On Rashi (8:4): "So he made the Menorah" — "The one who made it. And according to the Midrash Aggadah, it was made by itself through the Holy One, blessed be He."
This requires explanation. The Midrash seemingly has no place in the simple meaning of the verse, for the verse states: "According to the form that Hashem showed Moshe." It is difficult to say that the verse means that Hashem made the Menorah in the same way that He showed it to Moshe. If Rashi brings the Midrash merely to explain that the verse is not abbreviated, he should have explained simply that "so he made" refers to Moshe.
This can be understood by first addressing a broader question: Why is this entire verse needed here at all? The details of the Menorah were already explained in Parshas Terumah. The beginning of the section, "When you kindle", is repeated because, as Rashi explains, when Aharon saw the dedication of the Altar, he felt distressed that he had not participated, and Hashem told him, "Yours is greater than theirs, for you light and prepare the lamps." But what relevance does the continuation of the verse, "According to the form...", have here? Other commentators address this question, yet Rashi says nothing.
The explanation is that the phrase "According to the form..." explains in what sense the lighting of the Menorah was greater than the dedication of the Altar. The verse teaches that the Menorah possessed a unique quality: Hashem Himself showed its form to Moshe. Therefore, Rashi does not explain, as other commentators do, that "so he made" refers to Moshe, because the verse's purpose is to emphasize Aharon's greatness. Thus Rashi says "the one who made it," without stressing the identity of the craftsman.
Based on this, we can also understand why Rashi brings the Midrash. The Midrash further elevates the Menorah's uniqueness: not only did Hashem show its form to Moshe, but "it was made by itself through the Holy One, blessed be He."
It may be suggested that when Rashi says "it was made by itself," he does not mean to deny that a human being participated in making it. Rather, compared to ordinary human workmanship, it was considered as though it made itself, because it was not produced solely through human effort but through a partnership with Hashem. As the Midrash relates, Moshe threw the block of gold into the fire, and then, through Hashem, the Menorah emerged by itself.
On a deeper level: There are Divine revelations that come through human service, and there are revelations that come from Above, beyond human effort. The Menorah was "made by itself" because revelations stemming from the Essence of Hashem do not come through ordinary action; they emerge from Him, as it were, naturally. The novelty of the Menorah is that even matters that transcend human action are nevertheless drawn down through human effort. Similar to the Third Beis HaMikdash, which will descend from Heaven, yet will still include an element of human participation. May this come about very soon.