Hannukah

Adapted from Rabbi Aron Alexander

The primary ritual of Hannukah is lighting the candles. Halakha (Jewish law and custom) teaches that the candles should be arranged in a straight line. It should be possible to discern the light of each and every candle.

The nineteenth century Hassidic teacher known as Mei Hashiloach (Rabbi Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza) speaks of the difference between a torch with many wicks and a candle with a single flame. A torch can represent the Torah, with its 613 mitzvot. Over a lifetime, practice of the 613 mitzvot can help refine a person. A single flame can represent a single mitzvah that penetrates the depths of a person's immediate religious experience.

As an example, the Mei Hashiloach speaks of the mitzvah of wearing a talit. Wrapping yourself in a talit each morning can remind you of where you need to focus your energy. On the one hand, wearing a talit is a single mitzvah in itself. On the other hand, it can help you create a personal prayerful space in which to discern the single mitzvah that will help refine you on a particular day.

A Hanukah candle can be like the talit. On the one hand, lighting a new candle each day is a mitzvah in itself. On the other hand, the light of each candle can remind us of a specific moment in our lives, a specific mitzvah that moves us, or a miracle that we have yet to allow ourselves to experience. What will you recall as you light each candle this Hannukah?

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