Moreover, we can learn from a statement of the Talmud another aspect to this exclusivity. A person who drinks unalduterated olive oil does not make a blessing over it, as is done for all other food and drink. This is because drinking olive oil, if it is not for the purpose of healing, is damaging to the health. The olive, after all the work which is done on it, reaches fulfillment when its oil is used for light. Whereas the purpose of all other fruits is for eating or drinking their juice, the olive is different in that it is only an intermediary to make something else.
Light is the subtlest of all material substances.
Therefore, it is considered something spiritual, and accordingly, it indicates the concept of wisdom. Without hard work and toil to transcend the material plane and produce something special and spiritual, Israel is not on any higher level than other nations, and is probably less than them. The uniqueness of Israel is only realized when she turns away from mere physical existence, and through much effort begins to find herself on a transcendent plane. Only in this way, after hard work, can she reach fulfillment, and then she is exactly comparable to the oil of the olive which is burned for the light of the menorah. This refers to the blessing of Eretz Yisrael.