every jew is pure gold

“This is the making of the Menorah, hammered out of gold, from its base (יריכה) until its flower (פרחה) it is hammered out” (Bamidbar 8:4)

The golden Menorah represents the collective of the Jewish people. The Menorah had to be made from one solid block of pure gold that was hammered into shape, reflecting the unity of the Jewish people. 

This verse identifies two of the features of the Menorah, the base (or leg) and the decorative flower. The base represents people on a lower spiritual level. The flower represents the Tzaddikim whose service flourishes and blooms with beauty.

The prophet Zechariah was shown a vision of “a Menorah made entirely of gold ”. The Midrash  connects this vision to Hashem’s description of the Jewish people in Shir Hashirim "You are entirely beautiful My beloved, there is no blemish in you ”. 

The prophets Yechezkel and Yirmiyahu who foretold of the destruction of the Temple, castigated the Jewish people for their sins, likening them to silver, bronze and copper which have sediments and impurities. 

But Zechariah saw the Jewish people like the Menorah that had to be made entirely of the purest gold; a people who are all beautiful and free from any sediment or imperfection. 

Yechezkel and Yirmiyahu looked at the surface and saw their deficiencies. Zechariah looked deeper and saw the essential core of every Jew. This inner core is pure gold that cannot be tainted. The Menorah teaches us to see every Jew, be they a flower or a base, as a pure Neshama which fills the world with the light of Hashem .

~ Based on Likutei Torah Behalosecha ד"ה ראיתי והנה מנורה