John D. Brey
Well-Known Member
The quotations above show that not only does Rabbi Hirsch perceive the menorah as a symbol of a divine-Messiah, but that the concept is explicit in both testaments of the Bible. Although the KJV of Psalms 132:17 speaks of the horn of David "budding," the Hebrew word (צמח) has a number of nuanced meanings. Gesenius says: “The primary idea appears to be that of shining forth, compare Syr. ܨܡܰܚ to shine, Arab. طمح id," such that interpreted in a contextually consistent manner, Psalms 132:17 justifies everything Rabbi Hirsch says about Isaiah chapter 11 as a metaphor for Messiah as the living entity emblematically represented by the menorah throughout the Torah; Messiah as the Light of the World.
Knowledge that the menorah represents Messiah segues back to Revelation 22:4-5 by way of Revelation 1:12-13 since the former claims those wearing the mark of the Lamb on their forehead no longer need the menorah for light: they manifest the living manifestation on their foreheads. In context, the living Messiah, the Lamb, typically hidden "in the midst of the seven candlesticks" that’s made up of the seven branches on the head tefillin, is no longer caught in the tresses of the tefillin; he's no longer hidden behind the burning bush, the seven-branched candlestick, cast in gold in the temple, and as a black seven-branched menorah on the head tefillin.
Like many other Jewish traditionalists, Rabbi Hirsch exerts almost as much effort to hide the truth of Messiah's divine pedigree from himself and his tradition as he does to reveal it. His exegesis of these things is a remarkable balance between veiling and revealing, covering, and uncovering.
Case in point is his exegesis of verse 16 of Psalms 132, which states unambiguously that God will "cloth" Zion's priests (all of them) with "Salvation." We see similar language in verse 17 of Psalms 132, which says Messiah will shine forth as a lamp. Revelation 22:4-5 implies this messianic-lamp is worn like a garment on the foreheads of his worshipers.
Astoundingly, verse 16 of Psalms 132, reveals this menorah-like Messiah's very name. And it does so in context with the idea of him being worn on the forehead where he was long hidden beneath the menorah-emblazoned head tefillin. Messiah, called a menorah of light in verse 17, is not only said to be worn, ala Revelation 22:4, but is named "Yeshua" right in the text of Psalms 132:16-18, which explicitly supports Rabbi Hirsch's exegesis of Isaiah chapter 11 (comparing Messiah to the menorah) such that when it goes too far (giving even the name of this light of the world), Rabbi Hirsch must cover his eyes and his exegesis lest he be forced to kiss the son who shines forth like the sun:
When the priests of Tziyon (verse 9) will clothe themselves with the צדק [tsaddik] taught and demanded by the Law of God, then God will also invest them with ישע [yesha --"salvation"], with the maximum power of perfect human "being" and life. . . . the statement ערכתי נר למשיחי would refer to the מנורה [menorah], the "lamp" which, according to God's command, is to be "put in order" each day.
The Hirsch Tehillim, 132:16-18.
In verse 9 of Psalms 132, the priests of Zion are said to wear "righteousness" צדק, just as they're said to wear "Salvation" in verse 16. Salvation and righteousness are the garment or ornament the priest of Zion wear on their foreheads. But this is too much for Rabbi Hirsch, since he already knows Messiah is represented by the menorah (through his exegesis of Isaiah chapter 11) such that to consider that this light of the world, Messiah, is named "Yeshua," as stated in Psalms 132:16, is clearly more than anyone could ask of a good god-fearing Jew. Rabbi Hirsch tricks himself by using grammatical disingenuousness so that instead of speaking of wearing Yeshua on the forehead (under the head tefillin), as the text implies, Rabbi Hirsch says God "will invest" the priests of Zion with this maximum-ly powerful human being's life. They will be "invested" with salvation rather than wearing Salvation on their foreheads beneath the head tefillin.
John
Last edited: