen would light the afternoon candles from this flame.
Many shuls today have a ner tamid, a special lamp that is always on. Today’s kind of ner tamid is based on this interpretation of the ner tamid in the mishkan, as a candle that was miraculously always burning!
- In addition to the ner tamid and the korban tamid, there are three other things in our parashah that are described as tamid! Can you find them? Do you think tamid means “regularly” or “always” in these places? (Hint: Check out Shemot 28:29-30, 28:38, and 30:8.)
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