The Portion of Beha’alotecha begins with a directive on how Aaron should light the candelabrum (menorah) in the Tabernacle (Mishkan) [Bemidbar 8:2]: “When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the menorah”. The Torah tells us that Aaron did as he was commanded[1] and then it adds a curious verse [Bemidbar 8:4]: “This was the structure of the menorah: Hammered work of gold, from its base to its flower it was hammered work; according to the form that G-d had shown Moshe, so did he construct the menorah”. Why does the Torah review the structure of the menorah? When it commands that a sacrifice be offered on the altar, it does not tells us “This was the structure of the altar: five cubits by five cubits by three cubits, made of copper and acacia wood…” The construction of the altar was described in detail way back in the Book of Shemot such that there was no need to review it in the Book of Vayikra. Why is the menorah any different?

An answer to this question lies in a most unlikely place – the SPICE-1000 guided bomb. SPICE-1000 is an add-on kit that turns a standard free-falling Mk-83 one-thousand-pound dumb bomb into a precision guided munition. SPICE-1000 can put a half a ton of high explosives within half a metre of its target. The SPICE-1000 kit is composed of three components: an infra-red seeker that locates the target, a guidance computer that calculates the best way to get to the target, and a pair of long wings that extend the range of the munition, keeping the launch aircraft out of harm’s way. The wings are tucked under the bomb’s fuselage before launch and swing out after the bomb is released from the aircraft. Now here is the cool part: Immediately after the SPICE-1000 is dropped, it rolls one hundred and eighty degrees and only then deploys its wings. In other words, SPICE-1000 is carried upside-down and only rights itself after it is launched. Whatever for?

Before we proceed, we need to understand a few (very) basic concepts in aerodynamics. The wings of a precision guided munition or an airplane or a bird work by providing an upward force called “lift”.........

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