The Festival of Light

I love Hanukah, the festival of lights every year its something new, every year has a different set of challenges. This year for me centered around the idea of exile because I’ve been living in the exile. It also was made hectic because x-mas was right in the middle of the whole thing, not a problem for most Jews but for me it meant running around for two days in the middle of Chanukah and lighting the candles at weird times. But it was wonderful getting to spend time with my family, convincing my mom and sister to say the prayers before lighting the candles.

The lights of the menorah are supposed to remind us of the candles in the temple, which in turn remind us of the light of the creation. They are a reflection of the reflection of the light of creation. Our tradition tells us that this light shone for twelve hours on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, when they sinned the light was extinguished but not immediately instead god kept the light alive for another 24 hours in honor of the Shabbat. So that makes 36 hours, how many lights do we light for Chanukah? Thirty six, funny how it works out that way a friend told me that last night just as I was watching the lights I had lit slowly extinguish themselves.

I’ve always felt there was a certain power in the festival of lights, there is something hypnotic about staring into the flames. Now some of that may be a simple matter of evolution. Human beings relied of fire for survival it was what raised us above the other animals and kept us safe in a world filled with beasts that we infinitely stronger then us. We prevailed because they were afraid of the light; it gave us dominion over them. I don’t know what it is but like most of the very best parts of life words fail to explain in properly it just is. The specialness doesn’t need to be qualified its there. I was talking about this with a good friend who I hadn’t spoken with in something like six months last night. He actually told me the story in the story in the paragraph above. He and I shared an experience in Israel that defied all the normal conceptions about life. I did my best the describe it and reading the stuff I wrote from the time certainly brings me back. But does it really capture the experience? Hell no, nothing will, just like staring into the Chanukah lights. I looking to those eight bright lights last night and saw eternity, I saw the past, present and future together in one beautiful moment. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Shalom.