Revealing the Essence

In this week’s Parsha, Noah was told by G-d to build the ark.  Amongst the directions was the following: “…you shall make a tzohar for the ark...”

Rashi explains that some say a Tzohar means a window, others say it was a precious stone that provided light for them.

There is a difference between the two.  A window allows light in from the outside whereas the light of a gem comes from within, from the very essence of the stone.

Like everything else in the Torah, we can learn a lesson from these different explanations.

We can have different approaches to our daily tasks and our role in the world.  Undoubtedly we often need external help to educate, to further our development and to energize ourselves.  This is the ‘making a window’, getting some light from outside.  It also entails looking out, ‘through the window’, acknowledging what is going on around us and realizing that nothing is arbitrary, that everything is part of the greater scheme of things.

Once we begin this process, we should not satisfy ourselves with merely letting in some light from the outside, like a window.  Our goal should be to reveal the essence, to make the gem shine on its own, without relying on assistance.